5 replies to this topic

[Angi]

A bit of background: I'm 27, and have had acne since I was 12, cysts since I was probably 13 or 14. It's always been severe in type and persistence, but not in quantity. So, my entire face is never broken out, but it's also never without at least a few inflamed pimples. I've been having quite a bit of luck with my current regimen of BHA and BP, but still not as clear as I want to be. So I decided to make the leap into retinoids, and decided to start with Diacneal before moving up to something Rx. Right now, I'm only using the Diacneal every other night and alternating with my usual BHA and BP, once I build up more of a tolerance to it I plan to use it every night and use the BHA and BP in the morning.

My current pics aren't too horrible, most of what you can see here is scarring and red marks. I had two post-cyst red marks that have faded dramatically after using the Diacneal only twice, I'm assum
ing that's the glycolic acid, as I know retinoids aren't overnight result kind of products.




Also, my chin is full of comedones that have been there for years, really hoping the Diacneal does something for those.

[chicky1]

Good luck! I used diacneal for a year and did not see any improvements in my skinh. Been on retin-a gel for a couple of months now, and my skin is so much better. My biggest problem is clogged pores and blackheads.

[Angi]

Thanks for the input, I'm glad to hear you've had success with Retin-a! My biggest problem is unfortunately inflamed breakouts, including cysts, so I'm really not too confident that Diacneal will be nearly enough for me. But I figure it's not a bad place to start in the world of retinoids, and if nothing else the Glycolic Acid in it seems to be helping with red marks!

[Angi]

Still using Diacneal every other night. I think I'm having some minor purging from it, I had a whole lot of clogged pores on my nose the other day, most went away quickly but a few turned into little pustules. The rest of my face has gotten a new bump here and there, nothing terribly inflamed and not a horrible quantity, but more than I typically get all at once unless I'm PMSing. Last night after cleansing, my skin was cracked and peeling and looked the most irritated I've ever seen it. But I took it as a good sign that it was resurfacing, and other than my big red broken out nose, it does look a lot better and barely feels dry today.

I'll take pics again soon, though the change hasn't been for the better just yet.

[Angi]

New pics... I'm still clearing up from the little breakout I think was purging. I'm really broken out around my mouth and don't know why. I'm PMSing right now, though, and feel nothing deep and cystic brewing under my skin, which is AMAZING. Last month, I managed to keep the big ones down by spot treating with 10% BP, but this month I don't even feel any trying to come out yet. Overall, I don't think my skin looks better yet, but I'm seeing signs of improvement.

I've been using the Diacneal every night instead of every-other for over a week now. I've been really dry on and off, but I can feel my skin adjusting. It was super soft today.

Pics:
Left:

Right:

Chin:

[Angi]

Well, I think I'm digging this Diacneal Starting week 4, overall really happy. I'm getting ready to start my period any day, and NO big cysts or anything, which is really unheard of for me.

Sorry for crappy webcam quality, but this pic is current with no makeup on:

(the one red bump on my forehead is actually a mosquito bite...LOL)

This was about a month ago (sorry for my horrible hair ):


This is a horrible quality pic, but is from about 6 months ago and was pretty typical of my skin before starting any of my current regimen: