Versus

Rugby Laboratories Acne Medication Benzoyl Peroxide 5% Versus Acnecide Face Gel Spot Treatment with Benzoyl Peroxide

Prescription
Facial Treatment
American Brand United States
British Brand United Kingdom

Updated on May 24, 2024

Overview

What they are

These products are both fungal acne (malassezia) safe . They have a total of 5 ingredients in common

Cool Features

They both contain benzoyl peroxide

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for fighting acne

Free From

They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, fragrances, oils, parabens, silicones or sulfates

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that needs an update? Let us know.

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and see relevant ingredients

About this product

About this product

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Benzoyl Peroxide is famous for fighting acne. This is because it does a variety of tasks on the skin: it helps reduce excess oil, kill bacteria, and clear out dead skin cells. In other words, it is effective at unclogging pores.

These properties make it great at fighting different types of acne, including cystic and inflammatory types of acne.

When targeting the bacteria in your pores, Benzoyl Peroxide has been shown to kill the bacteria without causing sensitivity. It also helps keep your skin's natural bacteria and biome balanced. Having a healthy biome protects your skin from external harmful factors.

Once Benzoyl Peroxide is absorbed into the skin, our bodies turn it into benzoic acid and quickly exits in urine.

When using Benzoyl Peroxide, it may be irritating for some people due to a variety of reasons, such as a broken skin barrier or just an allergic reaction. We recommend speaking with a professional about using this ingredient if you have concerns.

Learn more about Benzoyl Peroxide
Emulsion Stabilising, Gel Forming

Carbomer is a polymer of acrylic acid. Its main role is to create a gel consistency.

A high amount of carbomer can cause pilling or balling up of products. Don't worry, most products contain 1% or less of carbomer.

Disodium EDTA plays a role in making products more stable by aiding other preservatives.

It is a chelating agent, meaning it neutralizes metal ions that may be found in a product.

Disodium EDTA is a salt of edetic acid and is found to be safe in cosmetic ingredients.

Learn more about Disodium EDTA
Buffering

Sodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.

In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.

Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.

"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.

Learn more about Sodium Hydroxide
Skin Conditioning, Solvent

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water

When to use

19 Routines
26% use in am
74% use in pm
79% use every day
308 Routines
31% use in am
69% use in pm
75% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->

Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

Rugby Laboratories Acne Medication Benzoyl Peroxide 5% 7 ingredients

4.0 /5
from 1 rating
Absorbs Well (1) Drying (1) Great Value (1)
ekenemnwajei's avatar
Review

I’ve been using this product for over a year now and it gets rid of my acne pretty well especially when I pair it with rose water. It can dry out your skin if you don’t have the right routine to back it up thought. However it is still a very good product and it’s cheap and I buy it in 3s

#great value
#drying
#light
#absorbs well

Acnecide Face Gel Spot Treatment with Benzoyl Peroxide 11 ingredients

4.0 /5
from 3 ratings
Drying (2) Great Value (2) Light (2)
YunChing_920's avatar

YunChing_920

1 year ago
Review

since it helps get rid of my texture

freyawhitelam's avatar

Freya Whitelam

4 months ago
Review

I have noticed that with this gel, if you have sensitive skin, that you should space applications out. I have tried using this as a daily gel, which made my skin very dry and sore. However, using it for 1-3 days and then having a matching 1-3 days for recovery gives my skin a rest and lets it repair better. Works well for helping skin texture, however will continue use to see if it works better Show more

#great value
#drying
#irritating
#light