30 replies to this topic

[jessielynn007]

Hi, my name is Jessica and I am a first time poster and a first time regimen user. I was inspired by some continuous posts that I read of people on the regimen and therefore I decided to keep track of my success on the regimen with updated posts. I have to admit I recieved my regimen in the mail 2 weeks ago and I partially started to use it(Daniel Kern's facial wash, bp treatment, and moisturizer, I am not using anything else/or anything from the store, only acne.org products). That was my first mistake. I started off completely wrong. I started off using it twice a day and wearing makeup and then my semester at college ended so I got off my daily routine and started falling asleep with my makeup on every night for like 3 days in a row not a good idea! that was the worst thing I could do and I know this for a fact b/c every morning that I woke up after falling asleep with my makeup on I had new blemishes on my face or red spots that were deep. I also am a long time and heavy picker. I pick my face religiously and I have many scars to prove it. The sad part is that I am only going to be 20 this November so I def started out wrong the beginning. I started having acne around 7th, 8th grade and I am a sophmore in college now.. Long time acne sufferer. It has definitely taken a toll on my life. I would skip school, work, family gatherings, friend outings, and I am to that point where I can't take it anymore. I am missing out on life and this is the worst my face has ever been and I was currently using Proactiv with no success and then I stumbled upon acne.org and the regimen. After reading all of the success stories, I knew it was for me and so I ordered it. I restarted the regimen last night after messing it up so badly and developing cystic acne on my cheeks. This is the worst my face has ever been and so it is no better time to start the regimen. So here it goes. Day one, I have an active one trying to develop on my forehead (right in the middle.. ugh! ogre! lol) and my nose isn't too bad.. just a couple red marks from picking. My cheeks def have some active ones and some terrible red marks from picking. On the chin there are some bumps that have white stuff in them but no point in picking because they are so far under the skin and they aren't rising so I figure I better leave them alone (you can't really see them unless you are super up close) yay! the worst part of all though is around my mouths. I am getting these terrible black heads that are puffing up into blemishes and they suck! that is the worst place to get acne and the even suckier part is that this just recently started happening. I have never had problems with acne around my mouth... so sad.. I definitely don't want to make myself into a victim because I realize that others have it worse than I do ( I have seen some cases unfortunately) and I should be thankful that mine is what it is... but I just basically want to share my story and possibly get a little encouragement to continue and power through this acne adventure. If anybody has advice or similar stories they want to share I would greatly appreciate it! anywho... I have one more issue... ever since I started having acne, I also started wearing makeup. I have never been confident and def haven't always had the most self esteem so I have been wearing foundation, concealer, and powder for years. I am trying very hard to lessen it and only wear when I absoulutley have to but omg it is soooooooo hard! I just hate the thought of anybody seeing me with acne all over my face.. This is going to be a very hard process and hopefully I will grow physically and mentally from this whole process and overcome my acne and my confidence issues.. To anybody who reads this, thank you for listening to my rants and raves and I will def be updating this all the time so that I can track my progress and grow from this experience... This is the first day of the rest of my life!

[jessielynn007]

Day three...

So yesterday I woke up and could see that my face is wanting to heal and the volcanoes on my cheeks went from red mounds to having white spots and I just gently pressed (and not with my nails) and they popped and now they are healing and I was very religious yesterday with my regimen and I did not wear makeup. Skip forward to today... I woke up today and things seemed better.. red marks from my recent picking adventure are starting to chill out and even out. All of the spots on my face def show that they are drying up and scabbing over. Now I just have to wait for them to heal. I am glad to say that I have not picked my face like I used to and I am so happy. It feels so uplifting to break my habit. It is so hard though and I try to avoid mirrors.. lol I almost think that my face isn't going to go through a purging and I think it is just going to heal up what I caused and then maybe it will pull up anything that is underneath and then I will be on my way to clear skin! that is such an exciting thing! I have to say thanks to acne.org and everybody's posts because I looked in the mirror for the first time today and even with my acne I can say that I am not bad looking. I am starting to look past all of the imperfections and seeing the true me. I know I have a long time to go but I have a positive outlook and I think that is making this a big difference. Thanks for reading! and talk to ya later!

Jessica

[jessielynn007]

Day 9,

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, I started my summer job and I have been super busy. What comes along with that saying though is that because of starting my new job I have been wearing makeup. I feel like this set me back a little bit. My face was clearing and I wasn't noticing any black heads or those little white bumps, but after wearing makeup for the past three days, I noticed a lot of them and I mean a lot! lol It is sucky because on top of those it seems that all of the blemishes that were healing are taking forever to heal now. I really don't want to wear makeup and I am trying to break the habit but it is a lot easier said then done especially after wearing makeup for 4 years straight. I am waitressing for my summer job and I just really don't want people to see someone take their order and bring their food that has acne all over their face. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. Anyways though, it seems like everything was on the way to healing (a little slower than I hoped) and I had three new ones pop up but I didn't touch them and they went down without a fight and nothing came of them. so that was super good... lol.. The only part that is taking forever to heal and is aggrivating is the flare up that I had around my mouth which started out as black heads and then erupted. I have to admit that I have actually been religious about doing the regimen and so that makes me feel a bit better and I am still not giving up. I just need to try and get off the makeup regimen and really just be gentle to my skin. I just keep picturing myself with flawless skin and that is what keeps me going. Another thing that I am battling is the dryness! omg my face is sooooo dry and flaky and nothing helps, but that was expected and so I am not complaining. So I am going to stop here and I will check back soon... Wish me luck! lol

Jessica

[jessielynn007]

Day 11,

So today was suppost to be my first day not picking at my face but that didn't work out so well this morning. I gave in. So I will start with yesterday (day 10) and I woke up in the morning, royally picked my face, took a shower, did my regimen, didn't wear makeup and just relaxed around the house, took a shower, regimen and went to bed. I woke up this morning and things weren't too bad, looked as if things were drying up and of course I noticed a few spots so I picked, but definitly not as bad as yesterday. So after that I took a quick shower and did my regimen. Today I am not wearing makeup and I am cleaning the house so I think I will just stay in today and chill out. Then tonight I will take my shower, do my regimen and go to bed, wake up at a decent time and not pick! I pledge right here on acne.org that I will not pick as of now... so tomorrow will be my first day of not picking! yay! I realized this morning that most of the things that I am picking will eventually dry up if I give them the chance and I also realized that if they don't, I would rather have that on my face rather than huge red spots and scars all over. So I don't know if I ever said, but I figure I should give my regimen that I have been using for the past 11 days.... here it goes...

A.M.
- wash face with acne.org cleanser (1 pump)
- bp treatment (half a finger, generous)
- acne.org moisturizer with a couple drops of jojoba oil (about 1.5 to 2 pumps of moisturizer)

P.M.
- before I wash my face (last step in shower process), I let it soak in the water and moisture and then I gently use circular motions with my fingers on my face to try and get rid of some of the flakes and dry skin that is ready to come off.
- wash face w/ acne.org cleanser (1 pump)
- wait 10 min. after my shower
- put bp treatment on (half a finger, generous)
- wait 15 good minutes
- put 2 pumps of moisturizer on with 4-5 drops of jojoba oil

and there it is...

currently my forehead looks good, little spots left that are healing, nose looks good (red scars are healing), chin I have 2 actives that hurt terribly, both cheeks and around my mouth have tons of healing to do and still getting some white spots/ black heads around my mouth. Just alot of healing that needs to happen and I think I am getting an active on one of my cheeks but we will see where it gets (hopefully not very far).

I love how when I update on here it makes it real and it gives me ambition to keep going.. love it!

Jessica

[katikin]

Well done! Sounding great! Are you not looking like a tomato with dry and flaking skin? I am. I can't wear any make up cos it flakes off. Been doing this for amonth and am still really spotty but now look like a tomato!

[jessielynn007]

Katikin, I don't look like a tomatoe but I feel like a dried up one.. lol My whole face isn't red, but I have post and current acne marks and they are way more red then they used to be. And don't feel bad cause I cannot wear makeup either, first off, my face just flakes off and looks all dry, nasty, and patchy and second off, it seems that if I put makeup on during this regimen that it causes white bumps and black heads around my mouth and then I pick and it is just a never ending process. And congrats to you! how do you feel about the regimen? besides the tomatoeness, is it clearing you up?

[jessielynn007]

Day 13,

So I def relapsed with my no picking regimen. I woke up this morning and my skin was looking amazing. It was showing progress, healing, and all the actives had no chance at coming up and then I got bored around 7ish and I tore my face up. I feel soooo terrible, but tonight will be the start to a new night and I will not look in the mirror, I will not pick, I will get in the shower, complete my regimen and turn in for the night. I will wake up and have a normal, no picking day and I will do my regimen. I have a feeling that in the next week my face will show the consequences of my actions and I will just deal with it. while I am dealing with the new blemishes, I will not pick them! NO picking No picking NO picking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All in all my face was looking good, forehead just healing and nothing new, nose I got a little white head that came out just when touching it but nothing new, it will heal in a day or two, my chin had two actives that were going down and healing, but I picked at the older one and reactivated it! ugh! not touching those ones anymore from now on. Cheeks were just healing with some small bumps but so far no actives. I can guarantee this won't last though. Oh well, we must suffer the consequences and hopefully this time it will be the last straw for me and it will motivate me to stop picking. Self destructive behavior sucks!!!! Well that is all..

Goodnight to all and to all a good night!

Jessica

[jessielynn007]

Day 17,

So it has been 2 weeks and 3 days, it is crazy how time flies! I am looking at myself and loving what I see... I have stopped viciously picking my face and just realized that I will never be able to completely stop picking because some things you do need to pick at, so therefore I am now a rational picker that only picks when neccessary. It is a relieving feeling to not have to always feel guilty and I am only gently and rationally picking. I noticed that by doing this, my face isn't breaking out either... yay! So an update on my face. Forehead has dry skin, just a couple red marks that are healing. Nose is looking good, no actives, just red marks healing. Chin is in a healing process, there were three actives but they are on their way to leaving for good. Cheeks are just old acne healing and red marks healing. No new actives yet, but I still expect to have breakouts and purging and everything else. On my way to clear skin!!!! oh and haven't been wearing makeup, just eyeliner and mascara. Getting over being embarresed and just living life. Oh and my skin is not so dry anymore! still a little but not as bad as in beginning. regimen is still the same. Haven't ramped up the dosage yet, still using a half a finger (generous) twice a day... Can't wait to have flawless skin and wear no makeup and go swimming and not worrying about my makeup coming off and people seeing my acne! love it! Can't wait for the red marks to heal up either.. hopefully it doesn't take too long, maybe 3 months? hopefully...

[jessielynn007]

Day 27,


So it has been awhile, I have been so busy! lol I am currently being a full time caretaker of my great grandmother and etc, etc, etc.. My life details.. lol.. anyways, it has been 3 weeks and 6 days. Tomorrow will be 4 weeks. It is crazy how time flys and I have good news and bad news. My face was on a roll and really clearing up, skin tone looking better and no actives. All of a sudden I had broke out on my chin and it wasn't so bad but I had to mess with it and bother it and then I went looking on my face for any spot I could possibly find and so now I have a face full of scabs and red bumps on my chin... Terrible terrible idea and now I am suffering the consequences. I hate this feeling and I have hated this feeling before so why in the world do we do these things to ourselves? It does not make sense, although I do remember from one of my psych classes in college that the human being is a very destructive (self destructive) being. Maybe it all corresponds to eachother? who knows.. lol So last night was my first official night of not touching my face and letting it heal! lol this is the sucky waiting part.. lol My feelings on this are that I just need to keep my fingers off and just be relegious with the regimen and I just keep picturing myself at the beach with no makeup, having clear skin and having a big smile on my face.. Gotta keep my picture in mind so that the ends justify the means!!!!!! I can do it!!!!

Oh I almost forgot. an in-depth review of my face.. lol So forehead I feel like there are two actives trying to pop up but I am not touching them and just red marks healing. Nose just red marks that are healing with the addition of an old active that is going away. Chin I have scabs and two actives trying to go away. Cheeks have tons of scabs, red marks, and like three actives trying to go away.

[nfamousjade]

Use aloe Vera ion open pimples and scabs. Will make them heal and stab alot faster plus it will leave no scar. Trust me it works! I'm a picker too. So when i pick i use aloe Vera gel fresh from the plant. And he mark/scab should go away in a couple of days. Good luck tho! Picking is a bitch!

[tiwi]

Hi Jessica, how is it going? i'm wondering is it any progress of your regimen? please update

[jessielynn007]

Day 43,

Sorry it has been so long, It has been a very busy summer So it has been 6 weeks and 1 day. It has been a long time since I started DKR... I have to admit though, I don't always do it twice a day since I stopped wearing makeup. I sometimes do DKR in the morning, don't wear makeup, go through the day and then fall asleep without doing DKR. Before I started slipping up though, my face was acne free besides old red marks. Then I started to slip up only doing it once a day and I started picking and popping heavily when there was nothing there or I would pick at little bumps and then they would flare up into huge ones and I realized that the little bumps that are barely noticeable look better than the after effect of picking that little bump. You would think we would learn to stop being self destructive? I am trying to learn... So anywayz an update on my skin. Forehead I just have some stuff healing up that was the outcome of picking, no new stuff though. Nose looks good. Chin just 4 healing spots that resulted from picking. Cheeks are tons of red marks and some old stuff that is trying to heal from my picking adventures. No new actives so that is lucky especially because of my picking and popping issues. Basically just alot of healing going on which entails waiting, but thanks to @nfamousjade, I am going to try the aloe vera tip that you gave me! Thank you so much I had no idea aloe vera could be used for that. Thanks!!!!

So my conclusion is that if you leave your skin alone (no picking and popping!) it will heal and you will be acne free (especially if you do this twice a day and find what works for you). You just have to get over the hump of your habits, which is so hard, but if it takes breaking habits to have acne free skin then it is worth it!


Hi @tiwi, are you doing the regimen? or do you have a regimen?

Jess

oh yeah and another note... I haven't picked my face since yesterday morning and I don't have plans to pick at it at all! I am starting over on breaking my habit and I haven't had urges yet so I am pumped and excited!

[jessielynn007]

So I thought about it, and I will admit that I have been taking pictures this whole experience and I am going to upload them for all to see because you can read my posts but without pics you might not be able to relate... I will put them in order... the first pics are from the beginning and they get better as they go

[justsomeguy44]

ahhh picking is one of my issues too. But I only do it to really stubborn ones that wont go away without being popped and are ready! But still, having scabs sucks! Especially a few... it's definitely tweaker-esque.

I'll keep following your log! I'm on day 56

[jessielynn007]

Let me know what you guys think! lol

[tiwi]

wow! your skin looks amazing now, i can see huge improvement, answering your question ,yes ,i'm on acne.org regimen too ,almost the same time when you started it , you started the regimen on May 18 right?? i started regimen on 20 May, but your improvement seems better than mine, hahaha, i still have some active pimples at my left cheeks, but right cheek are completely clear, forehead clear, nose clear, chin still have some active pimples i have issues with picking on acne too, coz my acne is really bumpy and the colour is yelowish white, so its really eye catching hahaha, i couldnt out and meet people with that condition ,i always try to pop it i know i shouldnt ,but i couldnt help it....

anyway, i looked at your face ,it seems not dry and flakey , mine is dry and flakey like hell, what did you do? did you use jojoba oil / aha? i nver use those, but i just ordered it last week and think to try it when it comes ,hope it help the dryness.. tell me what do u do to ur skin that looks not dry and flakey??

[jessielynn007]

Hi tiwi, Yeah it was about may 17-may 18 when I started and thank you so much for the compliments and don't get discouraged or anything because everyone's skin clears at its own pace and sometimes it takes longer than you expect. Also, you cannot really see it in the pics but my forehead and chin still get actives and they hurt sooo bad! lol and whenever I forget to do my regimen at night, I always wake up with a red bump on my cheeks. And picking sucks! lol I try to fight it but sometimes I just give in and then I regret it the next day, but so far I have not been picking and it feels good cause at least I know I am not causing the breakouts on my skin. Don't get mad at yourself if you do pick though because I feel like it makes me pick more! lol About the dry/flaky skin... I do have it but you can't really tell because I dump the moisturizer on my face.. lol I use tons of it and instead of just using Dan's moisturizer I add in a little Vaseline intensive care moisturizer and I am not sure if it breaks me out buts it really helps with the dryness and the flakes. I also take the vaseline moisturizer and put it on my neck, my eyes, and my hairline because those are the spots that get the most dry. I noticed also that I have a naturally oily face and during the day it gets oily. I used to use the jojoba oil and I liked it but I got lazy and didnt feel like mixing into my moisturizer.. lol and I haven't used the AHA because I am scared lol let me know if you have any other questions and keep me updated on how your doing!

[Maximus Decimus Merideous]

Hi there! Congrats on your success...your face is looking REALLY good

Just wondering, have you ramped up to the full dosage of BP yet?

[jessielynn007]

@maximus decimus merideous... Thank you a ton and are you on the regimen? And to answer your question, I haven't been using the full dosage but I am slowly getting there. Right now I am using a pump and another 1/4 of a pump. I am def taking it slow and so far it is working cause things are dry but not so terrible that lotion doesn't help.

[jessielynn007]

Day 50,

So it has been 7 weeks and 1 day and I have been doing the regimen twice a day (no skipping) and I haven't been picking like a mad woman. Yay! of course though since I have been relegious I think my skin was going through a little purging and getting out whatever got in while I was skipping the regimen. So update on the face. Forehead looks good, just post acne marks trying to fade. Nose looks good, just two post acne spots and some very old red marks that are starting to lighten. Chin looks good, just about 5 post acne marks trying to fade. Therefore Forehead, nose and chin have nothing new! yay! Cheeks are another story. Left cheek has some old red marks and two new pimples that came up two days ago and are red but they are subsiding and going down, so now it is a waiting game for them to dry up and disappear. Right cheek kinda went crazy. I have a new one under my eye, and some nasty old red marks and two blemishes that came up two days ago and they are calming down and trying to go away. I hate blemishes! We are supposed to be going up north for a week and we are leaving this friday so I hope by friday my face looks a little better. At least everything could dry up and I can just use a little concealer to cover the worst spots. I hate when things get really amazing looking and then you take one step back. Oh well, its the journey. My end goal is to go back to college with a clear face and not having to wear makeup. I don't wear makeup anymore but it is easier because it is summer and I don't have to worry about seeing tons of people and etc. So I have till September 4th! By that time I will have been on the regimen for 119 days which is exactly 17 weeks which is 4 months! I am hoping that will be enough time! I will post pics on Friday so you can see what I am leaving with.. lol