59 replies to this topic

[AllynRose]

Week 8, 56 days (2 months!)

Happy retiversary to me. It's been two months now, and though I am definitely not clear, I see improvement.

I can't stop touching my forehead and cheeks. They're so smooth! I've had comodonal acne on my forehead for MONTHS! It wasn't noticeable unless I was in certain lighting, so I just accepted a bumpy forehead as a fact of life. Now it's completely smoothed out. I mentioned early on the the comodonal acne was gone, but I realize now it wasn't, it had just improved so much I felt like it had. It's amazing how retinoids just shed those bumps off you. Anyone who has experienced results with a reinoid probably understands why that just can't happen overnight.

Anyways, I got a huge mother effer on my lip, which is my least favorite place to get them! Yuck. I feel like it's all people are looking at when they talk to me. I remember having one in high school and about 3 people asked me if it was a cold sore, because I picked at it until it was sore-looking.

Jen,
I swear by CeraVe (moisturizer and cleanser). Yes, it's a little pricey, but it's extremely mild while still getting the job done. That's what you need when you're using something as harsh as Epiduo. Anything in combination with Epiduo will dry you out. So, you know, less is more in this case. The "sister" of this product is Cetaphil (moisturizer and cleanser) but I always found the smell of their products annoying and the texture kind of greasy. But a lot of people here and dermatologists swear by it. More so than CeraVe, really.

Abigail,
I remember having the same "shit time" with Retin-A. I guess it's just like that with retinoids. There's those three weeks or so you can't keep make-up looking decent to save your life and flakes are EVERYWHERE. But yeah, I'm pretty much past that now. It still flakes a little, but it's totally manageable. The burning comes and goes, which I can't really explain. Anyways, I really like your homemade cleanser idea... I may just steal it! I was looking at Neutrogena's Oil-Free Toner before.

Edited by AllynRose, 10 November 2011 - 09:02 PM.

[gems2889]

congrats ! I get those too on my upper lip and next to my mouth. I feel like they look at it like hmmm what thats big ol bump on her lip.

[russell pattay]

glad it's getting better!

[AllynRose]

Week 8, Day 60



Clearly I have overcome my skin-picking problem.

Not.

Well, as you can tell I've had a minor setback here. I'm not too broken out, but it's not as good as it was last week. Sigh. Bipolar skin Y U NO clear?!

Anyways, I've got to get back to cramming for biology. Stress is eating me alive these days (I just found out all my finals are within a two day span, with three on ONE day) and my eating habits have been... pizza and taco bell. Perfect formula for bad skin.

Ah well, what gives me hope is the reduction in clogged pores and the holycrapsmoothness of my skin these days.

---

Russell, thanks! How are you doing? Getting any better?

[PaulH85]

Can certainly see an improvement. It's always disheartening when things go up and down and you just want it to clear up and stay clear, but you can get there. Same goes for the picking, can get the better of that as well. Just have to take it one day at a time. I'm on my second day of not picking. Usually it's a several times daily thing for me so two days feels like forever!

Edited by PaulH85, 15 November 2011 - 11:07 AM.

[AllynRose]

Aw, thanks Paul. It's definitely getting better. How's the not picking thing going now? Because I'm failing miserably! It's sort of a stress-relief thing for me and since I'm studying a lot lately, I keep going to the mirror and picking at my skin to procrastinate.

Edited by AllynRose, 22 November 2011 - 09:04 PM.

[PaulH85]

Aw, thanks Paul. It's definitely getting better. How's the not picking thing going now? Because I'm failing miserably! It's sort of a stress-relief thing for me and since I'm studying a lot lately, I keep going to the mirror and picking at my skin to procrastinate.

I'm doing really well with not picking actually, thanks for asking.
I popped a pimple after five days (was only tiny and it's vanished now but still has to count I suppose) so I started again. Popped another pimple a couple of days later so now this is technically day two and my third attempt. Looking at it that way doesn't sound too good at all, but in actual fact, I've popped a total of two pimples in the last nine days which is awesome for me. As someone who would make any excuse and take every opportunity to stand in front of the mirror, my usual form would have been to pick my skin and pop pimples pretty much throughout the course of every single day, so this is like the polar opposite.

I don't suppose I've any tips as such, I'm just trying to stay away from the mirror. Funnily enough, I do look if I happen to pass one, but I'm only looking and not touching because I can see the direct results that it's having. Might even add a picture to my blog or gallery later today. Not that you'd really tell any difference from the rest of my gallery pictures as I've always been too chicken to post them when I've been broken out. But I can honestly say that two weeks ago, I had picked my face to shreds and it was such a mess and I was really low. I managed to leave it alone for last week and that seems to be all it has taken to let it heal and also start to break the cycle of my skin producing more acne as a direct result of me picking.

I totally understand about the stress-relief and the procrastinating. I certainly found that there was a sense of relief in it and I'd just sort of go into a trace for however long it took to essentially get that fix. Then I'd have to step back and look at the damage. By the same token, if ever there was a time when I was unsure of something or didn't really feel like I was in control of a situation, I'd likely find myself in front of the mirror, "taking control" of my skin instead. I'm talking in past tense, just to see if I can convince myself that this is all in the past now. Fingers crossed I won't slip back to my old ways.

Don't think of it as failing, just start again. My experience is that it really doesn't take too long to see small improvements and then it just gets better from there. That in itself is a good enough incentive - to see that your actions are actually having a positive influence instead of a negative one. Even if you can't always manage it, the key thing is to know when to stop yourself and step away from the mirror so that you don't do too much damage. It's not always easy and especially so if it's become a habit and - to some degree - an addiction, but we can do it. Keep trying!

[AllynRose]

Week 10 Day 76

Pre-finals week. Stress stress stress.

And yet...

...

Edited by AllynRose, 30 November 2011 - 09:42 PM.

[N.clare]

Your skin is looking great! x

[PaulH85]

Looking great, well done! Trade please?

[AllynRose]

Quick update.

As you can see, I got about 3 spots on my bad side.



But overall it's not noticeable and I'm still very happy with the results.



Now excuse me while I go back to studying.

My life is so fascinating.

Webcam photos because I'm lazy.

[Vampireninja09]

Your skin is looking so good!

I just read through your whole log. I'm on epiduo---one month (and minocycline) also atm. I'm having a hard time keeping my skin hydrated. I didn't remember it being so hard last time around when I was using a retinoid. Lol to the burning. My face burns in the morning and at night, when I put on makeup and every else time I touch my skin. I'm not going to quit using it because of that though. Anyways, any recommendations for me on a moisturizer? I've been using cerave, but that doesn't seem to be helping AT ALL. I might use cetaphil again, but only because that solved the problem last time. I hate going to work with a flaky face. I even moisturize after I wash my face in the morning as well.

[AllynRose]

How often do you use it? I found I needed to keep a bottle of CeraVe in my car and the little samples in my purse. It's hard to find the right balance between dry and oily.

I love CeraVe, the only other thing I've tried has been Ceraphil (too greasy for me), so I don't know what else to recommend. If you're going to shop around make sure it's non-comedogenic. Things that don't have a ton of ingredients and aren't scented are the best for acne-prone skin.

[AllynRose]

I lost track of the days, but I believe it's been about 3.5 months.


Two blemishes on one side


Nothing on the other


Can't believe I'm this clear. Seems like I've had acne forever.


For some reason my skin's been really dry and peely. Weird. Nothing moisturizer can't fix though.

Also, I'm stopping the Sodium Sulfacetamide and Sulfur thing. It costs about $60 (with insurance) and expires monthly. So even if I have an 80% full tube, I still have to buy another at the end of the month. I call bull.

Hopefully Epiduo is doing most of the work, and I'll be fine without it. I'll keep you updated.

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I stopped Bactrim about a month ago.

Edited by AllynRose, 20 December 2011 - 03:06 PM.

[PaulH85]

Awesome!

[Ivy.]

I was perscribed Tuctuo yesterday, which is the canadian version of Epiduo. Hopefully once I get the stuff and use it, i'll have great results with it. I know most people say they use moisturizer with BP -but I use Benzaclin and my skin doesn't peel. I believe it's slightly more sensitive (can be pink / red skin at times, or burn if I put the stuff near my nose)....but I NEVER wear moisturizer.

Wonder if i'll be lucky and not have super dry skin for a long time on this tuctuo stuff.

[Vampireninja09]

How often do you use it? I found I needed to keep a bottle of CeraVe in my car and the little samples in my purse. It's hard to find the right balance between dry and oily.

I love CeraVe, the only other thing I've tried has been Ceraphil (too greasy for me), so I don't know what else to recommend. If you're going to shop around make sure it's non-comedogenic. Things that don't have a ton of ingredients and aren't scented are the best for acne-prone skin.

Every time I wash my face. I found out that if I use the epiduo every single night, then my face is super dry, flaking and peeling. If I use it every other, then it's dry, but not as bad. Maybe I need to give the cerave a bit more time to see if it can help, or else I'm going back to the cetaphil one I was using lol. It seemed to keep the dryness away. This is always so tricky at the beginning

[russell pattay]

looking great! my insurance denied a refill for Epiduo so hopefully my face will stay somewhat clear until everything is straightened out.

[AllynRose]

Ah jeez. I'm worried about the insurance thing. My first two tubes were free, but I'm not sure they'll pay for the next one. I've only used one tube, but still... They've been a pain about everything.

- - -

I'm not sure if I'm breaking out a bit or if I've just been picking at my skin too much. I've got 3-4 little red scabs which are probably all my fault. Anyways, it's nothing drastic.

I'm trying not to use the Sodium Sulfacetamide thing, but it's tempting now that it's getting a little bad. Might be stress or holiday food. Going through some terrible family stuff.

[N.clare]

I hope you are not feeling too sad right now, sending you lots of love!x