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My acne treatment history
I think it would be helpful for me to chronicle my acne treatment history prior to discovering the Regimen, so you have an idea where I'm coming from. I wish someone had shared their mistakes with me when I was younger. Hopefully this will help people avoid duplicating my errors.
My first lessons
I started getting acne at 11 or 12. I began washing my face many times a day with a washcloth and Ivory soap. My skin reacted with probably what amounted to hundreds of tiny pimples, largely along the top of my forehead. When it became obvious that this was not working, I decided to keep scrubbing my face raw, but add in Stridex 2% salicylic acid pads. For me, the salicylic acid did not seem to help.
I figured out that the scrubbing was getting me nowhere, so I lessened it to 3 times a day. I continued with the 2% salicylic acid acne treatment. My skin still did not improve much at all.
After seeing a few commercials, I decided to switch to Oxy10 10% benzoyl peroxide acne treatment, and also decided to start washing just twice a day. To my surprise, my skin did improve on the Oxy10 and twice daily washing. I was still using a washcloth and Ivory soap at this time. I continued on this regimen for a few years, and never had a day without at least a few zits.
My dermatologist experiences
My skin still plagued me, so I asked my parents to take me to a dermatologist. This began my long experimentation with prescriptions. The first prescription I tried was Retin-A. The doctor warned me that my face might get worse before it got better. My face got a lot worse. Eventually, my skin started to clear up, but just back to where it was before Retin-A. Back to the derm I went. He advised that I add back in the 10% benzoyl peroxide and try a higher % Retin-A. My skin got slightly better, but my acne remained persistent.
Educating myself
After little success with my first dermatologist and with my skin still a mess, I turned to the books and read everything at my local library and school library on acne and skin care. I learned to wash gently and only twice a day with bare hands. Beyond that I found little concensus. As it turns out, scientists and researchers don't know a lot about treating acne. This was a sobering realization.
By this time I had been faithfully using Retin-A for a couple of years and came to realize it was doing little for me, so I dropped the Retin-A and continued with 10% benzoyl peroxide and twice daily washing with bare hands when I arrived at college. My skin became somewhat manageable, but the mirror met me with new zits every morning. Back to the books I went at James Madison University library. I read a book that advised using lots of 10% benzoyl peroxide to dry and flake the skin, revealing clearer skin underneath. Eager to try anything, I jumped right in. I started loading on 10% benzoyl peroxide with no moisturizer. Up to this point, no one had ever mentioned moisturizer to me. My skin dried up terribly and peeled badly. I was embarrassed, but I was hoping my skin would become clear soon. My skin did improve on this method, so I continued, but I was so flaky it was an embarrassment. Finally one day an acquaintance had the guts to confront me outside the University cafeteria. "What's wrong with your face? It's so dry.", she said. I realized I needed to do something else.
Accutane - my saviour?
I went back to the University library. I read about Accutane in one of the more scientific dermatology books. "Dramatic and permanent improvement", it glowed. Why had no one mentioned this to me before!? I practically ran to the local dermatologist to ask for a prescription. My new dermatologist told me Accutane was the acne treatment of last resort and we had other things to try first. She put me on clindamycin and sulfur and asked that I quit benzoyl peroxide. I did as requested. My skin plummeted to levels I had never seen. I didn't want to leave my room. By this point, I also had acne on my back that was bad enough that I would never consider removing my shirt for anyone, even in front of my roommate. I had severe cystic lesions on my back and many pustules. At my low point, I would not look at myself in the mirror. I just kept the light off in the bathroom. (I know, poor me, boohoo, lol)
One look at my face after the clindamycin and sulfur and my doctor was convinced to put me on Accutane. She prescribed a relatively low dose. Within 2-3 weeks my face was absolutely, completely clear. My back was clear within a month. My skin became perfect, and that is not an exaggeration. It was a beautiful experience. I became "popular" for the first time since my acne erupted in middle school. I had a great time going out with friends, speaking to people without averting my eyes, and confidently living my new life.
Toward the end of my Accutane treatment I awoke one day with a small whitehead. This was a sign of things to come. As soon as I went off Accutane, my acne returned. Luckily, Accutane took care of my back acne and it did not return, but my face began breaking out once again on a daily basis. My acne, however, was lighter than before. I only got whiteheads instead of cystic lesions.
Back to basics
I decided to try what had worked before. It became obvious that benzoyl peroxide was the one medication that always seemed to work, at least somewhat. I went to the store with an open mind and saw "Exact" brand 5% benzoyl peroxide. It claimed something like, "all the effectiveness without all the dryness." I tried it, and my acne lessened. At this point I also added moisturizer to my routine. My skin was extremely dry on Accutane so I got used to using moisturizer every day. For the next couple of years I stuck with twice daily gentle cleansing, 5% benzoyl peroxide, and moisturizer. The zits never subsided completely, but things were better than before.
Success
One day I decided, "What the heck, I am going to use a lot of this 5% benzoyl peroxide. Worst case scenario is I will waste some money." I loaded on probably three times the usual amount, keeping in mind to be gentle with the application. The sheer amount of benzoyl peroxide helped me to apply it even more patiently and gently. My skin cleared up completely within days on my new regimen. I figured it had to be a fluke. But my skin stayed clear, day after day, week after week. It wasn't a fluke.
Sharing my success
Right around that time a friend of mine recommended a book called "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success" by Deepak Chopra. I wouldn't say I was a deeply spiritual person at the time, but I was decided to read it anyway. After reading it, however, I remembered how much I do love helping people. In the book, Chopra tells the reader to ask himself, "how can I best help people?" This wasn't a tough question. I posted my newfound regimen on my Earthlink homepage and the responses started coming in droves. It appeared that my regimen worked for just about everyone who tried it and followed it closely.
With further research at the UCSF medical library I learned that 2.5% benzoyl peroxide is just as effective as 5%, so I hesitatingly switched. Just like the medical studies said, my skin stayed clear and was less dry.
As I continued to read success stories that people emailed to me, I decided more people needed to know about it so I bought Acne.org. Continually asking myself how I can help people led me to make a larger size 2.5% benzoyl peroxide and more recently a cleanser and moisturizer. It feels great helping people avoid the aimless experimentation I had to go through for so many years.
-Dan
Helpful link: Click here to read about the products I use on a daily basis and what I wouldn't personally be without.
