78 replies to this topic

[mallory]

hi everyone!

thought i'd keep a log of my progress because other people's logs helped me out a ton in figuring out my next steps to clearer skin

i was on differin .01% cream from march 08 until dec 09. when i realized it wasn't working as well, my doctor bumped me up to the .03% gel. that worked for a little while, but again, my skin is progressively getting worse. (i was completely clear all last summer until about december)

so today i picked up my prescription of clindamycin topical solution (which i've used before) and my retin-a micro .1%...

i'm a LITTLE worried about another initial breakout from the retin-a micro, but am hoping since i used differin in the past, it wont be as bad... any insight/experience with this, anyone?!

last night was my first night applying retin-a micro ... i was expecting it to be worse than what it was, for some reason. i was also expecting to wake up this morning with a red face... but not yet... *fingers crossed* ... no peeling, irritation, or redness!

i'm also not going to ease into it like some people have... i feel like i've been on differin for so long that i'm sort of past that stage.

here is my regimen:

- wash with Dove Beauty Bar for Sensitive skin
- apply clindamycin solution
- wait about 20 minutes, then apply retin-a micro .01% (not sure if i have to wait or not, just out of habit from using differin.)
- still trying to decide if i should moisturize after, but when i do, i've always used Olay Hydrating Fluid for Sensitive Skin.

pretty simple. wish me luck, guys!

[whyGodwhy!=)]

hi everyone!

thought i'd keep a log of my progress because other people's logs helped me out a ton in figuring out my next steps to clearer skin

i was on differin .01% cream from march 08 until dec 09. when i realized it wasn't working as well, my doctor bumped me up to the .03% gel. that worked for a little while, but again, my skin is progressively getting worse. (i was completely clear all last summer until about december)

so today i picked up my prescription of clindamycin topical solution (which i've used before) and my retin-a micro .1%...

i'm a LITTLE worried about another initial breakout from the retin-a micro, but am hoping since i used differin in the past, it wont be as bad... any insight/experience with this, anyone?!

last night was my first night applying retin-a micro ... i was expecting it to be worse than what it was, for some reason. i was also expecting to wake up this morning with a red face... but not yet... *fingers crossed* ... no peeling, irritation, or redness!

i'm also not going to ease into it like some people have... i feel like i've been on differin for so long that i'm sort of past that stage.

here is my regimen:

- wash with Dove Beauty Bar for Sensitive skin
- apply clindamycin solution
- wait about 20 minutes, then apply retin-a micro .01% (not sure if i have to wait or not, just out of habit from using differin.)
- still trying to decide if i should moisturize after, but when i do, i've always used Olay Hydrating Fluid for Sensitive Skin.

pretty simple. wish me luck, guys!

Well, i've been on retin-a for about a year now on and off and in my experience the second IB was not as severe and goes away much quicker i'm guessing it won't be for you either, but there will an IB just brace yourself, keep with your regimen hopefully it won't be too bad or last too long ...

I also have a prescription for clindamycin. And i would suggest using clindamycin in the a.m and retin-a p.m. Retin-a is so strong you don't want to mix it with other topicals. It might irritate your skin and cause a reverse effect.

My derm. first gave me a prescribtion to clindamycin solution and now i have the gel form. I personally like the gel form. With the solution, I found it broke me out if rubbed it on my face rather than dabbed it. And with the gel i can apply it as a thin film over an entire area of my face and it's much easier and it doesn't break me out. When u see your derm again ask for a prescription for the gel form and see which one suits you better. Either way clindamycin is awesome!!

The worst part of Retin A is the flaking, apply aloe vera or a drop or two of
jojoba oil about 30 mins. to an hour after applying retin-a. You may not be flaking now but Retin A is very drying and the more irritation you can prevent the better for your skin.

One more piece of advice, apply sunscreen EVERYDAY, Retin A thins the skins so it is easily burned and the sun will make old acne marks darker making them more visible.

Okay i guess that it, sorry for the long post just trying to pass on my knowledge from many many mistakes. Good Luck and keep us posted on your results!!

[mallory]

hi everyone!

thought i'd keep a log of my progress because other people's logs helped me out a ton in figuring out my next steps to clearer skin

i was on differin .01% cream from march 08 until dec 09. when i realized it wasn't working as well, my doctor bumped me up to the .03% gel. that worked for a little while, but again, my skin is progressively getting worse. (i was completely clear all last summer until about december)

so today i picked up my prescription of clindamycin topical solution (which i've used before) and my retin-a micro .1%...

i'm a LITTLE worried about another initial breakout from the retin-a micro, but am hoping since i used differin in the past, it wont be as bad... any insight/experience with this, anyone?!

last night was my first night applying retin-a micro ... i was expecting it to be worse than what it was, for some reason. i was also expecting to wake up this morning with a red face... but not yet... *fingers crossed* ... no peeling, irritation, or redness!

i'm also not going to ease into it like some people have... i feel like i've been on differin for so long that i'm sort of past that stage.

here is my regimen:

- wash with Dove Beauty Bar for Sensitive skin
- apply clindamycin solution
- wait about 20 minutes, then apply retin-a micro .01% (not sure if i have to wait or not, just out of habit from using differin.)
- still trying to decide if i should moisturize after, but when i do, i've always used Olay Hydrating Fluid for Sensitive Skin.

pretty simple. wish me luck, guys!

Well, i've been on retin-a for about a year now on and off and in my experience the second IB was not as severe and goes away much quicker i'm guessing it won't be for you either, but there will an IB just brace yourself, keep with your regimen hopefully it won't be too bad or last too long ...

I also have a prescription for clindamycin. And i would suggest using clindamycin in the a.m and retin-a p.m. Retin-a is so strong you don't want to mix it with other topicals. It might irritate your skin and cause a reverse effect.

My derm. first gave me a prescribtion to clindamycin solution and now i have the gel form. I personally like the gel form. With the solution, I found it broke me out if rubbed it on my face rather than dabbed it. And with the gel i can apply it as a thin film over an entire area of my face and it's much easier and it doesn't break me out. When u see your derm again ask for a prescription for the gel form and see which one suits you better. Either way clindamycin is awesome!!

The worst part of Retin A is the flaking, apply aloe vera or a drop or two of
jojoba oil about 30 mins. to an hour after applying retin-a. You may not be flaking now but Retin A is very drying and the more irritation you can prevent the better for your skin.

One more piece of advice, apply sunscreen EVERYDAY, Retin A thins the skins so it is easily burned and the sun will make old acne marks darker making them more visible.

Okay i guess that it, sorry for the long post just trying to pass on my knowledge from many many mistakes. Good Luck and keep us posted on your results!!

hi! thank you so much for responding about the IB... i've been wondering if other people have tried retinoids on and off, or switched. i'm not TOO worried about... mind over matter, right?! i will definitely check out the gel form because im not so much a fan of the dabber but definitely a fan of clindamycin!

again, thanks for commenting, and i'll keep everyone posted!

[mallory]

DAY 3

well, still no redness or irritation... just a LITTLE flakiness around my mouth and my nose.. even though i don't really apply it near my nose.. weird?!

so far so good... no break out... even though i'm assuming if that comes, it will be another week or two. hopefully i'll surpass it since i've been on differin for so long... we'll see! oh well, whatever happens, i'm mentally prepared.

i've been putting the clindamycin on in the am and pm and the retin-a micro just in the pm.
i skipped moisturizing the first two nights, but now i think it's time to moisturize... i even put a little vaseline around my lips overnight and that seemed to help a lot to reduce flakiness today under my makeup. overall, i literally feel like my skin texture is much smoother even though it's been only 3 days... maybe it's in my head!? but if it's not that would be awesome.. haha.

okay, enough rambling! until next time...

[mallory]

DAY 4

hi! nothing new... still please with what's going on. overall, my skin texture looks pretty good to me... and no new breakouts! still a tiny bit of flakiness on the edges of my mouth, but that's about it. since my skin doesn't really seem to be effected by my new regimen, i've been waiting about 45 minutes, then applying AHA on little spots over the retin-a micro. seems to help some redmarks and spots peel a little faster... works for me

anyway, i took a few pictures last night to show everyone what we're working with! it doesn't look as bad as it really is in the pictures because of the lighting maybe?... going to take a few more in a few days to record progress...in better lighting, for sure. i look a little red because i just had washed my face a few minutes before. here we go:

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[mallory]

DAY 8!

Well, I haven't updated in a few days because not much has changed. I was experience more flakiness around the 5th day, so i skipped the topical on day 6. Instead, I just exfoliated well and moisturized the heck outta my face before bed. I had something important to go to the next day and didnt want to have to worry about a gross flaking face all night... haha. That seemed to do the trick! I went back to using the retin-a micro last night and my face is totally fine today- no redness, dryness, or itching.

i do, however have one problem spot, and another very small spot. BUT! they're not very noticable and they seem to be healing fairly quickly.
I also was in the sun for almost two days straight and didn't experience any sensitivity, so I guess I'm lucky?!

[mallory]

DAY 11

okay, so, everything was going sooooo well... and now i'm not so sure. my skin tone is looking uneven and dull. i'm also noticing a ton of oil that i didnt really have before. thinking it might be from the clindamycin? i developed a breakout on the left side of my face where i ALWAYS, without fail, break out- right underneath my cheek bone. its so frustrating.

i've zapped the zits with my new method (retin- a micro, wait about 30 min, apply SA if inflamed, wait another 30 minutes, apply AHA 10%) it sounds like a lot, but my breakouts actually reacted very well to it, and were flattened overnight. now i'm just stuck with stubborn red marks that are huge, so i'm applying AHA like a mad woman.

i'm trying to stay positive about this whole situation and hope this might be a part of the initial breakout, and a clear face will be soon to come.

[mallory]

DAY 12


Well, still broken out, but definitely healing.. the spots where i'm healing are just ultra dry and awkward looking. where the blemishes are healing, it's flaking all around them, making it really awkward to put makeup on.
ahhhhhh acne is so annoying! it takes up way too much of my energy and i'm ready to be done with it.

please please please let this be the IB!

[mallory]

DAY 14

still a little broken out, but everything is definitely flattened and easy to hide. i'm thinking that in a couple of days my face will be back to normal. hopefully, anyway! what i've noticed with retin-a micro is that once my blemishes are healing, JUST that area flakes in a round little circle. ha... pretty gross.

i guess i don't have much of an update... just thought i'd keep this thing updated better than i did the last. maybe i'll post some pictures tonight or tomorrow.

[mallory]

DAY 20

haven't updated in almost a week! well, my breakout is completely over with! i don't really have any new inflamed spots... just a few healing blemishes. i definitely have the red marks, though everytime i think my red marks are looking good i breakout again.
i really hope that was my initial outbreak, because it was the worst outbreak i've had in awhile. i kind of avoided coming on this site and updating during it, because i tend to become a little obsessive, haha.

i ended up skipping a few days of the retin-a micro because my face was a flaking mess. after skipping those two days and moisturizing like crazy, my face is definitely 100% better. i've used it for the past two nights and no flaking yet! maybe im past that stage too, which would be awesome. i've still been doing the clindamycin, retin-a micro, then after about 30 min, i spot treat with AHA 10% (which seems to help a lot!!)

okay, enough details. bedtime!

[omgu8myrice]

I'm not sure if it's just the camera, but I must say, your skin actually looks really good. Good enough to the point where I would never look at you and suspect you were concerned about having acne. Your also pretty cute (sorry, hada throw that in there).

Good luck with the Retin-A, though! I was on RAM .04% for 6 months.. did help a little. Just recently switched to .1% and I'm breaking out really badly

[mallory]

I'm not sure if it's just the camera, but I must say, your skin actually looks really good. Good enough to the point where I would never look at you and suspect you were concerned about having acne. Your also pretty cute (sorry, hada throw that in there).

Good luck with the Retin-A, though! I was on RAM .04% for 6 months.. did help a little. Just recently switched to .1% and I'm breaking out really badly

thank you
the most annoying part of my skin is that it can look pretty decent one day, and the next it's completely different- pretty discouraging. i think i'm finally getting over the initial outbreak period, so i'm hoping for decent skin everyday! lots of luck to you with the .1%!

[mallory]

DAY 22

i feel like i'm not getting any worse, but not really making progress, either. i'm okay with that -for the time being-... haha, anything is better than breaking out. my skin is pretty smooth and i can apply make-up to make things much less noticeable. no new breakouts. everytime i feel something that might be inflamed i slather it was SA (i'm soooooooo allergic to BP), wait 30 min, slather it with AHA and leave it overnight. this usually takes care of it!

i went out last night and had too much to drink, and im praaaaaaaying that it won't effect my skin like it has in the past. (chicago in the summertime = outdoor festivals = beer = not good for mallory's skin.)

[mallory]

DAY 25

hola! no really new updates... which is a GOOD thing!

i do have occassional very small spots that pop up here and there, but it seems like all i have to do is apply AHA and SA overnight and they're gone the next morning. my skin tone seems a little more evened out, but not enough that i'm comfortable not wearing makeup, unfortunately. that's my ultimate goal. i am SO sick of applying it every morning.

also--- i got EXTREMELY sunburnt a few days ago in the most awkward places ever. i even wore a pretty high numbered sunscreen. i know people say stay out of the sun, but uhhh, i live in chicago in the summer and when all of my friends are going to the beach- so am i! i think acne has held me back for long enough! i am really dark complected and tan very easily-never burn ...so, my advice to people on retin-a micro- wear suncreen. lots of it!

[tarah2878]

Hey there! I have been on differin gel forever and last year was bumped up to .3, anyway, since then I really haven't stayed clear for long. About two months ago my face broke out...I was moving, changed BCP's, got a dog, became a landlord renting my condo...it's been soooo stressful. My face started to breakout badly so I started in again hardcore with the differin gel (I had been using about 3 times a week). I have been experiencing a purging process already with differin (weird I thought I was maintaining by using 3 times a week, guess not)

Long story short, I am on similar regimine to yours (or will be after today).

Clindamycin pads twice a day for face and back
Retin-A once every other day to start and then increase to once every night
some kind of 'cillin antibiotic for 30 days to help me along

I cleanse w/ neutrogena extra gentle cleanser and mouisturize with neutrogena oil control lotion.

So, I guess from your account here you had an initial breakout but it wasn't so bad...? I hope it is because of the differin and I will have the same experience. I am scared but excited. Maybe I will check back in and let you know about my experience. Good luck!

[mallory]

Hey there! I have been on differin gel forever and last year was bumped up to .3, anyway, since then I really haven't stayed clear for long. About two months ago my face broke out...I was moving, changed BCP's, got a dog, became a landlord renting my condo...it's been soooo stressful. My face started to breakout badly so I started in again hardcore with the differin gel (I had been using about 3 times a week). I have been experiencing a purging process already with differin (weird I thought I was maintaining by using 3 times a week, guess not)

Long story short, I am on similar regimine to yours (or will be after today).

Clindamycin pads twice a day for face and back
Retin-A once every other day to start and then increase to once every night
some kind of 'cillin antibiotic for 30 days to help me along

I cleanse w/ neutrogena extra gentle cleanser and mouisturize with neutrogena oil control lotion.

So, I guess from your account here you had an initial breakout but it wasn't so bad...? I hope it is because of the differin and I will have the same experience. I am scared but excited. Maybe I will check back in and let you know about my experience. Good luck!

hey! so far retin- a has been awesome to me! i did have an intial outbreak, but it wasn't any worse than any other breakout i've had to go through. it sucked, but sadly, i was used to breakouts at that point. haha. since my initial breakout, i've had one inflamed spot the whole time. i also think that switching back to Yasmin instead of Ocella (the generic) is helping out a lot, too. that ocella gave me the worst breakouts i've ever experienced!

anyway, lots of luck to you! keep me updated on how it's working for ya.

[mallory]

DAY 30!

i can't believe i've almost been at this for a month. i can really notice a different in my skin, and honestly have been able to since after the 1st week. not SUPER comfortable not wearing make up out, but can see myself begin thinking about it within the next couple of weeks.

i do have one inflamed spot. but i'm never going to complain about just one spot ever again.. haha. and it's also in this weird annoying area that i ALWAYS break out in.

that's about ittttt... happy 4th everyone!

[mallory]

DAY 36

had two small inflammations this week, but i think it was caused from stress. i had a few pretty intense finals that i was working on and really worried about. they only lasted a couple of days,though, and now i'm back to normal! other than that, i've been completely clear!
so far so good. my overall skintone and texture is looking awesome. my dad even commented on it... he usually doesn't say anything, even if it's good, because it makes me soooo uncomfortable... hahaha. but i guess it was good enough to tell me! so that's encouraging!

[mallory]

DAY 42

bad newssssss... i'm breaking outtttt again. damnit.
once i'm almost completely able to not wear make up, i have another bad breakout that leaves TERRIBLE red marks. i have about 3 active spots right now, and about 4 that are healed but have really noticeable marks. i read somewhere that the initial breakout could be around the 3rd, 6th, and 9th weeks? correct me if i'm wrong, just trying to remember. if so, it's just about right on time.

i've been trying to leave the spots alone, going to bed with bandaids and neosporin on my face tonight... it's a very attractive look!

i need encouragement! someone encourage me!

[mallory]

DAY 44.

auuuugh. i'm miserable! my right side is COMPLETELY clear... not even a red mark... and my left side looks like war zone. it's pretty awkward. the inflammations are down, but they have left the most horrible red marks i've probably ever had, and i've had some bad ones.

i'm feeling pretty down and don't want ANYONE to see me. i was even supposed to go camping with tonssss of friends tomorrow night, and i honestly don't think it's going to happen .. i know that's lame, but i'm being vain and i really don't want anyone to see my face like thissss. blah.

anyway, anyone who's been on retin-a... did you experience fluctuation with your face being perfect one week and really bad the next?