Acne.org Products
Hi flaxen
Thank you for your supportive 
I will stick with regime I went to work out today and I released some stress:)
Skin is a mess!!
It makes me want to cry every time I have to wash my face - feeling all those hard bumps feels gross and it's depressing- as is looking in the mirror... not to mention all the redness from both the acne and pigmentation.
I don't think I'll have time to see my GP again until maybe the end of next week - so I still don't know if I'll take diane, spiro or something else. In the mean time, I think I'll go and get some sort of OTC BP product - maybe just a cleanser for now - I know it's not as effective as a gel that you leave on... but I don't want to 'commit' to using a gel just yet / until I figure out if I'll use a prescription medication soon.
Skin is a mess!!
It makes me want to cry every time I have to wash my face - feeling all those hard bumps feels gross and it's depressing- as is looking in the mirror... not to mention all the redness from both the acne and pigmentation.
I don't think I'll have time to see my GP again until maybe the end of next week - so I still don't know if I'll take diane, spiro or something else. In the mean time, I think I'll go and get some sort of OTC BP product - maybe just a cleanser for now - I know it's not as effective as a gel that you leave on... but I don't want to 'commit' to using a gel just yet / until I figure out if I'll use a prescription medication soon.
I've been following your posts for quite a while now.I even saw some of your acne regime pictures.I had worse than you have now.I still have mild acne (an occasional small cyst ) but it is controlled.I have been observing and learning Lily.Seen my cousins and friends.They have equally oily skin but have no acne.This observation led me to dig deeper.I asked them about their face cleansing routines.They told me they just wash with water or sometimes with soap (not even an official face wash).As i learned more i stumbled across the caveman regimen in which you just wash your face once with water and let your skin recover naturally.
Do we have severe acne because as 15-16 year olds (whenever your acne started) we freak out and "over-treat" ourselves? i.e over wash our faces,apply Benzoyl peroxide,Salicylic acid ,antibiotics etc.When we ought to just let it pass by its natural course and settle down.
So,lily and all the others who are reading this,May i suggest you to just try for say a month to keep aside your products and just leave your skin alone?Yes,it maybe sheer blasphemy for some of you...But try...It has worked for me,might work for you as well.
If only one of you has success with this method,i'd really get peace of mind.
Skin is a mess!!
It makes me want to cry every time I have to wash my face - feeling all those hard bumps feels gross and it's depressing- as is looking in the mirror... not to mention all the redness from both the acne and pigmentation.
I don't think I'll have time to see my GP again until maybe the end of next week - so I still don't know if I'll take diane, spiro or something else. In the mean time, I think I'll go and get some sort of OTC BP product - maybe just a cleanser for now - I know it's not as effective as a gel that you leave on... but I don't want to 'commit' to using a gel just yet / until I figure out if I'll use a prescription medication soon.
I've been following your posts for quite a while now.I even saw some of your acne regime pictures.I had worse than you have now.I still have mild acne (an occasional small cyst ) but it is controlled.I have been observing and learning Lily.Seen my cousins and friends.They have equally oily skin but have no acne.This observation led me to dig deeper.I asked them about their face cleansing routines.They told me they just wash with water or sometimes with soap (not even an official face wash).As i learned more i stumbled across the caveman regimen in which you just wash your face once with water and let your skin recover naturally.
Do we have severe acne because as 15-16 year olds (whenever your acne started) we freak out and "over-treat" ourselves? i.e over wash our faces,apply Benzoyl peroxide,Salicylic acid ,antibiotics etc.When we ought to just let it pass by its natural course and settle down.
So,lily and all the others who are reading this,May i suggest you to just try for say a month to keep aside your products and just leave your skin alone?Yes,it maybe sheer blasphemy for some of you...But try...It has worked for me,might work for you as well.
If only one of you has success with this method,i'd really get peace of mind.
Maybe you have me confused with another Lilly? I don't have any acne pictures on this site. I did have a few in a thread quite a while ago but I removed them - and my skin was doing better then than it is now anyway.
I have thought in the past that maybe I should have never used any products on my skin and maybe then my acne wouldn't be an issue or would have recovered by now but I don't think this is true for me anyway. The acne I get is deep and often cystic and driven by hormones. Using a topical or not won't help entirely if hormones are the root cause will it? I don't know really. I just don't see how the caveman regimen could help deep acne like mine / how my acne could be caused by using certain products. Normally the acne I get due to a product 'my skin doesn't like' is smaller and usually tend to be whiteheads - but the typical acne I get, regardless of what product I use, seems to be a lot deeper and longer-lasting / persistent. I also don't think I could manage the caveman regimen because I feel like I need to wear makeup - I know it's not the best thing to have on your skin but until I have my skin more under control or get to a point where I feel confident to go out without makeup on again, I guess I'll have to give the caveman idea a miss. But I'll keep it in mind. It might be something I try at some point - thanks for the suggestion.
Good to hear it helped you though
On 5/23/2013 at 6:20 PM, Lilly75 said:On 5/23/2013 at 3:32 PM, Perseverance92 said:On 5/23/2013 at 11:38 AM, Lilly75 said:Skin is a mess!!
It makes me want to cry every time I have to wash my face - feeling all those hard bumps feels gross and it's depressing- as is looking in the mirror... not to mention all the redness from both the acne and pigmentation.
I don't think I'll have time to see my GP again until maybe the end of next week - so I still don't know if I'll take diane, spiro or something else. In the mean time, I think I'll go and get some sort of OTC BP product - maybe just a cleanser for now - I know it's not as effective as a gel that you leave on... but I don't want to 'commit' to using a gel just yet / until I figure out if I'll use a prescription medication soon.
I've been following your posts for quite a while now.I even saw some of your acne regime pictures.I had worse than you have now.I still have mild acne (an occasional small cyst ) but it is controlled.I have been observing and learning Lily.Seen my cousins and friends.They have equally oily skin but have no acne.This observation led me to dig deeper.I asked them about their face cleansing routines.They told me they just wash with water or sometimes with soap (not even an official face wash).As i learned more i stumbled across the caveman regimen in which you just wash your face once with water and let your skin recover naturally.
Do we have severe acne because as 15-16 year olds (whenever your acne started) we freak out and "over-treat" ourselves? i.e over wash our faces,apply Benzoyl peroxide,Salicylic acid ,antibiotics etc.When we ought to just let it pass by its natural course and settle down.
So,lily and all the others who are reading this,May i suggest you to just try for say a month to keep aside your products and just leave your skin alone?Yes,it maybe sheer blasphemy for some of you...But try...It has worked for me,might work for you as well.
If only one of you has success with this method,i'd really get peace of mind.
Maybe you have me confused with another Lilly? I don't have any acne pictures on this site. I did have a few in a thread quite a while ago but I removed them - and my skin was doing better then than it is now anyway.
I have thought in the past that maybe I should have never used any products on my skin and maybe then my acne wouldn't be an issue or would have recovered by now but I don't think this is true for me anyway. The acne I get is deep and often cystic and driven by hormones. Using a topical or not won't help entirely if hormones are the root cause will it? I don't know really. I just don't see how the caveman regimen could help deep acne like mine / how my acne could be caused by using certain products. Normally the acne I get due to a product 'my skin doesn't like' is smaller and usually tend to be whiteheads - but the typical acne I get, regardless of what product I use, seems to be a lot deeper and longer-lasting / persistent. I also don't think I could manage the caveman regimen because I feel like I need to wear makeup - I know it's not the best thing to have on your skin but until I have my skin more under control or get to a point where I feel confident to go out without makeup on again, I guess I'll have to give the caveman idea a miss. But I'll keep it in mind. It might be something I try at some point - thanks for the suggestion.
Good to hear it helped you though
Well i haven't confused you with anyone.Maybe i have seen somebody else's pictures LOL...anyways.What's wrong in trying it after all you must have tried so many things.(Just a suggestion.It's entirely your decision
Feeling good. I broke out last week due to over-washing (which for me is using soap at all which I did once, plus water every day, sometimes twice) but now I finally have some time alone and with nothing coming up on the calendar. So I can do a caveman week which always clears me up.
I've also recently discovered that putting antibiotic ointment (basically no-name polysporin) on popped pimples (especially around my nose where they seem to be infection-based as they spread and turn weird colours) helps tremendously. Easily the most effective topical treatment I've ever tried.
Not too bad today. Recovering from a breakout. I tend to have a breakout and then have a few semi-clear days.
Waiting for my Paula's Choice samples to arrive (got a ton!), if they work I'm going to get the full sized products. Hoping the BHA is as great as the reviews make it sound!
This is my 3rd or 2nd week on caveman regimen, kinda lost track of time and I am the clearest I've been in 8 years and it feels pretty fucking great. All those products really do fuck our skin up worse. My acne is way less inflamed and no more cysts, red marks and dark marks are fading each day with the African butter, and I still have pretty fucked up scars underneath it all but it's work in progress.
One day I will walk out and feel good about myself which is most important, fuck what everybody else thinks.
My MCAT went terribly. The hotel coffee wasn't strong enough, and I didn't realize it until a few passages into the first section... -____- time to start studying again, I suppose.
Hey it might not have gone as badly as you thought! I think it's hard to tell how exams go sometimes, especially if you are being very critical of yourself it distorts things. I know I've been pleasantly surprised by results in the past anyway. It sounds like you were really well prepared, trust in that good preparation usually shines through 
and maybe it was a hard paper...
I've been feeling really depressed today... Not about my skin but it doesn't help. I was supposed to go to skills lab this evening but I'd cried off all my makeup and I didn't have time to reapply. I did go but I walked straight out again cos I couldn't face it. Again not really about my skin but feeling ugly and self conscious made it harder.
My MCAT went terribly. The hotel coffee wasn't strong enough, and I didn't realize it until a few passages into the first section... -____- time to start studying again, I suppose.
Hey it might not have gone as badly as you thought! I think it's hard to tell how exams go sometimes, especially if you are being very critical of yourself it distorts things. I know I've been pleasantly surprised by results in the past anyway. It sounds like you were really well prepared, trust in that good preparation usually shines through
I've been feeling really depressed today... Not about my skin but it doesn't help. I was supposed to go to skills lab this evening but I'd cried off all my makeup and I didn't have time to reapply. I did go but I walked straight out again cos I couldn't face it. Again not really about my skin but feeling ugly and self conscious made it harder.
I know what you mean; it's like the cherry on top. I thought it was just the lack of caffeine, but now I'm sick, so it might have been something sub-clinical. My brain was feeling really fuzzy and I felt like I was in a daze. The last time that happened during an exam, I made a 50%. The only time I've ever failed an exam. Retested and made a 94 the second time around. So, chances are, I did really awful, you know?
Also, it's hard to explain, but the MCAT is a critical thinking, reading based exam. You really need to have full use of all your mental faculties to do well.
Well i haven't confused you with anyone.Maybe i have seen somebody else's pictures LOL...anyways.What's wrong in trying it after all you must have tried so many things.(Just a suggestion.It's entirely your decision
It's always an option but at the moment there are other things that I want to try first that I hope will be more effective for me right now.
Skin hasn't been doing the BEST but it's better than it could be! Right now I'm just dealing with clogged pores and one stubborn, but small cystic zit on my forehead. Usually those regress after a week or so, and it's not that big or inflamed, so I'm not that worried.
I've been focusing more on my health and fitness and I think that's taken up so much of my attention that I don't care about my skin as much anymore. I still do my daily routine, exfoliate, take my Mino, etc but I look in the mirror less and think about it MUCH less. I'm not buying tons of expensive products to try and 'fix' my skin, and instead am just letting time do its work. My skin is not bad at all though right now, so I can't complain.
Skin is looking and feeling good today!
I got a tiny spot about three days ago near my eyebrow but it's basically gone already. I guess because I don't use BP on that area. I still do worry each and everyday that the regimen will stop working and I will wake up with my acne back...but I am trying to stay positive and also trying to gain the confidence that comes with clear skin.
Disgusted. Today is the day I am going to open up to my husband about my 20 year battle with acne so wish me luck and pray that I somehow find the strength to get through today.
Skin is looking like shit, definitely have some new scars, thought my mind was playing tricks on me but no, there's definitely some new ones on my cheeks. As well as the usual bad/greasy,uneven texture combined with spots ranging from pin points to small cysts. Feel deep shame and disgust, can't live like this, going to see what options are available for scar treatment. If I am told there's nothing that can help me then I don't know what I will do. Have really had enough of letting my skin define who I am, cried a load yesterday and my husband has no idea what''s wrong. Urgh 
You have a husband he apparently must love you and you are still not happy?
Due to how my family and people around me have treated me because of my skin, it has left me with feelings of severe shame and anxiety plus depression. My family have all rejected me and used to beat me and tell me I was unlovable amongst other things due to my skin, so my fear is that my husband may react the same when he finds out. I truly think I am repulsive with skin like this. Yes I am grateful that I have a lovely man in my life but here's hoping he will stick by me when he finds out about my skin. The way I've had to live when I'm around him is extremely depressing. I cover my face with my hair, hide from him when I have just showered and also am forced to wear make up all the time for fear he will notice, be disgusted too and potentially reject me. Do you understand what I mean? Just cos I'm married doesn't mean my problems are answered.