I’m a long-time sufferer of acne. I used to have good success with ProActive, but ended up developing an allergy to it. I don’t know if they changed the formula, or if my sensitive skin had just had enough, but now I am back to looking for something to clear up my skin.

I saw the ad for the Neutrogena Skin Id kit and decided to give it a try. I was drawn in by the claims that it would be a customized kit. I thought that was a good idea, so I wanted to check it out. I went to the website and answered a series of questions. At the end it offered me Foaming Face Cleanser, a Benzoyl Peroxide treatment, and “The Hydrator.”

The products seemed to make sense. I have sensitive skin and I live in the high desert. I was especially interested in “The Hydrator,” which I assumed was a water-based moisturizer. So, I ordered the kit and waited about a week for it to come.

My first disappointment was when I took a look at “The Hydrator.” It wasn’t a moisturizer at all. In fact, it was a 2% salicylic acid treatment with a “may cause excessive dryness” warning. I was also disappointed to see that the foaming cleanser only used .5% salicylic acid. That’s a pretty weak acne treatment. But I still wanted to give it a fair chance.

I used the Neutrogena Skin id kit twice a day for a month. After about a week I also started using my Clarisonic Skin Care Brush with it. When I began using it I had four large cysts on my neck, and a couple of smaller blemishes on my face. After a couple of weeks I still had the cysts on my neck, and a couple of smaller blemishes on my face. I didn’t seem to be getting new blemishes, but the old ones were not going anywhere. A couple of weeks after that the cysts on my neck seemed to finally be clearing up, and the blemishes on my face were mostly gone.

I wasn’t particularly impressed at this point. I appreciated that I wasn’t getting new blemishes, but the products were not helping with the old ones at all. Then I had to send my Clarisonic back for a recall. That’s when I became REALLY disappointed with the Neutrogena. Two days after I stopped using the Clarisonic with the Neutrogena I broke out all over my face quite painfully. I realized then that the Neutrogena Skin iD kit had not been doing anything at all for me. The minimal progress I had seen was because I had started using the Clarisonic.

So, I am done with the Neutrogena Skin iD. I gave it a fair shot and it did not help at all. Yesteray I started with Murad, so we will see how that goes. I can tell you that after just one day it already seems to be doing more than the Neutrogena.