59 replies to this topic

[DanielleM]

I started out like a lot of people who got a zit once a month during puberty. Then they would come a little more and they would stay under my skin sometimes for weeks at a time. In college I would get painful bumps under my skin and then they would leave purple marks. I would even get a very large cyst like monster right between my eyes. I think it was from stress but I would just cry because it would stay there for a month. It wouldn't do anything but stare back at me from the mirror. Then my junior year of college I studied abroad in Paris, France for four months. I woke up one morning and my acne had mutated again and now it was all over my cheeks. It has since then gotten worse now that I have been out of college. I have a few holes in my cheeks from just regular sized pimples; I have red and purple spots everywhere. I am so afraid to look like this. I have to where makeup everywhere. You won't catch me dead without it on. I am 23 years old and it has only gotten worse not better! I have a few pimples about one a week but I have tiny blackheads on my forehead and a million tiny white bumps on my chin and jaw line. I can't get them to go away. I have even scrubbed.
I think that I have tried everything but acutane. I will never try it because it could be worse for you health in the long run. There has to be another way. I have done Mary Kay, Noxima, Clearasil, Neutrogena, St. Ives, Dove, Herbal remedies like tea tree, 4 different types of birth control, 2 antibiotics (they made me sick), Clear Light Laser Treatment, Microdermabrasion, the needle, alpha beta hydroxy, expensive, highly concentrated salicylic acid, bp, and glycolic acid treatments, Proactive-twice, Exposed, prescriptions I can't even pronounce, and other regimens I found in books. I am going to go see the fifth dermatologist next week. I am so tired of this. I hate my face! Why does this problem have to be on the one place everyone has to look at? Anyway, Dan’s regime seems so simple. Benzoyl Peroxide has been the only thing to keep my symptoms to a minimum but I have not tried it this way. I started using it last night and already this morning I can tell a difference. I hope it gets better.

[DanielleM]

hey! hope dans regimen works for u (for us) what products are u gonna be using?

I started with Purpose face wash. I have been on it before and it was gentle. I am also using Neutrogena's BP. It was the only one left at the store so it was meant to be. I am using the face lotion by Exposed because it think that is works for my skin and I don' want to waste it. I will probably switch to one of the suggested ones when it runs out.

[DanielleM]

Second day-

I like the way I didn't wake up this morning with any little pimples or any new under the skin bumps. My old ones seem to be drying up fast. I feel that my skin is not as oily and it feels tighter. The only issue I had was putting on my makeup this morning. It didn't spread well and got clumpy. I have not had a chance to get to the mall and get more bare minerals. I think BM will give the best coverage. Tomorrow, I will try to wait longer before I put the makeup on.

[DanielleM]

I am back from the weekend and I am on day five.
Good: I have not had any new acne developments. 50% of the blackhead like bumps on my forehead have disappeared. My skin has tightened up and my pores have significantly reduced.
Bad: My face is dry and flaking off around my mouth and chin. So I have been adding more moisture. Last night I only washed my face and put on lotion to give myself a break but this morning I went back at it full force. However, I did have to rub my face gently with a wet washcloth to remove a lot of the dry skin.
Same: I still have a ton of little bumps on my right cheek and jaw line.
I just hope that it doesn't come back in bite me. Tomorrow I am going to see a new dermatologist. I will let you know what he says.

[outdoorgirl]

Good luck Danielle! Just keep at it and do what Dan says and I'm sure you will see good results too. Give it a good 3 months and hopefully you will have clear skin soon.

[DanielleM]

Thanks outdoorgirl! I need encouragement. I just can't wait to be done with it. How are you doing by the way?

[DanielleM]

Alright,
I am back and it has been one week. My face has clear up a lot and my husband has noticed!! I only have about 30% of the little bumps on my forehead and the left side of my face is looking real nice. However, my right cheek and jaw line is very stubborn. I have still a lot of little bumps and some of them itch. I don't put BP on at night I just wash my face and put on lotion. In the morning is when I do everything. I just can't take all the dryness. I went to the derm yesterday and I didn't like what he said. He wants to put me on antibiotics, some other pill and Retin-A. I hate antibiotics; they make me sick so I might go to another derm. Besides he talked to me for like a minute and I didn't even get to talk to him really about what I have tried in the past. He just took one look at me, prescribed some meds and walk out! Gee thanks, I feel like you care. Well, I will let you know how my face is tomorrow.

[outdoorgirl]

Hang in there Danielle...it will get better. I was constantly asking my husband if my face looked better and he would say yes, but he said I was crazy because it wasn't that bad anyways.

I went to a derm a few years ago and I hated taking all of those antibiotics and putting on the various creams and lotions. Those things worked for a little while and then I got tired of taking them and stopped. My skin was good for a couple years and then over a year ago I started getting the big, red bumps. I tried a few over teh counter things first and the decided to try Dan's regimen and if that didn't work I was going to go back to a derm. Thankfully Dan's regimen works! Stick with it and see for yourself. You could always get a second opinion from another derm but I think you will be much happier with just putting bp on and doing the regimen.

Good luck!

Christine

[DanielleM]

Christine,

Thank you so much for your encouragement. I really needed that this week. My husband, however, is not that positive. He really wants me to find the "cure." I am so frustrated with derms. My skin has gotten much better but there are still a few spots that are fighting to the death. The worst is that no matter how clear I get, I still have all those ugly red scars everywhere. I wear makeup to bed (bare minerals) so it doesn't look that bad to him. He is always seems shocked if he ever sees me without my makeup and says that he still thinks it's bad. He's never had a zit and if he ever did you can't even tell. Anyway, I am hanging in there. It has been almost two weeks.


Danielle

[Sixx]

Hi Danielle
Ive recently started on this regimen too.
Im 33 and didnt have one pimple during the teenage years, I actually got compliments on my perfect skin, then SLAM! when I was about 30 I started getting them =/
Im relatively clear at the moment, but those damned redmarks!

I can relate with the "wearing makeup to bed thing" Ive been guilty of that too...altho on this regimen Im not going to do that *crosses toes*
I will be interested in following your progress, best wishes for you!

[outdoorgirl]

Danielle,

With time your red marks will fade so don't worry about those. Once you've been on the regimen long enough so your skin is used to it you can add in an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA), and that will help with skin shedding and improve the red marks. I would recommend drugstore.com with has a lot of good products with AHA in them. I have been using these products for a couple of months now and it is really making a difference. My skin is smoother and looks less scarred and red. I know it is frustrating having almost clear, or clear skin, and then red marks, but keep doing what you are doing. Your husband should definitely be more supportive through all of this I think too.

[DanielleM]

sixx,

Thank you so much for your imput. It really is nice to have someone to share my concerns and problems about acne with someone understands. My husband has never known anyone with my kind of problem and he is sad that it has only gotten worse over the years. As you can imagine he is kind of scared and unfortunately he is not very supportive. I told him about this website and he laughed. I think that was insensitive so I don't tell him anything anymore.
I wear bare minerals to bed. It does not clog your pores since it is all natual. Even though it will rub off some when I sleep my face doesn't depress me as much in the morning if I put it on the night before. I use it mainly to cover up the red spots so I don't freak my husband out.

d

p.s. Hang in there too. I have hope that this will not last forever...


Christine,

Thanks for the info. I just bought the the bp gel that dan recomends. my scars have faded but I am just afraid to get any new blemishes because the cycle will start all over again. How are you doing anyway? Is your face still clear? How long should I wait to use the AHA? Thanks again for your encouragement. I really do appreciate it. I feel like I go through this alone and no one I know personally can understand.

d

[Sixx]

Danielle,

It breaks my heart that your husband is not sympathetic I guess Im lucky in that aspect, my hubby seems not to notice or at least never says anything.
Are you having a hard time with your skin being dry? Ive just received my order of Dan's bp gel and I like it so much better than the Neutrogena on the spot I was using....it doesnt seem to dry me out as much at all.
I, too, am going to start with a lotion with AHA in it soon, but I want to make sure that my face is used to the BP before adding something else. But I will begin it soon, to fade some pink marks that I want GONE.
I will definitely read up on your progress =)
keep the faith! we'll get thru this!!

[DanielleM]

Ok people,

It has been 3 weeks since I started. I have seen lots of improvement in some places. My forehead is clear with only tiny and I mean tiny little blackheads here and there. They are so small you can't see them unless I don't have makeup on and you look really close. The redness in general has come down. However, my jaw line the skin around my tendrils have a few problems still. The weird part is that on each side of my face on the jaw line there is a cluster of deep, persistent blemishes. They won't go away. I have to use an extractor almost everyday to keep little white bumps from forming on my cheeks. I ran out of bp cream and had to order some so for now I am using some of the Day Solution I have left over my my Exposed Skin Care products. I will use the bp gel once it comes in. Last night I had to rub my face with a washcloth to get a lot of the dead skin off. I will keep trying just as long as I don't have anything worse happen.

d

Danielle,

It breaks my heart that your husband is not sympathetic I guess Im lucky in that aspect, my hubby seems not to notice or at least never says anything.
Are you having a hard time with your skin being dry? Ive just received my order of Dan's bp gel and I like it so much better than the Neutrogena on the spot I was using....it doesnt seem to dry me out as much at all.
I, too, am going to start with a lotion with AHA in it soon, but I want to make sure that my face is used to the BP before adding something else. But I will begin it soon, to fade some pink marks that I want GONE.
I will definitely read up on your progress =)
keep the faith! we'll get thru this!!

sixx,

Good, I am excited to get Dan's bp gel. I was using N on the spot. What AHA lotion are you going to use?
I just want to look normal again. I want makeup to be for enhancement not to cover up a horrible disease. I really want to go without makeup this summer if I want to. The worst is when you dive into a pool and come up revealing everything your makeup was hiding.

Good LUCK!!! Hang in there!

[sjeagle30]

Danielle,

It breaks my heart that your husband is not sympathetic I guess Im lucky in that aspect, my hubby seems not to notice or at least never says anything.
Are you having a hard time with your skin being dry? Ive just received my order of Dan's bp gel and I like it so much better than the Neutrogena on the spot I was using....it doesnt seem to dry me out as much at all.
I, too, am going to start with a lotion with AHA in it soon, but I want to make sure that my face is used to the BP before adding something else. But I will begin it soon, to fade some pink marks that I want GONE.
I will definitely read up on your progress =)
keep the faith! we'll get thru this!!

What is lotion with AHA? I am celar now from dans regimen too and wan to get rid of red spots. I just started using vinegar as a toner as I hear from tons of people that it relly takes away red spots.

[Sixx]

hey guys =)

Im not sure yet which one I will use...I figure I'll do some reading here on the boards before I choose one.
I do have a bottle of Neutrogena Healthy Skin with Alpha Hydroxy, I may just use that for now.

I just want to look normal again. I want makeup to be for enhancement not to cover up a horrible disease. I really want to go without makeup this summer if I want to. The worst is when you dive into a pool and come up revealing everything your makeup was hiding.

amen sister!

[mae]

Hi Danielle. Just read your posts. I am so pleased that you are trying the regimen. I started getting a lot of pimples on my cheeks like you when I turned 26. I've been on Dan's reg for 4 months now and since the 3rd month, my skin has been clear. Amazing. So hang in there. It is good that you are seeing some improvement already, but don't get too frustrated if it goes back and forth. Have confidence that this is going to work for you.

[DanielleM]

[quote name='mae' post='945951' date='Jan 25 2006, 06:46 PM']
Hi Danielle. Just read your posts. I am so pleased that you are trying the regimen. I started getting a lot of pimples on my cheeks like you when I turned 26. I've been on Dan's reg for 4 months now and since the 3rd month, my skin has been clear. Amazing. So hang in there. It is good that you are seeing some improvement already, but don't get too frustrated if it goes back and forth. Have confidence that this is going to work for you.
[/quote]


Hey Mae,

Thanks for the reply! My face is still fighting me pretty hard. When you say clear skin can you elaborate on that?

d

[ I just started using vinegar as a toner as I hear from tons of people that it relly takes away red spots.
[/quote]

Hi sjeagle30,

How long have you been using the vinegar? Is it working? I really want the acne to go away more than anything but I am afraid that even if is finally leaves I will still have tons of red spots that will make be still look like I have it. How long will your red spots last do you think?

d


WEIRD,

The cluster on my right jaw line has gotten so bad it looks strange. It doesn't really look like acne even though I know it is. It itches, is sore, almost like a rash. But it still looks like there are heads trying to form. It is more cystic than anything else. So this is what I tried. I have this sulfer mask that was left over from Proactive. I put if on the spot three nights in a row. It is still there but smaller and less itchy so I am going to keep doing that for a while.

[celebration]

WEIRD,

The cluster on my right jaw line has gotten so bad it looks strange. It doesn't really look like acne even though I know it is. It itches, is sore, almost like a rash. But it still looks like there are heads trying to form. It is more cystic than anything else. So this is what I tried. I have this sulfer mask that was left over from Proactive. I put if on the spot three nights in a row. It is still there but smaller and less itchy so I am going to keep doing that for a while.

Hi Danielle--I had the same thing exactly! The BP should take care of it. Good luck with the regimen! You and I started at about the same time, it seems. Take care.