123 replies to this topic

[deebubs]

Good to see you have no new breakouts! By the way, how do you like the Cetaphil Moisturizer? Which one do you use? Im considering switching to another moisturizer, but it's hard to find one with a high enough SPF. Im so paranoid when it comes to new face products -- frankly, they all scare me. I never know what's going to make me break out.

I use the Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion with the green label (Dry Sensitive Skin Treatment). It is the one Dan Kern recommends to use (No SPF). It comes on a bit thick and a little sticky...but it's a lotion I know won't cause me to breakout so I stick to it. I am willing to live with my face feeling a little sticky..than having more breakouts. Cetaphil makes a lotion with SPF ..but I have not tried it. I use Bobbi Brown makeup that contains SPF already so I'm covered.

[deebubs]

Week 11: No new breakouts. Yipee!!!! I can't believe it's already the 11th week...so fast.

[Madworld]

Keep up the good work. I'm looking to follow your footsteps!

[deebubs]

Keep up the good work. I'm looking to follow your footsteps!

2nd day of week 11 no breakouts yet. Been taking ground flaxseeds to control my hormones and avoid breaking out at the end of that time of the month. Hoping to see results from in a month or two. Differin has really helped put some sort of control in my breakouts...unfortunately..it can't help when it come to my hormones going crazy every month.

[Madworld]

Do you think adapalene is helping you in terms of improving your overall complexion? I've been getting pretty oily in the last few days....

[deebubs]

Do you think adapalene is helping you in terms of improving your overall complexion? I've been getting pretty oily in the last few days....

Yes, Differin has helped my overall complexion. I use to have very tiny bumps on my forehead and cheeks..and now it is smooth.
I also use to break out every week...seems my skin was out of control. I was getting oily during the initial weeks I used Differin, but that's bcos I was putting moisturizer on my face all the time for fear it may dry out.

[clear_4ever]

Do you think adapalene is helping you in terms of improving your overall complexion? I've been getting pretty oily in the last few days....

Yes, Differin has helped my overall complexion. I use to have very tiny bumps on my forehead and cheeks..and now it is smooth.
I also use to break out every week...seems my skin was out of control. I was getting oily during the initial weeks I used Differin, but that's bcos I was putting moisturizer on my face all the time for fear it may dry out.

My face also was oily during the first 4-5 weeks using differin. I think it was purging out the oils from my pores. After 5 weeks, my face wasn't oily anymore and I had to use Cetaphil to moisturize it at
night.

[deebubs]

My face also was oily during the first 4-5 weeks using differin. I think it was purging out the oils from my pores. After 5 weeks, my face wasn't oily anymore and I had to use Cetaphil to moisturize it at
night.

Thanks for you input Clear_4ever. Madworld..hopefully that gives you some insight..you are not alone.

Anyway..no new updates on my face...No breakouts yet. My face is a little dry..so I am using Cetaphil Moisturizer after putting Differin on my face at night. Just a thin layer.

[SMoothie614]

How long do you wait after applying Differin to apply the moisturizer?

[deebubs]

How long do you wait after applying Differin to apply the moisturizer?

Hi SMoothie, I wait for abt. 30 mins....then I apply my moisturizer.

[deebubs]

Week 11: I'm halfway through week 11. I have one tiny zit on the left corner of my mouth. It's just a tiny red dot...(whew!) I can easily cover it with makeup. Other than that...no other breakouts.

[deebubs]

Week 11: I'm halfway through week 11. I have one tiny zit on the left corner of my mouth. It's just a tiny red dot...(whew!) I can easily cover it with makeup. Other than that...no other breakouts.

no new breakouts. Got 2 more days and will be in Week 12!

[nomoredilemma]

Anyway, update on the last day of Week 4:

The comodones (bumps) on my chin is slowly minimizing..I can see it's smoothing out. My forehead is smooth now...except the one zit right on top of my right brow (from tweezing!). Thank goodness it's small.

The one zit I have left on my chin is still there...slowly drying out. It should be flat by Monday. Other than that....I don't have any other breakouts.

I am using Cetaphil Moisturizer every other day right after differin to help with the dryness. I am trying to find a balance....to avoid additional breakouts during the 12 week of using differin.

<Sigh>

deebubs, this is probably the third time i read your log thoroughly. i found out that, after shower, i can observe some suspicious comedone bumps on my upper cheek, but after a while, when my face cool down, i can barely see them. your exp is they will be gone after applying differin? shouldn't they be pushed out by differin?
it is my 2nd week, feeling bad:(

[deebubs]

Anyway, update on the last day of Week 4:

The comodones (bumps) on my chin is slowly minimizing..I can see it's smoothing out. My forehead is smooth now...except the one zit right on top of my right brow (from tweezing!). Thank goodness it's small.

The one zit I have left on my chin is still there...slowly drying out. It should be flat by Monday. Other than that....I don't have any other breakouts.

I am using Cetaphil Moisturizer every other day right after differin to help with the dryness. I am trying to find a balance....to avoid additional breakouts during the 12 week of using differin.

<Sigh>

deebubs, this is probably the third time i read your log thoroughly. i found out that, after shower, i can observe some suspicious comedone bumps on my upper cheek, but after a while, when my face cool down, i can barely see them. your exp is they will be gone after applying differin? shouldn't they be pushed out by differin?
it is my 2nd week, feeling bad:(

Hi Nomoredilemma, I should make my log more clear and very detailed instead of being too general. I apologize.
Some of my comedone bumps seems to be exfoliating, I am suspecting it's from the differin. Some of my comedones do end up being pushed out...that's when I get the whiteheads. And a few (I've only experience 3-4) where cream colored toothpaste gunk come out...literally the gunk is pushed out of the pore. I don't pick on it or anything...

Don't give up...it is only your 2nd week...it will take time. I remember when I was in my 4th week...I encountered bad IB...I had 5 whitehead on my chin! I kept on using differin...telling my self not to give up.

[nomoredilemma]

Hi Nomoredilemma, I should make my log more clear and very detailed instead of being too general. I apologize.
Some of my comedone bumps seems to be exfoliating, I am suspecting it's from the differin. Some of my comedones do end up being pushed out...that's when I get the whiteheads. And a few (I've only experience 3-4) where cream colored toothpaste gunk come out...literally the gunk is pushed out of the pore. I don't pick on it or anything...

Don't give up...it is only your 2nd week...it will take time. I remember when I was in my 4th week...I encountered bad IB...I had 5 whitehead on my chin! I kept on using differin...telling my self not to give up.

There is nothing to apologize and I did not mean that at all. I read your posts and enjoyed digging the little things, little changes happened to you. Guess it is the 3rd week of my differin trip, I am concerned about how it goes.

I do get many whiteheads if I use differin continously, but what worries me is the persistence of red spots. They are fading and growing, not predictable at all.

[deebubs]

Hi Nomoredilemma, I should make my log more clear and very detailed instead of being too general. I apologize.
Some of my comedone bumps seems to be exfoliating, I am suspecting it's from the differin. Some of my comedones do end up being pushed out...that's when I get the whiteheads. And a few (I've only experience 3-4) where cream colored toothpaste gunk come out...literally the gunk is pushed out of the pore. I don't pick on it or anything...

Don't give up...it is only your 2nd week...it will take time. I remember when I was in my 4th week...I encountered bad IB...I had 5 whitehead on my chin! I kept on using differin...telling my self not to give up.

There is nothing to apologize and I did not mean that at all. I read your posts and enjoyed digging the little things, little changes happened to you. Guess it is the 3rd week of my differin trip, I am concerned about how it goes.

I do get many whiteheads if I use differin continously, but what worries me is the persistence of red spots. They are fading and growing, not predictable at all.

Is your acne mild? What type of acne do you have? Before I started using Differin and the regimine I am currently using...I was using Proactiv. Proactiv has helped me for years until the middle of last year. I use to breakout when I was on Proactiv...but it was expected (monthly cycle abt 1 zit a month). Towards the middle of last year..I started breaking out every other week...then it became every week.... My breakouts initially started as pastules and whiteheads (1-2 a week). Then..I started getting cysts...once I started getting cysts...I knew I had to do something. By the time I started Differin...I was breaking out every week...probably 2-3 zits in one week. Now, my face is slowly going back to the way it was...I am experiencing no breakouts for sometime...even if it is just for a week or two.

[deebubs]

Last day of week 11: No breakouts. Nothing new.

[nomoredilemma]

i am not as lucky as you are.

my acne is moderate. Before i was prescribed differin, I had consistant nodules or pustules, usually just one active, and some redness. I was using clindamycin before, but now i realized that it only made me worse due to the high alchol level it contains. It make my face irritated and red. I was stupid to think that was because the medicine was working. well, guess being wise is really important.
Before clindamycin era, I was using some cosmetic brands for about 9 months, they did not really do much, good or bad.
Before that 9 months, I was using proactive for years. It never cleared me, but it was very helpful. I stopped it mostly because I wanted a cure, not just a fragile face scared of sunshine, ready to break any time.

I believe I have immediate response to differin, the first few times, my lip cracked so much that I had to carry a lip palm with me all the time. Then I get nodules, one or two, from the previous red spots. I dont know if I am being optimistic about this, but it seems one side of my cheek is not breaking out with nodules any more. The other side, however is giving me hell. Still have two nodules close to each other on my left cheek. plus these, i have two pustules-like on my forehead, which i really did not have problem before differin age. I never experienced face peeling, maybe it is because I apply cetaphil, so... anyway, i do not quite feel comfortable with the results now.

[deebubs]

i am not as lucky as you are.

my acne is moderate. Before i was prescribed differin, I had consistant nodules or pustules, usually just one active, and some redness. I was using clindamycin before, but now i realized that it only made me worse due to the high alchol level it contains. It make my face irritated and red. I was stupid to think that was because the medicine was working. well, guess being wise is really important.
Before clindamycin era, I was using some cosmetic brands for about 9 months, they did not really do much, good or bad.
Before that 9 months, I was using proactive for years. It never cleared me, but it was very helpful. I stopped it mostly because I wanted a cure, not just a fragile face scared of sunshine, ready to break any time.

I believe I have immediate response to differin, the first few times, my lip cracked so much that I had to carry a lip palm with me all the time. Then I get nodules, one or two, from the previous red spots. I dont know if I am being optimistic about this, but it seems one side of my cheek is not breaking out with nodules any more. The other side, however is giving me hell. Still have two nodules close to each other on my left cheek. plus these, i have two pustules-like on my forehead, which i really did not have problem before differin age. I never experienced face peeling, maybe it is because I apply cetaphil, so... anyway, i do not quite feel comfortable with the results now.

I never experience my lip cracking...i am assuming you mean around your lips. I am using Differin in cream form which isn't as strong as the gel version. I have a friend who also is using differin and now her acne is in a state when I started using differin. She would break out as many as 10 zits a week...and the zits were cysts! She was breaking out around her face mostly on her right side. She has the cysts under control now and is now breaking out mostly on her chin..which was never a problem area before using differin. She did have some close comodones before using Differin on her chin.

Her regimen is similar to mine but she is putting Clindamycin 1% topical after washing her face with Proactiv 2.5% facial cleanser.

[nomoredilemma]

it was lip, not around. i am not sure if it was due to cold weather though.