Freederm did not give me freedom from spots (Freederm gel)

Member Name: clara29

Product:	Freederm gel
Date:	06/07/09 (257 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It does dry out the actual spot...

Disadvantages: ...but dried the rest of my skin along with it!

Proof that life is unfair, I appear to be Benjamin Buttoning - I had clear blemish free skin as a teenager and then when I hit 26 it all changed. I suffered from breakouts to rival any acne ridden thirteen year old and although its calmed a lot since then, when I get them oh boy do I get them!

The problem with spots for me is that there are many products to dry out your spots but they dry out your skin at the same time. The result being that the spots have gone but in their place are scabby dry marks which are impossible to cover up.

I saw a TV advert for Freederm and was intrigued because the gel contains a unique active ingredient called nicotinamide. This is supposed to have been clinically proven to help get rid of inflamed spots (the ones that are reddish-coloured, usually tender, and sometimes have pus in them).

Its available over the counter only and is quite pricy at just under £8 for 25g - those two factors convinced me it must be different and therefore must work! But I read up on it anyway at dooyoo and ciao and people seemed to have good stuff to say about it, so I decided to go for it - after all, it had to be better than toothpaste (a so called top tip for getting rid of spots...hmmmm!)

** How it works **

It works in a different way to other spot treatments you can buy, because it penetrates the skin and treats the sebaceous glands, basically meaning it targets the process that causes the spots in the first place.
It claims not only to target visible spots but act as a preventative measure too.

** Did it work for me? **

Yes..and no. Yes because it does get rid of the spot as promised. And no because it dries out your skin. On the website it says that the special hydro-gel formulation means that the gel is less drying than some spot or acne treatments.
Sadly I didn't find that to be the case. I applied it as directed, onto clean skin morning and night but sure enough my skin dried out just as it has with other products so I'm afraid for me, the search continues.

It's only fair to point out that as it dried out my skin, I stopped using it therefore I am not qualified to comment on whether it prevents breakouts. After seeing the drying effect, I wasn't willing to smear it all over my skin in the hope that it would prevent spots.

It seems to have worked for others, just not for me so perhaps avoid if you have very dry skin.

Summary: Seems to work for a lot of people but its not effective enough for me to put up with dried up skin