The "Re-DKR" Zoetrope Log

Hullo dot org'ers. Some of you know me, many don't. Anyways, I'm back in the DKR Logs forum again to clear up my face for the second time, hopefully.

You can find my first successful log here that kept me clear until I decided to try out the "Do Nothing Regimen" thinking perhaps my acne had gone away because my face had become so remarkably clear. Long story short, I didn't wash my face for two weeks and I'm back where I started 8-9 months ago. I highly advise people that know they have acne prone skin due to genes/hormones to not try the "Do Nothing Regimen" as you will end up in my shoes. That regimen is intended for people that aggravated their face into an acne-like state by either/a combination of: using harsh cleansers/products, eating a diet that causes skin flare ups, or bad hygiene.

Moving along, I will be following my regimen that cleared me up in the first place until I simply stopped doing it altogether. It consists of:

Morning:

Wash with Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser
Treat with Dan's Gel Benzoyl Peroxide (16 oz Bottle) (1 Pump, I find that 2 is dramatically overdoing it and unnecessary)
Moisturize with Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion

Before Bed:

Wash with Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser
Treat with Dan's Gel Benzoyl Peroxide (16 oz Bottle) (1 Pump)
Moisturize with Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion

That's me right now, even though I can't explain how that picture doesn't even begin to show how irritated and broken out my skin is. Perhaps because it's so oily? Anyways, wish me luck. I'll try to update as much as I can.

Thanks

First off I just want to thank Daniel Kern for creating all of this. Had I never found this website I would still be searching for the answer to acne and very much in that ridiculous depressive mood that acne brings on to people. I can't even begin to thank you enough.

I guess a quick background would be appropriate, so here goes! I've been "battling" acne since I was about 12. It formed pretty slow and then one year I was looking at full blown acne. My worst years were 8th grade through my freshmen year in high school. Kids can be cruel, but that's life. Dealing with the emotional stress of acne is one thing but add all the staring eyes and rude remarks from kids and it becomes something else. Depression, sometimes deep depression where you dread every day of your life. I'd show you how bad it was but I avoided pictures at all costs. If you were to walk into my house today and look at all the picture frames, you'd see me as a baby, a child, then all of the sudden I graduated high school.

Anyways, skip back a couple years into the middle of my freshmen year of high school. I came across a Proactiv commercial on television and was instantly sold. I begged my parents to buy it for me and they eventually gave in. Next thing I know I'm using Proactiv and waiting for instant results like everyone else. Though they weren't instant, I had a vast improvement in my acne after a couple months. I didn't know it then but the root cause was Benzoyl Peroxide. The results were never solid however and the acne would always get worse, get better, get really bad, get really good then all of a sudden it just didn't improve at all.

This is the part where I tell you all about wasting hundreds of dollars (my own money now, I had a job) on products that simply do not work. If you haven't seen the trend already, apparently every company has the answer to your acne problem! Clearasil, Oxy, Acne-Free, Proactiv, ZapZit, Clearpores. I could go on but I've bought so many products for my face that failed that I literally cannot remember all of them. I've tried all kinds of remedies like salt scrubs, steaming your face, toothpaste, washing with olive oil/other oils instead of soaps, even not washing my face at all. Eventually my mother ended up taking me to a dermatologist where I was prescribed an antibiotic (I think it was called Adoxa) and Differin. The Adoxa cleared up my body acne extremely well but the differin didn't do much for my face.

Skipping a couple more years of bullshit products/treatments/advice I ended up googling acne one day and came across this website. This is where I discovered a community of investigators and reviewers. People who were curious, that genuinely cared and didn't stare. We're all in the same boat here. So I did what everyone else was doing on acne.org: searched and searched for a solution but this time I was much wiser when coming to a conclusion about my problem.

Anyways, to spare you guys more paragraphs here is the conclusion that I came to:

1. Benzoyl Peroxide works for me

It's Proactiv's main ingredient. That was what made my face improve so much in the beginning. However, Proactiv also included unnecessary ingredients that would eventually irritate my skin and cancel out the good effects of the BP.

2. Eliminate irritation!

Ever use a product and immediately feel that burning/stinging sensation afterwards? That's irritation and chances are it's making your acne worse. Use non-comedogenic products. Avoid scrubs.

3. Moisturize

Having oily skin does not mean that you are excluded from moisturizing. Plus, after using BP your skin will be slightly dry and will benefit from being moisturized, eliminating the chance for irritation.

4. Time

Nothing is "instant" about treating acne. I've been on my regimen for about 4 months and it is honestly a rollercoaster. Things will get better, then worse, then you'll have a good week, then you'll break out, but these breakouts eventually happen less and less, and when they do form you begin to realise they aren't nearly as bad as they usually are and they disappear quicker.

My regimen + products I use:

Cleanser: Cetaphil Daily Facial Wash
Treatment: Dan's BP Gel
Moisturizer: Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion

I do this when I wake up and before I go to sleep.

One thing I should mention is that one day I started to use just one pump of the BP instead of the two as Dan states and saw no change in the results. I've been doing just one pump now for several months and my skin continues to stay clear. It definitely cut my bathroom time in half considering I'm not rubbing the BP all over forever. It takes me probably about 5 minutes now to do the whole regimen. I'm about 99% clear I'd say and to be quite honest, it's a new feeling for me. I wake up expecting to be instantly downed again by just looking in the mirror and seeing a face full of acne, but it's not there anymore. I know it's sad that acne has this kind of effect on people but I'm also happy to report that there are real treatments out there and it all starts here.

Acne.org, Daniel Kern, everyone who is involved in this community. Thank you.

1 month into regimen:


current:

Ivory Soap

My brother has mild to moderate acne and he told me when he actually stays on his regimen of just washing with ivory soap on his face in the morning/night, applying nothing else, it keeps his clean clear. Anybody else have this success? Was curious.

Regimen Log Starting 5/11/08

So I've decided to try Dan's regimen after reading the whole process. I bought the Acne.org products last night and they should be here in a couple days. However, since I've been through so many acne products that didn't work I already had what I needed to go ahead and start the regimen last night. I used a gentle cleanser called "Purity", I had quite a lot of 2.5%BP from Proactiv still laying around, and Olay Regenerist (SP?) for the moisturizer. After typing all of that, maybe combining all those different brands is going to f*ck me pretty bad until I get the products I ordered from this website.

5/11/08: Woke up with very slightly clearer skin. After reading the topics on here about the Fish Oil (my skin is so oily, my whole face is already shining so bad after cleansing 15 minutes ago) I've decided to go out and buy some, along with some Zinc supplements as well, and possibly even some ACV if I can find it. I'll post some pictures when my sister gets home with her camera.

Hullo Acne.org

Hullo everyone. I'm very glad I came across this forum and I'm not quite sure why I haven't searched for something like this sooner. My name is Jeremy and I've had acne since I was about 12. I've tried just about everything I can think of when it comes to treating acne.

Proactiv
Clearpores
AcneFree
AcneFree Severe
Prescribed Differin
Apple Detox Diet (apples and water for 3 days only, I even quit smoking in the process to make sure I was getting the full effect)

The list goes way beyond that but why even bother. Anyways, I've just recently found out about the joys of using a moisturizer and big quantities of BP thanks to Dan, so I'm officially starting that regimen. I'm optimistic again but not expecting a miracle. I'm 19 years old now and I just want to wake up one morning without pimples on my face. Simple as that. I'm going to start my regimen log today as well. Wish me luck.