splendid's SA + BP notes

I rec'd the SA today and am eager to see how it works.

Background:
I have used Dan's BP for around 2 years, and his moisturizer for almost as long. Ideally I use both of these twice/day, though sometimes only in the morning or (very rarely) none at all. In the mornings I wash with store brand Cetaphil (Meijer, to be specific), then use BP (a lot!) followed by a 5-10 minute wait, then the moisturizer (again, a lot). At night, I wash either with the same generic Cetaphil or, if my skin is doing pretty well, with St Ive's Gentle Apricot Scrub. Occasionally I use a Queen Helene mask - Mint Julep, Moisturizing Apricot, or Grape Seed. The mint and apricot I usually leave on overnight - my skin is very oily and as long as I don't use these masks more than once or twice a week, they don't dry out my skin. (I rarely use them even that often, though...more like once a month or so.)

To be honest, I don't know how severe my acne really is, because I've had a fairly severe picking problem for the past couple of years (at least...maybe more). It has been worse when I'm stressed or depressed, and it became a coping mechanism that felt addictive and almost automatic at times. Since I know picking exacerbates skin problems horribly, I can't really say what my acne is like at this point. However, prior to it becoming a serious issue, I was being treated by a dermatologist or GP at different times for acne, but I think it was fairly mild. Usually I used 10% BenzaClin in the morning and a retinoid (not sure which one or which concentration) at night.

That's where I'm coming from...

Why I'm interested in Dan's SA+:
Over the past month or so I've been much better about not picking, though I still do it sometimes. I think that one thing that helps is not having as much to pick at in the first place. Even when I've left my face alone and there are not really any serious problem spots, I still have tons of blackheads and some tiny comedones. After doing some reading, I think BP + moisturizer have helped diminish serious acne (and helped keep in check the effects of picking on my skin). However, I still have blackheads and little white comedones and I would like to diminish these because then I'd have even less to pick at. My understanding is that SA will help clear my pores of the dead cells that turn into stuff that I continue to pick at.

So, this is where I'm heading with trying this new product.

I'll update this thread as I have time, since I want to help out and provide some feedback on the product, in addition to keeping track of whether it helps me or not.

Good luck, everyone!

Extractions - how often?

I had my first ever facial today, and the aesthetician did some extractions, but not as many as I hoped she'd do (none on the sides of my nose, which I didn't understand). I don't even know most of what she did during the facial (an "acne facial"), because she didn't explain. There was steam involved at the beginning, then some sort of pumpkin muck, and toward the end that weird microcurrent thing, etc....

I should have asked, but she was so on my case about what I'm doing wrong, and how I need to stop eating all dairy and all chocolate (um, riiight...that's realistic), and take these certain vitamins and that benzoyl peroxide "isn't working" for me anymore, and how I need to take birth control because my acne problems are due to hormonal problems, blah blah... I did tell her I pick at my face, but I don't think she understood that that is the main problem with my skin...picking seems to cause most of the acne problems (I have managed to leave my face alone at times, and it eventually clears up pretty much).

But it got me thinking - the main reason I went in is because I have this horrible problem of picking my face all the time, and I thought that if I had extractions done by a professional every so often that might get me to stop. (Nothing like paying for something and then messing it up later on...I think I'm too cheap to do that.)

I'm going to try a different place next time (these aren't spas...they're definitely professional facialists), but that made me wonder...how soon should I go?

And in general, how often should one have extractions done? Again, I am hoping that if I have them done on a regular basis, it will deter me from picking my skin so much myself. Is there a maximum or minimum when it comes to extractions? I've seen people on this site mention every 6-8 weeks, or once/month. Should I start out more frequently and then eventually I'll need to go less often? How do I know when it's time to go again (I'm sure the facialist will be willing to schedule appointments as often as I'm willing to pay for them...)?

My thinking is that I would want to go as often as I can afford, and as makes sense (don't want to go too often if it will be counterproductive for my skin), so I can tell myself "in a week and a half, I'm having extractions done again...so I don't need to pick!" I think that if this works, later on I wouldn't need to go as often because my skin would be clearer and I will have shown myself that I don't need to pick (and yes, I have read stoppickingonme.com for a long time, and have tried many other things to break the habit). But then the question becomes how often extractions should be done as maintenance?

Thanks for reading this long post, and thanks for any suggestions any of you have!

Switching from Rx 5% BP to DKR 2.5%

I have been using BenzaClin in the mornings for at least the past 3 years. (At night, I use tretinoin 0.01%).

I am thinking of switching to Dan's BP instead, because it is cheaper (even with the shipping, it's still less than the co-pay on my prescription stuff), and I wouldn't have to worry about getting someone to write a new prescription for it when mine runs out.

Has anyone else switched from BenzaClin to CSRgel? What has your experience been? My main concern is going from 5% down to 2.5%.