I used to envy people who have perfect skin, and not one blemish in sight. How did they get their skin to glow like that? Genetics? Like most people, I struggled with acne growing up, throughout high school, and into college. What I wasn’t prepared for, was dealing with it into my late 20’s. My acne was only getting more severe, and covered a majority of my face. I had tried so many different skincare regimens and products, but nothing was helping. I have oily/combination skin, and every product I tried either over-dried it or just irritated my skin.

I was actually watching another blogger’s Instagram stories (I forgot who) and she was talking about these doctor-prescribed acne gels that were working wonders for her. I am not someone who goes to the dermatologist, as I’ve just always associated it with expensive medical bills and ridiculously overpriced treatments. I mentioned to my sister, who is a pharmacist, that I was interested in seeing a doctor for my acne, since it had taken over a majority of my face (See below).

I’m glad I asked her about it because she said I could just get these prescribed at the MinuteClinic right at Target. I had no idea it was that simple, and I wish I hadn’t taken so long to see a doctor! I knew exactly what to ask for at my appointment, with the help of that blogger and my sister, so now I am sharing them with you! Hopefully these are products that can work for others struggling with acne and have had it with companies claiming that their products “clear up acne fast!” I know these won’t work for every person, but for anyone that is willing to try something new, I would say go for it!! The two products I use for acne are pictured below:

I won’t tell you that these are a magical overnight acne solution, but after a few months, my face looked like a completely different face! Even my skin texture and wrinkles improved! I started out by applying Clindamycin twice a day, once in the morning, and once at night. After the Clindamycin dried, I would apply the Tretinoin. I only applied the Tretinoin gel once a day, at night, per direction of my doctor. The first few months, I did notice some drying of my skin, and my makeup would almost flake off. After about 4 months I decided to apply the Clindamycin once a day, and the Tretinoin every other day, just to see if it would be less drying on my skin. This did the trick, and I have kept to this regimen ever since! How often you use these gels will most likely just depend on your skin type.

While these acne gels aren’t too overly expensive, I do recommend downloading and using the Good Rx App if you don’t already have it. Most of the time when I show the prices to my pharmacist my total will be even less than what it is with my insurance coverage! You might end up saving quite a bit so it doesn’t hurt to check.