benzoyl peroxide

I am 21 years old and  have mild acne and have been using the panoxyl aquagel, that has benzoyl peroxide 2.5% for two weeks. I had a break of two days within the two week period. Some parts of my skin have redness and slight flakeness, mostly on the chin area. The leaflet that comes with the product states that this is a normal side effect and that it should go away after a few weeks of use. Is this statement true?, should i use the product less often at first.

Secondly i have been lighlty spreading the product over the whole face area, is this the correct way to put the product on? and how long should i be using the product for?

many thanks