Acne, BP and redness

Hey all,

I'm a 24 year old guy and have had acne since i was about 16. I started using BP 5% and found that it worked reasonably well, but it made my skin really dry and red, so i used it on and off, hoping that i would grow over the acne.

After 5 years nothing had changed, so my GP send me to a derm who immediately suggested accutane (pretty weird in hindsight since i had never tried other medications like retinoids and/or antibiotics). I knew about the risks associated with accutane, but accepted the course since acne made such a big impact on my life. I took accutane for 10 months (!). The first two months at 20 mg/day and the remainder of the course 40mg/day. At 75 kg this brings me to a cummulative dose of about 144 mg/kg, more then enough for a long-term remission i thought. I was wrong.

My acne returned within a few months after finishing my course and very gradually became worse. At first, a little BP at night kept me completely clear, but as my acne got worse, I had to use more and more BP which of course caused more dryness and redness.

So that's where i am now. I attached some pictures where you can see my acne and the redness from the BP. I tried to stop using BP a few months ago, but broke out horribly, so i'm scared to stop it again, but the dryness and redness is really annoying too....talk about a catch 22!

So that's where i am now. I'm really not sure what to do now. Should i continue or stop using the BP? I still have and unopened tube of differin which i haven't used because i'm scared about the IB, should i give that i try? Should i stop all medication and just live with it? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Differin vs BP

Hey all,

I've been on a course of accutane and unfortunately i relapsed a few moths later. I've been using BP which seems to work better then pre-tane and although i still break out it's much better under control. However, the BP really dries out my skin, so it constantly feels tight, red and irritated (even though i moisterize thoroughly) so now i'm thinking about switching to differin. I was wondering if anyone knows if the irritation caused by differin is worse or less than the irritation caused by BP. Thanks!

Sodium Laureth Sulfate

Hey all,

I'm looking for a good gentle cleanser, but is seems that almost every cleanser for acne-prone skin contains Sodium Laureth Sulfate. Google shows that most people agree that SLS is comedogenic. I'm the first to admit that this isn't a very reliable source, but i don't want to take any chances.

Can anyone give me some advice concerning SLS?

24 year old guy from Holland

Hey all,

After reading this board for a while i finally decided to join. I'm a 24 year old guy from Holland and have had acne since i was about 15-16 years old. After trying many OTC and prescription products and BP for a few years (curiously, i was never prescribed a retinoid topical) i was put on Accutane for a full course about 2 years ago. This cleared me up completely, but after a few months i began to break out again. Luckily, BP seemed much more effective now and for a year or so a little BP at night kept me completely clear.
However a few months ago i noticed my acne becoming gradually worse even with the BP. I tried increasing my BP use to twice a day, but this made my skin too irritated and red. I thought about taking another course of accutane, but in consultation with my derm i decided to give Differin a try. So that's where i'm now. I now only use BP as a spot treatment to give my skin some rest and will start with Differin in about a week and see where it goed from there.

See you all!