i've been on this for a week now, just thought i'd leave a quick update..

the regimen is very easy and quick, so much more so than dans.

for the first few days, my skin got a lot better, red marks started to fade a lot which is great!

a few days later i started to break out, each day i wake up with 1 or 2 more!

another thing i've noticed is that my skin is VERY oily. i'm not sure if anyone else has noticed this but it's probably just me, and it's even worse than with moisturiser.

i will update if anything changes.

quick update - had the worst breakout ive had in years!

i've had to go back to dan's regimen because of important events coming up, which i'm really annoyed about. but i will probably try again in a few weeks time, it was worth a try though

I've been using this regimen for 6 days now and I have noticed great improvement. My acne has never really been that bad (probably upper side of mild) but I saw an almost immediate reduction in size and redness of pimples. One question though - I have rather sensitive skin, and my face gets a slightly sunburned look for the rest of the day after washing (no dryness, no burning, just redness). Has anyone else experienced this?

I've been using this regimen for 6 days now and I have noticed great improvement. My acne has never really been that bad (probably upper side of mild) but I saw an almost immediate reduction in size and redness of pimples. One question though - I have rather sensitive skin, and my face gets a slightly sunburned look for the rest of the day after washing (no dryness, no burning, just redness). Has anyone else experienced this?

My guess is that it's just your skin getting used to it, it's common on the regimen when people use benzoyl peroxide

Botchla,

Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this regimen!

I have tried EVERYTHING for my acne. (I have mild to moderate acne. Typically have 3-4 breakouts at any time.) I've tried Sephora, Proactiv, Rodan & Fields, the oil regimen (almond oil) and much more, and NOTHING has cleared me up all the way.

THIS regimen is FINALLY clearing me up!

For anyone who is considering trying this, give it a FULL 3 weeks before giving up on it.

The first week I started using this, not much changed.

The second week, I started breaking out quite a bit.

The end of second week/third week, my large spots had cleared up, but I had small patches of little red bumps in about 4-5 different areas.

The fourth & fifth week I was pretty clear.

I just completed my fifth week. My skin is not 100%, but its the most clear its been in as long as I remember!

Oh, and not only does it work, but its cheap!!!

So, thank you for sharing, Botchla!!!

I have been dealing with acne for about 2 and a half years. I have tried around 3 different product lines that either made my acne worse or didn't have much effect at all. After using the Clean and Clear Blackhead Scrub and Clean and Clear Moisturizer. I have stopped breaking out with these huge cystic acne pimples everyday and I lost a huge amount of my acne and the its only been like a week I have been using these products. You are a life saver who ever posted this

I may have to try this

On 10/13/2003 at 9:19 AM, Botchla said:

this is an updated version of the original post. most has been unchanged, but i have changed some parts to make them clearer, and i added the tips section at the bottom to answer many questions people have.

first off i want to say that i'm not a salesman or here to sling a product. i have had acne for approximately 10 years. from my early teens until recently (i'm in my early 20's). i have tried everything and nothing has worked. neutrogena products are crap. i have finally stumbled upon an absurdly simple regimen that has cleared me completely.

my hope is that i can help 1 other person get a clearer face, if not a completely clear one. i know what acne can do to a person mentally, i am that person. it has destroyed my self-esteem and confidence as it does so many others. sorry if this post is very long, just trying to be helpful.

so anyways, here's what i did. a friend of mine several years ago recommended a product to me that he said worked well for him. thinking not much of it, since i had tried everything else i figured i would give it a try. so i bought the tube. it is called "clean & clear continuous control", made by johnson & johnson. here is a picture of the stuff so you know exactly what it looks like.. ( [Edited link out] ) i began using the product and within about 2 weeks my face had cleared significantly. this product remained in my regimen for about 2 years and did a really good job. i only got a pimple every now and then. nothing big at all. of course after a while i got greedy and figured there was something out there that would clear me 100%. i stopped using the C&C continuous control for about a year, and had disastrous results with other products. nothing else worked.

then i started reading stuff about the acne cure. i was reading how it is important to use salicylic acid AND benzoyl peroxide both.

the reason of course is that salicylic acid (or BHA, beta-hydroxy acid) has a couple of functions. one, it promotes healthy exfoliation by making your dead skin cells shed off. it clears the surface of the skin of dead skin and oil. second, it is oil-soluable, so it has the added ability of being able to loosen and remove oil and dead skin cells from the inside of the pore itself.

benzoyl peroxide's purpose is to create an oxygen reaction which kills bacteria on the skin (and if you're lucky, in the pores too).

the problem is if you use only one, it won't work 100%. the salicylic acid does not kill the p. acnes bacteria. also, without the salicylic acid, the benzoyl peroxide usually stays at the surface, killing only surface bacteria. this is because the pores are still clogged with dead skin and oil, and the BP cannot penetrate the pore.

with this knowledge in hand, i realized i had to do both. the BP i chose was a product i knew worked about 90%. it was of course the C&C continuous control. now this is 10% BP, most people tell you to avoid something with that high of a concentration. ignore it. i can tell you from personal experience, 10% works better than 3.5% or 2.5% (or, at least this product does, which so happens to be 10%, coincidence, who knows, but 10% is the only choice for this product). sure it is more irritating and drying. but that's only at first. any irritation or dryness you experience will go away within 2-3 weeks, max.

so i knew i had to get a salicylic acid product. i first tried the neutrogena oil-free acne wash cream cleanser. crap. didn't work, plus it was way too drying to use in conjunction with the BP wash.

finally i figured i trusted the clean and clear line, so i decided to get a second product from them. this is the C&C blackhead clearing scrub. here is a picture of the stuff.. ( [Edited link out] ) this is for three reasons, one it's the C&C brand which i know is good, second it contained 2% salicyclic acid, and third, it has microbeads to scrub away dead skin. the microbeads are probably bunk, but they look cool at least, and the product still does its thing.

anyways, since this is so long, i'll get to the point. i started using these products together and i have been 100% clear since they began to work. i have been completely clear for months and months. (completely unheard of for me) my acne is cured with these two amazing products. that's it!

here's the simple regimen i follow:

wet my face with warm/slightly hot water. wash with the C&C blackhead clearing scrub (salicylic acid), massage around/into my face for about 45 seconds to a minute. wash it off. immediately apply the C&C continuous control (benzoyl peroxide) and GENTLY massage that into your face for about 30 seconds to 45 seconds, then wash it off. pat dry with a clean towel.

you will notice that when you apply the BP cleanser to your face, after the other wash, your skin will feel SUPER smooth. it feels so nice. then, after you wash off the C&C continous control, you will feel your pores tingling deep inside for a bit after you wash. kind of like noxema if you've ever used that. it's a good feeling. you can really tell it's working.

that is ALL. in the morning, use ONLY the SA wash. then, at night before bedtime, use BOTH.

this regimen is SIMPLE and there is only TWO PRODUCTS for a reason. i believe less is more when it comes to treating your skin. putting too much crap on your face can be bad and make you break out more.

i know i talk about these products like they're god, but i truely believe in them. they are the only two things that have worked for me in 10 years. the C&C product line is GOOD STUFF. plus, it's cheap (about $4.50 USD for each tube).

i hope this helps someone out. i really do.

NOTES & TIPS:

-the SA wash is not drying or irritating. almost the opposite, it makes your skin smooth and nice feeling. the BP is the drying/irritating one. that is why you use it only once a day.

-it is not neccessary to scrub these products in. in fact, scrubbing hard will irritate your skin more and it won't work as well. being GENTLE and massinging it around softly works just as well, if not better.

-some people may need to modify this regimen. this is what works best for me and most people. some wash with both products 2x a day, because their skin can handle it. it is up to the individual to judge. for me, using the BP wash only once a day works just as well as using it twice a day.

-when you use the BP wash, i squirt about the amount of toothpaste i would put on my toothbrush (for estimate). then, i DO NOT apply this paste directly to my skin. i rub it around my palms until it's spread around and i can put my hands on my face and massage it around the skin, evenly. applying it directly to the skin will cause much more irritation.

-this regimen works MORE the LONGER you use it. it takes a little while to reach the full effect. you will begin to see very noticable results (almost clearing of complexion) around 1 month, for some it is less time.. 1 month is a good average. at this point, you may get 1 or 2 pimples every now and then. much less that you normally get. keep using it. at the 2 month mark, it will be fully working and you should never get any new marks, and any bumps under the skin or blackheads should be gone. by three months, your old marks should have completely faded and you skin tone evened out. you will be extremely surprised how much your skin looks like that of (insert your favorite celebrity here). now, months later after i started this regimen, i still look in the mirror and it puts a smile on my face. it is still amazing to me, even after time.

-this one is a HUGE one. here it goes: DO NOT PICK OR SQUEEZE. if you continue to do this, your face will never get better, and you won't see nearly as much improvement. TRAIN YOURSELF OFF OF THIS. so many times i would go to the mirror every morning or night and get up close and pick at every single thing (even things that weren't noticable unless you get right up to your face). of course i'd end up with red marks all over my face and look 10x worse than i did before i started. this is just something you have to force yourself to stop. as much as you want to, do NOT let yourself pick or squeeze. (unless it is completely obviously ready to be popped, for example, an obvious white head that you can open with a pin). if you must pop it, be as gentle as possible, and STOP as soon as you see any clear liquid come out. if you can get over the initial month without picking or squeezing, you will naturally stop within time. when your face becomes clear, you will have nothing to pick or squeeze at. it kinda works for itself. i know it's hard to stop, but this is one of the most important points.

-some people seem to have sensitive skin, and SOME people experience an initial breakout. most, it seems, do not. this shouldn't last past a week or two. most people get scared and bail at this point. unfortunate, because quickly thereafter everything will quickly clear up. those who stick with it past an original breakout end up very surprised of how it clears things up and begins working right after that. don't be scared of this, i would say judging by responses that only about 25% of people experience an initial breakout.

-for guys, i shave immediately before the evening or morning regimen. after i finish shaving, i got straight into washing my face.

-add things to this regimen at your own risk. some people want to add in other things like AHA lotions, this and that. i do not think that other products besides this are necessary. these two work enough. using AHA or other acids on your face often times just irritates it more than anything. i know when i use AHA lotion, it makes me break out. so if you're using my regimen but also using 5 other things on your face, don't blame me if it doesn't work.

hey everyone, been trying this regimen for about a week now..really liking the results so far. I'm a male college athlete 20 years old. i have used proactive in high school and that cleared all of the acne i had on my chin, which is the only place i had it at the time. stopped using it, after my face was completely clear. First year in college, i began using benzoyl peroxide after starting to get some mild acne, it worked great, but like Botchla, i wanted to be completely clear, so after about 2 years in college i stopped using the BP trying some other stuff, had terrible results with everything else and I'm trying to get my skin back under control right now. i had never used the SA with the BP before, but it seems to be working well so far. the only problem i ever had when i use to use BP which made me so angry, i would use it in the shower, and for about maybe 2 hours my face would look great, but i always felt it made it so much more oily, t-zone would just be covered in oil. before i came upon this regimen, right before it actually, i bought a clarisonic and used it with the dermalogica clay cleanser for about 2 weeks. made my face a little clearer, but i knew in the back of my head i should go to BP since i knew it had worked before. the question i have is i just bought this clarisonic for $150 and was hoping it could still be useful in this regimen somehow considering its the most I've ever spent on a skincare product. does anybody use it with this regimen? and what with maybe? please let me know it would be greatly appreciated. i haven't been using it for this first week with this regimen because i wanted to let my skin get back use to the BP, while newly incorporating SA. Thanks!

Guys I am trying out the regimen and I have been on it for a week and it seems to be working. I have no moisturizer in my regimen since I have very very oily skin and I know it's not because of using the two products together, my skin is just naturally oily, or gets oily fast I must say. I have had no new acne bumps since I started but and the regimen seems to have already started treating the the scarring; however my skin is not smooth anymore. What I mean by not smooth anymore is that I have started to get moderate small tiny bumps (seems like black head bumps). Does this mean all the dirt and blackheads, acne is coming to the surface or what? Also I would love for everyone to let us know about the time gap between their regimen. I usually wash my face every nine hours but I JuSTSTART (I can literally see small dots of oil appearing, yes I am crazy I look at the skin super close in the mirror) getting oily on the 4th hour mark and by the 6th 7th hour I'm moderately oily, not very shiny but shiny enough irritate me and just enough to be just noticed. Should I start washing every 6 hours or should I stick to the 9 hour gap? Or even more. Please let me know.

Thanks for the regimen botchla

Hope it works for me and everybody

I have a have a question. So I started using this regimen and the first week and a half it was working great! Then entering the second half of the second week, my face started to get worse. Previously I only had acne on my forehead and a little on my left cheek but now it has spread to my entire face. Would this be counted as a initial breakout? Or is it something else I'm doing wrong.

Here are a few more details that might answer some things:

The first half a week I was using a different SA wash. I then switched to the C&C

The Benzoyl wash in from PanOxyl.

Also how long until your SA wash runs out. After using it for about 2 weeks it's almost empty. Is that too much or too little.

This thread has to be bumped so others can see it. I registered here just to post my results in the hope that it helps others. Excuse my spelling and grammar.

I am 30 and a guy and have tried everything and spent thousands and thousands of dollars over the years probably. Some nights i would not even go out to be with friends due to acne. I've even been on accutane as a teenager and dont reccomend it to anyone. Anyways i have been using the 2 clean and clear products once a day since mid june and i am basically clear of acne. Im from canada so the continuous control cleanser has only 5% bp in it not 10% like the one in the usa. It took about a month and a half of using them for it to get to this point. So give it some time.

I only use them once a day when im in the shower. I prefer to use them in the shower because its just easier than trying to use them in the sink, which would make a real mess and take way longer imo. I use the blackhead eraser scrub first, followed by the continuous control cleanser, and i use nothing else not even mosturizer as my skin is adjusted to it now ( at first i had to use moisurizer in the beggining as it made my skin dry and flakey, but now it doesnt). Sometimes if ive had a long day and im too tired or lazy to shower then i dont even wash my face at all. Also i wear a baseball hat pretty much every day because im starting to go bald and i dont even get any acne on my forehead like i used to.

My diet is pretty much crap. i eat whatever i want when i want pizza, burgers, fries, drink beer often and i am still pretty much acne free using these products (knock on wood)

Im a lazy bastard so this system is perfect for me. Sometimes randomly but not often one of those painful under the skin pimples will begin to happen and then i just quickly put some bp gel on it and it takes care of it in a couple days. I use the clean and clear persagel 5% bp. Its good but it will turn white and crusty looking on your face, so its not the best to wear out in public

Also i used to get bacne but i use both these products on my back and neck and shoulders and all that crap is also gone too.

You can buy both these products at wal mart and other places for dirt cheap and each tube last me i dont know probably around 1 month or so. If they ever discontinue either of these products i will seriously drive to every store and buy a lifetime supply of them and just hoard them in my house

Botchla wherever you are i owe you a beer or 20. And thanks to acne.org for having this forum otherwise i would have never found this information. Cheers

4th day trying this. I'm breaking out!. It's the SA! My skin has always reacted better to BP for some reason. It never gets red or irritated or very dry. Whenever I try SA products for some reason my skin breaks out. Should I stop now? and stick only to Continuous Control BP?

I am so glad someone else has done/is doing this! I actually have been using a SA/BP combo on my bacne for a long time. I use St. Ives Green Tea scrub (1% SA) and the AcneFree cleanser (2.5%BP). I actually just mix both in my hands and use it. Unfortunately it was too harsh for my face (as were other combos I tried w/ and w/o scrubs), but I did find a SA/BP regimen that has cleared me up completely for the moment: It also has niacinimide and green tea extract.

hm interesting bt wht abt side effects such as dryness, redness, redmarks dont leave etc??

nd the both things sa and bp has to b washes right?

The dual face cleanser regimen sounds simple to use! This might work well for my 13-yr-old whose got some mildish acne and blackheads. He's really not disciplined enough yet for the DK regimen, but it is something I've begun thinking about for him for down the road. Hopefully this one will be simple enough for him to use daily and help keep his acne in check. Sounds like it may work well on the blackheads, which are a worse problem for him right now than acne, especially on his nose, cheeks and around his mouth.

I had severe acne by age 14 and hoping he won't follow suit...had success with the DKR but don't need it anymore...things appear to be in remission!...and have been acne-free for about 4 years.

Just wanted to post that this regimen absolutely worked for my 16 year old daughter with pretty bad acne. She washes with both products morning and night. Additionally, because her skin is VERY oily, she will follow this regimen with acv (which she leaves on for 10 minutes before rinsing off) and every other night she uses a baking soda scrub before the acv. This does seem time consuming but is well worth a clear complexion and super cheap to boot! Hope this helps someone, as I too suffered from acne and know how awful it is to suffer through. Not everyone has the money or time to keep trying expensive cures. Finally, we use Braggs, as its important for the acv to have the "heart".

Signed in here just to bump this thread for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

This thread was the best thing I ever stumbled upon. if you haven't tried this yet and still battling with acne, get over to wal-mart or whatever store buy both products and start using them TODAY

Bump

I broke up with my gf and i've been stressed, not eating and depressed as hell, and not washing my face for 3 days cause i feel dead inside and i just don't care BUT my face still looks crystal clear.

I will bump this thread till i forget to or they ban me i don't care. More acne sufferers must see this thread. If i would have seen it when it was first made, my life would have been different.

these 2 products changed my damn life, go get them and start using them, you can be on the road to clear skin soon too. The first month will suck a bit till your face gets used to the dryness it causes, but after that your skin will get used to it and your face will not even be dry, i dont even use moisturizer. I used to sometimes get those PAINFUL under the skin acne nodules that lasted forever, but now i dont even get them anymore

I have pasty white skin too, but no god damn acne,

oh ya and all my bacne is long gone too

cheers

bump for my fellow acne sufferers who have not seen this yet. these 2 products are life changing stuff

You may have hit something there my friend , one item of your regimen is exactly what I have in my regimen that works for me. Don't laugh , it really works . I do believe what your saying . Read up on mine ,

I have tried Clean and Clear products in the past and have found them really harsh, so I am reluctant to try them again. I got the 3 step kit with a cleanser, toner, and oil free moisturizer. I noticed slight prickling sensation when using the cleanser but I assumed that was simply due to the product working and cleaning my skin. However, when I used the toner, there was an almost immediate burning sensation and I rushed to wipe it all off. Even with the moisturizer, my skin felt really dry still, and the moisturizer didn't help soothe my skin at all. The next day, my skin was dried out and slightly inflamed (irritated when touched ie. hands, clothes, etc). I know these aren't the same products, but with almost all of the C&C products I've seen, they have a lot of chemicals and dyes which I don't think are very good for the skin. I've found that Clearasil works okay for me though. I may try the C&C again, but I just wanted to let people with sensitive skin know that the products can be very harsh. They were almost as bad for me as the Neutrogena naturals wash, but slightly less intense in terms of drying. (the neutrogena gave me a dried red rash all over my cheeks that lasted for about a week and felt like acid almost the way it scrubbed my skin). Does anyone know any products like this but for sensitive skin? Thanks.

I suffered from moderate to severe acne for 5 years. I tried many cleansing products but many of them did not work or made my acne even worse. I also tried different antibiotics. Most of these antibiotics had many side effects on my body. There was one antibiotic that calmed down the acne symptoms pretty good but this was a very strong one which made me feel bad and turned my hormonal system upside down. This was not an option anymore for me though. Skin treatments are something that were pretty effective for me. I did some chemical peelings which gave my skin an improved look. Yet, the acne still returned. At a certain moment my acne inflamed again. Therefore I started to look for another treatment. I found a beautysalon that offered light treatment against acne. They used blue LED light combined with infrared to treat my acne. I had this treatment four times a week for one month. My acne got much better in this period. I had way less blackheads and whiteheads and my skin looked way smoother. After this month I reduced the number of treatments to 2 times a week. I had no crazy breakouts anymore. Just some whiteheads here and there. Because I wanted to maintain my results I searched the internet for a home LED mask. For home use I found two products: the Illumask and the Aduro LED mask. I bought an Illumask first because of the cheap price. Though when I tried it, it wasn't what I expected. I could only use the mask for 30 times and it wasn't comfortable at all. Yet, the most important thing was that it didn't work. My acne started to return. Therefore I decided to buy the aduro LED mask. I must say that I was really happy that I bought that one. It worked just as I hoped. I got my acne pretty much under control now. The mask is made of a nice material and it fits great. I bought the more expensive one because it has other colours and infra red too. This is what my salon had too. I'm so happy that I have much more control over my acne now. I just use a natural skin cleaner and combine this with the light therapy. If you didn't try light therapy yet, I would advice you to just try. It was the solution for my acne problem!

Broke out after a week don't know if I should continue!

I've been reading this thread and it looks really fishy there's no shortage of positive results from people with next to 0 posts. Just take a look at the last posts. It's really easy to bait us. We try everything and then find something so easy and promising like this. Sounds horrible!

Anyway I still like the BP cleanser (Canada 5%)just not the SA scrub I think it's too rough and causes acne for me. I will keep using the BP cleanser and see if that is better for me. I really like how it feels. I use it in the shower at night then I use Avene cleanance expert as moisturizer. Plus benzoyl peroxide (5%) gel as spot treatment.

Whatever you guys do, DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT purchase the acne regimen from acne.org, it's absolutely HORRIBLE for acne. They say that it may make your acne worse before it gets better, but it's an absolute lie. I've been on it for 6 MONTHS now, only to have my derm ask me what I was using, and how negatively it has impacted my skin. Benzoyl peroxide should be used in moderation, and the regimen recommends smearing it all over the face. It's an absolute no no for anyone with a brain, who comprehends how such a harsh chemical affects the skin. If you want, I can even send you before and after images of how my skin has gone to absolute hell after the regimen.