4 replies to this topic

[kmvanhorn]

A little background: I had very mild acne in high school, but nothing a little Clean and Clear couldn't handle. In college, my skin got worse due to stress. I started taking birth control as a personal decision, and my skin was IMMACULATE. I never realized how great my skin was until.... I changed my birth control in January 2012, which triggered my acne. Unfortunately, I exacerabted the problem by switching forms of birth control another two times in the next three months, even switching mid-cycle at one point. I realize how incredibly stupid this was now and have been on Ortho TriCyclen for three months straight now. Sadly, my acne has remained. I tried to spot treat my acne with benzoyl peroxide and AHA/BHA peels. While both treatments helped acne that had already surfaced on my face, it wasn't preventing new pimples from forming. I was scared to use Retin A because of the initial breakout I had read about, but after 5 months of dealing with horrible skin, I knew I needed to treat the problem systematically. I've been using Retin A Micro for 5 weeks now. I started with the generic tretinoin cream and switched to RAM because I noticed the ingredients in the cream are very comedogenic. I also increased my percentage from 0.05% to 1% because my skin seemed to tolerate the .05% fairly well. During the first 3-4 weeks, I experienced a fairly severe initial breakout. Whereas my hormonal acne had been located primarily on my chin, jawline, and around my mouth, I now had acne spreading up the sides of my lower cheeks. I had around 6-8 large, deep pimples and tons of tiny comedones sprinkled across my face. My nose and forehead were the only areas that remained clear. This was incredibly difficult to deal with as I work in an office of all women- most of whom have long outgrown acne. I cry on the way to work, and I've avoided a lot of social activities. My makeup looks awful.
I am at the end of week 5 now, and while I still have a lot of tiny pimples across my lower cheeks, the large, deep pimples have decreased from 6-8 to about 3-4. My doctor also prescribed me Benzaclin to use in the mornings.
I knew when I started using RAM regularly that I shouldn't expect an instant miracle, but I'm getting so frustrated. I feel like I have decent days where my skin is tolerable. I get my hopes up that maybe my skin has taken a turn for the better, but then I wake up the next morning and I've got 4 new pimples. You can see this in the pictures below... My skin looked better at the end of week 4 than it does now, at the end of week 5. I know I should be happy that I don't have any big swollen pimples or the AWFUL clusters of red, inflammed zits at the moment - but my cheeks are covered in tiny, closed comedones. And I might as well have big pimples because the red marks left over from old pimples look just as bad. I'm peeling, itchy, and feel UGLY. UGLY UGLY UGLY.
Reading about other people's experiences, getting encouragement, advice, etc... is the only thing that's pushing me through this horrible experience. I just want my old skin back.
I'm going to keep track of my progress with posts and pictures. Hopefully when I get frustrated with my skin, I'll be able to look at my posts and pictures and see little bits of improvement to keep things in perspective. The photos below progress from Week 2 - Week 5.



Granted, I picked really bad before the Week 5 picks. It's awful, I know. So compulsive though. I literally cannot stop myself.
Here is my skin care routine at the moment:
AM - Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser - Clindamycin-Benzoyl Peroxide Gel - Neutrogena Combination Skin Moisturizer
PM - Cetaphil Daily Cleanser - Wait 20 minutes - Pea sized amount of RAM - Wait 1 hour - Kheil's Avocado Eye Cream - Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion before bed

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Edited by kmvanhorn, 19 July 2012 - 08:45 PM.

[RainbowEater]

I literally juuuuuuust got back from the derm and he put me on this exact same regimen. BenzaClin in the morning and RetinA at night. Except instead of BenzaClin, Duac, but it's pretty much the same damn thing.

My skin has been pretty clear the past six months but then I made the dumb mistake of getting a Fraxel laser treatment for scars on my forehead. At first, it made my skin so glowy and plump looking. Then last week I started getting this massive break out. I was scheduled today to get a second Fraxel but he wouldn't do it because I have so much active acne now. It may not have been the laser but the heavy petroleum based cream I used post-procedure, but either way, I was not warned this was a side effect, and my face is ruined now. Thanks to my dermatologist.

What I'm trying to say is I feel your pain. How is it using BenzaClin in the morning? Is it dry looking and pasty? Is it ok to put make up over? I always wear face makeup when I go out (especially now) so I wanted to know if you have any advice for that.

Hopefully this regimen works for me. I'm so upset with the state of my skin right now. Literally devastated. I'll be praying to the RetinA gods that this works.

[kmvanhorn]

You know, I was really expecting my skin to react badly to the RetinA because of everything I'd read. But it's actually the BenzaClin that I have to be careful with. It's very drying, it makes my face sooooo itchy, and putting makeup on burns pretty badly. I think this is because the RetinA is making my skin so thin and fragile that the BenzaClin is extra harsh. But I also feel like the BenzaClin really helps heal anything that's popped up, while the RetinA is only preventing future blemishes from forming. I'm in the middle of week 6, and I'm improving little by little. But I'm still so dissatisfied with how I look.

The BenzaClin isn't pasty as long as you don't use too much. I follow the same rule as the RetinA - pea sized amount for the whole face. Definitely moisturize afterwards. I wait 5-10 minutes before moisturizing so the medicine can sink into my skin. As for makeup, I get a little flakey when I put on foundation primer. I usually take a cotton ball and gently brush it over my face after I put on the primer to sweep away any dead skin. (Gross). I wear liquid foundation, and you can see dry areas pretty easily. But if I top my primer/foundation/concealer with a little mineral powder, it helps hide it.

Really, my best advice with the BenzaClin/RetinA combo - just pay attention to your skin feels like. If my face feels a little sensitive or itchy, I might not put on the BenzaClin in the morning. If I wash my face and it burns, I take a whole day off of both medications. The longer I stick with it, the more my skin gets used to it.

Send up a few prayers to those RetinA gods for me too... I'm dying over here.

[natalieaj03]

Hi i was put on a similar treatment, benzoyl peroxide 10% in the mornings and retin a at night oh also doxycycline. I started the benzoyl treatment with the oral doxy 100mg daily without the ratin a coz i read that using the benzoyl for a while can reduce the IB( initial breakout). After two months of this i was still scared of the retin a IB so i just stoped the oral doxy and mixed my 10%benzoyl peroxide with clindamycin gel. Ive used this along with some clinique products for my skin type also with the miracle clinique anti blemish solutions foundation (for 1 month) and its magic! My acne is gone! I only got about 3 zits after a facial n they are almost gone! I just have acne scars which im currently whitening.
Now my question is, should i still start the retin a? Will it just ruin the progress ive made? Also wats the point of getting dependent on retin a if im thinking of getting pregnant?

[mWilso]

A little background: I had very mild acne in high school, but nothing a little Clean and Clear couldn't handle. In college, my skin got worse due to stress. I started taking birth control as a personal decision, and my skin was IMMACULATE. I never realized how great my skin was until.... I changed my birth control in January 2012, which triggered my acne. Unfortunately, I exacerabted the problem by switching forms of birth control another two times in the next three months, even switching mid-cycle at one point. I realize how incredibly stupid this was now and have been on Ortho TriCyclen for three months straight now. Sadly, my acne has remained. I tried to spot treat my acne with benzoyl peroxide and AHA/BHA peels. While both treatments helped acne that had already surfaced on my face, it wasn't preventing new pimples from forming. I was scared to use Retin A because of the initial breakout I had read about, but after 5 months of dealing with horrible skin, I knew I needed to treat the problem systematically. I've been using Retin A Micro for 5 weeks now. I started with the generic tretinoin cream and switched to RAM because I noticed the ingredients in the cream are very comedogenic. I also increased my percentage from 0.05% to 1% because my skin seemed to tolerate the .05% fairly well. During the first 3-4 weeks, I experienced a fairly severe initial breakout. Whereas my hormonal acne had been located primarily on my chin, jawline, and around my mouth, I now had acne spreading up the sides of my lower cheeks. I had around 6-8 large, deep pimples and tons of tiny comedones sprinkled across my face. My nose and forehead were the only areas that remained clear. This was incredibly difficult to deal with as I work in an office of all women- most of whom have long outgrown acne. I cry on the way to work, and I've avoided a lot of social activities. My makeup looks awful.
I am at the end of week 5 now, and while I still have a lot of tiny pimples across my lower cheeks, the large, deep pimples have decreased from 6-8 to about 3-4. My doctor also prescribed me Benzaclin to use in the mornings.
I knew when I started using RAM regularly that I shouldn't expect an instant miracle, but I'm getting so frustrated. I feel like I have decent days where my skin is tolerable. I get my hopes up that maybe my skin has taken a turn for the better, but then I wake up the next morning and I've got 4 new pimples. You can see this in the pictures below... My skin looked better at the end of week 4 than it does now, at the end of week 5. I know I should be happy that I don't have any big swollen pimples or the AWFUL clusters of red, inflammed zits at the moment - but my cheeks are covered in tiny, closed comedones. And I might as well have big pimples because the red marks left over from old pimples look just as bad. I'm peeling, itchy, and feel UGLY. UGLY UGLY UGLY.
Reading about other people's experiences, getting encouragement, advice, etc... is the only thing that's pushing me through this horrible experience. I just want my old skin back.
I'm going to keep track of my progress with posts and pictures. Hopefully when I get frustrated with my skin, I'll be able to look at my posts and pictures and see little bits of improvement to keep things in perspective. The photos below progress from Week 2 - Week 5.



Granted, I picked really bad before the Week 5 picks. It's awful, I know. So compulsive though. I literally cannot stop myself.
Here is my skin care routine at the moment:
AM - Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser - Clindamycin-Benzoyl Peroxide Gel - Neutrogena Combination Skin Moisturizer
PM - Cetaphil Daily Cleanser - Wait 20 minutes - Pea sized amount of RAM - Wait 1 hour - Kheil's Avocado Eye Cream - Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion before bed

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

You are not ugly, at all. And it will get better! It's totally normal for it to get better and worse, but one day you will be amazed at how glowing and even your skin is!