954 replies to this topic

[LionQueen]

thanks, your awsome

can your put it on in the morning without a red face all day?

can u moisterize over it?

will it leave oil?

You are welcome, I really hope it works for you!

I would start by using it just once a day, on a clean face. You need to then wait 30 minutes before applying moisturizer or sunscreen -- the mandelic needs time to soak in and do its work. Doesn't matter whether you use it in the morning or at night, so pick whichever is most convenient for you.

This is strong stuff, so start slowly. The sample comes in a little vial. You can either dip a Q-tip in and use that as an applicator or pour a few drops into the palm of your hand and apply with fingertips. Either way, use only a very thin layer.

For the first week, use it only every other day and see how things go. Some peeling/flaking is perfectly normal, as is some purging. If you are experiencing excessive irritation, though, stop using it. It should not turn your skin red.

Keep me posted!

[mdlax10]

thanks again....ill deffinately keep u posted

hope it works

[reedman21]

thank you for your advice lionqueen,
i think i am now planning to only treat actively at night and just moisturize well in the morning, as you also suggested.
i have read a few times now that bp is not good against blackheads, i can see a good peeling effect from bp though.doesnt that removal of dead skin directly corelate to removal of impurities?since my problem is definitely a build up of dead skin cells these need to be removed.
do you believe that glycolic acid and retin-a are better for removal of dead skin?
and could the peeling with bp just be due to dryness?
thank you so much for your help
fabian

[reedman21]

also i am worried about the base of the retin-a which i cant find the ingredients for but it is thick and greasy so maybe comedogenic?
greetings
fabian

[LionQueen]

i have read a few times now that bp is not good against blackheads, i can see a good peeling effect from bp though.doesnt that removal of dead skin directly corelate to removal of impurities?since my problem is definitely a build up of dead skin cells these need to be removed.
do you believe that glycolic acid and retin-a are better for removal of dead skin?
and could the peeling with bp just be due to dryness?
thank you so much for your help
fabian

My concern is that you are using too many products. BP is antibacterial; if you don't have inflammatory acne, you don't need it.

Retin A will help to purge your pores. The cream does contain a small amount of isopropyl myristate, which is comedogenic .... but the tretinoin is a powerful enough agent to offset that in most cases. I switched to Retin A Micro gel and I prefer that (my pores clog very easily), but I do not know if you have access to that in Germany.

Glycolic is actually not the best agent for exfoliating pores, as it does not penetrate deeply enough. Mandelic and salicylic are better. Glycolic will, however, help you get the flakes off your face, and it works well in tandem with retinoids. So if you are going to continue with Retin A or some other retinoid, I would stick with the glycolic.

If you want to scrap your whole regimen and start from scratch ... I think mandelic acid might be all you need.

You might also look into synthetic brush exfoliation ... see the "jessfoliation" link in my signature.

[reedman21]

thanks for the reply,
and i thought glycolic acid DID penetrate deeper than the others and may therefore also cause more irrtation.is bp only antibacterial but not comedolytic in your opinion?
as for the synthetic brush exfoliation, i dont know if thats for me because it seems any sort of mechanical peeling seems to make my skin react with more keratinization.

anyways, i am only going to moisturize during the day (have lots of good stuff for that including panthenol,aloe all sorts of vitamins..)
and use something at night.whether that will be bp, ga or retin-a i suppose i will have to find out by trial and error.

since is cannot spend any more money on skincare right now mandelic wil be put on the waiting list.
we dont really have it in germany except one product called zeniac lp forte creme containing 5%mandelic,5%ammonium lactate and 0,5% salicylic acid.the general opinion regarding this creme is that it is very helpful against oilyness but somewhat less helpful with impurities.

one more thing that needs to be considered is that i am not someone with a few impurities like everybody else who wants to get rid of them.for normal people a face wash and moisturizer, maybe with some aha or something usually will do that i think.
i have been through 2 accutane therapies and it is quite hard for me to keep my skin normal looking.the state i have now is due to treatment and would rapidly worsen if no active products were used.

ok, enough now
have a nice day
fabian

[LionQueen]

one more thing that needs to be considered is that i am not someone with a few impurities like everybody else who wants to get rid of them.for normal people a face wash and moisturizer, maybe with some aha or something usually will do that i think.
i have been through 2 accutane therapies and it is quite hard for me to keep my skin normal looking.the state i have now is due to treatment and would rapidly worsen if no active products were used.

In that case, I think you should make Retin A your primary treatment. Try alternating it at night with the glycolic, as I recommended earlier.

BP is a very weak comedolytic agent; Retin A is much more effective.

Glycolic acid exfoliates the surface of the face, but not the pores. Since you do not respond well to manual exfoliation, you should probably keep the glycolic in your arsenal.

Let me know how it goes.

[reedman21]

ok, i might give the retin-a a go, eventhough i am hesitant about putting greasy cream on.
there is something here in germany called roaccutan gel.its isotretinoin in gel.apparently as effective as tretinoin but gel base.probably alcohol though,which i dont like either.
lets hope the isopropyl myristate doesnt cause the opposite of what the retin-a is supposed to.
thanks for all your help
fabian

[Blackheads]

Thanks for the information LionQueen.

I have blackheads on and around my nose and also have sensitive skin and Rosacea.

I was going to try the 10% alcohol-free mandelic acid serum made and sold by Garden of Wisdom but they are out of stock so think I will try the Vivant mandelic acid serum sold on the Diana Yvonne as I am not using any Retinoids on my face.

Does anyone know of a simliar product sold in the UK, maybe Boots or Superdrug?

[LionQueen]

I was going to try the 10% alcohol-free mandelic acid serum made and sold by Garden of Wisdom but they are out of stock so think I will try the Vivant mandelic acid serum sold on the Diana Yvonne

This is an excellent product, but the formulation does contain alcohol ... not recommended for rosacea. Also, it is a 15% serum. If you want to try a product that strong, you are probably better off with the GoW 15% alcohol-free serum.

[willow569]

I just have to put in a brief recommendation for NuCelle's Mandelic Serum. I use the 10% and its been great for clearing out the pores around my nose. I'm considering trying some of NuCelle's other products. They also have 30% mandelic peels - I wonder how those are? I'm not sure if those are for professional use only though.

[mdlax10]

does it work on whiteheads?

[LionQueen]

does it work on whiteheads?

It will work on clogged pores and on mild cases of inflammatory acne.

[LionQueen]

I was going to try the 10% alcohol-free mandelic acid serum made and sold by Garden of Wisdom but they are out of stock

FYI ... I checked with them tonight, and they have the 10% back in stock. Yay!

[Blackheads]

I was going to try the 10% alcohol-free mandelic acid serum made and sold by Garden of Wisdom but they are out of stock so think I will try the Vivant mandelic acid serum sold on the Diana Yvonne

This is an excellent product, but the formulation does contain alcohol ... not recommended for rosacea. Also, it is a 15% serum. If you want to try a product that strong, you are probably better off with the GoW 15% alcohol-free serum.

Thanks LionQueen, good point.
My nose is very greasy so perhaps I could order 2 samples, GoW 15% serum and GoW 15% alcohol free serum to use if the first is too strong.
Or do you feel the DY 15% is superior to GoW 15% serum?

As a face wash morning and night I am washing with Neutrogena deep clean cream cleanser oil free. It contains;
Aqua, Cetly alcohol, PPG-15 Stearyl Ether, Methyl Gluceth-20, Steareth-21, Polysorbate 60, Steareth-2, Salicylic Acid, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Xanthan Gum, Menthol, Disodium EDTA, BHT, Parfum- [FPT0988]

I have used this for about 2 years now. Should I be using something containing AHA or BHA? Maybe it is time for me to change my cleanser but I would prefer an oil free one.

I was told that the Salicylic Acid in my current face wash would not have time to have an effect anyway as it is not on my face long enough, what do you think about that?

[The Tominator]

Speaking from experience, Tazorac did little to affect the blackheads on my nose, which is why I switched to the MA after nearly seven months on retinoids (Taz & Differin) with no improvement. The MA doesn't burn, and the purging hasn't been a problem, but after two weeks, there's been no noticeable difference. Maybe the blackheads on my nose are just impervious to any treatment whatsoever. I'll experiment with the MA on other areas and see how it goes.

[LionQueen]

The MA doesn't burn, and the purging hasn't been a problem, but after two weeks, there's been no noticeable difference. Maybe the blackheads on my nose are just impervious to any treatment whatsoever. I'll experiment with the MA on other areas and see how it goes.

How often are you using it? If you aren't seeing any irritation, you could use it twice a day.

Are you exfoliating at all?

My nose is very greasy so perhaps I could order 2 samples, GoW 15% serum and GoW 15% alcohol free serum to use if the first is too strong.
Or do you feel the DY 15% is superior to GoW 15% serum?

As a face wash morning and night I am washing with Neutrogena deep clean cream cleanser oil free. It contains;
Aqua, Cetly alcohol, PPG-15 Stearyl Ether, Methyl Gluceth-20, Steareth-21, Polysorbate 60, Steareth-2, Salicylic Acid, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Xanthan Gum, Menthol, Disodium EDTA, BHT, Parfum- [FPT0988]

I have used this for about 2 years now. Should I be using something containing AHA or BHA? Maybe it is time for me to change my cleanser but I would prefer an oil free one.

I was told that the Salicylic Acid in my current face wash would not have time to have an effect anyway as it is not on my face long enough, what do you think about that?

I think the Vivant serum that DY sells is the most potent mandelic product out there. But I have always heard that people with rosacea should avoid products with alcohol.

My feeling is that acne and rosacea sufferers should not try to treat their faces with cleansers. Active ingredients in cleansers are generally not very effective, and only contribute to drying out your face. I advise using the gentlest cleanser you can find to cleanse ... and then treat your face with a leave-on treatment that will actually do something.

[Blackheads]

You are probably right about avoiding alcohol. Am I right in thinking the alcohol would make it absorb deeper and quicker than without alcohol?
You use GoW alcohol free serum, do you find it still penetrates if left for 30 minutes? Is it pore clogging at all?

I could wash without a facewash but my nose is greasy in the mornings.

How does this routine look?

AM Wash with water.
GoW 15% alcohol free mandelic serum.
30 minutes later, Moisturise.

PM Shower, shave, wash face with water.
Moisturise.

Thanks for all the help you are giving.

[LionQueen]

I'm not saying to avoid cleansers ... just find a really gentle one. I love the Linda Sy oatmeal cleanser I'm using. Dan's CSR cleanser has also been getting rave reviews from the people who have tried it.

Aside from that, your regimen seems fine.

And yes ... the alcohol is to help it absorb better. But I think you will find that the GoW serum works very well ... just don't apply too much of it. A thin layer is plenty. It does not clog my pores.

[Blackheads]

I'm not saying to avoid cleansers ... just find a really gentle one. I love the Linda Sy oatmeal cleanser I'm using. Dan's CSR cleanser has also been getting rave reviews from the people who have tried it.

Aside from that, your regimen seems fine.

And yes ... the alcohol is to help it absorb better. But I think you will find that the GoW serum works very well ... just don't apply too much of it. A thin layer is plenty. It does not clog my pores.

I will look at the Linda Sy site and take a look at the ingredients in the cleanser and try to find something similar and gentle in the shops here in England as I would rather not get everything I need sent over due to cost and sometimes things not getting delivered here.

Am ordering samples from GoW.

Thanks again for the help.