Upon recent further investigation, I found that Murad’s products contain many harsh irritating ingredients that your skin can have a reaction to including arnica (which can cause blistering) and certain essential oils.

Currently, over six months after I stopped using the Murad system, I still have scarring and am just now starting to get rid of the cystic acne it caused. It’s disgusting that a company can sell irritating products for high sums of money and then make such inflated claims about the efficacy of them.

At the end of my first week, I woke up to a face broken out in tiny pimples and whiteheads around my chin, upper lip and cheek area. ( I never break out on my cheeks ). According to the pamphlet that came with the system, I was in the purging process. However, the breakouts continued to become increasingly worse over the next week. I began breaking out on my forehead, (another place I do not usually break out) and my jawline. I knew that I wasn’t supposed to worry, but it looked and felt horrible and uncomfortable! It was as if I had a bad rash all over my face. I was so embarrassed that I began sending my fiance` out to the store to run errands. My skin had never looked so bad in my life.

I contacted Murad’s skin care experts, I followed their directions to a ‘ tee’. I decreased the usage of the gel, etc.. but the texture and condition of my skin only continued to worsen.

After three weeks of usage and being in constant contact with a skin expert there was still no change. My skin was dry, red, and peeling. My face was covered in acne, as if it were a rash and it was painful. My self esteem was plummeting and I felt hopeless. I began finding excuses not to leave the house.

But still, Murad’s ’skin care specialists’ kept assuring me that it was just the ‘purging’ stage and it would pass. When my condition showed no improvement, I felt frustrated and at my lowest. I felt that there should have been a warning somewhere. Stating that in some cases not only does the ‘purging’ stage last longer, but that it can be very severe and more drastic then they lead you to believe. It became apparent to me that this was the case after posting on their forums and reading about other users of Murad who were having the same frustration and agonizing experience. Apparently Murad didn’t approve of their customers venting out their frustrations, because a few times my own or others’ posts were deleted.

At this point the ’skin care experts’, proceeded to advise me to purchase other products to help me in repairing my skin from the reactions it was getting from the initial use of the original Acne Complex Kit. Obviously the kits, even though the material that comes with it says that people get great results with the kits alone, that really isn’t the case.
Murad seems to do the bait and switch technique with their advertising. Selling me one thing with a guarantee, then telling me the only way to get my skin looking better, was to buy additional products. I really hate the feeling of being lied to and taken advantage of. Each time someone posted on their forums that they were having such awful reactions, they would recommend other products.

I’m sure that Murad may work for some people, but it doesn’t take away the experience that I as well as others have had using their Acne Complex Kit. I used their products for 4 weeks. ( Which is the time frame Murad recommends ) I saw no results. I honestly could not put my life on hold any longer, for a product with just hoping that it would work, when all it had done was ruin my face.

This was an extremely painful and emotionally draining experience and I only want to share it with others that are thinking of using Murad’s acne products. I understand that there are people out there that have found this product to be helpful. But there are also other people out there just like me, who have shared in my same experience. I believe people should have a choice and that’s why actual user reviews are important.

Four months after discontinuing my use of Murad products, my skin is still recovering. I do still have a lot of damage control to do. The scarring that Murad had left me with was severe and I’m hoping that with time, it will get better.