yeah, that's what i HATE about comedones -- you can't cover them up with makeup because they're still bumps that are gonna be raised 
my skin is looking a little dull now too, but i'm not sure from what. i haven't changed anything in my skincare routine
maybe you should still use the cetaphil daily cleanser since at least you know it's keeping you clear, and then add in a moisturizer to counteract that tight uncomfortable feeling with the skin. & if you're noticing with the gentle cetaphil cleanser that you're getting dead skin buildup, i think you should switch asap, so not too much builds up.
i think lactic acid is good for the skin too, especially for the comdeones, so that cleanser sounds good, and since it's like a lathering cream, i shouldn't leave you with that tight uncomfortable feeling.
i heard that people use yogurt or even kefir on their face because it's a cheap source for lactic acid (as it is the lactic acid that gives these dairy products the sort of sour taste).
On 9/14/2016 at 6:54 PM, sosickofzitz said:it's a pain because comedonal type acne is a whole different beast. I don't think we should be rough with it but being too gentle doesn't seem to improve it at all, at least in my case.
^^literally my thoughts in two sentences!!
& no, i don't believe i have milia
ya, i would just switch back to the daily cleanser or start with the new one but my skin is still going through something weird from getting all irritated. I stopped in at urgent care and they think it's perioral dermatitis, it isn't red but I have alot of microscopic rash looking things around my mouth and it burns. they prescribed metrogel, a topical antibiotic, so I'm going to be trying that tonight. I know they prescribe that for acne and rosacea as well so hopefully it doesn't aggravate anything. PD can be caused by anything; hormones, stress, common skincare ingredients (sls is a big one and is actually in cetaphil), moisturizers, and topical steroid cream abuse (I don't use any so it's not that). in the meantime, I'm hoping the rest of my face won't breakout or go any crazier than it has been!
have you decided what you're going to do as far as modifying your skin care regimen? are you going to just have your skin time off and see what happens still? try Dan's regimen(btw I have used his cleanser and do not like it at all although lots of people love it. I think it's the most drying thing I have ever used even though it feels gentle)? keep doing what you're doing?
i've had perioral dermatitis, it was just a bit & it was on my chest -- it was from using the tactupump there (it was like only the second time using it) so i just didn't use it there for two days and it went away. i just moisturized the PD more often with the Cerave, so it could heal quicker!
i hope the metrogel helps you out!!
i haven't decided yet, what i'm going to do because i just started a new job, and it's overnight shifts, and i don't want to possibly have my skin look worse than it already does, because we have to tie our hair back, and i just know people are gonna stare 
but... since i did just start this job, as soon as i get my first pay cheque i'm heading straight to a naturopath, and hopefully from there i can heal my skin!! &i'm thinking, i might as well buy Dan's regimen!!
have you tried his lotion? it looks really good, but i wanted to hear your opinion on it too!
ok, the metrogel felt great upon application and then the areas that I applied it started swelling! it was terrifying, I guess I have an allergy? they lrescribed me clindamycin instead but i havent tried it because im scared now haha. I'll just have to wait for it to clear on its own I suppose. good news is my skin is tolerant enough to start using the cetaphil daily cleanser (its super flaky and not great looking but it doesnt feel uncomfortably tight) so hopefully thatll help clear things up as im breaking out pretty badly on my left cheek and around my mouth. im thinking about trying the aveeno clear complexion moisturizer; it's got a tad bit of salicylic acid in it so maybe that'll agree with me.
I have tried the regimen products although I didn't use them the way you are supposed to(didn't moisturize my whole face and didn't use the huge amount of benzoly peroxide it calls for). dans cleanser feels great but it was way too drying for me. it didn't make my face feel all that tight but I have never dried my skin out like that with any other cleanser. his benzoly peroxide is great, it doesn't have anything extra in it so it's quite drying but I don't remember having any problem using it. even at the start.and it is huge! I don't use nearly as much as they recommend, but it's awesome as far as treatments go if the ingredient works for you the lotion I actually had a problem with. it broke me out some, not bad but it did( ive used other things with jojoba in it and they haven't agreed with me so that might be it) so I haven't continued using it. its also yellow because of the licorice extract so sone people have an issue with it giving their skin a bit of a tan color. my skin is olive toned and i never noticed anything. it's very moisturizing though, I would definitely try it. the biggest issue I had with the regimen was that you'd get all flakey and then pile lotion on, so you'd end up with this layer of gunk on your skin. like if I was in the shower i could scrape it all off and there'd be alot of residue. I never tried adding in the aha because I'm not sure what it is that broke me out in the moisturizer but that might be in the aha lotion as well.
congrats on getting a new job! I'm a stay at home mom so I don't see people much but I know when I go out I'm uncomfortable wearing my hair all back out of my face. ugh pimples, they're the worst.
awh!! i hope the clindamycin works for you!!
hopefully the salicylic acid works for you! i've never had much luck with salicylic acid
i actually had pretty oily skin yesterday evening (which almost NEVER happens), so i'm thinking im gonna have to switch over to a more 'drying' type cleanser, so i think Dan's cleanser should be alright!
i'm eager to try the lotion because of the licorice ingredient in there!! it looks like it'd work well to calm the skin haha
thank's for your input on the products!! it just reassured me to at the least, try them out!!
if the skin does flake, can't you just peel off the flakes?! or is that bad? because that's what i usually do hahaa 
i think you should at least try the aha lotion, like a sample/travel size. at least then you can know for sure if it's good or bad.
thank you!! && yeah, damn cc's and pimples SUCK !!
hopefully! ive never given anything with salicylic acid time to work because ive always relied on BP and get too paranoid to go without it. I did order the trial size of dans aha, I have yet to try it though! I actually have very oily skin which is why those creamier cleansers don't do me many favors. my main issue is dehydration I think, since I've never used a moisturizer. I was using the cleanser and BP from this site without the moisturizer and my skin was the clearest it has ever been. just flake city haha. so if you tolerate a moisturizer itll probably be great for you. once I flaked enough skin off, the comedones started going away but i couldnt keep up on the regimen the way i was doing it as it was just too drying. dans cleanser does feel nice though, I think I may just be sensitive to something in it since so many other people swear by it. I always am tempted to try it again because it feels so nice and you dont feel tight after washing but my skin needs to recover for like a week each time. the moisturizer reviews vary, some love it, others hate it, mostly it seems because of the yellow color. if you follow the regimen to a t, you aren't supposed to do any physical exfoliation to get rid of the flakes. the aha is supposed to take care of that for you. I know aha is effective for me at least because it is in the toner from proactiv and whenever I stopped using that step my skin would get all flaky.
i'm definitely gonna try out dan's cleanser then, because i do need to have a 'clean' feel if i plan on doing any chemical peels -- so they can absorb better into my skin.
;o how do you go without a moisturizer?!! if i tried that (which i have), i get an uncomfortably tight feeling on my skin!
On 9/19/2016 at 11:19 PM, sosickofzitz said:I was using the cleanser and BP from this site without the moisturizer and my skin was the clearest it has ever been. just flake city haha.
so the cleanser and BP helped you with your closed comedones?! ;o OMGG even more reasons for me to try it!
did the BP bleach your skin at all, or your stuff if you weren't careful (like pillowcases, etc.)
i don't really mind if there's a yellow color, as long as i don't look noticeably yellow haha
you should try out the AHA and tell me how it goes!!
yes, I got super dry from lack of moisturizer but my skin was probably 90 percent smooth and clear so I would definitely recommend trying it. my breakouts were more u der control after that point and i switched to a different cleanser and just spot treated with BP for a few months until i started breaking out around my forehead and temples again. benzoyl peroxide will not bleach your skin, it will make you more sensitive to the sun so you'll likely either get a bit pinker or tanner if anything. I only use BP on certain parts of my face (I don't breakout all over all of the time, mainly t zone type stuff, chin, nose, inner cheek area, etc.) and my skin has never been a different color than the parts of my face that I don't apply it. when you first start using it, if youve never used that i gredient, its going to burn and its going to make you red. i dont get red or burny from it after a bit, but if i stop using it im sensitive to it all over again. it will, bleach your pillowcases if you are using alot of it or not letting it dry long enough. i have never had issues with it bleaching my shirt collars or eyebrows or anything of that sort that some people say happens though. I also dislike the wait times recommended by the regimen; the longer I wait between steps the drier my skin gets. and I also wouldn't use quite as much product as they recommend unless you have true inflammatory acne. when I did use the moisturizer, I would get like this caked on ness of skin and product that I could scrape with my fingernail and that just didn't sit well with me. it also gave me those sore under the skin pimples, but alot of people have no issues with it. believe me,I wish I could find a moisturizer that agrees with me. my skin is always tight and uncomfortable feeling, I suppose I just got used to it. currently im experimenting with the aveeno clear complexion moisturizer, hopefully itll help and not make my face nuts. though it might do it anyway with the switch in birth control again. I seriously considered just going off it but I ended up with a new kid each time I've tried! I've also heard that comedones can be cause by not moisturizing enough so ive been wondering for a bit if thats part of my issue. clindamycin hasnt helped me yet, but its only beem two days. it isnt irritating though so thats good! i cant use BP on my upper lip area or I'd try that, it turns it beat red. since I don't wear makeup flakes don't get accentuated and I just deal with them....and I literally just repeated everything I wrote two posts ago, sorry!
woah!! thanks for all this info!!
this Tactupump that i'm using (and have been using for three months now), has made my skin look more pink, which i hate!! i use sunscreen, and i put on A LOT of moisturizer!! since the Tactupump has 2.5% BP in it, i think i should be able to just start using dan's BP without any issues, since my skin's basically adjusted to it now. and yeah, the waiting times do seem long!! i mean, i use my Tactupump before i'm going to bed, so i quickly take a shower, apply the Tactupump, then apply moisturize and go to sleep -- i don't have the patience or energy to wait to go to sleep lol
i've noticed my skin is more flaky now, maybe it's from over exfoliation from the Tactupump (since it's 0.1%adapalene and 2.5%BP), so since my three months is up, i'm just gonna take the leap of faith and stop everything i'm doing with my skin... after my consultation with a naturopath tho (that's coming up soon!! so excited)
11 hours ago, sosickofzitz said:when I did use the moisturizer, I would get like this caked on ness of skin and product that I could scrape with my fingernail and that just didn't sit well with me. it also gave me those sore under the skin pimples
ughh!! i know that feeling! i just researched a little on the moisturizer from this site, and it has jojoba oil in it. i'm not sure if my skin will be okay with it, so i think i'll just order the small size of each (cleanser, bp, and moisturizer).
have you checked out this list: http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/330166-good-bad-birth-control-pills-and-implants-for-acne/ to see if there's another alternative bcp you can go on that'll help with your skin?!
i literally just bought some lancets for the purpose of extracting my cc's. i just used two today to see how my skin turns out after those two (basically a patch test) before i do a larger area/attempt to extract more cc's... and HOLY MOLY the one cc that was larger in diameter than my others, but still flat almost (under the skin) i ever so lightly pricked and very gently squeezed, SO MUCH sh!t came out, i was in shock!! i didn't expect that much 
i know if i tried to squeeze that one out without pricking an opening for it first, nothing would've gotten out, and there'd be a red mark from all the pressure, but this way, there wasn't a red mark left behind because i barely had to use any pressure!!. i'm a little worried though. do you think this way of extracting could cause scarring (like the little pits that are apparently permanent)?! i mean, i guess i'll see what happens with the ones i just extracted
if done incorrectly, I'm sure extractions can cause scarring. however, none of the extractions I had from my facial scarred...but they did scab and we're a bit pink for awhile. you do much more damage with your fingers than with an extraction tool. isn't it so super satisfying to get all that junk out of there!?
awesome. ya, none of the extractions I had done scarred, though I was a bit scabby for a few days and had to resist the temptation to pick them all off. I've seen alot of people say that extractions are the only thing that helps them get rid of them and do them regularly, either themselves or by a professional, so hopefully it works for ya!
Heyy again!!!
I haven't been on here for like, 2 months almost, because i was waiting to update y'all on my skin ifit improved... well guess what, IT IMPROVED!!! i barely have any closed comedones now, and if i do, i simply prick them with a lancet and gently squeeze out what's in there, and that seems to do the trick without giving me any marks or scars!!
i went to a naturopath at the end of September, and i was told to go gluten-free (which i mostly was anyways) and dairy-free (meaning i couldn't even have butter, or ghee, or probiotics derived from dairy!!) i started that whole gluten-free dairy-free diet after Thanksgiving here in Canada (i think October 10 or something like that), and ever since, holy moly, my skin is a lot better!! my skin wasn't that horrible before, but it is so much clearer now in photos especially! i really think that it was the strict dairy-free part that helped my skin tremendously. i also started taking Canadian Bitters (these drops that help with digestion), and a tea that my naturopath made custom for me. i also take probiotics (non-dairy of course) at 35billion strength.
i continued my regular regimen for my skin (10 seconds using CeraVe cleanser on entire face, then moisturizing with CeraVe lotion). i've slowly weaned off the Tactupump, and instead, have introduced the Makeup Artist Choice's Bell Evolve .50 Retinol Lotion that i use every other daywhen i go to sleep. I also occasionally do a Mandelic Acid Peel (25%) from Makeup Artist's Choice
my confidence is so much more up now that my skin is nearly cleared off fully. i just have slight hyperpigmentation, but that seems to be improving steadily!!!