[uninfatuated]

i'm started using benzoyl peroxide on my mild acne and i'm waking up with side effects. my skin looks like i had a major sunburn (super red ) and it's itchy. i know those are some side effects to using the cream but i don't know if they are suppose to go away with time or am i suppose to see a doctor?

most people i know don't get a lot of problems when using benzoyl peroxide but it seems that i always get some kind of skin irritation with it. i have no problems with salicylic acid but i don't want to use it too long becuase i don't want my skin to get immune to it so i am trying benzoyl peroxide.

if anyone else has had this problem please give me your advice on what i should do.
does the redness/irritation go away?
thanks

[WHEEitxCKWON]

You might be allergic to it. I use it and no irritation has occoured.

[Milkfed.]

I had the same exact reaction and I found out I was allergic.

[ditsy88]

I use it and have no irritation. Maybe you put too much of it on your face? I remember before I tried using this one chinese pimple cream that I my mom bought and the next day my face was super red, itchy, dried. But it eventually went away after a few day. I think because your skin need to get use to the product. If it's still red and itchy for more than a few days then maybe you should go see your dermatologist.

[alligatortears]

what percentage did you get?
it's probably either you're allergic or your skin isn't used to it yet.
if you're willing to try, put some BP on every other day and work your way up..
and maybe, if you got a high percentage, get another product with a lower percentage.

i started of with 2% and now i'm at 10%
and i don't the 10% on my nose cause it makes my nose red..
you'll just have to test to see what works for your face.

[prettycrimson_]

I had the same kind of reaction! I don't have too much of an acne problem, but I get spots here and there, and I had decided to use it (used it once before and had had no side effects), yet this time I used it, I had an allergic reaction. -- Same with Proactiv --

But anyway, I just stopped using it... Although it worked on my acne, I was still left with the red spot...

[joonieballoonie]

I used a pimple cream with 10% benzoyl peroxide, and I got awful chemical burns all over my face - maybe the percentage is too high for your skin. 2.5% is usually recommended.

[kwok]

BP tends to do that to your skin when you haven't been accustomed to benzoyl peroxide. Try to lower the amount of BP you're putting on your face and slowly ramp up the dosage over time or when the redness/itchiness subsides. All you can really do right now is just use a good moisturizer that reduces the dryness from the BP.

Dryness from the BP = irritation on the skin from movement = redness.

[320929]

^ thats wht i was gonna sayy^^

[<3goesDOKIDOKI]

i would suggest stop using it for a while, stop using it all together, or use BP cream with lower concentration.
its not serious enough to go see the doctor for, it goes away on its own.

i had the same thing happen to me.
the cream i was using only has 2% benzoyl peroxide.. the lowest i could find
altho the weird thing was i used it for a good couple of months before anything happened.
one day my forehead started to get really itchy and i would scratch it just once and it would remain red and irritated the whole day.

i finally figured out it was the BP cream.
its only my forehead that gets itchy even tho i put BP on other areas of my face.

i put ice on wherever that itches to calm it down and reduce the redness.

[~koe*no*sainou~]

same thing happened to me...so the second time i used it, i put moisturizer on afterwards =P redness didn' come back.

[rigashi]

If benzoyl peroxide is irritating your skin, you should stop using it! It's good to prevent your skin from building immunity, so I would suggest trying glycolic acid.

[kwok]

^Glycolic Acid is a good substitute if BP doesn't work for you. I've seen people clearing up from using Glycolic Acid in conjunction with BP and it seemed to work even faster for them.

[Talon]

It sounds like benzoyl peroxide is irritating your skin. BP also irritated my skin, and caused it to break out more. So I learn to never use BP again.

[ryisakooguy]

lower the amount that your using. you might be using too much. since your skin is not used to it just use it a lilttle bit at a time. or even use it once every day or every other day.

if your using 10% it might be too much to handle. find a product that has 2.5% of BP because its just as useful as 10% but with less irritation. the most recommended product is the BP over at acne.org. that BP is the best out in the market to date. goes on smoothly, doesnt leave any residue, and doesnt irritate as much as over the counter products.

if you still having problems, you might be allergic.

[flyaway]

uhh yeah same thing happened to me
i'm allergic to it
so yeah stop using it =/

[Yolk]

I had the same problem before, because I sleep with it on... and I sleep for more then 8hours don't wear it for a long time. Also you can treat the pimple with salt with a mixutre of water instead if BP is still too harsh.

[ChUnKyMoNkEy<3]

hmmm im not sure if ur allergic to it, if ur using way too much, or if its too strong for you but yah i use the 10% one and yah wen i first used it it was itchy and red but after a few days my skin went back to normal so yah!!! =] lol

[uninfatuated]

thanks everyone, my doctor gave me a small sample of benzaclin to try out to see if it would help with my acne.

i knew this would happen (becuase i've used over the counter BP cream once before and the same thing happened, except it was a max strength kind of thing so it was a high percentage) but i still gave it a shot. needless to say is that i won't be using the product again anytime soon and just try to put a lot of aloe vera gel on.

[kwok]

^Should have posted that sooner, then it'd be obvious you were allergic to it since it isn't your first time using BP.