Hi there. First off I want to make it clear that I have not used any Acne.org products or followed the regimen in about 4 years. It has been a long time since I have been on this website but I wanted to come back and share my experience with the regimen looking back on things, knowing what I do now.

I wouldn't say I ever had severe acne, but it was probably moderate at the very least. It started hitting me hard later than most teens... I was probably 16-17 when I actually started getting any acne at all. I had confidence issues and whatnot just like most people who are in their teens or early 20's and dealing with acne. Especially in college with parties and how social your life becomes. My acne was at its worst between the ages of 18-22 I would say, and I started the regimen when I was 20. I did it for at least 1 year consistently, and then off and on for another year.

The regimen works to clear skin. No doubt about it. It has side effects like dryness, redness, etc. but it definitely works if you stick with it and do it exactly as described. It was tough at times to stick with it but after about 4-5 weeks my skin was very clear. After 2-3 months on the regimen I was 100% clear. No joke. I never even thought it was possible for me but it worked and it felt like the time commitment and side effects were worth it.

Eventually I grew tired of spending 30-45 minutes morning and night "getting ready" and stopped the regimen. It only took a couple weeks before I started breaking out again. I was about 21 at this time and ended up going on/off the regimen until I was close to 23 years old and my skin finally had naturally cleared up enough to where I did not need to follow it. I still had minor acne after that for a few years. Until just recently I have used typical drug store acne washes and basic face lotion, but nothing special. I am now 27 and today I only use natural soaps to wash my face once a day when I shower, and I moisturize using a basic face lotion after. I will get random zits here and there today but for the most part my skin is acne free. It also helps that I have a beard now so when I do get a random zit, half the time you cannot even see it.

So the regimen worked for me... but looking back I wish I had never done it. Today I am dealing with extremely dry skin on my face every single day no matter what I do. This is why I switched to only all-natural cleansers. I cannot even get water on my face without it getting super dried out. I have to use so much moisturizer that my face then appears ridiculously oily the rest of the day. In a way this is worse than acne ever was just due to the inconvenience of it as an adult. Logistically it is a pain in the butt when I travel, am running late for work, go in the pool, anything.

There is no doubt in my mind that this all stems from the regimen. The amount of benzoyle peroxide you are putting on your face and the side effects at the time will eventually catch up to you and essentially become permanent side effects, even years after quitting the regimen and having clear skin. I am not writing this to bash the regimen at all. Like I said, it definitely works and has no question helped a lot of people. But looking back now years later and being much more mature than I was when I used the regimen, it just isn't worth it.

Everyone can decide for themselves what they use to treat their acne, and trust me I know how it feels to have bad acne and feel helpless. But my honest recommendation is stick with basic gentle cleansers and moisturizers and steer clear of the harsh chemicals like benzoyle peroxide entirely. It may be rough but teaching yourself to not care about your acne is the key. The truth is that we care about it more ourselves than anyone else ever would. I always had tons of great friends, had great times at parties and sporting events in college, never had any troubles with girls at all... but I beat myself up over my acne anyway. Most of us will grow out of it, so just keep that in mind as you work through it. All I know is that today I wish I never followed the regimen because of the lasting negative effects on my skin that I am still trying to work through today, even now that I am acne free. It cleared my acne but created an entirely different problem in the process.

We all have different skin and react to products differently so who knows if you will experience the same results as I did. But I hope this helps some of you. Natural products are the way to go in my opinion. You will thank yourself down the road.