Acne.org Products
This thread will serve three purposes. I will tell you my story, give you my initial impressions of the regimen, and log my journey afterwards. This will be long and in three parts, separated by section titles.
My Story
Im a black dude in his late 20s. I started suffering moderate acne back around 16 years old. Stupidly as a youngster, I would pop pimples instead of letting them run their course...and Id sometimes pick scabs too. This led to acne scars that Ive hated throughout my 20s. Luckily I really only ever got face acne, and a couple pimples on my inner thigh/groin area due to the fact that I can sweat a bit (plus the curly hair sometimes lead to mild ingrown hairs). I never had to deal with back or chest acne thankfully, nor have I ever had severe acne or cysts. So I guess I dont have it so bad...even though the scars suck. Whats worse is that my brother picked his face loads more than I did, yet he barely has acne scars.
Anyways, along with my face acne, I started really being able to grow a beard around the age of 21. My testosterone really went through the roof in my early 20s. I got more muscle mass, started getting some chest hair, and finally could get that burly beard. The problem was that for black men, our facial hair tends to be VERY curly. Some of the hairs grow out like little springy coils. Because of this we are VERY, VERY susceptible to ingrown hairs. Because of the ingrown hair problem I cannot shave my facial hair too close to the skin. Which means I can never have baby smooth shave or the ingrowns will be terrible. Basically the curly hair grows into the skin if cut too short.
Thankfully I figured out a good way to handle this effectively. I stay away from razors of any kind, and use electric clippers. The Andis kind you see at barber shops. I use the trimmers that cut fairly close, but leave a faint stubble. This way the hair is above the skin and can grow out without giving me painful ingrowns. I still get them using this method, but MUCH less of them compared to other methods. And thanks to my darker complexion, the stubble isnt very noticeable and I can give the illusion of clean shave. And luckily, my mustache hairs grow out straight...so I can use a razor on them without a problem and get a smooth upper lip. Btw, the easiest way to avoid ingrowns is to give up shaving and grow a beard. But in my case, I enjoy the youthful appearance of no beard....plus the ingrowns I get are easier to take care of if a big beard isnt in the way.
Anyways, you can imagine what I must go through...having acne still in my late 20s, having acne scars, and dealing with ingrown hairs to boot. It really can make me self conscious, and hits my self esteem at times. However Ive had a pretty average dating life, in which Ive dated some pretty foxy gals, so I cant be that terrible looking lol. And over the years Ive tried a lot of over-the-counter products to combat my acne and ingrowns. Different washes, splashs, moisturizers, creams etc. I got a lot of help from lurking here and reading different threads. When my skin was its clearest, I was drinking tons of water with lemon juice (acne.org tip thanks), and I started using apple cider vinegar as an astringent/toner. I had also cut out chocolate and junk food.
This worked up until I become more physically active. Though Im still trying to pin down whether its true or not, it definitely seems to me that lifting weights and playing more sports have given rise to more acne. Lifting weights and being active does make men boost testosterone and other hormones...so it seems to me that this contributed to my acne. It just wasnt going away with over-the-counter store products anymore. So I started lurking here more and finally decided to get the regimen. After a lot reading and learning about the ingredients, I got the Big Kit Plus.
Day 1 Review
It took one week for my package to reach the northeast US, where I live. I bought the Kit on a Friday, it shipped that Saturday, and was at my door next Friday. Not bad at all.
I follow the regimen closely, but cut the doses in half. One pump is plenty for me, plus 1 acne.org pump seems to be about just what Ive needed with past products. One pump of cleanser foams plenty and cleans my entire face and neck. One pump of benzoyl peroxide treatment covers my entire face and neck, without leaving me feeling like I didnt use enough. And 1 pump of moisturizer combined with 5 drops of jojoba oil leaves my face feeling clean and saturated, but not oily. The moisturizer did lightly sting/tingle when I put it on...but the site FAQ lets you know that the benzoyl peroxide can make you a little sensitive before hand. I havent used the Alpha Hydroxy Acid yet, but will use it within the next few days. My skin isnt too sensitive, so Im gonna give the AHA a try early.
Anyways my initial thoughts on the regimen is that almost 12 hours after first using it, my skin still feels fresh, clean, and adequatly moisturized Not too dry, dont too oily. With other products my face always felt either super dry despite using a good bit of moisturizer....or my face would be mega oily at the end of the say even though I didnt use too much product. The Regimen strikes a good balance so far. It is just one day...but its something I noticed right away.
Anyways, my Log will be forthcoming.
Ok, its been two months..so time for an update and comprehensive review. First I will go over what I do when washing my face, step by step (I follow the regimen rather closely...the only difference being the amount of product I dispense). After that I will give my thoughts on how my face and neck has reacted. I hope some people take time to read this despite its length. Its in-depth because its really meant to help those who suffer from acne or ingrown hairs.
My supplies are Dan's acne.org big kit plus, Palmer's Cocoa butter lotion (for my eyes), a soft bristle boar's hair palm brush, and a hand drying towel (specifically for steps 2 and 3 of the regimen). This towel is meant for clean hands only!...which means its only ever touched during regimen application, and after I wash my hands by themselves with soap.
1. First I wash my hands. I mostly use bar soap, but sometimes I use liquid soap. After I wash my hands I use one clean hand to dispense Dan's cleanser, and then I use the other clean hand to wet my face. I use 1 pump of cleanser and lather up real well, and then apply it to my face and neck (one pump is plenty for me) I use mainly my finger tips to move the cleanser around, but I also gently use my palms at times too. I have the cleanser on my face and neck no longer than 20 seconds...but usually around 15 seconds. I then use warm water to remove the cleanser from my face and neck followed by drying my hands on any regular towel in my bathroom (not my special hand drying towel as I use that for only clean hands, and of course my hands arent their cleanest after washing my dirty face). And I then allow my face and neck to air dry for several minutes while going to do other things around the house.
2. After my face and neck are dry, I return to the bathroom to wash my hands. I then dry my hands on my special hand drying towel (which I change to a new towel once a week). I apply tiny dabs of Palmer's cocoa butter lotion to the area around my eyes and my eyelids as well, because like Dan's video says, you need to keep benzoyl peroxide (BP) away from your eyes. This means I cannot use Dan's moisturizer around my eyes because I wouldnt be able to ensure that the previously applied BP wouldnt get into my eye area. Thus I moisturize my eyes before applying BP. I use Palmer's lotion because Im trying to use up the bottle and because I know it doesnt bother my eyes. I tried using Jojoba oil but it made my eyes feel overly greasy and heavy, so the Palmers lotion was good.
Anyways, after applying the cocoa butter lotion to my eyes, I wash my hands again and dry them on my hand drying towel, then dispense one pump of Dan's benzoyl peroxide treatment. Ive tried 2 pumps before, and it left my face too slathered...and once it dried my face felt overdried...so 1 pump is enough for me. Anyways, with a pump of the BP in the middle of my palm, I use a finger to apply it to zones of my face and neck...following Dan's videos on how to correctly apply it (especially avoiding the eye area). I then use two finger tips to massage the treatment into my face and neck. I then go back to doing other things around the house and allow my face and neck to dry.
3. I wash my hands again and dry them again on my special hand drying towel. I then dispense 1 pump of Dan's moisturizer into my palm. Ive tried 2 pumps to see if it would be more effective...and it left my face somewhat greasy, so I supplement the moisturizer with 7 drops of jojoba oil. So in the mornings I place 1 pump of moisturizer into my palm, and add those 7 drops of jojoba oil....while at night I use 1 pump of moisturizer, 7 drops of jojoba oil, and add Dan's alpha-hydroxy acid (AHA) into the equation.
I eyeball and estimate the amount of AHA I use, since it uses a squeeze bottle instead of a pump. In order to use the entire tube in the same amount of days as the moisturizer, I add whats about 3/4 of a pump (basically for every 1 pump of moisturizer, I use add 75% of that amount in AHA at night.). I use my finger to apply whatever mixture Im using to my face and neck in zones, and then two fingertips to massage it all in.
Now my thoughts on the effectiveness of the treatment. (The good, the so-so, and the bad)
The GOOD.
My ingrown hairs where my beard grows have been practically cured. The first few weeks I suffered a couple of cysts in the area where my beard grows (likely due to screwed up hair follicles). In order to remedy this, I didnt shave for the first month on the regimen. I made sure the cyst/infected follicle ran its course and healed. I just made sure to brush my beard daily with a boar's hair brush. I use circular motions in order to keep my hair lifted so it has a less chance of growing into the skin. I then brush in downward strokes in order to train my beard.
After the first month, once my beard was healthily grown out some and the bumps healed, I went to shave. As I said earlier, because black men like me have very curly hair, most of us cannot have a smooth shave thats cut very close to the skin. This is because our hair needs to have enough clearance from the skins surface in order to ensure it doesnt grow into the skin. At most I can cut my face and neck down to a very close stubble using clippers (electric trimmers like at the barber shop). I use an Andis T-Outliner electric clipper. While it is kinda lame not being able to have a baby butt smooth face...my skin complexion gives the illusion of a close shave. A man with a lighter complexion would have a more obvious 5 o'clock shadow.
Once a week, usually friday night, I dry shave my face and neck with the clippers after lightly brushing...also using tweezers and a needle to lift any stray hairs that have tried to get under my skin. I used to get many of these...but since starting the regimen its less often that I have to lift any hairs from under my skin with a needle or tweezers. And dont worry, tweezers and the needle are disinfected with rubbing alcohol before use. And after using my clippers I always pour alcohol over the blades. I also periodically add the provided Andis clipper oil to the blades so they remain in good condition. Now lets move on.
The SO-SO
During the first few weeks on the regimen, boy oh boy did the BP burn my eyes. I made sure to keep it away from the circular area around my eyes, just like Dan's instructional video showed me, but it didnt help. My eyes would burn for a while after applying the Regimen, and flushing with water didnt work...neither did moving the BP further away from the area near my eyes. Even using BP solely on my lower cheeks would make my eyes burn...which let me know that the BP vapors were to blame...and that I would have to put up with it in order to fully use the Regimen.
I'll let you know that in the past, Ive always used those spot treatment creams of BP and never had this problem. My guess would be that a cream-based BP gives off less vapors than Dan's gel-based BP. I wonder if the lower viscosity of the gel-based BP had anything to do with all this. The cream versions of BP also smelled less than Dan's gel BP too.
Anyways, those first few weeks sucked, and I thought I would have to quit, but I kept going. The burning was never super painful or anything, but I did worry if the burning and watering was bad for my eyes. It usually simmered down after an hour or so and my eyes would stop watering. The burning went away almost completely by the end of the first month. My body apparently adjusted to it...and while I do get light burning from time to time, its nothing on the level of what it used to be. Im glad I was able to stick it out long enough to do a review. Other people werent that lucky and had to quit the Regimen all together. Which sucks because Dan's BP is the main factor in clearing the skin.
The Bad
While my beard areas are clear for the most part (chin, jawline, and neck), my face overall hasnt cleared up. I still have pustules and pimples on my cheeks, and light breakouts on my forehead and temples. Its basically the same as before I started the Regimen in those areas. And Ive been doing this day and night religiously for 60 days and will continue to do so until I use up all of my kit. My beard area seemed to follow the expected timeline where your body purges pimples in the first month, and clears up during the second. But my other trouble spots havent reacted. Its like the Regimen cleared my ingrown hairs and troubled shaving area, but failed the rest of my face. Only time will tell, but it doesnt seem to be getting better.
All in all, after considerable research I have come to a verdict.
VERDICT
As many of you already know, the Regimen works for a lot of people, but it wont clear up all of us. Many people simple have too troublesome of acne and have to try other methods. I will continue the Regimen, but after finishing the products, I will be trying out an all natural, and organic version of the regimen that includes castile soap (for cleansing), a toner with essentials oils known to fight acne (for treatment), and then an organic MSM lotion (for moisturizing). I will use only certified organic products and will give a review on the brands and products once I get to that point in my fight against acne.
My feeling is that its possibly things Im putting in my diet and on my skin that prevent me from clearing up completely. And while the Regimen has helped greatly with my ingrown hair and shaving issues....I think a lot of that success is down to me finally having a strict routine for my facial hair. Brushing has really done its work as it lifts hairs and exfoliates the skin by loosening dead skin cells. Also, strict twice a day washing, along with treatment and moisturizing further trains my skin and hair follicles. Its just a shame that my beard area has responded, but not the rest of my face. (And I did try increasing how much of Dan's product I used, to no avail)
So like I said, I will give an organic version of the regimen a try, while also keeping my diet healthy. By limiting synthetic chemicals in my system, eating right and making sure to drink lots of fluids daily, I will see if that helps me pinpoint what really works to keep my skin clear.
I hope this write up has been helpful to people out there...especially men who suffer from any ingrown hair or cystic hair follicle issues.