Despite thinking Infomercials sell crap, I was just roped into watching one for Murad Acne Complex, and was getting nervous that I would have to take back my harsh words about Infomercials. I have a few of Dermatologist Dr. Murad’s books, and I do believe a lot of what he says about skin care. He’s also the pioneer of using Alpha Hydroxy Acids, which can be quite beneficial for skin.

The Bad
The Murad Acne Complex is a three-step system, similar in concept to Proactiv, but the ingredients are different. On the acnecomplex.com website, they list the products and their ingredients. The first step is the cleanser, which contains Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, a very harsh and drying ingredient, and something that should be avoided by all skin types. It also contains Menthol, which is drying. Strike One! I would not use this cleanser, since more than one ingredient is on my do not use list. The last thing you want to do is unnecessarily dry your skin out when it’s already in a vulnerable state.

The second step of the system is the gel, which contains alcohol as the third ingredient! Strike two! No one needs to put Alcohol Denat on their face, and especially not people that already have problem skin that they’re trying to fix.

The third step of the system is the moisturizer, which appears okay at first glance. It’s supposed to hydrate and protect your skin, but it doesn’t contain any sunscreen, so that’s sort of ridiculous, considering this is the last step of the system. Plus some of the good ingredients in the products (Retinol, Glycolic Acid) will make your skin more sun-sensitive, so you definitely need sunscreen. I’ve actually used this moisturizer before (Skin Perfecting Lotion) and it didn’t do anything good for my skin, so I stopped using it after it ran out.

The Good
The concept behind the Murad Acne Complex is good - it contains Salicylic Acid, Glycolic Acid, and Retinol, which are all good ingredients to use to help acne. It’s just a shame that Dr. Murad had to mess everything up by adding a bunch of stuff that hurts your skin, and neglecting to put sunscreen in the protecting product. He also doesn’t list the percentage of Retinol or Glycolic Acid in the products, so you don’t know how potent they are, nor does he mention if the Salicylic Acid is at the proper pH level.

Currently in the Product Review section on Makeupalley.com, 33% of users would buy this system again. There are a few rave reviews about it, but there are a ton of people saying how horrible it was for their skin! Part of it could be that it will take a few weeks for your skin to get used to using Retinol, Glycolic Acid, and Salicylic Acid if you’ve never used them before and have sensitive skin, but the bad ingredients, and the fact that no sunscreen is included obviously contribute to the bad reviews.

The Irony
I learned a lot of great principles from Dr. Murad’s books, which in conjunction with the other 20 skin care books I’ve read, and years of research I’ve done, helped me to cure my own acne and create my guide to curing acne. I just would not recommend his Acne Complex! The Murad Method is a good book to read to get an overview about skin care, though. I used it as the picture of the post, since I wanted to include something positive! Just do a bit of research first, before you buy any of his products he recommends in his book.