41 replies to this topic

[Daniel Lee]

Hello Acne.Org community,

I'm Daniel, 22, from France, and I have acne. I'm not a severe case but did have it pretty bad in the past. It started at 12yo and was rife in my late teens. I did an accutane (roaccutane?) cure when I was 17 or 18 - the results were satisfying, but it never completely rid me of my problem.

A couple weeks ago, I came accross DK's website, and saw that so many people had completely cleared their acne through the regimen. Although I'm not that bothered by acne because it is OK these days, I figured it was definitly worth getting rid of.

The setup cost of this experiment was 145$. 40$ for the actual product, then 60$ shipping via UPS (I heartedly recommend that you DON'T USE UPS), and 45$ of customs fares. Is it too much money? I think so.

These past several months, my skin has been looking better than ever and I currently have maybe 2 active spots. My main problem at the moment, and in the future, is that I have old spots that linger on and/or scars. I am open to any recommendations on how to treat those.

The method I will be using to using to clear my acne is DK's The Regimen, to the letter.

I will post some pictures after I wake up and have breakfast

Edited by Daniel Leaver, 19 February 2012 - 02:50 AM.

[Daniel Lee]

Day 2:

This is me at the very start of the regimen. My skin is looking pretty good. I have small unnoticeable spots all over. A few scars on nose and left cheek. My skin doesn't look greasy, and my complexion is pale and even.

Edited by Daniel Leaver, 22 February 2012 - 03:33 PM.

[Daniel Lee]

Day 3:

Holy. Shit. Fuck. My face is red.

And it burns, too.

[Daniel Lee]

5 day:

Fifth day on the regimen. My skin was burning something fierce so I went to buy some jojoba oil while on my lunchbreak. I read somewhere on the site that it's the thing to do. I think jojoba oil is great when one has dry skin. But when I look back, I also think that something containing aloe vera would have been best suited for me since it has anti-inflamatory properties. Perhaps mixing the two would give best results )

I only have redness for the first hour or so of the day, and I expect my condition to better itself as my skin gets used to the BP/Moysteriser. I've also noticed that my skin only burns/becomes red once I put the moysteriser on - which is strange to me, because I thought that the BP would have been to one causing my redness, and that the moysteriser was only there to avoid my skin from drying/reddening. But maybe DK's moysteriser is rubbish?

I'm also having an acne breakout (4-5 spots). Which I was expecting around this period.

I will try to add some photos tomorrow.

[Daniel Lee]

Day 6:

Woke up this morning to flaky skin. We'll see if this becomes an issue, later on, as I've read that flaky skin can cause acne outbreaks by clogging the pores - but I know there are ways to limit this: exfoliating, since it clears the face from the lingering dead skin cells.

On the photos, my skin is greasy and red. The greasy look comes from the jojoba oil that I had to the moysteriser. The redness appears once I put the moysteriser on. A few spots have appeared under my lips, on the left side of my face.

Edited by Daniel Leaver, 23 February 2012 - 04:26 AM.

[Daniel Lee]

Day 8:

Please let me seize this opportunity to recap what my skin has been through this last week.

Redness
As soon as the second day, my skin became red whenever I would put the moisteriser on, for several hours, depending on how much BP I had used before moisterising. But as of lately, my skin doesn't become as red as it used to, which means that it's adapting itself to the BP - which means I will start increasing the amount of BP I lay on.

Flakyness
Please note that my skin only gets flaky over night. Its normal that my skin flakes more at night than during the day since the body gets so dehydrated at night. I've heard that flakes can clog the pores, so I'll make sure to drink a full glass of water before bed to negate dehydration. I have another trick against flaky skin: I use jojoba oil. I only add a few drops to my moisteriser (4-5 drops) as I notice that more than that makes my skin look greasy.

Acne/Spots
During the first week of treatment, I've had outbreaks in my common acne areas. Since I have had acne for a long time - and much worse than this - I don't sweat it.


My plan of action for this upcoming week is to increase my BP consumption while avoiding redness.

Cheers,
Dan

[Daniel Lee]

Day 10:

My skin is looking bad - it hadn't been this bad for year at least.
I guess that if you've got bad acne before starting the regimen, you don't notice that much when there's an outbreak. But I had light acne, and I boy do I notice the difference between now and before.

My skin is getting much flakier and the skin tone is uneven, some place are darker (red) while others are much more clear.

I've read on others personnal logs that the side effects of BP lasted several months (3-6 months). IMO, the side effects of BP are worst than the acne I had. And I thought of quitting - but decided to grow some balls instead.



Outbreaks around the mouth area.

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[Daniel Lee]

Day 12:

My skin is looking better than it was a couple days ago, which is good because I was bummed out

Acne
I have an outbreak on day 10. It is now well on its way towards being completely cleared. Daniel Kern said that acne breakouts would clear up faster than normal. It did.

Treatment side effects
I red this post http://www.acne.org/...irst-two-posts/ which I found really good.

How I deal with redness: I work at a bike shop, retailing, for 3 to 4 days a week. On those days, and the night before, I make sure not to put too much BP on my skin. Less BP means less redness. On the days that I don't work, I put more BP on, in an effort to get my skin use to bigger and bigger quantities of BP.

How I deal with dryness: When I know that nobody will see me (like before going to bed) I go APE SHIT on the jojoba oil. I put so fucking much on that my face feels drenched. This really limits flakiness. Also means that I'm going to be changing my pillow case every 4 nights, because it gets dirty quicker, which isn't good for my skin (since I spend 9hours / day in direct contact with my pillow case, I figure it's a big deal that it stays clean).
I also use two full pumps of the moisteriser... I one of Dan's videos he says "I know this looks like too much, but trust me, it's not". It fucking is too much. I looks like I'm putting mayo sauce all over my face and it doesn't sink in (at first). I have to spread that excess over my neck. I think that 1 to 1,5 pumps of moisteriser would be good for me. But yeah... if you go dry skin, use more moisteriser/jojoba oil, go to extremes.

On another note...
Weather is nice down in France at the moment (sunny and 20°C in the afternouns) which means that I started going cycling/running a bit Sun and sports have always had a positive influence on my skin.

[Daniel Lee]

Day 13:

Nothing much to say. Skin is improving. After haven gotten worse, the acnee is now just like it was at the start of the regimen - which means my spots are currently clearing. My face doesn't look great though, because old spots still linger (some have been there for, like, ages) and my skin tone is uneven because of redness.

Been doing lots of stuff in the nice weather. Sun and sweat hasn't cause me to break out, my face might be getting only slightly sunburnt/tanned, not a problem though.

[Daniel Lee]

Day 16:

Second week into the regimen. Time to do a recap.

Acne
Acne is clearing up nicely. Since my outbreak around day5, I have had only one discreet spot appear. That's not much and it makes me quite happy.

Redness
My skin gets pretty red. This is the main drawback of doing the regimen, to me. The fact that my skin is red shows me that I can't just ramp up the BP dosage to 2 pumps, yet.

Dryness
Acne.Org moisteriser + Jojoba oil takes care of this. I have zero flakes during the day, only when I wake up in the morning. This isn't, and will likely never be an issue for me.

I've been following the DKR to the letter, and I find the "What To Expect While on the Regimen" page of this website to be very accurate. It says that in week 3 some cases are completely cured. I think that it'll be my case, except for lingering acnee which I think will takes months and months to disappear completely.

[Daniel Lee]

Day 19:

I had a breakout a few days ago. Bummed me out , but hey... watcha gonna do? Clearing up nicely though.
I've actually decreased slightly the rate at which I am increasing my BP consumption, as I was tired of the redness. I don't mind if it takes me longer to clear my acne (since it's very mild anyways), but I want to cut out as much as I can the side effects of BP. Still going to eventually hit the maximum dosage of BP that DK recommends. I'm about 1/3 of the way there.

I've also taken the initiative to post less often on my blog, and not focus so much on my skin. Before DKR, I didn't care what my face looked like, but I have since become more self-conscious. It's good to be aware of what you look like, because that IS how you look, but there's nothing to be gained on dwelling over it - so I'm just gonna get on with the treatment, avoid treatment side-effects, and do less frequent check-ups (my camera is shit quality anyways, and doesn't measure progress very well).

[Daniel Lee]

Day 22:
Week 3...

Acne
Breakouts occur more frequently than before DKR, but they do clear up faster.

Redness
A constant annoyance - and the only reason I don't up the BP, yet.

Dryness
Totally under control / not an issue.

I'm somewhere around 1pump of BP. Main reason is because I hate the redness that comes with it. I'm not going to bump it up until my skin gets more accustomed. I realise now that I probably won't be at the 2 full pumps of BP at the 4week benchmark. I'm fine with that. It'll take the time it takes, as long as I don't look awkward.

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[Daniel Lee]

Day 29:

4th week on DKR complete. Let me go check a mirror... not as sexy as I would've liked. Perhaps because last Sunday I went skying. I know that skying causes sunburns to most people, but I'm lucky enough that I'm the kind of guy that normally just gets a tan, without going through the awkward sunburn phase. However, that last statement may no longer be true since I started BP.

So... last Sunday I went skying, and sure enough, on Monday, I have a sunburn. Not just any sunburn. I had the WORST sunburn ever. Sunburn on steroids if you will.

Well, to keep it short. My skins looked very very red, then a few days after it pealed. My coworkers all smiled and couldnt keep a straight face when interacting w/ me and even the customer acted weird in my presence.

Shit is now getting under control, but I stopped DKR for about a week because of this. And I've just started DKR again yesterday.

[siannaay]

Your skin seems to be reacting the same way as mine... I started off with semi "alright" skin the day I started the regimen, and then it gradually got worse. At the moment my skin seems to be at war with itself. It's sort of getting better but at the same time it's not. Don't worry though I'm sure it will clear up soon. Good luck!

[nycqueen]

Hey there... I'm almost into week 10 and had the same reaction as you... It may look worse before it gets better... Took close to two months for my skin to begin looking "normal" again... Just keep trucking and it will get better... Good luck and keep us up to date with your progress...

[Daniel Lee]

Day 39


Acne
Only a few small spots that'll go away completely within 2 or 3 weeks. Red marks of some old spots.

Redness
Skins is sensitive and red

Dryness
No flakes - I've never had flakes whilst on DKR.


I'm using 1.5 full pumps of BP. I'm also starting to swim (sea, swimming pool, river water) which isn't going to be good for my skin - but I don't care. Sun is also starting to get warm, which means I'll have to find a moisteriser that contains UV protection to avoid sunburns like the bad one I got when I went skying.

[DaftFrost]

Wow your skin only has few blemishes here and there. Why harm and make your skin suffer by using harsh chemicals. Since yours is not serious, juts change your diet it helps a lot permanently.

Less sugar and oil, no wheat and dairy.

[LoveGreenSmoothies]

Did your breakout start after adding jojoba? It can break some people out, even though it's not comedogenic. I can't use it.

Maybe you need to scale back on how much BP you're using and build up to it. That's what I've been doing and I have mild acne too.

[Daniel Lee]

@Draft: Wheat, dairy, sugar and oil is my favourite food! lol. I was too lazy to research what diet I should use - perhaps if my acne was more serious, I would've had the motivation to change my diet too. Why use DKR? It's true that BP is harsh Makes my skin look red, but it works. Seriously, just the fact that it works is awesome. I didn't think that there was a cure for acne and had just got used to living with it. But if I can make it go away for 100$ every couple months, then I think it's a good investment. Come back soon and hopefully I'll be showing photos of my skin completely clear. Thank you for posting.


@PrettyWords: Thanks for posting. Jojoba Oil did make me breakout when I first used it around my temples/upper cheek area. The Jojoba Oil i'm using has other chemicals in it such as fragrances, alcohol, and preservatives. So I don't know what broke me out. However, my skin has gotten used to it and it doesn't make me breakout at all. I'm so happy about it, I read that its very similar to sebum and tricks your skin into thinking it's got enough sebum and regulates your natural production of it. All natural and moisterising. I just love it so much ! I like it's pronunciation too! Truly a pretty word.

[LoveGreenSmoothies]

Well, I'm glad it's stopped breaking you out. Are you clear now?