42 replies to this topic

[nurse2be]

Sounds like you are making progress. I know you'll love the Derm A Gel. I've been using it for over a year now and I really like it a lot. Have a wonderful Christmas!!!

What is it about the Derm-a-gel you like so much? I've been using it since Friday but I am not seeing/feeling an amazing difference. Let me know what to look out for.

[Kramerica]

Sounds like you are making progress. I know you'll love the Derm A Gel. I've been using it for over a year now and I really like it a lot. Have a wonderful Christmas!!!

What is it about the Derm-a-gel you like so much? I've been using it since Friday but I am not seeing/feeling an amazing difference. Let me know what to look out for.

Are you only spot treating with the Derm-A-Gel? I thought I read that in your regimen byline.

I've been using the Derm-A-Gel from the beginning of my treatment. About six weeks now. I think it's one of those products that takes a couple months to see full effects. It's a Vitamin A skin conditioner that encourages cell turnover, much like a retinoid. I apply it all over at night, wait 15 minutes, then apply the hydrating emulsion over it and then a layer of 2.5 BP over that.

[nurse2be]

so i've been using the clarate (AM) and derm-a-gel (PM) now for a few days. by christmas eve my face was really flaky from it all. i didn't use the BP after the derm-a-gel that night simply because i didn't remember to bring it with me when i spent the night at my parents' home. last night i was back at my house to continue my regimen as planned. i used the BP after the clarate and my face was itchy when i went to sleep. this morning it felt really tight and still a little itchy, so i put some cranberry cream (yum) on it and let that soak in for awhile before i actually did the full morning routine.

unfortunately, my face must've been really shocked awake because the salicylic acid stung, and then when i put the clarate on, i thought i'd scream it hurt so much! it really, really hurt; my jaw/chin/neck was holiday red-- very much like a bad sunburn, i think. i think it's still a little red as i type this several hours later. i waited about an hour to put the sunblock on, but i still am all itchy, tight, and tender in that region.

i called FRSC a couple hours ago to let them know what happened; there's a chance i may be allergic to something in the clarate so i received instructions from laura to not use the clarate or the derm-a-gel; i'm only supposed to cleanse/tone/moisturize for now, and then build the routine back slowly.

...so has anyone experienced what i went through? i don't have sensitive skin so it came as a shock to me...then again, maybe i'm just getting old. i will say though that i can only feel ONE underground pimple on my jawline, and only three on the underside. (i REALLY had to feel hard to find the three too!) i'm a lot more clear than i was when i started, thank GOD! i just have to be patient with all the discoloration now...

[willow569]

No, I've used both products (Clarate as a spot treat only though), and never had that kind of reaction. I have had some slightly stinging from products when my skin gets overdry or sometimes when it is getting used to a new product. I wonder what your skin might be reacting to? I never got much stinging from the Derm A gel (and my skin generally dislikes retinoids). It did make me peel at first, but that's about it.

Glad to hear that you are clearer though!

[nurse2be]

Well, it took a few days for the redness/itching to go down and I still have some brown spots from the worst of the burning. (I'm really hoping that's just the dead skin!) My skin looks a lot better in my trouble zone, so that's good. Unfortunately, I had a few new pimples pop up in completely different places (my cheeks) from where I normally have issues....

I've added all the products slowly back but am very very careful to use tiny amounts of the clarate and bp. it's been fine doing it that way, thank goodness. no more screaming pain, thank God!

[nurse2be]

I went in for my 5th treatment today and this time, because of my burning/stinging issue (and because I was still a tad red/dry), I got a moisturizing facial with steam from Julie. THAT was really nice! I really enjoyed the moisturizing facial, it felt so good to get stuff painted on me while having steam blowing- very relaxing (and WARM, as I just came in from the rain)!

Laura said my skin was definitely looking better in my trouble zone; she thought maybe I was allergic to something in the Clarate but since I've been using it again with no real problems (stinging once in awhile, but that's typical), she wasn't too worried. However, I'm still a teeny bit burnt (literally) from that experience, so for now we're ditching the Clarate but doing the Derm-a-gel twice daily. Probably a good thing, since with the winter weather my skin is drier anyway.

...but my skin is definitely looking much better! I have a few pimples in my trouble area but it's to the point where usually I *really* have to press into my skin and even concentrate to know for sure that what I'm feeling *is* a pimple underneath. I am using the Mineralogie makeup almost daily too, since the coverage is so good. I really doubted that it would be able to cover up my acne discoloration well, but I'm really impressed. The Mineralogie foundation is really long-wearing and great quality. I can't believe how well it covers the marks, and so NATURALLY. (The quality factor, I realized moreso the other day, when I got into my car and realized I didn't have the makeup with me. In a last ditch effort to put some foundation on my face, I used some old Physician's Formula mineral makeup I had left over, sitting in my car door pocket. I opened it and found the color very similar to that of Barbie. It also was crummy, not fine at all. Ick.)

I do, however, still have more sessions to go. I was told it'd be more clear (no pun intended) in 5 more sessions how many more I'd need after *those* five. NOT that I'm complaining; I'v really enjoyed the experience! But it's just to give you an idea if you're a non-inflamed client like me. I'm definitely still in the purging process, which is why I'll have several more sessions...but hey, I'm getting there!

[willow569]

Sounds like things are improving! I like those hydrating facials too. I had to get those a few times in a row instead of a peel because my skin was getting really dry for some reason. I added the hydrating emulsion and that seems to have helped.

I like the mineralogie mineral makeup too. I alternate that with my liquid foundation from Prescriptives. It does give very good coverage.

[nurse2be]

Unfortunately I broke out this week after seeing a decent improvement the last couple weeks. I got 2 new pimples right next to each other on the underside of my chin, plus one on my jaw and two on my left cheek. I never would've thought that using or not using acne med would make all the difference in the world, but it has. I'm now using that and the derm-a-gel twice daily (after not because of the previous burning/dryness). Thankfully, the pimples in question seem to be dying down and there aren't any new ones! It DOES suck though to have to deal with acne in areas I thought I was finally getting clear...but such is life. It'll get better!

[nurse2be]

my skin is...eeehhhh...this week. i just discovered a new pimple not far from the 2 on the underside of my chin; i was like "what? AGAIN?!" really annoying to break out there after all the work that the estheticians and i have put into clearing up that area specifically. my only consolation is believing that my noninflamed acne is still in the purging face. i have to believe that it WILL get better...but i thought i was over the hump!

i haven't been using the clarate spot treatment at all; i should amend my regimen below. i've been doing acne med in its place though. my skin isn't dry anymore, thankfully. i hope that if clarate is better to use in the AM, i'll be given the green light to use it when i have my face done tomorrow at FRSC.

Oh! it just occurred to me that *I* might have brought the new aforementioned pimple forming because i ate a bunch of peanuts yesterday! i rarely eat peanuts, but i *did* eat some yesterday (a handful) when my son was having some for a snack. ooh! i can't recall though if i had the new zit yesterday...but i don't think i did. wow, must've been the peanuts! *sigh*

[nurse2be]

...so i went in for my 6th session at FRSC last Friday and truthfully was expecting my typical day in the clinic; i mean, my skin was ok-- had a few pimples that i'd gotten since the last time i was at FRSC, and was a little disgruntled (as i'm sure you already gathered) by the fact that they were in the target/problem zones. well, i couldn't have been farther from the truth! i was SO happy to be told by laura that i am 90% there [to getting clear]! WOW! my skin even looked good enough to take "after" photos, which proves how much better she (as the *professional*) thought my skin looked! it is terribly exciting! i mean, she only had to do maybe...FIVE extractions on my face?!?! it was incredible! i was shocked when she was done!

after we were finished, laura pulled up the "before" photo that i'd taken from back when i first emailed FRSC to become a client. i actually got teary-eyed. (i also couldn't stop saying "wow" since i was so shocked!) the underside of my neck was completely broken out ALL OVER, plus my chin and one side of my jawline. INCREDIBLE to see the photographic PROOF of how my skin had done SUCH a 180! it had never occurred to me to take pics of my progress so i had no idea how my skin was improving in such a blatant way, in a way that would remind me and keep me pumped. i was really ecstatic!

...all i can say is: photos don't tell lies! what a DIFFERENCE a dose of VISUAL REALITY makes!


laura told me that i was officially becoming a boring client and now i only have to come back in a month! she also "prescribed" the vivant bleaching lotion forte for me since i of course have that discoloration. it's really not that bad though, especially because of how helpful/well the mineralogie conceals.

yesterday night and this morning i had some sensitivity/stinging in the neck area when i put on some of the more alcohol-y products during my routine. i think i was a little too zealous when i said i was ok (as in, no stinging/pain) with the peel treatment i got at the clinic. it didn't hurt too much when i was there, but later on when treating my face after cleansing, it did kinda hurt...but only in the sensitive neck region. i'm pretty dry and a little red there again too. however, it has subsided significantly and it was nothing like when i had the horrendous, flaming pain that one morning after putting on the clarate and seeing my neck turn as as red as a tomato! i'm confident any further irritation will decrease considerably, and very, very soon!

[willow569]

Great that you are 90% on the way to being clear! Its definitely a good thing to look at those before and after pics - it really shows you your progress. I noticed that the clearer my skin got and the longer I went without new breakouts, the pickier I got about my skin. Now, a few clogged pores or one new inflamed pimple (as I have on my chin right now...) totally bum me out. Going back and looking at my before pics helps put things in perspective though!

Cool that you are being moved to the once a month plan!

[nurse2be]

looking at that old photo really was great in getting perspective, as Willow stated. i think the last time i posted i shared i was a bit dry/tender from some stinging when i put on a couple products; that's completely gone and it actually has been since the evening of my last post. my pimples that irked me at my last session are still there but shrunken considerably- yay! i did, however, find a couple of mini pimples (inflamed) right under my lower lip, and another little one next to my nostril that doesn't show up but kinda hurts. all in all, not a bad trade off for being declared almost acne free!

i ran out of my derm-a-gel (for those who saw i originally typed "clarate"- i *did* mean derm-a-gel, not the former) this week though; i am trying to milk that little bottle for all it's worth, lol! i continue to use it only where i've had a history of breaking out/being congested. i do use the vivant bleaching lotion forte every night; laura told me it works really well so i have high hopes! the lotion forte is interesting; not like any other lightener i've ever used....its viscosity reminds me kinda of olive oil-- although a much brighter yellow! (the other lighteners i've used had always been creams.) thankfully i have not found it to be staining.

...and i *am* back to spot treating on my face with the clarate in the AM. i actually use it more than 1x a day if i have newer, more oily area pimples (i.e. under my lip). i don't use it more than once for the pimples on the underside of my face though; my skin is just too prone to get dry/irritated in that area with such an alcohol-y product!

k...till next week! wish me luck with school; i start my 2nd semester of nursing school next monday!

[nurse2be]

I went to FRSC yesterday to get another little bottle of Derm-a-gel only to be told by the lovely Shilpa that she was going to bump me up to the next level with the Vitamin A (I didn't catch that the "a" in Derm-a-gel was for vitamin A--duh!) and have me use the Exfol-A (haha, a little clearer with that, no pun intended) instead, since I was responding well to the treatment currently. I will write more about how my skin feels if I notice some big change with it (probably not)....and how it reacts to me being in school again!

[Wynne]

Isn't it funny that when we clear up we become ever so much more concerned about one little (or two little) bumps than we ever used to be? It is just so important to have those photos as proof for ourselves; we can't see and process the daily gradual improvement as it happens in such small increments and we get used to the improvements. Congratulations on your successful experience!

[nurse2be]

Isn't it funny that when we clear up we become ever so much more concerned about one little (or two little) bumps than we ever used to be? It is just so important to have those photos as proof for ourselves; we can't see and process the daily gradual improvement as it happens in such small increments and we get used to the improvements. Congratulations on your successful experience!

it really is funny! the little twin pimples right underneath my face that i've had for weeks continue to *BUG*BUG*BUG* me...and yet when i picture in my mind's eye that photo of my "before" face? no WAY- i'd rather take the 2 zits i currently have ANY DAY! thanks so much on your congrats; it's so great to feel the underside of my face and feel so much smoothness! now...on with the discoloration removal!

[nurse2be]

...so I am now in the middle of my 2nd week of school this spring semester. it's not been as stressful as last semester (at this point, at least!). i did, however, get a big pimple under my chin not far from the two pimples i was complaining about last week. they're all smaller now, but man, they are STUBBORN! especially the "twin zits"-- so annoying! i feel like they've been clogged like that forever!

on a positive note, i think the bleaching lotion forte is lightening the discoloration! laura said it works really well, and i think i can agree. it hasn't been that long since i started using it, just a couple weeks, but i do think i'm starting to see some results (as in, i don't think it's just a placebo effect!). i feel like the discolored spots are...shrinking? it's hard to explain, but i'd say it looks like they're shrinking as opposed to lightening. (i'm guessing the discoloration diffuses from dark in the center to lighter on the outer edges, and it's lightening from the outside in?)

i'm using the exfol-a too; i think i've been using that almost a couple weeks now. it's not the same lotiony consistency as the derm-a-gel; i miss that. i know this is stronger than the derm-a-gel though, so i'm hoping for good results. if anything, i'm glad i have no new pimples besides the one i just talked about. i guess it's exfoliating!

i'm actually also using it on my nose too. i have huge pores on my nose and often have gunk building up there (i know-gross) so i thought: "hey, i bet it'll be helpful since it's an exfoliating agent!" i'm not entirely sure if results can be seen yet, but i'll ask when i go to FRSC and they look at my face with the magnifier.

all right, i'll check in with you all soon!

[willow569]

Sounds like things are going well!! Glad to hear that the Exfol-A is working out for you.

[nurse2be]

so the day AFTER i wrote my last post, i found yet ANOTHER pimple under my chin, closer to my neck. this is the FOURTH pimple there, although one of the "twin pimples" is virtually gone. yes, it sucked, but yes, i make a big deal about it because i wasn't expecting it and thought i was on the way to spotlessly clear...i guess a little detour. i also found another pimple in front of my ear this morning. *sigh*

...but life's been pretty stressful for me these days. a lot of emotional stress, plus i was/still kinda am worried i may be pregnant (!!!). i was a complete and utter wreck all weekend-- alternating between being weepy and depressed and flipping out...my husband thinks i'm somewhat crazy to be *that* upset because hello, he's there- and hello, we're young and healthy. none of that changes the fact that hello, i'm in the middle of nursing school and hello, we live on 1 modest income and pay a huge amount of debt to private colleges. *sigh* i suppose this may have something to do with my skin not getting better as quickly as i'd like?

i know this website isn't pregnancy.org and it's acne.org so i'll stick to the topic at hand! i hope in a couple weeks to give an update on my skin and pregnancy test, lol! in the meantime, i haven't seen any changes from my possible conception, thank goodness. anyway, i'll be in touch...

[nurse2be]

it just occurred to me that there are a LOT of cats on this webpage? i love cats!

[willow569]

it just occurred to me that there are a LOT of cats on this webpage? i love cats!

Me too! I have three.

So, definitely keep us posted on your skin progress and your pregnancy test!!