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This just published paper details a `new’ product that comprises a slight twist on an old formula. It seems that much of modern research and development involves tweaking existing treatments to see how their efficacy and product lifecycle can be extended.
This new product is known as CLARIFOAM EF Emollient Foam, and is indicated for the topical control of acne vulgaris, acne rosacea and seborrheic dermatitis. The company web site boldly claims that Clarifoam EF effectively treats all 3 conditions.
In combination with sulfacetamide, sulfur has been reported to inhibit the growth of Propionibacterium acnes thereby reducing the inflammation associated with acne.
The active ingredients of Clarifoam EF are a combination of 10% sodium sulfacetamide and 5% sulfur.
The Clarifoam Prescribing Information mentions two forms of application: The Wash-Off application and the Leave-On application. The Wash-Off application suggests a 10 minute application 1-3 times a day to clean dry skin and rinsing thoroughly with water. The Leave-On application suggests the same 1-3 times a day, but wiping off any excess and otherwise leaving the foam application untouched.
The product comes in an aluminium can which needs to be primed before its first use and shaken vigorously before each use. A Clarifoam Rebate Coupon of up to $30 is available until the end of December 2010.
Here is the abstract of the study suggesting that Clarifoam is useful in treat the 3 conditions at once.
Dr. Draelos is well known to rosacea sufferers being on the expert panel that recently published the Standard Rosacea Management Options, the Cetaphil Cleansing Bar and Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser, Clarisonic as well as cleansing and the management of rosacea.
The multifunctionality of 10% sodium sulfacetamide, 5% sulfur emollient foam in the treatment of inflammatory facial dermatoses. J Drugs Dermatol. 2010 Mar;9(3):234-6., Draelos ZD.
Prior to 1962, some of the most versatile drugs in dermatology were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) solely on the basis of safety.
One of these is the combination 10% sodium sulfacetamide and 5% sulfur. Sodium sulfacetamide possesses anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties while sulfur is a nonspecific antibacterial and antifungal. A new emollient foam formulation of 10% sodium sulfacetamide and 5% sulfur allows a thinner application film and leaves behind no residue on hair bearing or non-hair bearing skin. The sulfur smell is also more quickly dissipated with reduced irritation.
This uncontrolled, observational, prospective, open-label, single site, eight-week study enrolled 24 subjects (eight with rosacea, eight with seborrheic dermatitis, eight with acne vulgaris) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of this novel foam formulation.
At eight weeks, statistically significant improvement was seen in inflammatory rosacea lesion counts and the signs of seborrheic dermatitis. A 50% reduction was noted in the total acne lesion counts. These findings confirm the versatility of an emollient 10% sodium sulfacetamide and 5% sulfur foam.
Clarifoam EF is made by Onset Therapeutics which is a subsidary of Collegium Pharmaceutical.
Other products that also feature a combination of Sodium Sulfacetamide and Sulfur include: Clenia, Rosaderm, Plexion, Ovace, Klaron, Rosanil, Rosac and Rosula. Yes indeed there is a lot of products you can choose should you wish to try out a formulation of these two actives.
Clarifoam User Reviews
Nora in the thread Clarifoam at the Rosacea Support Community;… However, he gave me a sample of Clarifoam and I used it for about 4 days. It made my skin so dry and chapped it was painful. I tried rinsing it off after application as the website says, but that didn’t help. I stopped using it and had to use Aquaphor for a few days to lubricate my skin. So, I guess this is not for me!!
harrysinghnyc in the thread Clarifoam at the Rosacea Form;I have tried pro-topic, metrogel and locoid lipocream and none could remedy my seb derm but today is the 2nd day I have applied clarifoam and i notice that the outbreak is 90% gone! I have never had this type of turnaround this fast! One day after using it, i am prescribed this foam lotion 2x daily, so this is awesome!
rf11 in the thread My rosacea is gone!! at the Rosacea Forum;Anyway, to update, I have been using clarifoam and Cerave soap for almost a month now, and my skin looks better than it has in years.
J-Mill in the thread clarifoam ef at the Rosacea Forum;I have tried this stuff recently and really like it. … In short, both medications attack some key Rosacea/Seb Derm aggravators. What I like about Clarifoam is I find the base really non-irritating, unlike most topicals I have tried. Everyone is different though and as always you should test patch topicals, especially one with sulfacetamide as some people are very allergic to it.
fyd in the the thread Clarifoam EF is the greatest! at the acne.org message board;… on Christmas eve my derm prescribed me with this stuff. He said that they were making my face look much more worse than it was and he was absolutely right. This product just came out about a month ago, so it’s brand new. I started using it on Christmas and in about a week and a half to 2 weeks, i saw a big difference. They were fading away, I couldnt believe it! To be honest, i couldnt stop smiling at what my face looked like. Now, they are very much still there, but very faint and they are starting to blend in very nicely. They are more of a light brown then red now. Ziana and Clarifoam are working great together.
Barley says I was recently diagnosed with rosacea and my primary care doctor perscribed metrogel for me. I tried it, but it didn’t work well-plus it dried out my skin. So I then decided to see a regular dermatologist. The dermatologist recommended Clarifoam EF topically and Oracea orally. Clarifoam EFis a sulfur based topical treatment that I (thought) would be harmless. They had some free samples of the Clarifoam so I thought I’d try that before getting a perscription filled.Big mistake! Only after two days, I reacted horribly to it- My face broke out with blotchy pimples, is very red, texture is bloated and it’s very itchy! It was worse than the rosacea I was being treated for! I am now going to buy some cortizone cream to calm it down…but boy, am I glad I didn’t get that perscription filled! Also, I haven’t as yet started the Oracea pills yet. I wanted to wait till my face calmed down a bit.
Related Articles
- Product Page: Clarifoam EF
- RSRP: Sulfur / Sodium Sulfacetamide Topicals
I’ve been using Clarifoam for 3 years now and its great stuff. I haven’t had a breakout since the second or third month of use. My skin is near perfect. I had used many Rx drugs from Keflex to all sorts of topical agents like metrogel. Nothing worked until I tried this. I only hope they continue to manufacture it for a long time.
i started on clarifoam-ef a week and a half ago
and am thankful of the effect so far
i had three separate groupings of papules in an area along the right side of my nose
extending downward and outward a bit toward my cheek
all – except for one cyst that i think now is a comedone – have seemed to disappear
to say i am thankful is an understatement
the emollient does have a distinct odor but it is a trade-off i will
certainly make
no excessive skin flaking and no irritation
i do use a moisturizer in the morning
before starting clarifoam i had tried metrogel 0.75% but it did not
have any noticable effect and there was a flare-up while using it
following the metrogel i had used a vitamin a retinoid gel (tretinoin)
and while that did seem to work there was another flareup as well
that’s when my dermatologist suggested clarifoam-ef
thankfully – and hopefully – it will continue to hold the problem at bay
CLARIFOAM WORKED VERY WELL FOR ME. I have suffered with acne throughout my life and most recently with rosacea. Last summer I went through a particularly bad period of severe rosacea brought on (as I eventually realized) by a rebound reaction to a steroid cream that I should not have used on my face. I was prescribed Metrogel, Protopic, Oracea (4 months), Finacea and a variety of other medications that made little to no impact, but often had other bad side effects. There were some days where I simply didn’t want to leave the house because I was so red, blotchy and itchy. I went to a half a dozen different dermatologists, allergists and other specialists, none of whom recommended Clarifoam. However, a friend, who had also suffered from rosacea, generously offered to let me try his. He said it was the only thing that really worked for him (although he also had some luck with Finacea, which I found too irritating). At first, I found Clarifoam to be a tiny bit drying, especially if I left it on immediately after washing my face. But as long as I waited a little while after washing, IT WORKED GREAT. I find it to be calming and it has cleared up my skin beautifully within a few weeks. The redness has subsided dramatically and it has also reduced my acne more than other medicines. I have fewer bumps cropping up, very few blackheads and only on days when I am super stressed out do I notice a few reddish bumps around my nose start to flare up. But thankfully, an extra dose of Clarifoam that night will do the trick and keep things from getting out of control. I am so happy I tried it!!!! I felt compelled to add something about it here. One last comment: The sulfur in Clarifoam tends to make my jewelry turn black (but I can live with that considering how much better my face looks!).