What has cleared my bacne....

Just figured I would chime in and let others know what has helped my bacne and when I say helped, I mean totally eliminated it.

I am providing two product lists....one for Canadians and one for Americans since I move regularly between both countries and am aware that product availability is somewhat different in the two areas.

US Products --

Body wash: I use either Whole Foods Brand (365 Brand) fragrance-free soap OR fragrance-free bodywash......Dove sensitive also works but not as well as it contains moisturizers which may cause problems for some people -- Clearly Natural (see drugstore.com) also makes a fragrance-free glycerin bar soap and Tom's of Maine fragrance-free body wash also has proven to be stellar for bacne elimination in my experience

Body lotion: Use something like Lac Hydrin 5 or even better, Am Lactin 12% (lactic acid) moisture lotion

Canadian Products:

Bodywash or soap: Guelph Soap Company makes a nice fragrance-free glycerin bar that I found available at Jean Coutu in Quebec and London Drugs in other provinces. Dove Sensitive is not as effective but also is helpful as is using Spectro Jel (the grey-ish bottle...extra sensitive)

Body Lotion: Lac Hydrin 12% is available pretty much everywhere in Canada and is bar none the best body lotion for bacne elimination in my experience. It is stronger for some reason than Am Lactin and may require either mixing with aloe vera gel (Fruit of the Earth or Lily of the Desert are great for this.....Fruit of the Earth is available at Walmart or Zellers...Lily of the Desert at most organic markets or Vitamin Shoppe or GNC)

What DOES NOT work for me:

Neutrogena Salicylic Acid Body Wash -- gross

Ivory soap

Head and Shoulders

Diacneal Information

I have been a longtime lurker and brief member of the .org but I wanted to mention that Diacneal from Avene has helped me to eliminate not just some but all of my closed comedones and has even succeeded in reducing that nasty oily sheen I have had on my face for months.

The advice from Lion Queen and Snow Queen and Brandy has been invaluable...I tried product after product without success and finally decided I would just follow what the forum mods and longtime members were saying and see what happens and low and behold, things have finally started working out...I have been able to avoid Accutane (as an MBA student I attend far too many happy hours here in Montréal where drinking isn't merely an activity but a city-wide hobby so my liver thanks me)

My current regimen has given me a lot of success and is the result of simply reading reviews and listening to the experts...the point of this long-winded thread isn't to support one product over another but rather to stress that a) being gentle with your skin b) listening to those on here who are trying to help you and c) being PATIENT and not switching products every time something new and interesting goes on sale WILL yield results.

When I move back to the States (hey, I love Canada but now that I have finished my MBA, my dual-citizenship calls me back to the land of $$$) I look forward to trying Green Cream but SLOWLY and not until I have done careful research...consistency is key people....thanks again for everyone's input because today is the first day in over 3 years where I am completely clear....for the summer that is quite the feat since the humidity usually takes its toll.

Matt battles acne @ 27 yo....about damn time

So I have been reading this board for a few months now...27 yo and doing my MBA here in Montreal, originally from here but have lived in the US off and on for years and will probably end up back there shortly for job reasons. I have battled with cystic acne that comes and then goes as mysteriously as it arrived and the stress from my degree program and working full-time has taken its toll. In December I discovered this site and while I am no stranger to Benzoyl Peroxide, I had never applied it the way Dan suggested and I will admit that I have been having some decent success with the regimen. I am now stuck with some minor scarring and very oily skin. My current regimen is inspired by your comments and suggestions which have been invaluable --- here tis:


LE MATIN (MORNING)
Wash with Spectro Jel for sensitive skin
Apply BP (Solugel 4%...sure beats Panoxyl 2.5 which fried my skin)
Apply Complex 15 (from States) moisturizer

Apply Body Shop Tea Tree Oil Mattifying Gel if necessary to cut shine

LE SOIR (EVENING)
Wash with Spectro Jel for sensitive skin
Apply BP (Solugel 4%)
Apply Complex 15 moisturizer
Apply Sudocrem (thin layer...not sure about this it is fairly nasty and I am not sure it is helping with red marks but it isn't breaking me out so It can't hurt eh)


Here I am as of today, 15 February: