What is clindamycin phosphate gel used for?

How to make clindamycin phosphate topical gel (1%) and minocycline (100mg) more effective?

• I'm an 18 year old guy and before last December my face was usually clear. However, for whatever reason, when December rolled around, my face began to break out. I made absolutely no changes to my diet or daily routine or anything--absolutely nothing changed. I was using proactive and it was working fine, and then all of a sudden it seemed to stop working. So about four weeks ago, I believe this Thursday will mark the fifth week, I was put on Minocycline (100mg) and Clindamycin Phosphate Topical Gel (1%) to help with the acne. Though it seems as if it isn't working, maybe even worsening the problem. Along with this medicine I use Oxy Maximum (which is a 10% benzoyl peroxide face wash) and Burt's Bees Peach and Willowbark Scrub. I like to use the Burt's Bees product more often because it exfoliates a lot, and I will occasionally use the Oxy Maximum to keep my face from getting oily (my face gets very oily if I don't use it every now and again). My doctor never said to stop applying the Oxy or Burt's Bees so I don't see the problem in using either of those. Is there a way I should apply each of these products in order to make my prescription more effective? Am I doing something wrong? Or is my medicine supposed to take this long before it does anything to my face? Any advice would be fantastic, this acne is ridiculous, and embarrassing. It has never been this bad before, which is why I don't understand it at all. Thank you in advance.

• Answer:

  Make an appointment for follow up in 3 weeks. That will be 2 months of treatment and if you are not responding by then you may want to make a change. If you have lots of blackheads, you may benefit from adding a topical retinoid. Make sure you are not using creatine powders and other body building supplements. They mimic anabolic steroids and can cause acne.