14 replies to this topic

[stoneman]

I've just started to use the PanOxyl 2.5% Aquagel that my doctor prescribed me for the past few days and have had some slight redness on my face. I heard somewhere in the UK regimen supplies forum that generally PanOxyl products are generally not good. Is that correct? If this is true, then why would my doctor recommend and prescribe this gel to me?

Has anyone else tried and tested the same exact gel? And what were the results?

[anise_]

Not the exact same gel, but...

I've been using Panoxyl 5% BP (in an alcohol base) for some time now. It's an OTC product here in Canada. I find it really effective, moreso than any other BP gel I've ever used.

When I first started using it, it really irritated my skin. So much that I was red and flakey and I couldn't use it daily. Definitely use a moisturizer with it! My skin got used to it within a month, but I still couldn't go without a moisturizer.

I wouldn't recommend using it for Dan's regimen though. It's too harsh a product to use that much of. It's also grainy, whitish, and "wrinkles" easily - not good for daytime use.

The Panoxyl I'm using is stronger though, so your side effects probably won't be as bad.

[dinimal]

[stoneman]

Right now I'm putting this stuff on all over my face once a day (at night). After the first night, I got one small pimple and the spots that were there before were starting to scab over. And there was some redness on the left hand side of my face but not as much as the right hand side of my face.

Obviously, I popped the pimple and put some more gel on it the 2nd night. Pimple has now scabbed over aswell and there is no new redness or spots. Redness from first day has started to turn brownish/pinkish colour. Face feels tight and I can see white flakes of skin on my face but I'm not going to peel it off yet.

I got another question for you dinimal. How long does it take for the redness to go away or flake off? Cos right now the skin tone on my face looks worse than before I started the using the BP gel. Plus, I was kind of hoping that the redness will go away before I start university again on 23rd September.

[harlems_nocturne]

ok chuck....I'm in practically the same boat as u...and I feel the boat is sinking!!

I used to use zineryt topical lotion from the docs about 5 yrs ago, and then i stopped using it and the chemist gave me Penoxyl 2.5...I don't remember what happened. Then I stopped that too, don't remember why either...*such a good memory*. Started the zineryt again about a yr ago, and I'm now sick to the death of my acne and I felt like it was getting worse. I came across the website a few weeks back and suddenly remembered the Penoxyl stuff and eagerly went the the chemist on my way to work the next day...

Soooooo...about 2 weeks ago back onto Penoxyl and doing the same stuff roughly said in Dans regimen

Get up...
1) Wash with OXy wash
2) Use Clearisil's blue cleanser thing...gets rid of black heads - IT REALLY WORKS!!!
3) Then I generously put Penoxyl 2.5 Aqua gel on
4) After about 5 mins...when its dry...I put garnier anti blemish mousteriser (sp??) on. This is good for taking away the stinging sensations that may accure!
5) After thats dried...i then but on foundation - for the past two yrs, Ive become so paranoid of my acne that i cant leave the house without make up - even if it makes it worse, or the spots can be seen, I won't go without! Sad isn't it...

Then at night...
1)Wash with OXy wash again
I used to put more penoxyl on, but now i stopped
Ive now taken to putting germolene all over my face, which does help and makes my skin slightly less dry, and it turns spots into scabs to which is good

All thru the day I will try and drink as much water as I possibly can...unfortunatly means I'm forever on the loo

I also have the same redness (like this smiliey infact... ), stinging sensations, flakey skin, wrinklyness and now its worrying me some what...One day the red was so bad, it could still be seen thru the foundations, and it didnt go for about 2 hrs...i had to go to work like it and got the piss taken out of me...my 'friends' thought i got a sun tan and left my sunglasses on bcos of the patches around my eyes. I have to say the amount of spots has decreased, but i'm still not convinced. Ive also got the same thing...wanting to get rid of them all before i go to uni...i also have the added pressure of having to into college for my results next week and seeing my ex-male best friend (who i secretly had the huuuuuuuugest crush on for more than a yr, and prob still) and he has a new gf who is stunning...so naturally i want him to see what he is missing in his friendship...and maybe more...

[dinimal]

stoneman, i guess it took about 2 full weeks for my skintone to look even. (it was two weeks after i started the regimen that my mother commented on it.)

today i have several pimples spread over my face. i am -not- happy. argh. i have one just on the edge of my lip, so it looks like i have some kind of STD. it's as if my acne is teasing me going 'ha! you didn't apply BP here did you?"

i went to bed feeling so optimistic last night too

[cynic]

[emmy]

i just changed from panoxyl to quinoderm...not sure i've done the right thing! i started using panoxyl and within 3 days ALL my acne was gone...there was a lot of peeling and redness but when all the dead skin was gone my skin was so much better. it worked like a chemical peel for me because it completely removed a layer of skin.

but because of its reputation for being too harsh, i stopped and bought quinoderm. the peeling has stopped and my spots seemed to have started again! but that could just be the timing.

[stoneman]

[richii]

ive just started to use this, really works and ive tried basically everything!
the only down side is the dry skin but i use neutrogena oil free moisturiser and it seems to work.
also my skin seems to be noticeably darker(as told by my mum!) on the areas i applied it, which i'm slightly worried about...

[ospray]

ok chuck....I'm in practically the same boat as u...and I feel the boat is sinking!!

I used to use zineryt topical lotion from the docs about 5 yrs ago, and then i stopped using it and the chemist gave me Penoxyl 2.5...I don't remember what happened. Then I stopped that too, don't remember why either...*such a good memory*. Started the zineryt again about a yr ago, and I'm now sick to the death of my acne and I felt like it was getting worse. I came across the website a few weeks back and suddenly remembered the Penoxyl stuff and eagerly went the the chemist on my way to work the next day...

Soooooo...about 2 weeks ago back onto Penoxyl and doing the same stuff roughly said in Dans regimen

Get up...
1) Wash with OXy wash
2) Use Clearisil's blue cleanser thing...gets rid of black heads - IT REALLY WORKS!!!
3) Then I generously put Penoxyl 2.5 Aqua gel on
4) After about 5 mins...when its dry...I put garnier anti blemish mousteriser (sp??) on. This is good for taking away the stinging sensations that may accure!
5) After thats dried...i then but on foundation - for the past two yrs, Ive become so paranoid of my acne that i cant leave the house without make up - even if it makes it worse, or the spots can be seen, I won't go without! Sad isn't it...

Then at night...
1)Wash with OXy wash again
I used to put more penoxyl on, but now i stopped
Ive now taken to putting germolene all over my face, which does help and makes my skin slightly less dry, and it turns spots into scabs to which is good

All thru the day I will try and drink as much water as I possibly can...unfortunatly means I'm forever on the loo

I also have the same redness (like this smiliey infact... ), stinging sensations, flakey skin, wrinklyness and now its worrying me some what...One day the red was so bad, it could still be seen thru the foundations, and it didnt go for about 2 hrs...i had to go to work like it and got the piss taken out of me...my 'friends' thought i got a sun tan and left my sunglasses on bcos of the patches around my eyes. I have to say the amount of spots has decreased, but i'm still not convinced. Ive also got the same thing...wanting to get rid of them all before i go to uni...i also have the added pressure of having to into college for my results next week and seeing my ex-male best friend (who i secretly had the huuuuuuuugest crush on for more than a yr, and prob still) and he has a new gf who is stunning...so naturally i want him to see what he is missing in his friendship...and maybe more...

Yikes! The products you are using are very harsh. The Oxy and Clearasil washes are medicated, and then on top of that you are adding Panoxy BP. It sounds like the Garnier anti-blemish moisturizer is ALSO medicated. This is a lot of harsh, drying ingredients to be adding to your face. Maybe you could try gentle (non-medicated) cleansers and moisturizers with just one medication (e.g. the PanOxyl) and see if that causes less irritation and redness.

[inChv]

I think PanOxy for gel based is good, especially for those with very oily skin. I personally think gelbased is able to stay on ur skin for a longer period of time, while i also feel that PanOxy is harsher than Benzac water based.(im in singapore), the effects are better.

[Captain Charisma]

I've been using PanOxyl 2.5 aquagel for about 8 weeks and my acne hasn't got better at all. It seems that this was becuase I haven't been using it often enough because when I apply it twice a day it literally eats my face.

I bought BrevOxyl today and already I'm a lot more confident. My skin hasn't turned red or flakey, unlike the PanOxyl.

Seriously, if you don't like PanOxyl, give Brevoxyl a try.

[ImmaculateComplexion]

I use this product and I love it! Granted, I've never used any other BP gel, so it's the only one I know. Dry skin is much easier to handle than acne, which is so ugly. I use a 'stripe' of gel the length of my index finger of 2.5% Panoxyl roughly every 12 hours. That keeps most acne at bay, apart from when it's time for my period, in which case a few spots appear, so I will have to remember to up my dosage around that time next month, but I can hardly complain! My skin seems to have been pretty tolerant, and I'm glad to read here that I may not have to use as much of it as I would if I were using Dan's BP gel. I did make the effort to use this much, but it was really a waste of gel since my skin was already clear, and it just made it incredibly red and flaky. The Acne.org store reccomends about 8 oz of gel per month for the face, but Panoxyl comes in a tube of 40g, which is about 1.4oz, and I require about two of these tubes a month. At £3 a tube, that's £6 (about $10) to keep me acne-free all month.

Everyone's skin is different, of course. I suspect that I don't need as much BP as other people, who have really severe acne. Also, Panoxyl takes a while to get rid of cystic spots, which are way below the surface of the skin. The most it can seem to do there is to prevent them getting any bigger, then you just have to wait for them to go away (where do they go when they go? Do they dissolve, or what?).

People have mentioned the skin being darker where it's applied. This might have something to do with the sensitivity to the sun that BP results in. Always remember sunscreen!

Some have said it's not suitable for the regimen. I don't know about the full amount reccomended on this website, but it works for me. I use one stripe day and night, followed by sunscreen if I'm going out and a cheap lotion like E45 cream if it's night or I'm staying in.

[Candy Perfume Girl]

I'm currently on day 32 of the Regimen, I've been using 2.5% PanOxyl that I bought off Amazon and thought I would use it until my DKR supplies arrived from the States.

I guess the first month of the Regimen was trial and error for me. And one of the errors is that I could not use the PanOxyl twice a day, it feels too strong and of course I suffered from redness and flakiness.

A good solution for me was to use the PanOxyl at night and use Oxy On The Spot (this seems a lot milder) during the day. I am currently free of active acne and the redness has died down.

So yes the PanOxyl really worked for me but not ideal for using twice a day as part of the Regimen