How Long Does It Take for Clindamycin to Work for Acne?

According to studies from Healthline, & MayoClinic topical treatments like clindamycin may reduce moderate inflammatory acne within just eight weeks when used twice daily.

Your doctor will likely recommend you use two of each type of treatment for increased effectiveness. 

If you have an acne problem, it is without a doubt that you have been looking for years for a solution and yet to find one.

But if you have used clindamycin, you might have seen some results, but there are some other things you need to know to makes sure you use it the right way.

So here is a comprehensive outlook on everything to do with clindamycin and how it works for acne.

What is Clindamycin?

So first thing first you need to know is what clindamycin is.

It is a topical antibiotic that physicians prescribe to patients who have acne problems.

According to most dermatologists, it is one of the first-line treatments for acne that is either mild or moderate.

Even as an acne treatment, you have to complement it with other treatments, too, since you can’t just rely on it on its own.

How clindamycin works

So how does it work? Well. It is an antibiotic that mainly kills many bacteria and keeps them from developing more on your skin.

A dermatologist or a doctor may prescribe this for killing propionibacterium acnes that may later cause pimples on the skin.

The propionibacterium mainly invades the skin’s pores and causes inflammation, which develops acne and pimples, so clindamycin prevents them from surviving on the skin.

It is not currently clear why propionibacterium causes breakouts in some people while it doesn’t work for others, but using clindamycin with other treatments is recommended to limit the chances of significant acne problems.

Who Uses clindamycin

So you may be wondering if clindamycin is the best treatment for your acne problem.

It all comes down to how severe your acne issue is. The recommendation of acne treatments is also based on certain acne types.

Clindamycin is mainly limited to treating acne forms that are not soo severe.

For severe acne types, oral antibiotics may be necessary instead of using topical ones like clindamycin.

So if your acne is mild, you may get a clindamycin prescription.

If it is in the moderate stages, a clindamycin prescription may also be an option, along with other treatments.

So as soon as you notice acne is starting to develop in your skin, you may need to begin as early as possible using clindamycin before the problem escalates into a more severe condition.

Which clindamycin works for you?

There are different types of clindamycin that your dermatologist can recommend for you.

For acne types that clindamycin is good for, the following are combinations of treatments that you can expect to get from your doctor.

• Topical benzoyl peroxide
• Erythromycin or clindamycin as topical antibiotics
• Topical retinoids like tretinoin or adapalene.

Your doctor will likely recommend you use two of each type of treatment for increased effectiveness.

According to studies, topical treatments like clindamycin have been proved to reduce moderate inflammatory acne within just eight weeks when used twice daily.

So when you get this recommendation, it is more promising since it already has a lot of research.

Doctors are trained to recognize how severe your acne is and recommend the best clindamycin treatment for you.

How to use Clindamycin for Treating acne?

Most prescriptions for clindamycin are for applying twice daily, but there are also different applications that you may need to go through.

Some topical foams contain alcohol that may sting or burn when you apply it to your skin.

For this, you will have to apply the foam directly to the areas where you have acne blemishes.

You must wash your face thoroughly and apply using very clean hands before the application.

You may start seeing results using clindamycin after a couple of weeks but don’t discontinue using it.

You must complete the full course of the clindamycin antibiotics and ensure the clindamycin kills all the bacteria.

If you stop too early, you will risk increasing the antibiotic resistance on your skin.

Recommendations on clindamycin are usually on short-term treatment.

You can always apply them between 3 and 4 months together with benzoyl peroxide or retinoid too.

After this period, your doctor may recommend you stop using it and use other topical preparations.

How Long Clindamycin Take to Work for Acne?

According to studies from Healthline , & MayoClinic topical treatments like clindamycin may reduce moderate inflammatory acne within just eight weeks when used twice daily.

In this post, I’ve also covered the following:

• How clindamycin works and what is contained in it to get rid of bacteria.
• Candidates who use clindamycin and acne types.
• Which clindamycin treatment works for you, and how you can know.
• How to use Clindamycin for Treating acne, how long to use it, and when to stop.

Alternatively see how to get rid of acne caused by Biotin.