8 replies to this topic

[chris_284]

Acne: I call it moderate. I have currently about 100-120 pimples of sorts on my cheeks, temple, and neck. Few on the forehead, and nose... but those are never problem areas for me, and i am exluding these areas from the regimen[as i beleive that when winter comes and its so crazy hot out... i wont have problems there].

Background: Jan/Feb 06. First tried CSR. Lasted 4 weeks, and then gave up . I basically couldn't take the redness and shininess everyday. A post scared me away posted by someone saying that the redness has never gone away for him.

Products used first time on CSR:
Cleanser: Cetaphil gentle cleanser and the cetaphil gentle cleansing bar for shaving
BP: First week... a dermatoligist given BP... last 3 weeks after it came by mail... Dans BP.
Moisturizer: Cetaphil moisturizing lotion

- Notes: Loved the cetaphil gentle cleanser. Hated the moisturizer. It felt very heavy, was very shiny, and burnt me like crazy.

Products I will be using the second time on CSR:
Cleanser: Basis Vitamin Bar for washing and shaving
BP: Dan's BP Gel
Moisturizer: Aveeno Ultra Calming. I also plan to eventually switch a few weeks in to an AHA moisturizer most likely.

How will i keep my progress:
What i really really wanted to do was... place a digital camera in the EXACT same place in the same room etc everyday. Then, sit/stand against a wall in the EXACT same spot. Take a picture daily. Then, after 90 days... it would be cool to place the pictures in a slideshow... each alsting .5 seconds... so you could see the drastic improvement of going from over 100 pimples to X amount of pimples. However... I do not own a digital camera... so this idea is unfourtanetly not going to happen. I thought i could roughly count the amount of pimples i have... but i dont knwo what to count.... white heads... red marks... etc etc etc. So instead... i'll just take as many pictures of my face as possible when i have a camera available to me... and i'll just have to settle with that.

==========================
Day 1 - July 26/27.

Night: Shave, wash face. Apply initial recommended amount of BP. Moisturize etc. Go to bed. Wake up looking the best that i have in probably 2 weeks.[I look horrible right now because i was just on jessfoliation and that caused a breakout from about 50/60 to over 100 pimples. You'd think i would be traumatized from that lol, but not at all. When you have over 50 pimples... 50 is the same as 100 lol. I've lived with acne for a decade and it does not affect my esteem. However... realizing that people can have acne for 30 years... i'm gonna need to get rid of it. I see how acne can definately affect you in the business world so... acne be gone]

Morning: Only applying DP once a day... so will do it at night. Didn't moisturize this morning becuase i thought i won't need since i've only applied bp once. Shouldn't have cut this corner. [Not because my face feels like it needs moisturizing right now... but because once you start cutting corners... you continue to cut more in the future]

So therefore... no more cutting corners again.
==========================

Well, i just wrote this first day's personal log and i realize it sucks, lol. I really wanted to do that picture idea i had, because i really dont know how to convey my progress other than using "fuzzy logic" like... today its a "bit" better etc. How do you measure a "bit" lol.

Maybe i'll go searching on eBay for some decent but cheap digi cams.

[chris_284]

Well, there's nothing really to add to this log other than im still following it. Like i said... on camera... so can't update that... and there are just too many to count.

Also... i'd like to take back the statement i made in the first post about my acne looking better than it has in awhile. I realize now that it is looking better because the bp has turned my skin red... and the acne no longer contrasts as much with my skin now. That's really what it is... so I should clear that up.

So what I came here to post about was attitude. Lots of people out there have their logs... and keep pictures. This is great for those wanting to start the regimen... they can see what the future results can be. So i asked myself how can i contribute. They're are plenty of picture and progress logs out there. So i thought... 3-4 months down the road when i become clear... how will my log be helpful to others wanting to start.

Well... i decided to keep what i am going to call an attitude log. I see lots of people quitting after nearing getting there. They go 4-8 weeks... and they get discouraged and quit... when the end is very likely right around the corner.

So... when people look at this log in 3-4 months... maybe they will see a post by me 8 weeks in taht says something along the lines of "Been on CSR for 8 weeks. I swear it hasn't done A THING for my skin but make it dry and red. It's time consuming and i don't know if i can carry on." But then 12-16 weeks in they will see a post that says "OMG OMG... I"M CLEAR. I stuck with it despite no visible difference 8 weeks in... and now that i'm 4 months in IM CLEAR. I'm glad i stuck with it through the hard times." Well... this is the story that i hope to be able to give to you all 12-16 weeks from now.

Current Attitude: Well... I'm 4 days in. I have a positive outlook on the whole regimen idea... despite being on it once for 4 weeks and seeing no results. This is when i was uneducated to the regimen... and also doing it incorrectly.

I am not however expecting results. I go into many things with this attitude. I never want to set myself up for reward... and fail. Because you set yourself up high... and if you fail... you go low... and the fall hurts. I do this with multiple things. Take basketball for example. I will always act humble, insist im not that good, etc etc. This how I act to those around me. However, my attitude on the inside if opposite. In my head... i know im the best, and everytime i step on the court, I am. However, i don't want to run my mouth, and then be beaten, because that fall hurts. So yeah... expecting no results. However... i will do this regimen for 12-16 weeks. If i dont see 10% results by the 12th week... i will probably give up. If however, i see any type of improvement by then... i will continue to do the regimen til i completely clear.

[cool as kim deal]

Good luck chris!

Digital cameras are pretty cheap now, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a decent used model on ebay. A slideshow tracking your progress would be pretty cool to see. I was hopeful that the regimen would work, but not enough to actually take before and progress pictures. Now that I'm clear, I regret not being able to see what my acne looked like in the first couple months of the regimen.

Some people love that Aveeno moisturizer, some hate it. Just keep that in mind so that if you find yourself hating the way your skin looks, try switching moisturizers before you mess with anything else. I heartily endorse Neutrogena Healthy Skin Face Lotion for when your skin can handle it, though.

[chris_284]

Some people love that Aveeno moisturizer, some hate it. Just keep that in mind so that if you find yourself hating the way your skin looks, try switching moisturizers before you mess with anything else. I heartily endorse Neutrogena Healthy Skin Face Lotion for when your skin can handle it, though.

Yeah, my plan is definately to switch to an AHA moisturizer. I have read roughly 4 weeks is a 'good' time to start using one. What makes it a 'good' time to start using say NHSFL? What symptoms should my skin being showing... when i know i can start an AHA moisturizer. Because maybe i can start at 3 weeks, or maybe not until 5 etc. What do i want to look for from my skin that will tell me I can add an AHA moisturizer?

[chris_284]

Well, 6th day in now. Yesterday was the first day i applied twice in a day, as I will continue to do.

I can honestly say now... my acne is looking better. Not just because of the redder skin... and hence less contrast... but many of my pimples seems smaller... and i'm getting less white heads[i.e. back to normal - the whiteheads i got were casued through jessfoliation 2-4 weeks ago].

Attitude and Outlook

I realize this is normal. The skin will look better in the first week or two... and the BP is starting to work... and then 2-4 weeks in I should be expecting a BOOM... breakout... and the bp is bring all acne under the skin to the front.

Well... I am not expecting this entirely. I have a feeling I may not see too bad a breakout... and wishfully thinking no breakout at all... because as I believe i posted in my original post... I was just on jessfoliation before I decided to give the CSR another go. Jessfoliation/polysporin caused a breakout from the 60 pimple status quo my face is accustomed to... to a breakout where there were over 100 pimples. So... here's to hoping.

What else... skin is itchy, but i try not to touch until i have given the itch a few minutes to fade on its own.

After applying bp and moisturizer... am quite red... but the redness completely goes away after somewhere between 60-90 minutes.

Comment on my products

I gotta say I'm liking this lotion[Aveeno Ultra Calming] i'm using, and will continue to use for another 2-4 weeks[when I will switch to NHSFL or NSFW or whatever its called lol]. It leaves me completely not greasy looking which i love. After i apply, you can see the light shine off it, but after its fully absorbed... greasy look gone. Also... so light... compared to cetaphil which i used my first time around.

I still have the cetaphil... i think i'm going to apply it tonight, just so i can see the difference and make a better judgement.

[Brandy]

I like your attitude log! Very cool.
and it sounds like you are doing well with the CSR so far.

[cool as kim deal]

What do i want to look for from my skin that will tell me I can add an AHA moisturizer?

Well, you should be using the full amount of BP and be tolerating it--no excessive irritation, stinging, or redness. That will probably be around the 5 week mark or so.

[chris_284]

Day 8

So yesterday on day 7, after washing my face after the gym... I first felt the extreme tightness of the skin. I wold turn my head to the left, and feel the skin on my right eye pulling down and out.... and vice versa.

Anyway... no big deal there... and after the roommate got out of the bathroom... i did the bp and moisturizing.

I don't know if this over tightness and extreme dryness is due to an overdrying cleanser[basis vitamin bar] or if it was due to inadequate moisturization through day 7[using AUC... and didn't reapply during the day like I feel it needs].

So at night I washed with Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser... and applied some Cetaphil moisturizer liberally.

Woke up in the morning, washed with cetaphil... no tightness or dryness.

Then again... maybe this was also due to me having to ait 25 minutes last night for my roommate to get out the bathroom.

Facial Symptoms as of day 8
-Expierenced some tightness and extreme dryness night of day 7. Attribute that to either an overdrying cleanser... opr inadequate moisturization throughout the day coupled with me scratching my face all day long, even though it was gently, due to lack of moisturization.
-Still no flakiness which i'm lovin.
-Redness, but only last 60 minutes after application. Months ago during my first time on the regimen putting the cetaphil on would burn my face, and leave me red all day long.
-I can see clearing. I can still see the large pimples but many of the small ones seem to have disappeared.
-Also... pimples are either a)less red or b)the skin is more red, giving less contrast, and making the pimples seem less red
-Always get itchy around noon or 1pm[i apply at 6am]. However im packing lotion now... so I can reapply now at work to help the itch subside.

[/b]Attitutde[b]
Being 8 days in and seeing it work is great!
However, I also can see that it is going to take a few months. I do not expect to be anywhere near fully clear 8 weeks in.
Still enjoy applying the bp and moisturizer etc. I actually look forward to that part of the day... knowing i'm giving my skin another good helping of bp. How I have managed to have this great of an attitude this time around [expecially with havig to wake up another 20 minutes earlier] is beyond me, lol.

[chris_284]

Well, I'm currently 24 applications into the regimen.

My first time through the regimen back in february, i got very red. I was on it for about 4 weeks, and was only ever applying 1/3 of a finger.

This time through... only 2 weeks through... my redness subsided after about day 6 and i'm already up to the full finger amount [and this is just for my cheeks and temple area, i squeeze out a little more after that to get my neck area].

Anyway, i introduced NHSFL-Night on about the 21st application, and have now put it on twice. Creates a little bit of redness on the face during application, but goes away.

As for my attitude... i realize this is going to be no short or easy process. I've come to realzie that this is going to take at least 12-16 weeks, if not double that. I just have this feeling that it is working so very slowly.

I know i'm going to have a million red marks at the end of this... and am hoping there is something to combat all these redmarks... or that AHA will do the trick.

=============

Update on something from a past post: I mentioned earlier that I had done jessfoliation immediately prior to starting the regimen again... and was hoping that because of the breakout i got from exfoliating[from about 60 to 100 pimples] that i would not get an inital breakout from the BP.

Well, i'm thinking this was the case. I have not broken out in the areas that i exfoliated and have now applied BP to, but I have broken out on my neck area where i wasn't exfoliating before, but i have applied bp to.

Anyway... 2 weeks down. Pretty good, because they flew by. First time around doing the regimen... the 4 weeks i was on it seemed like an infinity. 10-14 more weeks to go.