Tips from Regimen Veteran on what keeps my skin clear.

Hi guys, I never visit the forum anymore, because my acne is very much under control thanks to Dan's regimen. Thanks Dan! I am here to give a little advice on what works best for me.

I've been on the regimen for a very long time (7 years?), and in the past year I have really progressed in improving my skin even further. I've had severe cystic acne for a long time, but Dan's regimen keeps my skin almost perfectly clear.

Here is a detailed description of what I do, and I believe every one of these steps is CRUCIAL to getting 90% clear skin. And believe me, I've tried a lot of things, and done a lot of experimenting with Dan's regimen.


MORNING:

1. Take shower. Use HOT water (as hot as you can tolerate without burning). Make sure plenty of water gets on your face to wash it, but don't rub with hands! In the end of shower, use Cetaphil cleansing bar (NOT anti-bacterial), wash it off with hot water. DON'T rub your face.

2. Dry face with napkin, not towel.

3. Shave with electric shaver.

4. Put on Dan's benzoyl peroxide gel.
(I don't use as much as Dan recommends. I use just a pea-sized amount, and I find it works best. When I use more, I find that my face gets too dry, and there's not a big change in acne)

5. A few minutes after that, mix a pea-sized amount of Olay Complete (with SPF 15) lotion, and 2 pumps of Neutrogena Oil-Free Sensitive Skin moisturizer. Put on your face.

6. Your face will be SHINY from this. That's ok. Wait a few minutes, then absorb the moisture on your face with a napkin.


DURING THE DAY:

My face tends to get very oily, and every 3-4 hours I use a napkin or some toilet paper to absorb the oil.


EVENING:

When I get home from work (around 6:00) the FIRST thing I do (before eating, before working out, before doing anything else) is:

1. Wash face with HOT water and Cetaphil cleansing bar.

2. Dry face with napkin.

3. Put on pea-sized amount of Dan's benzoyl peroxide.

4. Wait a few minutes, then put on 3 pumps of Neutrogena sensitive skin moisturizer.


Here are the 3 most important things once again which make a BIG difference for me:

1. Always wash face with HOT water. Almost burning hot.

2. Use plenty of moisturizer (2-3 pumps).

3. Do regimen BEFORE large meals, and BEFORE physical activity.


I have found that after eating a lot of food, or after exercising, my skin gets very oily and I get acne. This probably has to do with hormones. If I wash my face before such activity, my pores will be clean, and ready to receive any fresh oil which comes out as a result of the hormone increase. If I don't do that, the fresh oil will try to push out the old oil and dead skin cells, and zits will form.

It's also important to keep a good clean diet. Eat lots of fruit, nuts, and good protein. (I stay away from processed foods, eggs, dairy.)

This is what works for me, and hopefully it will work for you too. Good luck.

Wash Your Face BEFORE Eating!

For the last few years I've been experimenting with diets, and I've determined that even when I eat a very clean organic, raw food, no grain, no dairy, no allergen diet, I still get acne. For me it seems that calories in food = acne. When I don't eat anything for a day, I don't get acne. When I eat enough food to satisfy me I get acne. This is with vitamins and perfect proportions of Omega 3/6/9 and everything.

I usually get new breakouts within an hour or two after eating a high-calorie meal, and can FEEL oil coming into my pores and forming new zits.

I've discovered a way to significantly reduce acne associated with food:


1. I wash my face (with a mild cleanser) RIGHT BEFORE eating breakfast or dinner.

2. Then I put on a bunch of Dan's benzoyl peroxide

3. And then I eat as much as I want, and any food that I want, without breaking out.


I've been using Dan's BP for 5 years now, and it has never worked as good as this.

I think it works because you wash out all the old sticky oil from your skin, and allow the new oil to lubricate your pores, which is produced from the food you consume. This way there isn't a "traffic jam" in your pores, so they don't get clogged.

Even if you don't use benzoyl peroxide, still try washing your face (and maybe soaking it in warm water) right before earing.

Try it for a week and tell me what you think!

Has the formula of the cleanser been changed recently?

Hi,

I bought Dan's cleanser about a year ago, when it was brand new, and came in a blue bottle.

It didn't work well with New York City's water, and didn't wash off completely, leaving a "film" on my skin.

Has the formula been changed recently to improve this? New bottle style = new formula?


I'll be giving Dan's moisturizer a shot. Neutrogena moisturizers make my skin very oily and shiny, so I have to absorb my face with a napkin every hour or so. Does this moisturizer do this?

Thank you.

Friend came from Eastern Europe to USA with clear skin. Month later - SEVERE ACNE

A month ago a friend of mine came from a former USSR country with perfect skin. For the past month of living in the USA, she had little money, so she ate cheap food: burgers, fries, potato chips.

About a week into her visit, her face was covered with little zits. Now after a month, her face is covered with inflamed cysts.

She says she eats the exact same foods in her country, and has never had acne before.

Is it the corn syrup? Is it the pesticides? Maybe the yeasts in the US are harder for our bodies to handle than those in Europe?

I told her to stay away from bread, and anything with corn syrup in it.

The conclusion which I derived from this, is that eating organic food is very important. Doesn't the liver get rid of pesticides through the skin?

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind now that the low quality of Western food + chemicals + pesticides + corn syrup = acne.

The proof is right in front of my eyes. I saw a girl with perfectly clear skin develop severe acne in ONE MONTH of living in the USA.

Acne may be a sign of liver problems

I have strong reasons to suspect that my acne is caused by a weak liver. My doctor thinks so also, but I have a specific list of reasons why I think so:

About 6 years ago, I had really really severe acne. Thinking back to what my diet used to be back then, it was all fat and carbs. Lots of fat, and lots of carbs.


1.
One day I had a breakfast with 3 eggs, a few fatty sausages, bread with melted cheese. This has been my breakfast for about a month before that also. This was just a little too much for my body: I was sitting on a bus, and suddenly felt very sick. I got off, quickly found a public bathroom, and spent an hour vomiting and having severe diarrhea. Eventually I was able to get to an emergency room, where I was given a few medications and did a blood test. When the blood test came back, I was found to have a temporary form of liver failure. I was advised to change my diet, which I followed for a few months. Surprisingly, my skin also got better.

2.
One day I ate lots and lots of avocado, which is supposedly good for you. Well, I guess it wasn't good for me, because the next day I had severe diarrhea, and at one point, started shaking uncontrollably and passed out. I wasn't used to eating avocado at the time, and it's high in fat, which is bad for the liver.

3.
One day I went drinking with some friends, and my skin was clear, because I've been following a very healthy diet. The next day I had painful cysts all over my face, including one inside my nose, which hurt every time I took a breath. After a few days of no alcohol and an organic low fat, low carb diet, my skin was good again.

4.
I've been following a good diet for several months now, and everything was fine... until today. For a few nights now, I've been taking a sleep medication which is supposed to be bad for the liver. Today I took Sudafed (which is bad for the liver) to prevent a runny nose due to allergies, and ate an avocado. I eat small amounts of avocado all the time with no problems, but I guess today, the whole combination was too much. I've had severe diarrhea for the whole day, I feel like I'm going to faint, I walk around disoriented, and my skin is breaking out again, right in front of my eyes. I can literally feel the pimples forming on my skin. I've checked the symptoms of liver problems, and they are consistent with the way I've been feeling. Also my eyeballs are a yellowish color.

5.
On both sides of my family there are liver problems, so there is also a genetic factor here.


There are many causes and contributing factor to acne, and there's no one cause for everyone. But please be aware that liver problems may be a major cause for some of you.

Take care.