Acne.org Products
HikeLover I might suggest the AHA lotion that is sold here on the site. It's awesome. I was really skeptic - as you can read in this thread - and had some initial purging. But now I wouldn't go without it. And really, in the huge fight against acne, the $16 for the tube isn't too bad.
Hello people!
Well, it's stress time (super busy at work, lots of family stuff, PMS, and classes start tomorrow) but I am holding up pretty well.
One larger pimple - probably hormonal - on the side of my chin right now. Not huge, but it's been about 4 days and there's no visible or palpable head. That's kind of annoying. It's probably going to take forever to go away. Pretty much nothing anywhere else, though! Some old stuff is taking a LONG time to fade, and that's annoying. Wish I could speed that up.
I've decided to try a different moisturizer because I needed one with SPF. Having sunblock as a separate step is too much in the morning and sometimes I forget. I don't want to forget. So I went and bought the Olay sensitive skin with SPF 15 that Dan has recommended for so long. I know that they recently changed the formula and it now includes Avobenzones which people aren't thrilled about, but I am going to try it. Today was the first time using it and it felt fine. A little thicker and it has the SPF smell (which I LOVE). It didn't screw up my makeup either, so that's good.
I also have a makeup primer from MAC that I want to try. Actually, I used it today and I just realized how stupid it is to introduce 2 new things at once. If I break out, I can't tell which it is! I'll probably stop with the primer unless I absolutely need it for a certain day (like this Friday will be a long one).
I hope everyone else is doing well with their regimen!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand we're dropping the Olay.
I don't know if it's my cycle, or the moisturizer, but I have 7, yes 7, zits. Only three of which are small and easily popped. The other 4 are large, painful, swollen and ugly. Two on my chin, one on my cheek and one on my cheekbone (which I think might be two because it's so big and painful).
I am ordering a large bottle of Dan's moisturizer as we speak. Not having this crap!
Yeah, I think that was the addition of the avobenzones. But my regular sunscreen has those, and it never caused a problem. (At least I think it does...) At least I can use the Olay on my hands and chest. I never put sunscreen on those areas enough.
Anyway, I ordered a 16 oz bottles of the cleanser, BP and moisturizer. I go through the cleanser quite quickly because I've discovered a few different uses for it. It's a great makeup brush cleanser and body wash. I also use it to shave my legs after I've exfoliated them with St. Ives Apricot Scrub. I almost never have a problem with razor burn anymore (previously an issue). I'm glad the cleanser is cheap. I wasn't going to order more yet, since I still have about 8 oz left, but I figure it'll save on shipping.
I do have good news. Even though I'm broken out, I've been getting quite a few compliments about how glowy and pretty my skin looks. So, the zits suck, but the rest of it looks great. It's nice to hear, especially considering my summer tan is fading, so the glow is actually healthy skin, not tan.
Also, I think I am going to up my nightly BP to about 1 1/2 or 2 pumps until this most recent flare up goes away. In the future, I will likely have a regimen that coincides with my cycle. When I'm ovulating and menstruating, more BP. During the down time, 1 pump will be enough. That should work.
Halon,
I think you are doing so well. I've been changing things up here and there for the past months. I was on DKR regiment months ago, I had flaky, red, irritated skin. It wasn't working. I switched to proactiv to get me through my wedding and it worked. Fast forward 4 months and my face still had a slight pink/red tint and acne on proactiv, so now I'm on 2 weeks back on DKR. I'm using different products this time though...
Alpha Hydrox Cleanser
Proactiv BP (only bc I was too nervous to go back to using Dan's, my face burned too much)
Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion
It's been 2 weeks so far... lots of the blackheads are surfacing and kind of falling out? Is that normal? Some are becoming inflamed though... I have about 4 red blemishes right now. I have a habit of picking. I've tried numerous times to stop. Then I pick scabs because I hate dark scabs sitting on my face and half way peeling. I don't really "scar" per say, it does turn reddish, then fades after about 1 1/2 weeks to 2 weeks. My face is slowly losing the redness. Hoping that it clears up this acne that is coming out and then prevents it from more and more...
Thanks for keeping up with your log.
Wow, it's been a long time. I guess that's good news!
The regimen is still working very well. I do still get hormonal acne, but the severity has gone down. I don't think it will ever go away unless I get meds for it. I don't think I want to do that though. I'd rather have normal (for me) hormone levels than perfectly clear skin. What I get can be covered.
Good news for now, I'm still using mineral makeup and only on my cheeks and chin for coverup. I use it on my nose to even skin tone, but other than that, makeup isn't necessary. Woo!!
Sorry about the complete lack of posting. I'm in my last semester of undergrad and trying to 1) get straight A's, 2) dealing with a horrible roommate and her creepy anti-social brother, 3) savoring the last few months. Time is going too fast on one hand, not fast enough on the other!
Still doing the regimen day and night. 1 1/2 pumps BP at night, 1 in the morning. Dan's moisturizer in the morning, AHA @ night.
Thanks to everyone who is still following along! And to others on the regimen, keep going and good luck!
Keep going, Enry! If you're read and flaky, try backing off on the BP a little bit. You should still be using less than half a pump. If you're using the right amount, try just once a day at night.
So many people give up right at the beginning because the regimen Dan outlines makes them red, dry, and/or flaky. Just adjust it to what works for you. It may take longer - it did for me - but in the end, it is so worth it!
STICK WITH IT and make it work for you!!
Hello my peeps! How is everyone doing??
Things are GREAT for me. This is my last semester of college, and even though I'm super stressed, my skin looks awesome. I haven't been super-dedicated lately with the regimen, but I'm thinking that's ok, because my skin is doing fine. As long as most of the week I'm dedicated, I can skip an app or two of BP.
Even hormonal acne has gone way down! My sister has noticed a correlation between the severity of her hormonal acne and the severity of her period, so I'm going to watch that and see if there's a link. Hopefully I won't be able to tell because the Acne.org regimen is SO FREAKING AWESOME.
The best news it that I had to make my own graduation announcements and my mom really wanted a picture on them. I didn't have time to take one, and I couldn't find any good ones from my friends of just me that were close enough to make a decent picture. Eventually, I poked through my pictures I took keeping track of my regimen progress and I found the PERFECT picture. So, not only does my skin look amazing - even makeupless - this site saved me hours of photo searching and manipulating! Woo!
Sorry, this probably makes little to no sense, but I'm on my 3rd cup of coffee and am totally wired. 
So how is everyone else that's started the regimen? Y'all still with it?
Hola!
I'm at 5.5 weeks and still breaking out (I just incorporated AHA, so that's one of the reasons) but I have faith in the regimen after reading your blog. Thanks for continuing to update us even though you're clear. I can't wait to be where you are. Sigh. Patience is a virtue.
Hi Linhova!
That time period from 1-2 months is the hardest, because it's when all the slow progress happens and you don't see immediate results. But that's because you can't see what's going on under the surface. It takes more than a week for a breakout to surface, so it's likely that all the stuff you have now was forming earlier. BP stops it from forming, so once you're up to full strength (AND GO SLOW FOR THE BEST RESULTS), the results will seem really dramatic. I remember going from broken out to clear quickly after a couple months.
And yeah, the AHA takes some getting used to. But it's worth it!
Stick to your guns and you'll make progress!
Hello! I think your skin is looking amazing. It also gives me hope that mine will clear up (I find that our breakouts look similar...at least to me).
I have hormonal breakouts...stress induced I am sure, and it probably doesn't help that I am 20 - prime time age for acne. I am taking Yazmin birth control, but have yet to deduce how it is working since it hasn't even been two weeks. I have also only been doing the regimen for two weeks.
Keep it up, your skin is an inspiration!
Hello! I think your skin is looking amazing. It also gives me hope that mine will clear up (I find that our breakouts look similar...at least to me).
I have hormonal breakouts...stress induced I am sure, and it probably doesn't help that I am 20 - prime time age for acne. I am taking Yazmin birth control, but have yet to deduce how it is working since it hasn't even been two weeks. I have also only been doing the regimen for two weeks.
Keep it up, your skin is an inspiration!
Thanks to everyone who has checked in! I am STILL clear. And I mean completely clear. No make up, no concealer, no hormonal breakouts. CLEAR CLEAR CLEAR. For Lent I gave up all makeup except mascara (taking the time to devote to introspection) and I have absolutely no qualms about it. Most of my friends didn't even notice I wasn't wearing makeup.
So - here's where I've settled:
Morning: cleanse, 1 pump BP, 1 pump moisturizer, sunscreen
Evening: cleanse, 1 pump BP, 1 1/2 pumps moisturizer
I will occasionally skip the morning set because I totally can get away with it without consequences. If I do it too often, I'll get a tiny whitehead on the side of my nose.
I can't take pictures with my camera right now, but will find some recent ones that show what my skin looks like. It's beautiful, frankly.
The Regimen is amazing. If you're on it, stay with it. If you haven't started, START NOW.
So, I haven't uploaded pictures in forever. I want to show everyone that this is STILL working for me.
These are mostly from late May/early June. I'm usually the one behind the camera, so this is what I've got.
There you go! A full month of clear skin. I do have one healing on my chin right now that was deep and not fun, but it was totally my fault. Not only did I not do the regimen properly, but I was wearing sunscreen and bugspray and working out. I was dumb. oh well, it's almost gone.
How are you doing today? I am definitely thinking about starting the regimen as prescription topicals and accutane have not helped much. This log is one of my favorites as it did not follow the conventional timeline and for me, my acne treatments NEVER EVER EVER follow the conventional timeline. It gives me hope.
Thanks