The facts about my skin:
Skin-tone: Olive skin tone
Skin-type: Oily acne prone
Problem: Cystic acne on the chin and cheeks
The Product: Skin TX Acne Treatment System ($99CDN)
Skin Tx Acne Treatment is made up of two products for treatment - both using medical grade ingredients that can be found at your cosmetic dermatologist. I found this set at my local cosmetic dermatologist clinic where they do medical grade peels, and laser treatments. Here's what comes with the kit:
1. Wash (150ml) that is made up of 2% pharmaceutical grade Salicylic Acid - used to help clear acne
2. Lotion (30ml) that is made up of 5% pharmaceutical grade Benzoyl Peroxide - used to keep acne at bay and combat the prevention of whiteheads and blackheads. Note that the lotion may stain your pillows so use a white pillow case, or I just placed a towel on top of my pillowcase at night.
I started with the face wash morning and night, and used the lotion only at night. I then increased using the lotion twice a day.
For the application - the face wash you only need a small amount to get a good cleaning. The lotion itself is quite light and not moisturizing. It's almost like a milky liquid.
I'm not going to lie - the first few weeks were rough! My skin was peeling like crazy! I incorporated a moisturizer along with the benzoyl peroxide lotion because the flaking was out of control. I tried to use moisturizing makeup during the day to try and combat the peeling. However, in the meantime with the peeling I started to see a significant skin improvement - my cystic breakouts were less and the odd one that did show up was not nearly as large or painful as before.
At about the 4th week my skin was about 95% clear. I still had a few whiteheads that I was dealing with but NOTHING compared to my skin just a month before. Over-all the kit lasted me about 3-4 months which I thought was reasonable for the price, and the great results.
It's now been about 6 months, and I rarely get any cystic breakouts. I use the face wash still about 4 times a week, and use the lotion only on problem areas on my chin and cheeks about once a day to keep things at bay. The last large breakout I had was maybe about a month ago and did not flare. Using both the wash and the kit has kept any large flare-ups from appearing. Today I still have scars left from the large breakouts I use to have - the kit has marginally helped the scars but they are still very visible to me. To treat that I'm currently looking into chemical peels and possibly laser treatments (you may see a review on that treatment soon!)
Final Rating:
Over-all Rating: 4.5 / 5 | Value: 5 / 5 | Packaging 4 / 5 | Usability: 4.5 / 5 |