Paula's Choice CLEAR Extra Strength Acne Kit

I have had a battle with my skin since I was 12. 23 years of my life. I use this once a day before bed. It does sting and burn, however my skin is so much better! Not only is my acne almost gone after 2 weeks, but the texture and pores are smoother, and overall redness is gone! I wish I had before and after. This is incredibly effective, as this was going to my last attempt before going back to the doctor. The price is high, however it is worth the cost and the bottles last. I’d suggest starting with every other day of use once a day; and working your way up. I do the 3 steps, and then use a cooling face mask (like one I keep in the freezer and reuse). Before bed I do Vaseline on my t-zone and nose and across cheeks and that has addressed any dryness I get, which has been minimal. Love this product!

I wash my face every morning and night... HUGE DIFFERENCE between my before and after pictures! Moisturizer is not included, so I use two different hypoallergenic lotions. I use Olay after I am finished washing my face and let my skin air dry a bit in the morning before I apply it to my face, neck and hands. Then, CeraVe PM in the evening. I also use an extra cleanser before I use the Paula's Choice products, which is Biore blue agave cleanser. The size of the bottles are bigger compared to what I used to use from Beauty Counter, and my previous stuff was two times more expensive! I am very satisfied with the price and the sizes of the bottles. But, I do wish there was more of step 2 (anti-redness exfoliating solution) because that is the first thing I run out of before anything else. So, I am using the Paula's Choice step 2 exfoliator in the morning and substituting with Equate witch hazel at night. But, I suggest not using witch hazel and only the official exfoliator until all of the acne is gone, then if your skin became dry like mine you can substitute step 2 with witch hazel in the evenings. I do use caster oil on my lips and eyelids at night to prevent them from becoming dry, but you have to have CLEAN HANDS when you apply anything to your eyelids. If you have EVEN A LITTLE acne product on your hands when touching your eyelids, you are going to have a bad time. It is going to burn and give you puffy eyelids. So, don't do that. If your eyelids are still dry during the day, I use Cetaphil hydrating eye gel-cream during the day when needed. Caster oil reacts with sunlight, so it can only be used at night. So, thank you people who make this product available to me! This is the first time I have had consistently clear skin since I hit puberty, and I am now 28 years old! When I used to go to the dermatologist they would always prescribe me different stuff with no success or my skin would burn and be dry too much. You all gave me a huge confidence boost! :)

I love Paula's Choice products. My face looks so much better now. Everytime I run out I order more. It's really pricey but it works. You get what you pay for.

I've only been using this set for a week but holy smoke has my skin texture improved LIKE CRAZY. I break up the products between morning/evening. I use all three at night after using a makeup remover if needed. I ocassionally skip the 2nd step at night depending on how my skin is that day, and then just the toner and lotion (step 2 and 3) in the morning. I always follow with a moisturizer, with a thicker moisturizer at night and light moisturizer in the morning. Make sure your moisturizer has ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and /or zinc, this helps greatly with healing and mpisture. It does make my neck itch a tiny bit, but I have extremely sensitive skin on my neck, so I just don't pull the products down much past my jawline. Moisturizing takes the itch away. I would recommend only using step 3 twice a day if your skin tolerates it. Otherwise once a day is plenty for results. Rotating in an AHA (like glycolic or lactic acid) treatment opposite of the time of day you use step 2 will give you even better results as this product contains a BHA (salicylic acid). Proceed with caution at first! Watch how your skin tolerates things and go forward from there.

I feel it’s my responsibility to write a review. The first picture is Dec 6, 2020. The second picture (same cheek) is Jan 30, 2021. This has been AMAZING for my 15 year old son. He is so happy even he wanted me to write a review. I truly think this has changed his overall happiness in his life. I had no idea how much his acne bothered him (he never really spoke about it) until he said after using the kit for a couple weeks “I actually took my mask all the way off during lunch today”. This both broke my heart (that he felt that way) and warmed my heart bc he felt much more confident. We have gone to a dermatologist and have taken medication (which I still have him taking), used various prescription creams....all to no avail. I was desperate and lying in bed one night and came across this on Amazon. I spent a lot of time reading the reviews and decided to pull the trigger for my son. I went straight to the “extra strength” as I felt his acne was pretty bad and beginning to show scarring. After a week or two, his face was VERY DRY...but we managed that with some of my nice creams. For the most part, he stayed consistent and did the full routine morning AND night. Like I said, he did get pretty dry....and maybe here or there he may skip number 3....but now, his skin is completely adjusted and he doesn’t get red or dry anymore. I really think you need to just push through when you get red and follow with a nice cream if you get uncomfortable. The texture of his skin is like night and day. The cystic acne is gone...which he seemed to get constantly and they were mainly filled with blood. His blackheads have almost disappeared. This is truly a miracle. I just felt like if anyone else is dealing with what my son was dealing with I wanted to help them by writing this review. This stuff really really works. Just look at the pics above. Not even 2 months! You won’t regret this.

I bought the extra strength kit at the end of December. I have shared photos of my results from Jan 1st - Jan 15th. The bottles say it’s recommended to use twice a day but I’ve only been using them once a day (because my skin has been prone to getting very dry when using similar products) even though my face produces a lot of oil. After using Paula’s Choice acne kit, I apply moisturizer but it’s not Paula’s choice brand; it’s just unscented/no color lotion. I have noticed that without a moisturizer, Paula’s Choice would also cause my face to become dry. (FYI the products in the kit are un-scented.) I started having severe hormonal acne on my cheeks, under my nose, chin and jaw line, after having my son in 2021. I’m 27 now..had your basic, occasional teenage pimples, maybe 2-3 at a time every few weeks. But this adult hormonal acne is a different story…they’re bigger, I’ll get 4+ at a time, they’re redder and more painful. (And for background info, I’m not on any form of birth control so that’s not contributing to my breakouts.) They take forever to go away. I’ve had worse breakouts than photographed. I’ve tried everything.. proactiv, curology, and anything you could find on shelves. Nothing worked like Paula’s Choice has, so far. The pimples that usually take a month or more just to start healing, have began fading away after 2 weeks of use. It seems Paula’s Choice has helped prevent new acne as well. I have been getting 3-4+ pimples a WEEK and have only gotten 1-2 new ones in the last 2 weeks; but they haven’t gotten as big or red as the ones in the photos. I may try using the products twice a day, as recommended, to see if it helps more with future breakouts and to finish clearing up my previous acne spots. I’m satisfied with the purchase and as long as it continues working I plan on buying the whole set again. I recommend trying Paula’s Choice if nothing else has worked for you.

I bought this trio because I have experience with other Paula products. More specifically the chemical exfoliants and have found them decent products. I am only a couple of days into the skin regime and have yet to notice significant change. I'll update this review periodically as time goe by to see if these products actually work, but less than a week in and not much of a difference. Update!! One week later!!! I posted two pictures, and I think it's clear what picture was the before! It's definitely clearing up my reoccurring blemishes and reducing redness. That being said, this stuff is harsh on fair skin so I have only used the exfoliant and acne treatment every other day. It definitely dries skin out! To combat the excessive drying, I have also used a Korean skin "acne" serum in place of the acne treatment on some days and use a Korean snail mucous face moisturizer. Honestly, I think the Korean products are necessary to keep this regime in check. Paula's products WILL dry you out. They will totally destroy the skin's barrier and it's essential you repair while treating your acne. The Korean products I have been using visibly repair my skin on the spot, correcting hyper pigmentation and redness almost immediately. I'll edit review in another week to see how things are going.

I have stubborn, hormonal acne and this is the ONLY product that clears my skin. I've tried prescription creams and medicines that have not given me the clear, soft skin that this product gives me. It definitely works! I use the extra strength option and beware, you have to build up to it or your skin will become dry and flaky. Each bottle is numbered, making it easy to use but I recommend using a moisturizer as well. It is unscented and light on your skin. The regular bottles are quite big and will last a few months! It may seem pricey, but in my opinion, it's totally worth it!