305 replies to this topic

[PLONKER]

don't use both. Use one or the other!

[gdog]

What's the reason they should not be used together?

Perhaps if 30 mins - 1 hour was left in between the applications that would be fine..?

[temp123]

By all means try it- I doubt it would do any harm, you never know it might work better.

Generally, I personally prefer to try things that other people have tried successfully (preferably with published studies behind them to show it works- this scheme is based on an extension to a published study based on using 5% TTO).

The problem is it takes weeks/months to find out whether something really works or not.

But absolutely go ahead and try it.

[Monkey.UK]

Thanks for a v. informative topic temp123

I'm striving for prevention through diet but the odd bugger still appears overnight so I'm going to give ibuprofen gel a shot as a 'dab on existing spots' product. Will report back!

[temp123]

Actually I see you're using red/blue light, tea tree oil and ibuprofen should be similar, but quicker and less hassle.

[Monkey.UK]

Actually I see you're using red/blue light, tea tree oil and ibuprofen should be similar, but quicker and less hassle.

Hope so - finding the time to patiently sit in front of a lightbox is hard some mornings!

[Medders36]

Just wanted to say that this site and these tips re ibuprofen gel are genius. I have mild asthma so may try it with caution as am on the spot treatment. Really helpful, thanks ALL. I'm new to the site and so have found it really illuminating.

[KerryAnn]

Hi,

I only joined the site today and came across this post and am very interested in trying out the ibuprofen. I'm 27 and get very bad, painful break outs only on my chin, taking Dianette for 3 months has helped somewhat but I am still getting painful under surface spots. From what I have read, my Clinique moisturiser needs to be changed though I am not sure to what.

I am going to buy some TTO to mix in with my moisturiser, I'm not quite sure about getting the balance between the two right but assume that I should not skimp too much on the TTO? Is it easy to buy undiluted TTO?

Can't believe I have struggled with my skin for so long and never come across this site...

[temp123]

All the things here are pretty available. I can get all the ingredients from my local (reasonably large) Sainsburies.

The hardest is the pure tea tree oil, my local Sainsburies currently stocks it in 25ml bottles for about £7.50 or so, but I bought 60ml in Holland and Barrett for about £12. 10ml usually goes for about £3.50 IRC. Boots also stock it.

You need about 5-10ml per 100ml of face cream, you can just eye-ball it while pouring it out, you don't need to measure it precisely. You can use scales if yours are accurate down to a few grams, it's about 5-10 grams per 100ml.

You just want to make sure you're not below the magic 4% line, otherwise it may not work properly.

What makes you say your moisturiser needs to change?

[temp123]

Current status:

Skin tone is excellent, I've more or less given up on cover up makeup because I don't need it. I've got really no spots at the moment at all and only very minor red marks. I'd probably have quite a lot of trouble persuading people that I have mild-moderate acne.

I'm also taking some vitamin A supplements, cod liver oil and a multivitamin, but I'm only about 50% above the RDA for a man and well below the maximum allowed, and my skin seems a bit less greasy; I also get some body acne, and my body acne seems a *bit* better, but just not in the same ballpark as my face, not even the same country, so I don't think it's that, although it may be helping some.

[andersoj]

Anyone from the states try this? What brand should I buy?

Thanks,

[gdog]

I've been doing this Ibuprofen Gel and tea tree oil regimen for about three weeks now and I have to agree that it is probably the best regimen I've ever been on! I have no new or active spots at the moment, and only a few marks left from former acne

The regimen which works for me is:

Gently submerge face in warm-hot water for about a minute in the morning;
Wait 10-15 minutes then apply a generous amount of Ibuprofen Gel all over my face;
Then wait another 10-15 minutes and then apply Dan's moisturiser and 4-5 drops of pure tea tree oil.

I do pretty much the same in the evening but replace the moisturiser and pure tto with the Tea Tree and Witch Hazel night lotion from Boots.

Thanks for finding out about this regimen, it's worked wonders on me and I hope it does to others too!

[temp123]

Gently submerge face in warm-hot water for about a minute in the morning;
Wait 10-15 minutes then apply a generous amount of Ibuprofen Gel all over my face;

You may be overdoing it if anything, I think that just the thinnest layer is all that's needed.

Then wait another 10-15 minutes and then apply Dan's moisturiser and 4-5 drops of pure tea tree oil.

I would recommend just unscrewing the pump and pouring ~15ml (1/2 fluid ounce) TTO into his moisturiser and then just stirring it very thoroughly for a minute or two and screw it back up tight again. Once it's stirred in well it should be completely stable. 15ml works out at about 6% strength for a new bottle. It's just a lot easier, and you may find you use less TTO this way, and so it's cheaper. 8 ounces should last a good couple of months maybe. I checked his ingredients it should be perfectly OK in theory and in practice it sounds like you're doing really well.

Thanks for finding out about this regimen, it's worked wonders on me and I hope it does to others too!

Sounds good!

[HeyOh21]

Just reading this thread and it has catched my eye lol. I was wondering do you just wash your face with normal warm/hot water before applying this iburprofen gel method? Or do you use a cleanser before hand? Also i was wondering what moisturiser you use? Because i get blemishes easy and my skin is pretty senative.

Sorry for all the questions. First time for me on these boards and you all seem very nice people. Haven't posted and i already feel welcomed lol

Oh just little info about what i've done for my acne is that i just used warm/hot water to wash my face in the morning, followed by a moisturiser then wash my face again in the evening with warm/hot water followed by moisturising. I've been too scared to put any kind of product on my face due to alot of things giving me big blemishes and showing alot of redness on my face.

Thank you for reading. Looking forward to a reply

[jimmyjammy]

Hiya, I used to be on this regime (im on accutane now so couldn't continue with it) I used to wash my face with warm water and used a mild cleanser as well before applying the tto/ibuprofen. Hope this helps.

[HeyOh21]

Hiya, I used to be on this regime (im on accutane now so couldn't continue with it) I used to wash my face with warm water and used a mild cleanser as well before applying the tto/ibuprofen. Hope this helps.

I haven't used a cleanser at all due to it burning my face years ago. But i will try to find a mild cleanser this time. Plus did you just use Tea Tree Oil mixed with the ibuprofen or did you use Tea Tree Oil Cream? Or it doesn't matter what one you use?

Thanks.

[gdog]

Hiya, I used to be on this regime (im on accutane now so couldn't continue with it) I used to wash my face with warm water and used a mild cleanser as well before applying the tto/ibuprofen. Hope this helps.

I haven't used a cleanser at all due to it burning my face years ago. But i will try to find a mild cleanser this time. Plus did you just use Tea Tree Oil mixed with the ibuprofen or did you use Tea Tree Oil Cream? Or it doesn't matter what one you use?

Thanks.

You use the Ibuprofen gel first and then mix the TTO with some moisturiser afterwards..

[jimmyjammy]

Hiya, I used to be on this regime (im on accutane now so couldn't continue with it) I used to wash my face with warm water and used a mild cleanser as well before applying the tto/ibuprofen. Hope this helps.

I haven't used a cleanser at all due to it burning my face years ago. But i will try to find a mild cleanser this time. Plus did you just use Tea Tree Oil mixed with the ibuprofen or did you use Tea Tree Oil Cream? Or it doesn't matter what one you use?

Thanks.

You use the Ibuprofen gel first and then mix the TTO with some moisturiser afterwards..

yep dont mix the tto and ibuprofen (sorry if I gave that impression), I use the clean and clear cleanser for sensitive skin its been very good for me, very mild.

[ben100604]

Some interesting reading here. I believe that Ibuprofen can help acne. I'm more or less 100% clear these days, but sometimes, if I get a big swollen spot come up, I'll pop a couple of Ibuprofen tablets. The swelling goes down a bit and the spot will not be painful to the touch. It never gets rid of it though.

I haven't tried using the gel on my face, but I suppose it could have a similar anti-imflammatory effect to antibiotics. Whether it's strong enough to keep acne down completely, I just don't know.

I must point out that there is a health risk with Ibuprofen. It can mess your stomach up. At the start of last year, I had a few breakouts and took Ibuprofen quite regularly over a week. A week later, I ended up with a bad stomach that took about 3 weeks and some prescribed drugs to sort itself out. I'm not 100% sure that the Ibuprofen caused it, but you are supposed to limit your use when taking it orally. I'm not sure what the absorption rates are with using topical Ibuprofen, but you should proceed with care and at least look into the long term effects of using the topical version.

[temp123]

I haven't tried using the gel on my face, but I suppose it could have a similar anti-imflammatory effect to antibiotics. Whether it's strong enough to keep acne down completely, I just don't know.

I think at this point we empirically know it does work. The next step would be to get clinical trials done to completely prove it, but I've done non blinded cross-over trials on my skin, and the results look convincing; and others have done similar and had very good results to. I quite frankly didn't believe it to start with, it was only when it actually worked so well, that I came around to trusting what I was seeing.

I must point out that there is a health risk with Ibuprofen. It can mess your stomach up. At the start of last year, I had a few breakouts and took Ibuprofen quite regularly over a week. A week later, I ended up with a bad stomach that took about 3 weeks and some prescribed drugs to sort itself out. I'm not 100% sure that the Ibuprofen caused it, but you are supposed to limit your use when taking it orally. I'm not sure what the absorption rates are with using topical Ibuprofen, but you should proceed with care and at least look into the long term effects of using the topical version.

According to the research done on topical ibuprofen the absorption rate is about 1/50 that of oral; and the dose we are using here is about 1/20 of the maximum recommended dose. The chances of side effects are presumably dose related and the manner of administration physically bypasses the stomach, so only to the extent the drug is carried past the stomach in the bloodstream is there likely to be an issue; but the levels there are likely to be very low.

I don't think any acne treatment is completely and utterly safe, probably not even ignoring it is safe; you still have multiple infections on your face. It's probably safer than say, minocycline though, everything we're using here is over the counter stuff, and we're using it pretty much in the way it's intended.