8 replies to this topic

[LoveLouisV]

Hi all!

I'm relatively new to acne.org, well, at least new to posting (I'm admittedly a long-time lurker).

I am a 28 year old female and I suffer from mild/moderate, persistent, possibly hormonal acne. My acne started when I was about 15 or 16 years old.

I mostly have acne on my face, but depending on what products I use on my hair and body (I'll post about those and my regimen), I often break out on my neck, decollete, arms, and back as well.

A few months ago, I was breaking out so frequently and badly all over my face and body I was seriously considering whether or not I needed to go on Accutane. I was on these boards every day reading your logs and made a dermatologist appointment (which I had yesterday).

My derma gave me a few samples and a prescription for Aczone (which I apply in the mornings) and Epiduo (which I apply in the evenings). So this log will serve as my experience with these products!

Happy reading!

Edited by LoveLouisV, 27 July 2011 - 11:32 AM.

[LoveLouisV]

********MY REGIMEN********

(All products are Clinique unless otherwise mentioned)

Morning
-Wash Away Gel Cleanser face wash
-Acne Solutions Clarifying Lotion (this is really a toner), add pure Tea Tree Oil
-Aczone ****NEW STEP****
-Youth Surge SPF 15 moisturizer for Combo/Oily skin

-Caress Evenly Gorgeous body wash
-Redken Clear Moisture shampoo
-Matrix Sleek Look conditioner
-Clinique makeup (foundation, powder, blush, bronzer)
-Jergens DailyGlow Revitalizing lotion
-Bath & Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar lotion on legs only

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Evening
-Liquid Facial Soap (Oily) face wash
-Clarifying Lotion #4 (really a toner)
-Epiduo ****NEW STEP****
-Youth Surge Night moisturizer for Combo/Oily skin
OR
-Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel

-L'Oreal Sublime Bronze towelettes about 2-3x each week before bed (only self-tanner I can use without breaking out on my arms and chest)

Vitamins
*Can't remember IU's, sorry!
-Vitamin A
-Vitamin D3
-Zinc
-Flaxseed Oil
-Prenatal One multivitamin (no I'm not pregnant; these just make your hair/nails grow faster)

Edited by LoveLouisV, 29 July 2011 - 02:10 PM.

[LoveLouisV]

Day 1

So, I guess I've had a full "day" of this regimen, although last night was the beginning of it. In other words, I was told at the derma yesterday morning to use Aczone in the AM and Epiduo in the PM, but obviously the morning had passed, so I just used Epiduo last night and Aczone this morning.

Yesterday was frustrating because I have had this weird clogged pore on the side of my cheek for like 2-3 months, and it's been flat and red but I've always just covered it up with makeup and never really worried about it. But yesterday (or maybe it was really Monday night), it blew up and became this raised, inflamed, un-poppable monstrosity.

But I can't let things like that go unattended.

I had read on the logs here that Aczone was good for a spot treatment so after I got home from work, I put a clean wet washcloth in the microwave for like 45 seconds and tried to steam out this clogged pore. I even tried pricking it with a safety pin, which seemed to help somewhat. I repeated this process, and decided to stop torturing it, and put some Aczone on it.

It was still red, but seemed to flatten out by the time I went to bed last night. It was a little inflamed and red again this morning, but right now it seems to have calmed down.

Too early to tell if these products are working I think, but my skin seems less oily than it would normally be by this time in the afternoon (almost 2pm EST), so I'm happy with that, at least!

I will post sometime later this week to update how my progress is going!

[LoveLouisV]

Day 3

The past couple of days I've noticed my skin is less oily than it usually is. The blackheads on my nose seem to be shrinking a bit, too. However, the blackheads on my cheeks feel bumpy.

The clogged pore on my left cheek from a couple days ago is now a scab and no longer hurts to the touch, so I guess it's dying and will go away in the next few days. I'll have to put a bit of Vitamin E on it tonight to get it to heal faster.

I got a new cyst on my right cheek. It hurts to the touch and won't pop. Before, it wasn't red or painful, but it was raised. Now it's red and painful. I assume this is because of the exfoliating properties (retinol) of the Epiduo (and the fact that I've tried popping it on a couple of occasions ). I'll try to leave it alone and put Neosporin/Vitamin E on this as well.

I have noticed that after using the Epiduo at night, and showering/cleansing my face in the morning, my tea tree oil/toner stings a TON when I apply it.

That's all for now...have a happy weekend and I'll update on Monday!

Edited by LoveLouisV, 29 July 2011 - 11:56 AM.

[LoveLouisV]

Day 6

Skin is still less oily than it was before starting these two topical creams and blackheads on nose are still disappearing.

It still stings my face to put both toners on it (both Acne Solutions & Type 4 from Clinique) so I've been doing it as fast as possible.

I've added aloe vera to my morning moisturization lineup since my face looks super red lately and the aloe is soothing.

On Saturday I noticed that the skin above my upper lip and on my chin were really red and felt raw. Yesterday, those areas began peeling. Today, I look ridiculous...I was embarrassed to come to work because of how bad I look! Even my nose is peeling...I look like I've been blowing my nose for days.

Body acne for some reason seems to be reappearing. I have one small blemish on my decollete, one on the back of my neck, and one on my left arm. I think this is caused by the fact that I'm leaving my conditioner in my hair for my entire shower and rinsing it at the end (which is strange because I have been washing my neck/shoulders/arms again after I rinse it out).

Actually, now that I think about it, I bet it's because I used a different sunscreen over the weekend...my body acne was nonexistent until this weekend and I went to the pool twice and used something other than water babies both days. I guess that's the only thing that makes sense 'cause it's the only thing I've changed.

I hate my skin sometimes - SOOOOOOOOOOO frustrating that changing my routine up even a LITTLE bit causes it to break out. I hate that it's so freaking sensitive. Ughhhhhhhh...anyone else have skin this sensitive on their bodies??

More in a couple days...

Edited by LoveLouisV, 01 August 2011 - 07:37 AM.

[LoveLouisV]

Day 8

Oiliness on skin is still at bay. Blackheads on nose are still disappearing. Blackheads on cheek are now starting to come out, some in the form of whiteheads and others in the form of a pimple (not cyst). This has to be due to the exfoliating properties of the Epiduo.

The breakouts on my neck and arms subsided, but the one "small blemish on my decollete" turned into another unpoppable monstrosity. It seems like it's ready to pop but nothing happens when I try and I'm horrible at leaving it alone. I have been putting my toners and the Aczone/Epiduo on it. I'll just put some Neosporin on it tonight and I'm sure it'll be better by morning.

My face is still peeling...it's really bad on the right side of my upper lip for some strange reason. I wonder if I'm just not rubbing in my product there well enough or something? It's very strange, just this small patch of extremely peely skin...weird! Also the skin right around my nose feels raw and very itchy, especially at night.

Face still stings a ton when I'm applying toner, so I've been applying less of the tea-tree enhanced toner and I think my skin is paying the price. I have several small blemishes all over my face...forehead, cheeks, chin. Luckily none on my nose right now. I wonder if this is the dreaded IB?

I will say that the blemishes are primarily concentrated in my chin area. I am bad about putting my chin/face in my hands during the day (I know, a big no-no!!). I should really stop that. BUT one thing I noticed a few weeks ago is that I do it in my sleep - LOL!! If I somehow roll over in my sleep and I'm sleeping on my back, I'll wake up and realize I'm resting my chin on my hand. So funny!!

Totally random - so last night I was sleeping at my boyfriend's house. At 5:30 in the morning I was dreaming about something and then somehow my dream turned to someone shooting someone else. Then I woke up and realized that those gun shots were real!! My boyfriend was awake too and we were like WTF is going on!! I even said "how many shots fired is that??" cause it was just like, "bang! bang! bang! bang!" over and over! Then the "shots" were quicker together like "bangbangbangbang" and that's when it hit us - someone in his neighborhood was setting off fireworks (which are ILLEGAL in my state)! WHO SETS OFF FIREWORKS AT 5:30AM??

Hope your week is going well - more in a few days!

[Daggeris]

I've used Epiduo before (Only for a month) and it didn't work too well for me or at all. I'm currently using Aczone as part of my regimen and I must agree. My dermatologist added it to my regimen because he said even though it didn't make any major changes in my face, he said it has anti-inflammatory properties and that's why he's making me continue using it.

And it's true. After applying it i noticed the the redness and swelling reduces. It won't heal my acne but it works just fine for that purpose.

I do encourage you not to use anything that says an oil or ointment, regardless of what properties it may have. It'll clog your pores, period.

Also, the first 2 to 3 weeks will be pretty bad. When i first started my regimen years ago with differin and benzaclin my skin was always burning and started to peel. (epiduo is kinda a mixture of the low dose differin with benzoyl peroxide). Personally for me, applying benzoyl peroxide causes that peeling and dryness. So i was told to discontinue the benzaclin (which contains it) and just stayed with differin (which is one of the ingredients in EpiDuo).

Perhaps you should consult with your dermatologist the use of just Differin. It worked for me.

Also remember that it's suppose to be a very thin layer of medicine that you should apply and you should prep your skin with a moisturizer before applying your meds. Also you CAN use aczone twice daily (it's actually the recomended dose). Aczone doesn't really dry your skin so you should be fine.

But remember, don't give up on it! Your doctor may have not mentioned but you may be going through the infamous "it gets worse before it gets better" phase that happens with alot of retinoids.


Hope it helps!

[LoveLouisV]

Thanks for the insight, Daggeris!

I think the next step for me (if this combo doesn't work) is probably to go to Differin; all of my years of lifeguarding and being in tanning beds as a teenager probably caused sun damage so I'm sure the Differin would do double-duty.

I swear by vitamin E and Neosporin...they almost never fail at repairing my skin when applied overnight, so I doubt I'll be giving up either of those treatments anytime soon.

Also, tea tree oil has proven to be a HG (when diluted, of course). Because of its anti-bacterial/fungal/microbial properties, it reduces the bacteria on my skin, resulting in less breakouts overall. I began using it in April when I first joined Acne.org and was actually thinking I wouldn't need to go to the dermatologist last week since my skin had been almost perfect.

But then I spent all weekend before my appointment outside, and it was one of the hottest and most humid weekends of the summer, and I was sweating a lot, without having the opportunity to immediately cleanse my skin. I think the sweating combined with the friction of my sunglasses and perhaps even mixing in with my hair products is what caused those breakouts.

I'll update tomorrow on my progress thus far.

Edited by LoveLouisV, 04 August 2011 - 11:50 AM.

[LoveLouisV]

I Quit

Hello everyone (if there is anyone reading, that is)!

It's been a while since I updated this log, and that's because I decided against continuing my treatment. My skin was very irritated and "angry" with the products I was putting on my face, and besides my skin being red, peeling, feeling tight, itching, and stinging like crazy no matter what products I put on it, I was breaking out more than I had in a long time.

A few days ago, I went back to my old regimen (outlined above) and my skin is slowly but surely recovering. For starters, my skin does not sting whatsoever when I apply my toner (or lotions), and it is no longer peeling. There were about 10-20 (maybe more) actives on my face but they are subsiding.

I guess I can live with the one or two zits I get once a month, especially considering that my skin was in great condition before I started using these treatments, and I owe that clarity to Clinique and tea tree oil.

So, not like I had a lot of visitors to this log or anything, but I bid you all farewell. Thanks for reading and good luck with your own treatments!

Edited by LoveLouisV, 15 August 2011 - 11:52 AM.