Thanks for the encouragement, Jen! My mom noticed today that my skin is looking better, so that's good. I've got to say that comparing the pictures isn't really helping, because I look at them and think to myself "I can't believe I look like that!". But then I remember that it's NOT what I look like, because I wear makeup in public! DUH! I'm such a doofus sometimes.

So, to help with that self-esteem issue, I think I might take some pictures while wearing makeup, too, so I can see myself how everyone else does. The other problem I have is that when I'm looking in the mirror, I'm not wearing my glasses, so I can't see everything. Heh. Perception is a pain!

Bad news is that my date got postponed. But that's ok, cause my parents took me out for Greek food and gave me flowers in an adorable striped vase. I think I needed that time more than boy time, honestly. My parents are awesome.

Anyway, enough rambling for now. Don't really have anything important to say. Just general stuff. I might be ready to move to 1 1/4 pump of BP at night? It's been almost a month since I started!

Girl, that's great. I can really tell the difference. Seriously! Keep it up, u do look fantastic!

Awww, about the date, but at least you had some good food and FLOWERS! (jealous)

Have a good weekend and talk to you soon!!!

Argh! I woke up today with a new deep pimple on each cheek, almost in the exact same spot! It sucks, because I can't pop them yet, but it kind of hurts when I smile and they itch a bit. I haven't really looked in the mirror, so I don't know if they're red or not, but I'm kind of bummed.

I'm probably hitting that 1 month breakout/purge that most DKR users experience. Oh well. Not much I can do except to keep going.

Ugh, I was hoping that the backlash from slacking off wouldn't be this bad. Either that or, wait, hormonal acne! *sigh*

Alongside the painful one on my left cheek from last week that's emptied but scabbed now (my fault) I developed two papules on my chin yesterday, one of which has popped but is sensitive. To be honest, I'd rather have a few on my chin than any on my cheek. It's the clusters of 2 or 3 that kill me though.

I'm up to 1 1/2 pumps BP at night, thinking I might start with 1/2 pump in the morning as well.

YUCK! Hormonal acne is the worst ever! I get the same, except mine just ends up all over, esp on my chin though. I'm sorry for your pain girl. Have you considered a herbal hormonal pill instead of birth control? I can't take those pimples anymore, so I hope the Estrotone helps ALOT! I also gave up coffee (at least for 4 days now. ) dairy too. Keep up the regimen and hugs!

Yeeeeeeah, this is not a good week. All sorts of new pimples, mostly fairly deep and painful, and all very red. They're all on my cheeks and chin, and they get irritated when I lean my face on my hand (which I do frequently) and when I sleep, because I sleep on my side.

On top of all that, my skin is really dry around the corners of my mouth and nostrils, the makeup I'm using rubs off like crazy and sinks strait into my pores (guess I need new foundation). Today because I was sick of my skin looking dry I used a heavier moisturizer and it s feeling really good. Plus, it has SPF, which is really relieving. But to make it worse, my hands are so freaking dry because I have to wash them between each step and then after applying makeup and they're rough and scaly for the first time in my ENTIRE life. I hate it!

Gonna drink more water, giving up alcohol for a month, trying to eat more fruits, but none of this will help with hormonal acne and overwashing my hands.

I might post pictures later, but probably not. Some big uglies on my face right now.

Bummer girl! Gah, believe me I know the feeling. I would DEF try something like the pill or a herbal hormonal pill. I'm sorry to hear this though. Just stay in good spirits and being a little healtheir never hurt anyone. Talk to you soon!

Holy crap it has been WAAAAAAAAY too long! (6th week on the regimen!)

I didn't want to post pictures the last couple weeks because my hormonal break out was terrible. I get big pustules on my cheeks and a few on my chin. I guess now that my regular everyday stuff is going down, the hormonal stuff seems just that much worse. I'm going to have to go on the pill for this stuff, I think.

I still haven't ordered the AHA or jojoba - still cause of $$ issues. I'm kind of hoping Dan's cleanser runs out soon because it is so drying. And the moisturizer isn't creamy enough for my taste. I think I might experiment with changing one when I run out. I love the BP though!

Stress has been ridiculously bad lately, so I think between that and hormones, there isn't much improvement, except on the underside of my chin. I think that's looking better. And I haven't gotten any big forehead pimples either. Tradeoff being the skin right next to my nostrils isn't in great shape...

Here are pics from tonight!

Holy cow! Your face has changed heaps since your first post!!!
Everything looks calmer and smoother! Awesome!

If you're looking for a good moisturiser (dont know ifyou have it where you are) but I've been using nivea oil-free moisturising fluid with uv filters - its a little thicker than the dkr one, but not too heavy and has a little oil-controlling power too, just a suggestion!

Good luck - I hope it continues to work well for you, and that I can expect results like that in a month too

Hey, I'm on the regimen too, its doing okay for me so far. Still got some zits, but they're mostly average sized separate ones, compared to the giant clusters I used to get all over my chin.

I'm glad yours is going well, keep us updated!

Thanks for the support, bronzeleo and leonardo! I wasn't sure anyone was keeping up, but its great to know that someone else is seeing a difference. The people I see every day don't care enough to notice stuff like this, and the people that do care I don't see often enough Glad to hear that you're seeing some progress too, leonardo!

I haven't tried any Nivea products before, but I've seen them around here. I do need a little heavier moisturizer for the daytime, plus one with SPF would be really helpful. We get a lot of sun exposure in Colorado, and I walk pretty much everywhere, so not having enough SPF could really bite me. I really liked the Aveeno one I was using, but I don't know if it will break me out or not on the regimen.

This week I'm going to start using 1/2 pump BP in the mornings to see what happens. I'm still using 1 1/2 pumps at night and that's going fine, so I think its time to add a little more in. I'm just so worried about bleaching my clothes during the day!

I'm also watching your thread and as I said before, I think your skin is DEF improving girl. Keep it up, k?

Thanks! I'm trying to keep my hopes up during this really stressful midterms time. I'm hoping that after another 2 months I'll be clear except for hormonal acne.

Thanks again for reading and for the support!

Oy. I'm so out of sorts right now. I took these a few nights ago and meant to post them but then had to take off to South Dakota for a funeral. I took my stuff with me, but wasn't totally diligent.

I decided I don't like using BP in the morning because it balls up under my makeup, no matter how long I wait for it to dry. I'm up to 2 pumps at night right now. I'm going through moisturizer pretty fast, and am thinking I will order AHA this week. My mom said that she's noticed the actual acne has gone down a lot, but the red marks are still there. AHA will help with that, right? And having AHA for moisturizer at night the other stuff will last a little longer, hopefully.

Two new painful small pimples on my forehead that popped up the day after these pictures. Hopefully they'll go away as fast as they showed up! Other than that, not much has changed...

By the way, I ordered some mineral samples from Everyday Minerals (they send 5 sample sizes for free, just shipping, which was $3!) and I'm hoping that will help with skin texture and developing new blemishes. I got a super nice blush and a highlighter along with 3 different shades of foundation. Hopefully one of them is the right color. Even the large sizes are considerably cheaper than getting them at Sephora, Ulta or a salon.

I cannot say enough how much I hate the Neutrogena foundation I'm using. It's thin, so it doesn't cover well; it rubs off ridiculously easy, no matter if I cover it with powder or not; it sinks straight into my pores, making them look huge; and it smells bad.

I can't wait to get rid of this stuff, but I need a suitable replacement first!

I have the same problem, I tried to start using 1/2 a pump of BP in the morning and I applied moisturizer with SPF15, I waited five minutes for it to dry and then spent five more minutes with the blowdryer (cool setting) on my face, and it still clumped up underneath my foundation, I looked soo gross at work and school I was extremely embarassed and was covering my face with my hair the entire time (I know that's bad too because of the oil in my hair). Anyway, I decided I don't want to go through that ever again, and I absolutely will not go out in public without makeup! I use Revlon Colorstay, it's really the only foundation with awesome coverage that doesn't break me out, although my pores are a little big though, and like you said about Neutrogena this foundation enhances that as well.

I'm in the beginning of week 4, and to be honest I have broken out more than I have seen improvements but I have missed some steps recently, like when I go over my boyfriend's and i'm too lazy to wait for the BP to dry. I went to sleep once without applying moisturizer, but other than that i've been pretty good and I have not seen any improvement. I hope by two months I will start clearing up! I'm so frustrated right now.

Hey there! How's everything going for you now??

Hey electric_feel, sorry to hear you're having clumping issues with the BP too! Mine wasn't bad enough that people could notice during the day; I just noticed it when I was applying my makeup. I've since ordered some mineral samples from Everyday Minerals and now that I have some mineral powder, I can use BP in the morning. I'm not using much because I'm very paranoid about bleaching shirts I wear during the day, but at least I can use 1/2 pump!

bright_eyes, things are going good! I'm having a bit of a hormonal break-out, but it is MUCH less severe than it has been the past few months. This time it is just 5 active pimples, and only 1 of them is obnoxiously huge and sensitive. The others were pretty small and are going away quickly! YAY! Other than that, I'm really not dealing with much new acne, just fading red marks that make it look like I still have acne.

I did notice today that the skin around my eyebrows is flaking, so I think I need to be more careful with my BP application around my eyes. I'm getting a little too close, I think!

I also figured out that Dan's Moisturizer is designed to work with the BP. The reason I wasn't liking putting it on in the morning was because I hadn't put any BP on, and the moisturizer had nothing to grab on to. It was just sliding around. That's changed now!

I've got new pictures, all from this morning, including one with makeup, so y'all can see what I actually look like to the rest of the world! I LOVE MY MINERAL MAKEUP!!!

Hey...hey....I'm glad things are looking up for you. I think you look fantastic, btw. I also can see a difference in most of your pics.
As for the hormonal acne, try taking Evening Primrose oil caplets. I heard they can help alot with pms symptoms. Including acne.
I'm trying to find new makeup as well. The kind I'm using now makes my face look dry and flakey, I'm looking for something more natural, but also covers up certain problem spots. Keep it up and keep in touch.

Thanks!!!

I don't really have many other PMS symptoms, at least none that I can't control. I get moody and crave certain foods, but I recognize it and can deal without taking anything. Acne is my worst PMS symptom, IMO, so I'm gonna keep doing the regimen and if it doesn't help with hormonal after a few more months, then I'll try supplements



Have you ever tried mineral makeup? It's powder that covers really well, and can look totally natural. We went out yesterday, so that's why I'm wearing a more made-up look, but with just a bit of powder and some mascara, you can barely tell I'm wearing any. Plus, I don't have to bother washing my hands AGAIN after putting on makeup. I hate doing that cause they've been getting dry. Nothing covers the big honkers, but it totally evens out skin tone and covers little blemishes really well.