I have been struggling with facial and some back acne since high school. I used everything over the counter and the proactives etc... When I turned to dermatologists 5 years ago, over the course of my treatments I tried the following meds:

Triaz benzoyl peroxide
Clyndamycin
Eritheromycin
oral antibiotics
Differin
Tazorac
and now Klaron.

From my experience, retinoids do help, but they are slow. Topical and oral antibiotics are short term treatment options but most doctors don't tell you that your acne builds immunity if you use them for more than 3 months and acne does come back once the antibiotics don't work anymore.
I switched my dermatologist 2 years ago and the new one prescribed Klaron which is a miracle lotion for my acne type.

Klaron works on its own or with other lotions. I urge you to look into Klaron because unlike many topical creams, it has no severe side effects and it is not a retinoid which can be irritating. Many dermatologists don't prescribe Klaron because it is "outdated" compared to new topical treatments out there, but this stuff really works. I'm on this stuff for second year and don't use any other cream or pills and my skin is 97% clear and smooth. My first dermatologist wanted me to go on Accutane and thank god I found my new dermatologist who put me on Klaron which is 100% safer than taking Accutane.