For when you need the big guns – I've posted a few reviews on the various acne treatments I've tried on my son. As his puberty has progressed, so has the acne. After initial success with milder products, they were no longer effective, so I went in search of stronger products. We were already using the strongest over the counter cream I could find, so I looked at changing the cleanser. Enter pHisohex.

It is quite drying, so if acne is only mild or you only have the occasional breakout, this product may be too strong for you. It contains triclosan. It means business!

However, it has worked very well for my son, who would have moderate acne (pimples and blackheads all over the face and some on the neck, but not the deep and sore kind) if he didn't religiously cleanse twice a day. If he gets lazy with cleansing, his skin condition deteriorates rapidly.

His skin was noticeably better within a week of changing to pHisohex; and provided he cleanses twice a day, every day, with pHisohex, he maintains a basically clear complexion with a few blocked pores and <5 minor pale pink (not red) pimples on any given day.

He now applies the pHisohex with a konjac sponge and that seems to improve results even more.

We had a disastrous 6 week experiment with azelaic acid - his skin was the worst it had ever been. We returned to pHisohex and he was back to normal - his normal - in only a week, which is pretty impressive. We will keep using this for the foreseeable future!

The pHisohex is definitely the primary weapon in keeping the acne at bay; the 10% benzoyl peroxide cream used to be applied like a face cream in order to keep the spots at bay; now with pHisohex in the mix, 10%BP is now only the spot treatment (as it should be). A great combination.