44 replies to this topic

[xjessaminx]

I'm finally going to do one of these blogs and try to keep up with it as I'm hoping it'll help me realise where I go wrong with my regimen/what works well/and all that. I'm currently using Panoxyl aquagel, 'Simple' face wash (a really really basic cleanser) and Johnson's 24 hour moisteriser for dry skin. I think these products are all OK but I am dubious about the moisteriser as I never used to use it until I came on the regimen but I have to now cos I'm dry as a dry thing on a dry day. xD

Anyway my skin is mostly moderate - however I it can flare up and probably be more severe. It's mostly whiteheads/red bumps on my cheeks, but sometimes I do get little ones on my chin area but nothing that really bothers me. My forehead is pretty much clear which obviously is great BUT it looks so funny at the moment as below my forehead its just redness and then my foreheads super pale. But nevermind. My skin tone is a little out of whack atm.

I've had acne ranging from different severity's since I was 13 (am now 18.) I know a lot of it is genes as my dad had bad acne and my sister, bless her, had really severe acne. However this does give me some hope as she is now - through no treatments!- pretty much sorted on the skin front. She still suffers from it occasionally, but otherwise a million times better. My skin was the worse it ever was when I was around 16 and I genuinely became a recluse for a while threatening a lot of relationships with people. I've been to the dr about it a couple of times but nothing really came off it apart from failed antibiotics. I last saw him a year ago and was due to come back after another failed treatment, however I was also dealing with other medical issues at the time which were more serious than my skin and therefore taking care of my acne kind of had to take a back seat whilst I got better. It cleared up beautifully a little while ago when I was losing weight and I was in a good place, but recently it's been breaking out like a mofo so here I am trying this regimen and failing this, gonna go back to the doctor and he did say he would refer me to dermotologist who will be my last resort! (I wouldn't be looking to take accutane though - the inital break out would destroy me I think.) Wish me luck. (:

I'm around Two Weeks into my regimen now which is the Cleanse, treat and moisterize.

Day 15

My skin is so dry at the moment!! It's really peely around my mouth especially and red but I'm perservering. I don't know how good my moisteriser is as it doesn't seem to like...alleviate the dryness if that makes sense? My spots are beginning to dry up which even though is kind of hellish when wearing makeup, I know that it means they're on the home run ;p I think I've been studying my face too much the last few days as I keep running over to the mirror and checking m'y face and looking in every light. I need to stop doing that :/ I don't think I can say much else to be honest as I'm still going through the whole settling in period. Does anyone know long that takes on average? I'm also completely changing my diet starting today and starting with a lot of water and no carbs! ): It's salad, veggies, fruits, stir frys, fish, chicken etc all the way. I'm more excited though to be honest I think....I just hope it helps (:

Anyway if you've read all this then wow! bless ya. I know it's mostly just me rambling to myself but if you have any pointers that'd be fabulous. No pictures for the time being as I only have a webcam on my laptop which doesn't really show stuff properly but I'll keep you updated on my little friend's as best as possible. ;p

Edited by xjessaminx, 30 July 2011 - 01:12 AM.

[PaulH85]

Best of luck Jess!

It's good to keep a log of what's happening, what's working, what isn't working, and so on. Helps us understand our skin better and how it responds. I take pictures from time to time, just for myself, maybe on a weekly basis. Especially f I've broken out and I've decided to attack it and make things loads worse. A picture at that point is always a good way or reminding myself to just leave it well alone and let it heal! Sometimes easier said than done...

How long have you been using Panoxyl for? If you're new to that, it could be the Benzoyl Peroxide in it which is causing the dryness. Everyone's skin is different of course, but mine hates BP and I avoid it now, so I'm always a little cautious of it. If you're new to it, I wouldn't use loads to start. Just stick with small amounts and let your skin get used to it, and don't stray too far from applying directly to spots as it can make the surrounding area sore.
Best to avoid over-washing as well, as that strips the skin of natural oils and that'll only increase dryness.

Aside from keeping an eye on that, might be worth just carrying on as you are for a while and seeing what happens. Can take maybe a few weeks for things to start happening, and for the products to regulate oil levels and so on.

Pretty simple regimen you've got going but that's a good thing I reckon. I'm finding that the more we simplify things, the more our skin calms down. I realised a little while ago that I never used any of these products before I had spots. Then I went crazy with all sorts of products and got bad acne. Thinking about it, I realised how people who don't use these products don't have acne, and maybe if I was to cut back and let me skin calm down and allow it to heal, things would get better. Tempted to start washing with only water rather than the face wash I've used for ages. Or at least use the face wash only once a day instead of twice. I washed with only water before going to bed last night, didn't wake up with any new spots and there was no difference in the oil levels, so I might see how that works out.

Hope the diet goes well! It's only since joining the Org that I realised what a key part diet can play in all this. It seems that sugars and dairy can be massive triggers. I never knew this before and I'm trying to cut back. You've nothing to lose really. Even if it doesn't make a huge difference, in theory it does bring you a step closer to finding your own personal solution.

Another thing you could consider to go with your diet is supplements, if you don't take them already of course. I'm taking vitamins A, B, C and E at the moment. Also taking a Zinc supplement. I used to break out on a weekly basis without fail, but not since I started taking those. Another thing I take is Turmeric capsules. Sounds random, but it's great for redness. It's helped my skin tone such a lot over the last couple of months.

[xjessaminx]

Hi Paul (:

Yeah it is super simple at the moment but I am going in town sometime this week to start taking some supplements - I'm thinking zinc, tumeric capsules and niacin vitamin b-3 as I've heard great things about all of these. I'm trying to steer away from doing too much as i know that my sister's skin cleared up with her doing pretty much nothing, so I don't want to think I'm almost making it worse! :/ (I can't leave it alone completely though...I'm addicted to using products xD) I've been on panoxyl on and off for months now but I never applied it to the whole face like you're supposed to do on this regimen and so i think I just went a bit crazy with it so I'm going to try and reduce it a little and hopefully won't get any break outs from doing so. (:

Day 18
My break out's are deffinately clearing up - but leaving red marks! (and considering my break out was pretty much all over my right cheek you can imagine what that looks like) I thought they would though as I've heard BP can cause that which even though is not ideal, at least my skin is feeling smoother. I am a little red and irritated still around the mouth area/flaky so I'm going to pretty much halt putting BP on there for a little while. I don't usaully break out around there as it's more my cheeks so hopefully i'll be alright! Even though everything doesnt particularly look better, I know it IS getting better if that makes sense and i'm perservering. I can see why people give up though as the whole dry skin thing is terrrrible. I have been drinking water like crazy this weekend and eating no bread/pasta/dairy/sugar etc. Surprisingly not that difficult and I've lost two pounds in two days so even if i haven't got clear skin bring on a good body. ;p Anyway not much else to say! I just hope this dryness sorts it outself out soon as I've got a night out on friday and makeup is looking absoloutely terrible right now :/ OH & my boyfriend had the great idea of saying to me 'ohhh if you pop whiteheads they go quicker!' (i was whinging as usaul about my skin ;p) and so I did and not only did it bleed like a mofo, I woke up to both a horrible scab and above that was a massive pimple. NEVER doing that again!!)

I'm probably going to buy Dan's BP as soon as I get paid because it seems that even though others say panoxyl works to an extent, you notice a massive difference with the other. I'm not sure how much it'll cost me but it's worth it - hopefully!

Ooh just a quick one if anyone stumbles in here - I have been using a teeny bit of sudocrem as well as the BP. I'm pretty sure it doesn't break me out as I've used it for years now! but it just seems to help a little bit however i'm anxious that it may be too clogging alongside the bp or that using the two is a bad idea? if anyone has any feedback that'd be grand (:

Edited by xjessaminx, 27 June 2011 - 01:54 AM.

[PaulH85]

I've always wondered about Sudocrem. I can't really tell if it clogs my pores as it's pretty much all I've ever used so I don't know if my skin would be any different without. It's about the only thing I don't have a reaction to. I do find it helps with inflammation and don't usually end up with more pimples in the area that I've used it so that's a good sign.

I don't use BP but I do have Isotretinoin gel which I was prescribed as an alternative. Sometimes if I get a big heavy-handed with the Isotretinoin or cover a surface area that's a little too big and I might end up making the skin dry, I just wait for the Isotretinoin to dry then apply Sudocrem over the top. The Isotretinoin still seems to do the job and the Sudocrem keeps the area calm. In theory, no reason why you couldn't do the same with BP. It's trial and error, but it shouldn't cause any major problems.

Not sure how many others will know of Sudocrem as it's a UK product, although I have read posts from people here who have mentioned that they've had it shipped over to the States and find that it helps with inflammation better most products they've tried and seems to last longer as well.

You're quite to avoid popping pimples by the way. Spreads the bacteria, especially under the skin if they're not ready to come out, and that's why you'll get another pimple close by. The other which pop up tend to be bigger and more painful, so then you have that to contend with as well as whatever state the other pimple is in as a result of popping it. Despite what we might think, they never look better when popped, nor do they usually heal faster.
I must admit to being a massive hypocrite on this subject because I hardly ever manage to leave them alone. I just get it in my mind that a big white head looks gross and it would look better without. Sometimes, totally by chance, it might happen to look better, but nine times out of ten it's a really bad idea. My chin and the right side of my face are a mess at the moment and it's all my own doing. Equally, the pimples keep coming and I've woken up with a couple of new ones each morning for the last week, again, because of how I've "taken care" of them.
So yeah, I'm not looking so good at the moment!

[abigailwheeler]

I've been nailing the sudocrem this weekend. That new Epiduo has made my skin flake off and become dry as hell.

I totally agree RE popping spots! I am never even tempted to pick or squeeze now because EVERY time I've ever squeezed a spot it gets bigger and redder and stays for longer.

Did you buy Niacin yet? PS none of us Brits need to worry about D3 for a few days, yesterday was club tropicana for me.

[xjessaminx]

Yeah the popping spots thing is baaaad! It is hard to stop yourself but after what happened the other day I will deffo be stopping myself in the future. (: I'm going to keep using the sudocrem then me thinks. It's just good for the redness as you say and also I look like I'm sunburnt atm due to the bp so it's needed. On the topic of BP no wonder my face is soooo flaky - i was looking at the reccomended amount thing on here where there's the pictures of how much you should use and I've been using way too much

I haven't got the niacin yet but hoping to get it either tomorrow or wednesday. I'm a bit worried that the flushing will freak me out but hopefully not ;p & no vitamin d needed! especially today it's been boiling! Do you buy all your supplements from holland and barrett btw? (: I would like to take zinc but I've only noticed they do 25mg - do you just double up the dose?

Also realised today that I was all pleased about the whole no gluten etc but there's been a couple of things i've eaten that i haven't realised it was in! (mince meatballs) but I will be buying gluten-free stuff when i get paid as at the moment due to cutting out so much there's barely anything to eat in this house. ;p I'm trying not too stress alot because it just seems silly too whilst I can't do anything about it.

(i still can't get over how funny it is to be able to speak so openly about my skin! everytime i talk to anyone else i just get the typical 'ohhh its not even that bad' crud when here people actually try to help you out a bit - tis great! )

Oh! & hope everyone elses skin is being kind to them! (:

Edited by xjessaminx, 27 June 2011 - 09:56 AM.

[xjessaminx]

Day 20
Woohoo tomorrow is start of week 3 so breakouts etc should be clearing up faster and all that jazz anytime soon. ;p Not much to report on today as everything's more or less the same which even though of course I want it all to clear up pretty quickly, at least it's not getting worse. I'm cutting back on the BP alot during the day and mostly just spot treating in the mornings and gradually building it up again.

The diet side of things is going OK but as said before, it's not really...proper yet, and I have slipped up a couple of times but I'm not going to stress because it'll only make things worse. Besides, I have festival next week and I can pretty much 100% say that I will probably mess up quite a fair bit there as i'm not going to waste time finding gluten free foods etc as, yes i care about my skin of course, but i'm there to have a good care free time! Saying that however, I will be doing my skin regimen everyday and night without fail as it doesn't take me that long and I don't want to go all the way back to day one when I come home. (:

Skin is still super dry in areas and so I've also stopped putting BP there or at the most a teeny bit. Makeup looked AWFUL yesterday because of this so hopefully cutting back and still moisterising will help.

Edited by xjessaminx, 29 June 2011 - 12:14 AM.

[xjessaminx]

Day 21
Yay got to three weeks. I know that this may seem a bit of a pointless post but I won't be able to update for a little while so thought I'd just post one. I have had a TERRIBLE day with regards to food - totally got stressed out with work and money and you know how it goes and so I did what I do best in those times - binged like a mofo. I am terrified that this may have an affect on my skin but the only positive I can think of is then at least I'll know for deffinate that diet does affect me.

Skin isn't any worse or better today. I keep looking at it and thinking 'hmm does it look a bit crappier than it did yesterday?' but I'm trying not too focus too much. I'm having to use a lot of moisteriser to try and keep dryness controlled but I think I need a new one tbh as the flakes just keep coming. Have used more BP tonight and will use less BP in the mornings and see how that goes. Does anyone know how quickly skin gets adjusted? Wish me luck for the next few days and *fingers crossed* I'm not updating about any new break outs ):

Edited by xjessaminx, 30 June 2011 - 01:20 PM.

[xjessaminx]

Day 26
Don't really know what to say - feeling really urgh about it all right now. My break outs still keep coming but to be fair they do clear up a lot quicker now but it's still disheartening. Got about 4 actives at the moment which are painful & then a couple or so just teeny ones. I honestly don't think I will EVER be able to get up to a full finger length of BP because my face is still dry just using less than half :/ My sugar binge (and a night out drinking....) did cause a break out I think so starting today I am mrs no sugar/dairy/gluten. I'm going to also cut down on the amount of fruit I eat because of the sugar levels etc. I'm also going to completely ignore all the burger vans/chinese/pizza stalls at sonisphere and be happy with my gluten free rolls. XD & if I get hungry I'll just have to deal with it.

Lets hope my break out clears a little bit by thursday & keeps at least manageable at soni.

OH & also I am being tested for PCOS (polycystic ovaries) as (TMI) I have not had periods for like, five months now (scary) and so for all I know my skin may be completely hormonal and out of my control! I don't want PCOS for obvious reasons, however it would at least give me some closure as to why I am plagued with bad skin. :/ But I'll have to wait and find out.

Edited by xjessaminx, 05 July 2011 - 03:31 AM.

[PaulH85]

Hope the tests go alright Jess. Like you say, not what you want but if there was a diagnosis, it might offer a connection to your skin problems and present a new way to fix them.

There are never really any hard and fast rules to a regimen, guess it comes down to when the skin starts being regulated by it. And sometimes it breaks out before it gets better, so it usually pays to just stick with it and see how it responds. As long as you're reading whatever your skin tells you in terms of dryness or soreness or whatever, you'll eventually find the right balance of BP and so on. Annoying that it takes time, but sometimes it does come down to time and patience.

I do find it quite amusing that we're both sat thinking the very same things - 'I hope I look OK by the time Sonisphere comes' or, 'I hope I get through Soni without my skin going crazy'.

Personally, my skin isn't doing too bad at all. Only a couple of tiny pimples and a bit of recent scarring, but nothing active. If I can keep this up, I'll at least be setting off to Knebworth on Friday feeling happy about how I look. Anything after that is pretty much out of my control so, although it goes against the grain of my usual approach, I'm just going to leave it be. In fact, right now I don't even care, all I'm thinking about it Metallica and Airbourne! Might even go crazy at the burger and pizza stalls, for the hell of it, then just pay for it next week.

[xjessaminx]

Hi Paul (: Did you have a good time at sonisphere? I thought it was amazing I especially loved Metallica, Slipknot, Cancer Bats and Alestorm & Airbourne were really great (I did get to see them in the end.) I'm glad to hear your skin is doing good at the mo (:

Back to the regimen and it's day 40
My skin is a lot better. It's not super dry anymore and I'm pretty much at the full dose so that's really good. I guess people aren't lying when they say you really have to rough it out the first couple of weeks or so. I still have teeny break outs but they go away so quickly and (I hate saying this as I almost always end up breaking out!) my left cheek is completely clear! I have red marks but no actives and for me that is so lovely. My diet got completely messed up whilst I was away and I have been going out with friends on night outs but I will deal with whatever it gives me because I'm making new friends atm and feeling in a good place and I can't let my skin problems ruin that for me. Hopefully it will keep on improving but I know that I probably can't expect completely clear until a good three months in. Wish me luck. (:

Edited by xjessaminx, 19 July 2011 - 03:08 AM.

[northlincs4kylie]

When u say the full dose is that like 2 pumps then? I can only just manage one pump but then I only use it on my forehead, chin & cheeks..

[PaulH85]

Hi Paul (: Did you have a good time at sonisphere? I thought it was amazing I especially loved Metallica, Slipknot, Cancer Bats and Alestorm & Airbourne were really great (I did get to see them in the end.) I'm glad to hear your skin is doing good at the mo (:

Hey Yeah, I loved it! And the bonus was that at the time, not being able to keep up with my regimen or anything didn't seem to bother my skin. It was fine the whole time I was there. I'd get to the end of one and think, 'I just know that it's going to broken out because I'm all sweaty and gross, but it wasn't. I had a couple of packets of Simple face wipes with me and they worked a treat, kept my skin clean and didn't dry it out. I did get bad sunburn, especially on my nose, but otherwise it was all good. I was also happy to find out that I can survive on a diet of Pot Noodles, Hobnobs, Cider, and over-priced cheese burgers!

The festival was brilliant. Metallica on the Friday, I was about half way back but I had a good night. Saturday I skipped Biffy to go and watch my friends in Black Spiders play the Jager stage.
Sunday was the best of the lot. I was on the barrier for Airbourne and that was awesome. I get to see them on Sunday supporting Maiden as well. Was able to get some good pictures of Joel doing his thing which was a bonus:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=7363...mp;id=744729233
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=7363...mp;id=744729233
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=7363...mp;id=744729233
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=7363...mp;id=744729233
After Airbourne finished, I legged it up the field and after a couple of songs I made it to the barrier for the rest of Motorhead's set. The pit was crazy during Limp Bizkit. Never been the biggest fan but I was really impressed by their set. Weezer were cool as well, I thought that was fun. I watched a bit of Slipknot's set but then I decided to go and watch The Answer down in the tent. I saw the end of Slipknot's set from the bottom of the field, with the fireworks going off and the tribute to Paul, that looked pretty special.
Without a doubt, I'll be back next year.

Ironically, back on a better diet and back into the regimen, my acne kicked off. Just can't win sometimes. It's looking a little better now, just a bit sore. There's nothing much active which I'm glad about as I have a job interview tomorrow so don't fancy feeling as though I look gross.

You're quite right about things feeling a lot better when there isn't any active acne. I don't know what it is, I just feel like sometimes I can handle it better if I look at my face and can't see spots forming. If there's just the odd scar and maybe a few pimples which are fading, I tend to think, 'Meh, no big deal'.

You're right about the initial breakouts as well. I never really understood that it had to come out before it got better so when I tried something new and would go through the breakout, I wrongly thought the product was making things worse. So I'd try something else which of course would lead to another breakout, so it was just one after the other. But you should find that as you stick with a regimen and you're able to increase the amounts as you have without it bothering your skin, things calm down and your skin starts to regulate itself. It won't make it perfect, but in theory it brings things to a manageable level which we're happy with and we feel like it's giving us a break from stressing out about. Sometimes, that's all we really need.

Edited by PaulH85, 20 July 2011 - 03:05 PM.

[xjessaminx]

northlincs4kylie : The bp I use comes in a tube and so I use a finger length amount which I believe is equal to the two pumps. However from taking a quick look at the pictures on the dosage chart I am deffinately not using as much as that shows. My finger length is quite thin but I will probably try and work on ramping it up soon. (:

paul : Amazing pictures! You really were close to the front. I think I was pretty far back for them...the crowd seemed a lot bigger this year than last - I think there was about 60,000 people in total! I didn't see motorhead, limp bizkit (was watching alestorm xD crazy pirate metal) OR weezer! My boyfriend dragged me to go see Gojira and Waitain...all I can say is for waitain I was standing there like, 'What on earth am I watching' It was strange. ;p I was really near the front for Slipknot somehow and I was in the worst mood ever because of my skin (i know, sad really!) but they came on and I just didn't really care anymore and it was amazing! I got all teary at the end along with a lot of other people around me

I'm late replying so how did your interview go? (: I'm glad your skin is being manageable and hopefully it'll stay like that *fingers crossed*

Day 46

Well this is quite amusing to me but nevermind - I don't have PCOS! & literally a day after being told this, I came on. XD I was expecting it because I started breaking out on my chin - barely ever happens - and also my right cheek was looking pretty bad... so right now my right cheek is pretty nasty and getting me down but my left cheek is still clear. I can't tell you how happy that makes me and even though I can't help but feel a teeny bit stressed over my current break out - at least thank goodness I'm only dealing with it on the one side. I'm also going on a pill because apparently that should help me a lot with the break outs around 'that time' so yeah. A weird mix of feeling stressed and hopeful atm. Also, the dryness is not even there anymore so a million times better in that respect, spesh looking back at how it was 2 weeks in. (:

To anyone thinking of starting the regimen I would really say go for it as of right now, yes, I'm still getting break outs, but I don't think I've been completely clear on one of my cheeks since I can even remember. Also, my break outs clear up so much quicker since using it religiously and a lot of people have said that their skin feels leathery and dry but mine looks really quite fresh. If I look at the skin in between any break outs or hyperpigmentation it's actually nice! Also I know exactly what my skin was like when I first started bp and it wasn't good - it was red, scaly, break outs on both cheeks, and just disheartening. 6 weeks ish in and it is about peservering - as they say, spot treatments take ages to reeeeally get working and it's worth it. I will keep updating and I'm stealing my bf digital camera next weekend so hopefully there will be some pics - if I'm brave enough! I rarely take pics anymore with my makeup on, let alone with it off! (eeep)

Take care x

Edited by xjessaminx, 25 July 2011 - 03:24 AM.

[PaulH85]

Great news about the PCOS! Bet that's a weight off, and it's one less thing which could cause stress. I'd stick with being hopeful if I were you.

The "interview" I went for was a total con in the end. It was supposed to be for a position as a photographers assistant. I love photography so that would be ideal, and I saw the vacancy literally the day after I got fired a couple of weeks back, so it seemed like perfect timing as well. But I went along to the studio in Thursday and it turns out that half of the job involves handing out flyers in town and trying to sign customers up to half price deals and stuff. There was a group of about ten of us and they sent us out in town to get names and number of potential customers who they would then phone back and book studio time with. The person who got the most numbers would be the one who got the actual interview. I only got two, it's just not my thing at all. So I felt a bit stupid about it all, as if I'd been tricked or something, and I guess I was down because the job which I thought was there wasn't. And the daft thing is, I know I could take good pictures and be just as good as the studio photographer, but they weren't interested in that. Sucks, and I'm back to the drawing board and really need to start focusing on finding a new job soon because I'll run out of money otherwise. But thanks for asking!

A lot of the work problems I had which resulted in me getting fired were essentially triggered by how unstable my acne had made me. I never dealt with that side of things and kept it all private and it's kind of buit up, even though my skin wasn't really all that bad anymore.
The one good thing to come out of it I suppose is that it made me realise that there are things I need to take care of, and being unemployed gives me time to do that so I might be able to turn a corner. And if I can find work which is more sociable and perhaps brings me out of my shell, that could go a long way towards helping. Hopeful it'll all work out. As they say, these things happen for a reason...

Edited by PaulH85, 25 July 2011 - 06:28 AM.

[xjessaminx]

Oh that sucks ): Such a shame! My boyfriend had something similar happen once when he was looking for work - got an interview for a web designer and was all excited for it but once he got there it was actually a 'you pay a grand to go on a course and 99 percent of people who do the course get a job here' or something along those lines. Needless to say he didn't accept!

& things deffinately do happen for a reason! I'm sure you'll find something soon - it's just trying to keep your head up and keeping positive! I've got my fingers crossed for you. (:

Day 47
I thought might as well update whilst I'm here. I knew it would happen but I've got one little pimple on my left cheek now. Typical or what! I think it's probably because I'm run down right now with a sore throat and fever! I have decided to ramp up the dosage on my bp as looking on the regimen pics I realised I'm not doing a thick enough line on my finger and that could be why I'm still experiencing break outs. My right cheek isn't in the healing stages yet...I'm resisting the urge to pop! I also ate a lot of ice cream today...hopefully the dairy won't hurt me but it was so good for my throat. XD

I was using TCP to gargle with today (apparently good for sore throats!) and it said on the bottle how it can be used on pimples. Before I had started the regimen I would've been legging it to the bathroom ASAP to get some of that stuff on BUT for once I resisted! I'm so used to just grabbing every spot treatment at once and hoping they work but I figured I've just got to let the regimen work its magic before fiddling around with it. (:

[xjessaminx]

Day 52
Well I'm into week seven now, woohoo. Just a quick update! I've got tonsilitis at the moment (which would explain my sore throat and fever last time I updated!) but it's now starting to clear up - thank goodness. I have been eating absoloute rubbish the past few days and I mean just bowls of icecream and chocolate and whilst it kind of hit me (I think...not yday but the day before!) my boyfriend put it into perspective and just said, 'I know you worry about your skin but seriously. You should think about your throat more than that right now.' and the ice cream was pretty amazing for making me feel better so I just rolled with it. ;p As of right now - no break outs have happened so PLEASE keep your fingers crossed for me. My right cheek break out has dried up now so hopefully they'll go away in next couple of days and the pimple on my left cheek is starting to go down I think.

Not much else to say really apart from I have been ramping the bp up and therefore flaking has decided to rear it's ugly head. I think I remember why I didn't use so much in the first place ;p Going to keep up with it for the weekend but if it's still terribly flaky/dry/irritating by Monday I'll probably go back to my usaul amount.

[tnajamie]

Day 52
Well I'm into week seven now, woohoo. Just a quick update! I've got tonsilitis at the moment (which would explain my sore throat and fever last time I updated!) but it's now starting to clear up - thank goodness. I have been eating absoloute rubbish the past few days and I mean just bowls of icecream and chocolate and whilst it kind of hit me (I think...not yday but the day before!) my boyfriend put it into perspective and just said, 'I know you worry about your skin but seriously. You should think about your throat more than that right now.' and the ice cream was pretty amazing for making me feel better so I just rolled with it. ;p As of right now - no break outs have happened so PLEASE keep your fingers crossed for me. My right cheek break out has dried up now so hopefully they'll go away in next couple of days and the pimple on my left cheek is starting to go down I think.

Not much else to say really apart from I have been ramping the bp up and therefore flaking has decided to rear it's ugly head. I think I remember why I didn't use so much in the first place ;p Going to keep up with it for the weekend but if it's still terribly flaky/dry/irritating by Monday I'll probably go back to my usaul amount.

sorry to be a nuisance lol but what benzoyl peroxide are you using?

[xjessaminx]

Not being a nuisance at all lol! (: I'm using Panoxyl 2.5%.

[xjessaminx]

Day 56
So it's the beginning of week eight - apparently where all the magic starts happening?! Doesn't feel like I've been doing this for 2 months! Being ill screwed up my diet/exercise/pretty much everything and I'm still not 100% so it's been like this for around a week. Nothing major to report on though thank goodness - a little pimple here and there but otherwise it's just the old ones drying up and going away slowly... I have been sunbathing like a loony since Sunday and whether that's helping I have no idea but we'll see. It makes ME feel better anyway (: So yeah...the progress is coming along I think. I just hope my diet slip up isn't going to show up on my face anytime soon (i consumed lots of sugary icecream .... and again today - its the summer what can I say ;p) I'm still skeptical about the whole diet thing anyway. Part of me is like...surely it is connected? But then I can't help but think....I've always had this. I've had bad skin when I was heavier so therefore obviously eating worse stuff, and I've still got it after losing a lot of weight. I will try to keep on top of it starting tomorrow though...but I'm mostly focussing on just making sure I do the regimen perfectly.

Edited by xjessaminx, 03 August 2011 - 07:29 AM.