Know the Difference | La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo, Europe vs. US

Many people in the beauty blogosphere abroad, at least all over Europe for now, are talking about an acne-preventive treatment that’s actually been working for many of them for acne prevention and clear skin maintenance.  The word of mouth skin renaissance that’s taking a lot of Europe by storm is brought to you by the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo.  Ever since both Tanya Burr, Ruth Crilly, and several other bloggers shared their love for the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Skin Duo treatment this reportedly has has been flying off shelves by the thousands.  The European formulation of this works as an acne-preventive all-over moisturizer.  The thing is it’s great for treating acne that exists and preventing future acne while it does the good enough job of moisturizing for daytime they say.  However STOP!  I mean stop right now, if you are in the U.S. or about to ask someone in the U.S. to get it for you because you need to know the difference in formulations between the Effaclar duo made in France and the one made in the U.S., they’re just not the same.  The one that all these girls are raving about is the one made in Europe.  Please disregard the allure stamp of approval on the U.S. image on the right, I was just too lazy to remove it even though it was distracting.  I explain to you the difference in a few seconds…just as Ruth Crilly did in this video of her monthly favorites with her mom.

The reason why the US formulation of La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo is different from the European one is is it contains 5.5 benzoyl peroxide, an intense, zit-zapping target medication for existing pimples so it certainly shouldn’t be used all over the face the way the other one can be.  The U.S. formulation is an Allure award-winning targeted spot treatment so you only put it directly on problem spots and areas, not on your entire face and I’m sure it works great that way, too.  The European Effaclar Duo formulation is a reported favorite because it’s paraben-free and they say even if you haven’t got a lot of acne all the time or if you hardly ever get zits it still works at helping unclog pores of overstaying blackheads and whiteheads (I’ve got lots) which can eventually become zits if infected.  The European Effaclar Duo fights skin congestion across the face, helps and soothes with hydration, and if you’ve got zits Ruth and/or Tanya says it supposedly eases them out properly with less damage to the skin.  I’ve actually just bought myself a tube of the European formulation off ebay from a Greek seller link here, it was 50% off and she also sells lots of other great skincare brands like Korres and Vichy Dermablend.  Hoping it arrives sooner than later.  I also gota Korres Thyme & Honey Exfoliating cleanser from the same seller which had free shipping so I bought it and made it ride along with my Effaclar duo.  They should both get here in ’bout 3 weeks.