My history:
1.) Acne started @ 13. Currently 28
2.) Been on 3 cycles of Accutane @ 6months each - acne goes away during regimine but returns a few months after.
3.) Tried multiple sessions of Photodynamic Therapy - acne is burned off, but it doesn't last.
4.) Have tried Dan's regimine

My findings:
1.) Acne prone. A daily regimine and vigillant habits will prevent new acne flares. No "quick fixes.
2.) Dan's regimine wasn't enough for my face. Didn't do enough to prevent. Caused issues:

a.) Wearing a light coating of 2.5% BP during the day caused some expensive shirts to go tyedye. I refuse to coat my face with BP during the day or when active.

b.) Wearing BP all over the face all the time causes pre-mature skin aging. Was not satisfied with the moisturizer.

Solution I've discovered:

Habits to prevent acne:
1.) When shaving, soak razor in 70% alcohol for at least 5 minutes prior to shaving

a.) Gillete Foam for Sensitive Skin works best. A lot of the "made for acne" ones are useless marketing gimmicks (ie. Clearasil's foam = useless)
b.) After shaving, wash with 10% Benzoyl Peroxide Soap. Let it sit on face for a few minutes.

2.) Pillows

a.) Flip pillow to different side each night.
b.) Wash pillow cases at least once per week
c.) Use anti-microbial pillow sleave if you can get one

My regimine and products:

Over the Counter Products:
J&J's Clean and Clear product line has been THE best for me. Buy them @ Walmart for the best prices.
1.) Clean and Clear 10% BP Soap
2.) Clean and Clear 2% Salicylic Acid Wash
3.) Clean and Clear Oil-Free Daily moisterizer with .5% Salicylic Acid

Prescription Products:
1.) Oral Anti-biotic. For me it's been doxycycline. Kinda helps with keeping cysts to a minimal swelling. Kinda. Maybe you guys have better.
2.) Benzamycin or Benzaclin. Maybe a 5% BP may work if you don't want to get a prescription for these spot treatment topicals.
3.) A retinoid. I'm using Tazorac.

My Regimine:
1.) Wash face with 2% Salicylic Acid Wash to open the pores
2.) Follow with 10% BP Soap and let sit for a few minutes to let it kill off some of the bacteria and declog some more pores

During the day: I layer on retinoid (tazorac in my case), layer on the Oil-Free Daily moisterizer with .5% Salicylic Acid. If going to be in sun a lot, add a layer of mineral sunblock.

At night: I spot treat with Benzmycin or Benzaclin. If it's an "acne active" time, then light layer with thicker spot treatments.

Using this regimine, I've kept my skin pretty damn clear! I'm amazed!

However, from time to time, there are rogue "Juggernaut Cysts" that are unresponsive to everything I throw at it over the counter + prescription. For those type of zits, which are guarenteed to leave a pit scar, I immediately try to get an appointment with my Dermatologist to get a diluted steroid shot - this usually works in shrinking the zit and preventing scaring.

This post has been edited by dadoody: Oct 8 2009, 05:06 AM

does it siriously cause pre aging?? Dont want that

In my personal experience - yes.

From a scientific standpoint, BP causes oxidative stress on the skin because it spams out free radicals on the skin surface. Kinda of like the same effect from a lot of sun exposure.

Photodynamic Therapy will also age the skin - from my personal experience. I think Photodynamic Therapy caused the most skin aging from any treatment I've tried. BP isn't too bad.

Would moisturizing after BP help with this risk of pre-aging? Hopefully, that isn't a stupid question since it's common knowledge moisture is important, but you never know how much of the specifics are excluded from common knowledge.