TetraClear is a popular 3 part acne fighting system. They claim that you can get rid of acne within just 10 days, and they are apparently as confident as you can get in the results. They talk about using salicylic acid, which is a popular acne treatment. Unlike benzoyl peroxide, it doesn’t cause the same nasty side effects, and it causes the skin cells, dead skin cells, to shed away causing less acne.

However, the problem is that salicylic acid is just as common as benzoyl peroxide and just as cheap. Frankly speaking, it can be found in just about every product out there, and if you’ve tried other things and failed, chances are you’ve tried essentially speaking this formula. They don’t disclose a full ingredients list, which is expected considering they rely on a “free trial offer” to sell their product. Frankly speaking, this just means that they know their product won’t work and is overpriced at $80 a set. So they trick you into buying it.

We would not recommend buying TetraClear. It’s always important to read the fine print. But frankly speaking, when you get a “free trial offer”, you don’t have to read the fine print. You should just know that it won’t actually promote the benefits you are looking for and they are covering something up. In this case, it’s a quite ordinary junk formula. So it goes without saying that you could definitely find something more impressive and more effective than this.

Skin Zinc is of course based around the idea that supplementation of zinc can cure your acne. To their credit, zinc deficiencies have been shown to contribute to acne. But the question is how many people have zinc deficiencies, and is it really the sole cause of their acne. We would say no on both counts. Realistically, there are not as many cases as Skin Zinc would like you to think, and there are plenty of other vitamin deficiencies which can also contribute to acne as well as toxins, bacteria, hormonal imbalances, and many other causes. Skin Zinc does not even begin to address anything else.

Derived from beta hydroxy acid, salicylic acid is a popularly used acne treatment that can be found in many a brand. It functions as a plant hormone and is derived from the metabolism of salicin. It is similar to the active component of aspirin as well as white willow bark, and it has been used to treat acne, psoriasis, calluses, corns, keratosis, pilaris, warts, and in an extreme case, a mutated disease otherwise known as the “tree man.” Some have also used it to treat dandruff. It causes dead skin cells and excess skin cells to shed away, and it opens the pores to allow bacteria out and not cause the same buildup. It has multiple uses, and multiple benefits. But it is best known for its treatment of acne and is therefore popularly used.

The Peter Thomas Roth Acne Treatment has no official website, and it sells only through online third party retailers. It uses an anti shine gel, spot treatment, oil free moisturizer, and AHA/BHA acne clearing gel. Main ingredients include vitamin C, vitamin E, and aloe vera. These are antioxidants and soothers, but they do not actually attack acne. There is a reason that companies focus on ingredients like these, they are commonly known to be healthy for the skin, but they assume that you won’t know better, that you won’t realize it has no application to acne. In some cases, they would be right. But we hope you will be a more informed customer.

The Mario Badescu Acne Repair Kit is supposed to be a more powerful form of their original Acne Control Kit. They claim it can clear whiteheads overnight, conceal blemishes, heal blemishes, and fight even the worst acne. It uses a drying lotion, a drying cream, and a buffering lotion. So it seems that their main objective is to dry out the skin and kill acne that way. However, this could result in redness, peeling, irritation, and many of the other problems associated with benzyl peroxide. They do not tell you which ingredients they use. But we suspect the major ingredient to be benzyl peroxide.

Freederm is sold through third party retailers across the internet, and its scattered advertising still regularly claims it to be a miracle pill. They use testimonials, but really don’t provide any real information such as an ingredients list. There is no scientific proof presented, and they really do nothing to reassure the consumer. We suspect all these testimonials are artificial testimonials created by manufacturers. After all, if it was really that great, they would be dying to tell you why. For proven products with proven results, check out our top products.

Collective Wellbeing provides the Honey Buff for “radiant, renewed skin.” Their description of their one acne product is as follows: “A base of pure, certified organic honey is infused with a blend of lemon peel powder and rose hips seeds to provide gentle exfoliation. Echinacea helps keep pores clean and clear so that skin remains radiant.” They do not have anything else, and echinacea does not cleanse the pores or otherwise get rid of acne.

Collective Wellbeing ingredients include Purified water, certified organic honey, hydroxypropyl starch phosphate, PEG-12 dimethicone, PEG-40 hydrogenated ridnus communis seed oil, decyl glucoside, certified organic rosa canina, glycerin, ammonium acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP copolymer, certified organic aloe vera, certified organic tilla cordata flower extract, citrus aurantium dulcis, certified organic helianthus annus, certified organic extracts of echinacea angustifolia, juniperus communis fruit, cymbopogon schoenathus, microcystis pyiferia, rubus idaeus, rosmarinus officinalis, salvia officinalis, methyl gluceth-20, gluconolactone, PPG-3 benzoyl ether myristate, aminomethylpropanol, xantahn gum, sodium benzoate, dehydroacetic acid, and a blend of pure essential oils including lavendula angustifolia, pseldotsuga mensiesii, and chamomile matricaria essential oils.

Collective Wellbeing tries to cover all the markets such as skincare, haircare, bodycare, and collectivecare. But in doing so, they have forgotten about fulfilling the basic needs of the products they are creating or catering to the needs of the customer. As such, they have created average products, in this case with no proven or even suggested acne fighting ingredients.

The single most popular acne treatment available in terms of ingredients, benzyl peroxide is used in everything from Proactiv to your basic grocery store brands. It is extremely affordable for manufacturers, and it works its way into the pores getting your acne deep down and clearing your skin in record time. It can be used in concentrations ranging from 5% to 10% if you want actual results. Essentially speaking, it allows the skin to breathe and also getting rid of excess dead skin cells.

The downside is the possible side effects. Benzyl peroxide has been known to come with certain side effects such as redness, dryness, extreme itching, sun sensitivity, flaking, and burning. So it is not for everybody, especially not those with rosacea, eczema, or sensitive skin. Some have also found that when they stop using products with benzyl peroxide, they have a sudden and severe breakout.

Benzyl peroxide is not an element to repair the skin. It is an element often used instead to make the skin a hostile environment for bacteria, for as long as you choose to use it. So when you stop using it, your skin is ready for bacteria to start growing once again, and without benzyl peroxide to stop it, it has no defenses whatsoever. It comes with certain side effects, but some have found it to be the only thing that works for them. So while there are certainly more desirable options, this is the most popular and the cheapest.

One handheld device meant to heat the skin without burning it to treat acne, Zeno works with temperatures of 120 degrees for a period of 2 minutes, claiming to thereby kill bacteria and kill acne. They use replaceable tips which have to be ordered on a regular basis, and the machine itself costs $150-$200. But unfortunately, users have reported that Zeno really only attacks small zits, completely missing blackheads, whiteheads, and nodular acne as well as big blemishes. Wouldn’t that be a big piece of the proverbial pie? Either way, we wouldn’t suggest wasting your money.

Vitacure B5 is one of those acne treatments claiming to attack acne by focusing on one possible vitamin deficiency that could be contributing to acne, Vitamin B5. They even claim it to be the only non prescription treatment proven to work in medical studies. What about benzyl peroxide, which is found in both prescription treatments and over the counter treatments? Or salicylic acid or tea tree oil for that matter? Apparently, Vitacure B5 hasn’t read the research, which is not surprising. Either way, Vitacure B5 is unlikely to really treat acne.