3 replies to this topic

[Evan Byrne]

Hey all,


I've browsed these forums for a long time now, and have used Dan's regime a lot as well (almost a year and a half now)

I have rather sever acne. Or I should say, without treatment, my face is very severe acne prone, it's rather under control now, but not to my satisfaction.

Initially I tried Proactiv (2 years ago), I stuck with it for about 4 months with little success.

After that I tried Dans regime (yes, I followed it to the dot) for about 8 months. It worked very well to clear up my Acne, I'd say it took my acne from severe (15-20 new pimples a day) to rather mild (only about 5). I would say after about 3 months on the regime, my face had settled down as far as It was going to on Dan's program, it continued to stay that way for the following months, it had its ups and downs but on the whole stayed about the same. It wasn't completely gone, I'd have 5 or so red marks on my face every day, along with the occasional cyst that would really protrude out.

Due to this long period of no-change acne, I decided to up the ante a bit on the program, I started using 10% Benzoyl washes, along with an occasional gritty wash (sal acid sometimes). I basically replaced Dan's wash with 10% washes for a while, with some good success. Due to this change I decided to try 10% Benzoyl cream as a spot treatment on the big cysts and zits that Dan's 2.5% didn't seem to have any effect on. This also worked with good success, though still didn't complete the problem because due to the fact I was using it as a spot treatment, I was only applying it AFTER a zit showed up.

I had read that 10% Benzoyl was highly irritating on the skin so I was hesitant to use much of it, however, through spot treatment after spot treatment, I slowly fazed out 2.5% for all 10%. My face didn't really get irritated much at all.

Now, this worked VERY well. I know people claim/state that 2.5% is just as effective, however, I have tried both 2.5% and 10% extensively, and for long periods of time to establish their effectiveness, and I would say definitively, for me, 10% works better than 2.5%.

I've been on this "Modified" regime of mine for about 5 months now to establish that constant "State", to see if my face would clear up completely. However, it hasn't.

Though, better than all other variations I've tried, it still isn't the ticket.




Now, my question to all you guys is, what else can I try? Accutane is far out of the question, I don't care enough about how I look to start taking oral medication and messing with hormone levels.

I've also read recently that 10% benzoyl can be a bit damaging to the skin over time, is this true?

Would Sal Acid be worth a try? I've used it as a spot treatment from time to time with varying success, though never enough or consistent enough to establish if it works, and I'm also afraid of ditching 10% benzoyl for a while to try Sal, in fear of getting severe acne back.


Thanks for the input,

-E

[wibble]

Hey all,


I've browsed these forums for a long time now, and have used Dan's regime a lot as well (almost a year and a half now)

I have rather sever acne. Or I should say, without treatment, my face is very severe acne prone, it's rather under control now, but not to my satisfaction.

Initially I tried Proactiv (2 years ago), I stuck with it for about 4 months with little success.

After that I tried Dans regime (yes, I followed it to the dot) for about 8 months. It worked very well to clear up my Acne, I'd say it took my acne from severe (15-20 new pimples a day) to rather mild (only about 5). I would say after about 3 months on the regime, my face had settled down as far as It was going to on Dan's program, it continued to stay that way for the following months, it had its ups and downs but on the whole stayed about the same. It wasn't completely gone, I'd have 5 or so red marks on my face every day, along with the occasional cyst that would really protrude out.

Due to this long period of no-change acne, I decided to up the ante a bit on the program, I started using 10% Benzoyl washes, along with an occasional gritty wash (sal acid sometimes). I basically replaced Dan's wash with 10% washes for a while, with some good success. Due to this change I decided to try 10% Benzoyl cream as a spot treatment on the big cysts and zits that Dan's 2.5% didn't seem to have any effect on. This also worked with good success, though still didn't complete the problem because due to the fact I was using it as a spot treatment, I was only applying it AFTER a zit showed up.

I had read that 10% Benzoyl was highly irritating on the skin so I was hesitant to use much of it, however, through spot treatment after spot treatment, I slowly fazed out 2.5% for all 10%. My face didn't really get irritated much at all.

Now, this worked VERY well. I know people claim/state that 2.5% is just as effective, however, I have tried both 2.5% and 10% extensively, and for long periods of time to establish their effectiveness, and I would say definitively, for me, 10% works better than 2.5%.

I've been on this "Modified" regime of mine for about 5 months now to establish that constant "State", to see if my face would clear up completely. However, it hasn't.

Though, better than all other variations I've tried, it still isn't the ticket.




Now, my question to all you guys is, what else can I try? Accutane is far out of the question, I don't care enough about how I look to start taking oral medication and messing with hormone levels.

I've also read recently that 10% benzoyl can be a bit damaging to the skin over time, is this true?

Would Sal Acid be worth a try? I've used it as a spot treatment from time to time with varying success, though never enough or consistent enough to establish if it works, and I'm also afraid of ditching 10% benzoyl for a while to try Sal, in fear of getting severe acne back.


Thanks for the input,

-E

Hiya, whats your diet like ?

[Elliphannte]

Now, my question to all you guys is, what else can I try? Accutane is far out of the question, I don't care enough about how I look to start taking oral medication and messing with hormone levels.

First of all, accutane does not alter hormone levels directly. Taking the contraceptive pill does that. Accutane is a chemical with a similar structure to vitamin A so you're essentially overdosing on vitamin A when on accutane, but it's controlled. All you'd have is dry lips and dry skin and maybe a reduction in concentration. The chances of getting seriously screwed up on accutane are still less than dying in a car accident (someone please correct me if I'm wrong).

I'm on my second course and I can gurantee you that if nothing else works, accutane does. I'm on my second course beacuse I'm extremely unlucky to have such resistive acne. For you the chances of a complete cure are still 95%. Even if you claim not to care that much about looks, you still cared enough to come on here and ask, maybe you should seriously rethink your negative attitude towards it.

I've also read recently that 10% benzoyl can be a bit damaging to the skin over time, is this true?

If you continue being this paranoid you will never get rid of your acne. If you want to ensure you reduce as much damage as possible, use 5% concentration and apply it only once a day, sparingly.

Would Sal Acid be worth a try? I've used it as a spot treatment from time to time with varying success, though never enough or consistent enough to establish if it works, and I'm also afraid of ditching 10% benzoyl for a while to try Sal, in fear of getting severe acne back.

In my experience salicylic acid is not as good as benzoyl peroxide. But it's different for everyone.

[ItalianBoy]

Go to a derm would be my best advice. Severe acne just doesn't disappear from a day to another.