Acne.org Products
Hey all. I am a 23 year old female, who has struggled with acne for a good 8+ years. At this point in time, I'd say I have mild-moderate acne, though in the past I had severe acne. In the past, I went to several dermatologists and tried just about everything, except Accutane (my mother wouldn't let me take it as she was concerned about side effects). I've tried OTC things too, the best of which has been Clinique but even that's not perfect. My face is fairly red, I have scarring, and though I don't get as many pimples as I have in the past, I still get a fair amount, especially recently. In the past couple of months, I have noticed my skin is extra sensitive and prone to breakouts, which is concerning.
I'm reading good things about this regimen, but I do have some concerns.
- Dryness. I have a job and go to school, so I pretty much have to wear makeup to have any sort of confidence at all (and even that is limited). I'm reading a lot that people tend to get really, really dry and even though I tell myself my face can't possibly get worse, I know that's not true and I'd like to avoid it. Is there a way to wear makeup and avoid that dryness?
- Cost. I'm a college student, and I'm willing to pay a fair deal to get something that works. However, I feel like recently I've been shelling money out on OTC products that are very highly reviewed, then they don't work, and I am left with bottles of stuff I spent money on but will never use.
Is there a benefit to the cleanser and the moisturizer in this regimen, or is it just the benzyol peroxide that does the work? I'm happy to buy the kit if all the pieces have importance, but I've used things in the past where the cleanser wasn't any good so I ended up using a different drugstore cleanser (either Purpose or Cetaphil) and then the moisturizer doesn't work either so I end up using something else....basically I don't want to buy things that I don't need. But if they have purpose, I'll happy purchase.
I know that it's impossible to tell what my skin will do, but I'm in the midst of reading reviews and I figured I'd just ask.
Wearing make-up on this regimen is fine when you've passed the rough stages and your skin is in balance with the treatment. Your skin will be very dry and that's normal and dead skin or flakes will take over your face and it's not just a few flakes here and there, it's like your entire face is covered like mines was so covering with make-up will be a challenge for you. You'll have to exfoliate with either a soft cloth and some jojoba oil or something else and depending on your make-up it'll either cover everything smoothly or it'll look horrible and rough because your skin is probably dry in certain areas or all over. If you can manage to exfoliate well and use something to calm the dry area's in your skin your make-up should look fine but it all depends how your skin reacts and if it can handle it and if you want to take the risk of possibly irritating already irritated skin with your make-up or exfoliating then that's your choice.
The BP is without a doubt the most important product to buy from this website. The moisturizer and cleanser are often replaced with another brand that you will have to figure out, there are many suggestions if you research on the forums. As for putting on make up, there are many users who put makeup on AFTER the BP and moisturizer have dried. Be prepared to spend 1 hour + everytime you get ready to go out.
Dryness is a side effect you will have to go through, there is no way around it if you are new to the regimen. Even with sufficient moisturizing you will notice that your skin will feel hard, dry, and flaky. You will also most likely notice your skin is breaking out more. You will have to be very patient while these side effects calm down as you use the BP for a longer period of time.
Dryness - I honestly felt the same way you did about how I can handle the dryness because my face can't get worse than this BUT it will. Then I figured I could cover the dryness with make up BUT it will look like shit. The dryness and flakiness is the worse part of the Regimen. I honestly just stopped wearing make up because my face looked so cakey, the acne was more noticeable, and my makeup was flaking off. There is no way to avoid it. You just have to wait for the dryness to end. After the flakiness ends, you have to basically change all your make up products. Personally, I had oily skin before the Regimen but then I had to start investing in more hydrating and aimed towards dry skin products. I stopped the Regimen recently though so my skin is getting back to its normal oily self, I don't think I have ever been happier to have my oily skin back LOL
Cost - The Regimen WORKS! It is definitely worth the price and I totally feel your pain. I have spent so much money on different face washes and products. I still spend a lot on my skin care but now I am a lot more careful about what I buy. The cleanser is very basic. It feels nice on the skin but I honestly think the Cetaphil Daily Cleanser cleans a lot better (especially if you wear make up). I hate the moisturizer. I used it the first few weeks because it was recommended as part of the Regimen but it just did not work for me (especially during the dry flaking period) so I had to try other moisturizers. I recommend the Cetaphil cream moisturizer (this shit is the bomb LOL) or pure aloe vera mixed with jojoba oil. Keep in mind that you might to reapply moisturizer throughout the day when you're in the flaking period. The benzoyl is the only thing that really does the acne killing. The other two products should just be simple basic things to create a clean slate for the benzoyl. Hope it helps! 