33 replies to this topic

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DAY 20(Last post was actually day 18)
Developed a couple stubbbornbig beasts :/ Hmph, still in I.B I suppose, but if this is the I.B, it's not quiteas harsh as i anticipated, but it could all still get a lot worse. I've still not experienced any irritation at all, I feel like the only one who hasn't.I feel real really nervousnow asi'm due to getmy a level,that my uni place depends on results next thursday, it's kinda stressing me out and i hope this doesn't make my acne worse! Anyways, ciao for now!

[looking forward]

DAY 20(Last post was actually day 18)
Developed a couple stubbbornbig beasts :/ Hmph, still in I.B I suppose, but if this is the I.B, it's not quiteas harsh as i anticipated, but it could all still get a lot worse. I've still not experienced any irritation at all, I feel like the only one who hasn't.I feel real really nervousnow asi'm due to getmy a level,that my uni place depends on results next thursday, it's kinda stressing me out and i hope this doesn't make my acne worse! Anyways, ciao for now

Im on the same day of Retin-a as you are! I think thats kinda cool haha. I also seem to have the same type of acne as u also. Anyways i know how you feel about the IB as ive experienced the same thing. I think mine may be over for now... but ive heard there is an IB in week 6 as well so im not sure if im in the clear yet (probably not haha). I still have alot of small spots left on my cheeks and forehead from the IB but I can definitely for sure say that the scars on my upper cheeks are becoming lighter and flatter which is great. I also have experienced little to no irritation... im going to the derm fri and ill see if she moves me up to .1% although its only been 3 weeks so im not sure if thats too early, any idea? anyways i know its tough but just think there are other people out there going through the same thing and 99% of the people ive seen on here that actually go through with the treatment and do it right experience great results, so im positive itll work for us!

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DAY 20(Last post was actually day 18)
Developed a couple stubbbornbig beasts :/ Hmph, still in I.B I suppose, but if this is the I.B, it's not quiteas harsh as i anticipated, but it could all still get a lot worse. I've still not experienced any irritation at all, I feel like the only one who hasn't.I feel real really nervousnow asi'm due to getmy a level,that my uni place depends on results next thursday, it's kinda stressing me out and i hope this doesn't make my acne worse! Anyways, ciao for now

Im on the same day of Retin-a as you are! I think thats kinda cool haha. I also seem to have the same type of acne as u also. Anyways i know how you feel about the IB as ive experienced the same thing. I think mine may be over for now... but ive heard there is an IB in week 6 as well so im not sure if im in the clear yet (probably not haha). I still have alot of small spots left on my cheeks and forehead from the IB but I can definitely for sure say that the scars on my upper cheeks are becoming lighter and flatter which is great. I also have experienced little to no irritation... im going to the derm fri and ill see if she moves me up to .1% although its only been 3 weeks so im not sure if thats too early, any idea? anyways i know its tough but just think there are other people out there going through the same thing and 99% of the people ive seen on here that actually go through with the treatment and do it right experience great results, so im positive itll work for us!

In UK, there's only 0.01% gel, 0.025% gel and 0.025% cream available, so I can't really move up, but if you're not experiencing any irritation, I suppose it's worth it! I'm optimistic, that even with the I.B, it will improve soon! I'm glad you're seeing improvement. My hyperpigmentation hasn't improved as yet, but then again, improvements usually appear (according to the leaflet with the tretinoin) weeks 6-8, so I think you're probably in the clear. I feel my skin is definately plumper though, and slightly healthier.

DAY 21, 3 weeks completed
Well today's not a good day for me. I managed to develop some small spots on my right cheek which have scabbed up., and my right cheek is looking pretty awful. However, My left cheek is slowly clearing up and my forehead is clear, apart from a small scab.

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Day 24
Urgh, the most awful breakout I've had in a long time. Just urgh. It's hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel. I've decided to add quinoderm BP cream back to my regimen (AM)

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Day 29
since last post, only had one small spot, but everything is taking soo long to heal, scabs, red marks, PIH, everything, wayy too long!

[clarky2]

Im on day 41 or 42 of Retin A 0.04% PM/BP 5% AM and i I feel that I'm definitely through the worst part at this point. I had my forehead initial breakout at about week 2, my left cheek/chin breakout at week 4, and my right cheek/chin breakout at week 6. I don't know why they were spread out, but when one area was breaking out, the others weren't. I remember when these breakouts were taking place, I would be in the worst mood all day and not want to go everywhere...but its a period your skin has to go through in order to improve. I made a big mistake by stopping benzoyl peroxide at about week 4 for a few days, to see it I would stay clear.. so keep using in this morning! My skin is so much improved now, so stick with it!!

[restrictions]

Im on day 41 or 42 of Retin A 0.04% PM/BP 5% AM and i I feel that I'm definitely through the worst part at this point. I had my forehead initial breakout at about week 2, my left cheek/chin breakout at week 4, and my right cheek/chin breakout at week 6. I don't know why they were spread out, but when one area was breaking out, the others weren't. I remember when these breakouts were taking place, I would be in the worst mood all day and not want to go everywhere...but its a period your skin has to go through in order to improve. I made a big mistake by stopping benzoyl peroxide at about week 4 for a few days, to see it I would stay clear.. so keep using in this morning! My skin is so much improved now, so stick with it!!

Hey thanks, i'm glad you're improving. I like BP, it's not too harsh on my skin, but i'm only using it once a day, the difference it's made on my sister, who used it alone with no other product is amazing, and i feel it's helping me.

Day 30

I got my a level results yesterday, which is like for you americans, high school graduation, but we don't actually graduate, we just get the grades and hope these are good enough for university. Well, I got my grades and I'm defo in for university! This is a huge stress off my mind, but i really hope to see a large improvement by the point I start uni. My course start date is 21st September. There are some positives and negatives regarding where I'm at.
Positives:
I've only had 1 small spot in the last 7 days! I really don't want to jinx it, but I hope I'm out of the IB
Negatives: Healing. My skin still looks as bad as when I started because my skin is taking FOREVERRRR to heal, the lifecycle for a spot is 3/4 times as long, which atm is not a problem, but scabs are just remaining, not coming off. On Monday, I'm off shopping so I will invest in some sudocrem as it's a healing cream, for now, I tried E45 cream last night, which we had laying around as my little sister gets eczema on her arms, and it really helped. It is a heavy moisturiser, but from past experiences, it's never made my acne worse.

Anyways, if anyone has any questions about retin-a, minocycline, benzoyl peroxide or my experience so far, just ask

[Monica123]

I'm on day 17 of tretinoin! you should post pictures on here

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I'm on day 17 of tretinoin! you should post pictures on here

Hi, yup i've been following your log, not sure why i didn't comment, but i've kept an eye on it the only camera I have is the one in my phone which is really bad quality :/

Day 32
Hmph. I met up with friend I haven't seen in almost a year today, she commented on my face. Wasn't nice, it's not like i didn't have acne last year or before, it was a lot milder. I had no makeup on either, she turned up unannounced, was i nice a surprise, but in a way it wasn't. The thing is it's not my spots, it's scabs and scars, i've not had a new spot in 7 days it's my marks are taking forever to heal. the scabs aren't as bad as a coupleof days ago, some have some of, but that week 3 breakout was the worst breakout i've ever had. Anyone have any advice to help the healing? I'm desperate to be clearer within a few weeks, the main problem is scars now

I'm on day 17 of tretinoin! you should post pictures on here

Hi, yup i've been following your log, not sure why i didn't comment, but i've kept an eye on it the only camera I have is the one in my phone which is really bad quality :/

Day 32
Hmph. I met up with friend I haven't seen in almost a year today, she commented on my face. Wasn't nice, it's not like i didn't have acne last year or before, it was a lot milder. I had no makeup on either, she turned up unannounced, was i nice a surprise, but in a way it wasn't. The thing is it's not my spots, it's scabs and scars, i've not had a new spot in 7 days it's my marks are taking forever to heal. the scabs aren't as bad as a coupleof days ago, some have some of, but that week 3 breakout was the worst breakout i've ever had. Anyone have any advice to help the healing? I'm desperate to be clearer within a few weeks, the main problem is scars now

[Monica123]

I'm on day 17 of tretinoin! you should post pictures on here

Hi, yup i've been following your log, not sure why i didn't comment, but i've kept an eye on it the only camera I have is the one in my phone which is really bad quality :/

haha it's fine, I don't get a lot of comments on my log, but I keep at it because it gets plenty of views so that means someones watching oh that's too bad, I'm just more of a visual person but that's alright!

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DAY 38


Hello, the sudocrem is very helpful. I feel my skin is a lot better than when i started. It's continuing to improve and the sudocrem is helping a lot. There's astill many imperfections, a long way to go yet, but the improvement is undeniable. I have had a couple of small spots since my last updats, but nothing too major, but I know how it can all go upside down in one day, lets hope it doesn't!!

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Day 56

Sorry for the lack of updates. Well, I have plenty of scars right now, it's bad but i think i've got through the initial breakout and i'm just improving now. I can't emphasise how bad the IB has been, it's been horrible, never have I broken out as bad. My skin's still bad, but not really from active acne. Acne breakouts have been significantly reduced now. I currently have no actives. I have only 4 weeks left of minocycline.

[looking forward]

Same EXACT skin status same exact day, day 56 for me as well. I was going to post my progress on my log but seeing as yours is the exact same i dont think its necessary haha. Still alot of spots left but they DO seem to be fading around my cheek area, skin is also alot smoother. It still looks bad but not as bad as last month this time. Hang in there though, i was talking to my friend and he had similar acne as me... he used retinoids for about 14 weeks and looks ALOT better (he used retin-a for 12 weeks and tazorac for 2).

Edited by looking forward, 14 September 2011 - 02:24 PM.

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@looking forward
I'm glad to see your improving too! At least we know we're out of the initial breakout fingers crossed! And yeah, my skin was so much worse this time last month too!