My successful self-treatment -- with before/after pics

Hi folks,

I've just answered a private message from another member about the regimen I used to cure my own acne. I can honestly say that I now have clearer skin than I've ever had in my entire adolescent and adult life. So I want to share this with everyone, in case it will be of some help to some of you. I'm too lazy to retype everything, so I'm just going to attach the email I wrote in response to the PM I received, ok? Wish you guys the best of luck!



Hi there,

I'm so sorry for getting back to you so late about this. I've just been very busy with many things in my life and just haven't had the time to check out Acne.org at all. So I just saw you message today, and I am happy to help with any information I have.

I want to tell you that for the first time in my life (turned 30 this month), acne is no longer one of the issues I have to worry about! I've been pretty much 100% clear and I've been able to suppress occasional signs of emerging breakouts. I am now confident that I've found the right regimen to keep my acne under complete control, because before trying this regimen I had never been able to fight off breakouts time and time again like I'm able to do now.

So... to make it up to you for being late, let me tell you EXACTLY what my regimen consists of now so you can try following it and see what it can do for you. I'll break it down into bullet points so it's easier to digest

External Treatment

1. In the morning and evening, I wash my face with St. Ives Apricot Face Wash (Blemish control formula with 2% Salicylic acid) You can see example here: http://www.amazon.com/Ives-Swiss-Formula-A...0371&sr=8-1

Salicylic Acid is the best facial cleanser because it has the ability, like none others, to penetrate through layers of oil and greese on your face to clean deep inside your pores. Massage your face gently with it just using your hands for 1-2 minutes. And try to leave it on for another 1-2 minutes. Then rinse off and pat dry.

2. After washing off the SA cleanser and patting dry, apply pretty good amount of Oxy Maximum Daily Wash (w/ 10% BP). I switch from Chill Factor to Regular formula because I felt Chill Factor was too irritating with the added ingredients to give the chilling sensation. That often left my face too dried and irritated. So I now use the one you can see here: http://www.amazon.com/Oxy-Maximum-Daily-Wa...0720&sr=1-1

You can get this one from Walmart, Target, or any drugstores actually for about $5. Apply it all over your face and neck and other affected areas. Leave on for 10-15 minutes. Then rinse off completely to avoid any remaining residue over-drying your face out afterwards.

**Update (06/16/2008): I have eliminated Benzoyl Peroxide from my regimen completely. I find that over the long term it can really be too harsh for my skin and sometimes even causes some pimples to become hardened and almost burnt (red and inflamed). I've actually found that Salicylic Acid can be a perfect substitute for BP without all the possible side effects that we get from using BP for a prolonged period. SA is a lot gentler and is even better, from my experience, at suppressing any pimples that are forming under the skin. What I do is I use SA to wash, as described in step 1. Then after rinsing off, I mask my face just like before, except now I use the same SA in place of BP. (I wash the first application off to get rid of all the dirt and oil before putting on a second application that serves as a mask.) I leave it on for at least half an hour up to several hours, depending on my skin condition at the time. If my face is clear I would wash it off in half an hour. If I feel a few pimples trying to surface, I would leave it on for several hours or sometimes even overnight. It is completely safe and will not clog your pores or cause a breakout. I even spot treat with it during the day if I'm not going out.

For people who have existing conditions of severe acne, I still recommend that you try masking with BP as in my original regimen. If BP is suitable for you, you should see dramatic results almost immediately. But once you become satisfactorily clear, you should consider switching to SA for long term maintenance as described above. Alternatively, you could start off without BP and just use SA to wash AND mask, and see if it does the job for you. If it doesn't then you can take the extreme measure and try BP mask. I have a feeling that with the choices avaiable between SA and BP, the potency and efficacy will be more than sufficient for most people.

3. After washing off the BP and patting dry, the only thing I apply to my face to leave on is Alpha Hydrox AHA Enhanced Lotion. See example here: http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp...amp;catid=21503

The active ingredient in this lotion is glycolic acid. What it does is it penetrates to clean deep inside your follicles and promote regular shedding of old dead skin cells, preventing a build up that ultimately clogs your pores and cause bacteria infection. Clogged pores + bacteria infection = inflamation & acne.

This lotion can be left on as it's meant to work all day and all night clearning your pores. It's also an excellent oil-free moisturizer, so you won't need anything else on top of this lotion. Glycolic acid is excellent for spot treatment. If you feel a pimple is forming despite applying this regimen, you can spot treat the area with this lotion, and you should see the emerging pimple(s) subside in a few hours. This is true. It's been a while since I've had to pop a pimple and drain the puss out of a fully grown zit. I've been able to consistantly suppress it from ever reaching that point. And I can just feel that my skin oil is at a normal level. No more hyper-production of sebum, and my face appears clean all day and MUCH less oily than before I started this regimen.

The above-mentioned is all I do to treat my acne from the outside. And even though a lot of people say sunscreen is a must when using Glycolic acid, I just haven't felt the need because my face doesn't seem to be any more sensitive to the sun than when I was using BP as a leave-on. My opinion is that you should use sunscreen when you know you'll be exposed to direct glaring sunlight for an extended period of time. But for everyday routine where you're mostly in your car or in a building at work, or staying at home, it's not that critical in my opinion. I definitely have not felt the need, and my skin looks better than ever before. No signs of sun damage or anything like when I was using BP. ALSO, glycolic acid is known to be a potent anti-aging solution. It helps repair sun-damaged skin and eliminates wrinkles and fine lines. Everyone I know has been saying that my skin looks softer and smoother now than ever. And I can definitely feel the difference. I feel like my skin can breath better and its moisture balance is just perfect, even during winter.

Internal Treatment

1. I take vitamin supplements daily now. I think it is an essential element in regulating my sebum production and reducing toxicity in my blood, which I really believe was the main culprit for my life-long acne condition. Build up of residue+excess sebum + toxic blood + over production of hormones from unhealthy diet and genetics = persistant and stubborn acne problems.

The main supplements I take that I think are essential to my recovery are

• Omega 3, 6 and 9 (Most important) -- try getting these from flax seed, borage, and primrose oil. You should be able to find one that contains all three in a health food store.
• Fish Oil -- I use Norwegian Cod Liver Oil for zero mercury content
• Expeller pressed, extra virgin, coconut oil -- 1 to 2 tablespoons per day -- this is very important, because when you're taking lots of essential fatty acids the coconut oil will help prevent oxidation, which can lead to formation of free radicals
• Vitamin E -- 800 IU per day -- good for reducing inflamation
• Zinc -- 50-100 mg per day -- this is also an essential component in treating acne conditions
• Vitamin B and C -- typical dosage should be fine

2. Psyllium Husk -- I take about 1 tablespoon mixed with soy milk twice a day for a week or two to clear out my digestive tract. A build up of toxic remains of digested food resulting from irregular bowels is a big part of most acne conditions. Psyllium husk will enter your intestine and absorb all these toxins while bulking up and softening your bowels, making it easier to expell from your body regularly.

3. I stopped drinking milk and consuming sugar. These two things are some of the worst at clogging up your systems and driving your hormones out of balance, leading to acne breakouts.

4. I'm considering using a cleansing system like Perfect Cleanse or Cleanse Smart to completely clean out my digestive system within 10-14 days. After that I plan to take a probiotic supplement. You can google it and learn what it does. Basically it rebuilds your digestive system by growing friendly microbes or good bacterias inside your intestine, which is instrumental in eliminating toxic wastes and fighting against Candida, the bad bacteria that contributes to all kinds of health problems, including skin conditions like acne.

I know all this might sound overwhelming at first. But I feel that if you can do all the things mentioned so far, you'll not only fix your acne problems. You'll also be taking care of your overall health. The apperance of acne or other skin imperfections are an outward sign of the damages being done to your internal systems. If your skin regains its perfect condition, not merely through external treatments, but also through internal cleansing and rebuilding with good diet and supplements, then I really do believe that your overall health should be benefiting from these dramatic changes in your lifestyle as well. I know I feel 200% better now about my health, both external and internal, than I did a few months ago.

I hope some of this can help you achieve your health goals to some extent. Please don't hesitate to let me know if there's anything else I can help with. Oh..to make it up, even more, for being late with my reply, I've attached my before and after pictures so you can kind of visualize the kind of results you may expect from the regimen I described here.

Best of luck!

Tony

(By the way, the after pictures were taken about 3-4 weeks after starting the regimen)

Before #1: http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=Pq1LdNm9
Before #2: http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV2Agayr

After #1: http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV2Ags0r
After #2: http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV2AgOsJ
After #3: http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV2Ah7pS