Convenient, But Didn't Reduce My Breakouts. By ArtsyWright on Jun 10, 2009 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

A little about the test subject: I have mild-moderate to moderate acne depending on my "time of the month," most of which is in the form of traditional zits, and I've gone through a 55-count container of this over the course of several months. I decided to use it once a day, in the evening, as I generally use a Lush brand soap I'm rather loyal to in the shower every morning, and I always want to wash my face before bed but I'm always to lazy. This seemed like a good product for the job as it came in a convenient pad format, but was specifically for acne rather then make-up removal or just generally cleansing like so many pads. I'd read many good reviews for it so I had cautiously high hopes for its success.

Pros:

Convenient. Ever since I got it, I have cleaned my face every night. That's coming from never, ever washing my face at night. That's how easy it was. You just had to just pull out a pad, rub it on your face, and dispose. Nice for getting off some facial make-up and dirt, though the instructions do say to use on a clean face (probably so the medication can get to your face before it gets rubbed off), plus you shouldn't use it near your eyes, so I wouldn't try to use it as your only form of make-up removal.

Soft Pad. As advertised on the box, the pads are indeed very soft and nice feeling on your face.

Alcohol-free. It's alcohol-free, meaning it doesn't have an alcohol smell or burn.

Cons:

No Results. Unfortunately for me, its main claim, clearing you of acne, just fell through for me. I really wanted it to work, due to the many good reviews. But I just couldn't see a difference. Sometimes I would think that it was working and my face was getting clearer, and then the next day a batch of new pimples would appear. I though I got the best results when my face was oily enough that the pad didn't over dry it, but I can't tell if that's true, or my pimples just went away on their own when my face wasn't as dry, regardless of the pads.

Drying. To be fair, during the time I used it, I've been unusually dry all over, but the pads just didn't help. If my face wasn't dry the pads were fine, but if my face was dry at all (which it usually got if I used the pads daily for any length of time) it would burn and cause my face to turn red and irritated. I didn't happen often, but it was more than I liked, as I've never even had sensitive skin.

Summary:

Basically, whilst it's a nice applicator, it didn't help my acne on a measurable level and that was its entire point. I tried many different things with it to try to see results: only using it every other day, doing it twice daily (that burned!), giving it well over the 2-3 weeks consistent use people recommend to see results, but none of it worked. I liked the system well it enough that I'm now going to try the 1% pads (Essential Strength) on my face to see if the lower dose will work with my better, and I've been and will continue to use the 0.5% pads (Sensitive Strength) on my shoulders, chest, and back to try to reduce my bacne, but once again I haven't seen total elimination of my bacne despite continuous use of the lower dose. However I haven't had a "bad" breakout on those areas recently, so I'll continue trying using it until I do.

All in all, the Maximum Strength Pads were just disappointing.