Acne.org Products
Thanks for the helpful tips.. really appreciate it. I am just weening myself off of the regimen, my skin has been reacting very strongly to the BP. I started in April. and it is now June - the redness and itchiness was terrible. I was so uncomfortable and I would not be able to fall asleep at night because my skin was so itchy and inflamed. I think I am going to use BP only as a spot treatment, along with other things. I appreciate any advice that you have, I have always been a fan of doing things the natural way.
Ok so first off let me say that im a 34 year old male and have been on the regimen for about 5 years now. It has been the ONLY system that has ever given me results. For me, It works. But i can not, and do not want to be dependent on this system or any other system forever.
I know from painful experience, that when i try to go off the regimen for even a few days, my skin goes crazy! I go back to being 16 again.
I keep my skin clean and my diet is and has always been pretty amazing. Well balanced, all organic and in general very healthy. My skin just seems to produce alot of oil, which in turn clogs my pores. Im considering using only jojoba oil. After cleaning my skin (i use all natural soaps) im just going to rub in a few drops of jojoba. Im nervous, but i feel i have my bases covered. Will it work? I have learned to keep my expectations low when it comes to my skin. Guess there is only one way to find out!
Yeah I've already decided I'm going to quit for sure. The regimen definitely gave me clear skin, but it messed up my complexion. I have a coupe weird wrinkles (forehead and right cheek), my skin is constantly flaking and the spots that I do get on my face take FOREVER to clear up after being popped. I'm worried now that BP has weakened me skin's resilience and might actually leave me scarred. My forehead still kinda looks like shit. Definitely made some progress from when I stopped applying the BP, but the skin still looks... weird, i dunno. Uneven and discoloured. And I haven't put a drop of BP on it for over two weeks now. I don't want to use any product that has that kind of lasting effect.
BP definitely works to clear acne, but for me the negative side effects aren't worth the trouble. Applying for almost 30 minutes twice a day, looking greasy at work in the morning, and then flaking all afternoon, having a uneven complexion, redness, tightness, my skin feeling horrible. Screw that. It works, but I'll find my own way.
Just want to reach out... Aiden i feel like you are me in another body... Everything you say is exactly how I feel. My self-esteem has been destroyed by acne as well. I'm SO hard on myself and I know that my acne isn't really that bad. There are so many people that have it worse than me, but for some reason, all I do is focus on the few pimples I get. It is SO DRAINING, physically and emotionally. There are days I don't want anyone to see me, and all I want is to cry in bed. I am so embarassed. I have been on the regimen for a little over 2 months and I am also debating quitting. I don't know what to do.. I'm so scared to quit but like you said, I 'm just not sure its worth the side effects. I have definitely had very few breakouts over the past 2 months of being on the regimen.. but my skin is extremely irritated. I wake up in the middle of the nights from my face itching like crazy. It is always red and dry. It looks like shit sometimes and I just want to cry when I look in the mirror. I know I'm my own worst enemy.. but its just so sad because I have tried everything over the counter and I am so disciplined with my regimen, as I'm sure you are. And it kills me because people I know don't even have to wash their face and they have perfect skin. It's nuts. So I am at a crossroad also.. not sure what to do.. I can't take this itchy, dry, red skin anymore! I may reduce to once a day and see what happens. I have also been on Zinc since March and I think it has helped. I also take Evening Primrose Oil, which is supposed to be a good vitamin for acne (not sure if it's just for women?) and a multivitamin. Please keep me updated with your status.. I wish you the best of luck, and it's so nice to know that there's people out there that I can relate to. No one truly understands our pain and suffering unless they have experienced it.
Oh, and you can always vent to me, I'll listen! I don't really talk to anyone about how I feel because I'm so embarassed and hurt.. so this is like my outlet as well. So let's all vent when we need it!!
I recently got off the regimen. A couple of months ago, after 1.5 years of shit ass skin. I didn't get zits until I was 20 (so I can assume it was hormonal). BP stopped my breakouts at first, but irritated my skin so much that I was still breaking out, it was dry, and my brown spots would never fade. My skin was SO FUCKING OILY. It just highlighted all the imperfections. What's the point if I am gonna look like crap anyway?
So I got off BP, with determination that I would find a different cure, that didn't involve slathering a million chemicals on my face. The texture of my skin immediately returned. Then two weeks later I broke out. I broke out with cystic acne. It was totally embarrassing and gross. I had bazillion spots on my face. My skin was oily.
But I was determined. I don't want to go on birth control and because I know nothing is clogging my pores, I can assume this problem is internal. I went to the vitamin section of the pharmacy, read all the labels of the skin health products and researched them. At first I wanted to try "natural ingredients" what I realized with these is that natural moisturizers leave residue and natural cleansers don't fully cleanse. So I figured I needed a natural way to address the acne and more gentle chemical way to cleanse and moisturize.
After a couple of weeks my skin stopped being oily. Amazing. So here's what I found: Topically I use De La Cruz's 10% Sulfur (it's 5 bucks) I stumbled upon this while looking for supplements on Amazon. I have to say BELIEVE THE HYPE. Put this on cystic acne and it shrinks to a tiny zit, then it disappears.
I started taking Zinc, L lysine, Alpha Lipoic Acid and Fish Oil/Flax/Borage. I am going to start B5 as soon as it ships here. I have to say this internal/external more natural approach has almost completely cleared my skin.
When I say clear, I don't mean I don't have a bazillion scars from this break out? I do. But my god, the sulfur makes them fade really quick. There hasn't been a time in the past 1.5 years where I didn't have a zit on my face. After I got off BP I had ten active zits on each of my cheeks, forehead and chin. After two weeks of this approach I have only a few.
The post bp-breakout is horrible. Sometimes I would catch a glimpse of my face and be disgusted. But my skin is SETTLING. It's SETTLING. Which never happened on BP. And there is such a difference with the sulfur and the supplements--it's like my skin is doing it on it's own, not being forced into it by some chemical reaction.
Hey, glad to see this topic is still going. Well, I guess the reason I've stopped posting on this message board is because I stopped being so anxious about my acne. Looking back, it honestly felt like I was having an emotional breakdown, or some kind of acne related dysmorphia. I stopped using the regimen for about five days straight while I went on vacation, and had a really shitty shave with a bad razor so I broke out a little bit, and since then I've been doing the regimen once a day if I happen to get around to it.
My skin looks and feels great! My forehead is finally back to normal. There are a few lingering marks from zits and a few red marks that you can see if you get really really up close but I don't even care and it feels amazing. The only thing I've really been focusing on is avoiding the foods I've identified as triggers - pop, coffee and chocolate - and drinking plenty of distilled water. Oh, and I've been getting plenty of sun and having a ton of fun with my friends. I've always exercised a lot so that doesn't really have a lot to do with it I think. The emotional stability combined with healthier eating is what I feel is making the difference. The occasional regimen is, however, keeping a lot of my acne at bay, I feel, and I'm probably going to continue it for the foreseeable future.
I think I said it earlier in this topic, but I really do feel that the first step to acne treatment is coming to terms with acne emotionally. Not only will it reduce the stress in your life (which causes even more acne!), but it also helps you regain the confidence that the acne is stealing away from you - which is the entire point of an acne treatment anyway, right? To regain your self confidence and feel good about yourself.
Good luck all!
Agree , the regimen do works ,it kills and stop my acne, BUT agree with the others too , it makes my face still red and flakey even i already use jojoba oil etc, so the conclusion is maybe once you are really clear then try to reduce using the BP, i've QUIT the BP too , coz i'm clear (even not 100%) and my mom already warning me about how red my face look, it look not normal and not healthy she said ,so now i'm using only the acne.org Cleanser (for facial wash) and Jojoba oil for moisturiser every day - 2x a day, it works for me,at least it works till now (finger crossed - its been almost 2weeks now - no new pimples until now)
Just wanted to say that I absolutely believe that the regimen works. It does 100% clear up your acne, but like every other acne treatment it has its pros and cons. Dan's products are really great too!
"BP seems to slow down the healing process so much." Thats right I tried it and slows healing process and irritates regardless of being gentle, you can only be gentle with clear skin *Moderator edit - No name calling. Read the board rules!*
dan is absolutely not a scammer. He's probably one of the few people selling acne products on the internet that is genuinely concerned with clearing people's acne over making a profit. He believes in his system, but the main concern of this site and this community is to support acne sufferers.
I'm in the same situation as many here. I was so sick of the reigmen after 10 years. Lately (I'm 30) The acne marks that were being left behind on the reigmen were terrible. They were big and didn't fade for 6 months. I was just tired of 30 mins in the morning and night to do the regimen, I was tired of the constant flakyness, the bleaching of my shirts and sheets. My girlfriend gives me a nice brown shirt for my birthday, I wear it once and get a bleach orange stain on it from my face and ruin it, what a horrible feeling. I can't even tell her and havent worn it again. While the regimen did help, I was still prone to large pimples that took forever to heal and left red marks. Doing the regimen on vacation, especially going somewhere hot, was impossible (the moisturizer on my face coming to the surface in the heat). I have been using tea tree oil products for two months. I'm still getting some pimples, but they seem to be smaller and in different places. Best of all, they don't leave any marks and heal faster. Although lately I've had a bad breakout, anything is better than the regimen.
^ I agree with the above post, ive read many times that TTO is supposed to have similair effects to BP but less drying. I would slowly cut down the BP and start using TTO and see how that goes. TTO in its purest form is still irritating however so maybe dilute it at first.
Just found these boards, but I have been doing the regimine without knowing it. My skin was always dry and then super oily and itchy. I've tried every product I've come across and I know I worry too much about it. I've been very depressed about how I look. I'm 22, almost 23 now, and I still have severe acne. It actually got worse after high school and even though I'm in college I still get insulted and teased. My family makes comments like "what's wrong with your face?" and "you aren't washing properly." or "you should really do something about your acne." Like I don't own and mirror, shower, soap, or ever tried getting rid of it. Thanks, but I really enjoy my face being covered in red, swollen bumps and can't get through my day unless I get insulted. That's normal, right? COME ON!!! Recently, I've been using glycerine soap, because I'm allergic suddenly to sulfates, and rose hip oil, and witch hazel as a tonar. I've also been taking an herb called agnus castus, but it's only for women. This herb cancels out birth control and can make your period a bit off track for the first couple months, but I do see a difference. I've tried other drugs from the doctor and none worked, I'm even allergic to some. I'm still broken out and recently recieved a bit of a blow; my grandma commented on it saying I need to go to a doctor and use proactiv(all of which I did with no results) because it makes me look too young and I'll never get a good job. I hate the way I look and it makes me feel even worse when people comment like I'm not doing anything about it or like I didn't know I was broken out. I have a lot of allergies, being born premature will make you prone to them, and have to be careful what I eat and use. I've become allergic to wheat and gluten, which can cause acne if eaten in excess. I've ordered "zinc for acne" since I found it on sale with free shipping just to give it a go. I've been drinking much more green tea, I love tea, all day especially in the mornings which has helped some. I just found a glycerine aloe vera soap at the dollar tree that my boyfriend just loves, it had an imidiate effect on my acne, so I'll be picking up more of that. I've never had body acne, but when my face broke out severely almost a year and a half ago I've had painful body acne and basically cystic acne all over. It's painful and embarrassing mentally, emotionally, and physically. I'm drained. I even got to the put of asking my boyfriend why he loves me even though my face looks hideous. I've had more luck with the all natural regimine than I have with store-bought stuff. I started using glycerine soap because it was safe for me to use after I started getting hives and rashes from regular soap, but I read that it is the best soap to use for acne sufferers. It is awesome! It doesn't have to have any scent, the aloe one has a real light and natural scent, and it doesn't leave any residue behind.
I just had to vent a bit, I just feel aweful when I look in the mirror because all I see is the swollon pustules forming on my skin and knowing I can't stop them.
As someone who has successfully quit the regiment (just about the only thing I've been successful at in my life 
) really) I may have some good advice for you guys.
Basically Do Not try and quit flat out just over night. Your skin will most likely react and it will not react in a favourable manner.
Try and ease off very slowly. Your skin will still most likely react but it will do so at a slower pace. It might not work for everyone. For me it was a gradual process. Over months really. It mostly happened by accident. )
I was clear from the regiment and I eventually started getting comfortable and sometimes careless. I would go out party all night and come home and just sleep and forget to do the regiment. Other times I would come home and be too lazy or too tired to do it. This was the start anyway. It was very rare. Say once a month or something like that.
The point is, my skin did not react. So again by more accidents and laziness I think I missed a couple of time during one week. Again skin stayed OK. So eventually I started doing the regiment every 3 days and only once a day. I mositurised crazy during the time off and I still do. I look after my skin crazy good to this day after over 4 years of being off the regiment. By looking after I mean, basically doing dans number 1 and 3 steps everyday. Cleansing and moisturising. I do not use step 2 which is the benzoyle peroxide step. I use clean and clear oil free dual action moisturiser which contains salicylic acid. Its only a small amount of the acid which is an acne fighting ingredient but I use a lot of the moisturiser and it keeps my skin in good shape.
I still get occasional pimples but nothing major. I'm talking about normal pimples anyone gets...about one every couple of months or something like that.
I do not think I have grown out of acne. I'm sure if I do not look after my skin I would again suffer. I still have somewhat sensitive skin.
But as said, just go easy if you want to quit. There's no guarantee that you will successfully come out unharmed but you lessen the risk if you ease off gradually.
Start with perhaps doing the regiment just at night time. And use lots and lots of BP as you will not be using it as often. It may work. It may not.
If it does work. Stick with it for few months or weeks. Do not rush. And in time try a different routine. Perhaps doing the regiment as I did at one point in time only once every 3 days.
Again, if it works, stick with it for few months or weeks. Let your skin get used to it for a good amount of time.
Time is very important also. Your skin needs to get used to the new routine. It will do over time. You might have small pimples at first but over time it might learn to survive longer without BP.
Non of my advice is guaranteed to work for everyone. Its just how I did it successfully. It was mostly accident as I said. And I was lucky. I would not advise anyone to come off the regiment completely if its working well. When I was on full time I used a lot and lot of BP every time. It was hell with then dryness at times but it killed my active areas in time and my skin felt better slowly. The irritations are always a good way to gauge how your active areas are. If you use enough BP over and over, eventually it will kill off the active areas and it will just feel a lot better. Not so much irritation.
Then ease off slowly if you wish.