Hello! I just finished being 4 weeks on The Regimen as well. it is a roller coaster ride, we just have to go through the ups and downs, and soon the ride will end...with clear skin

My skin sounds so similar to yours. I am looking forward to read about your progress!

Stay strong!

Quick background:

• Family history of severe acne (sister went on Accutaine)
• Oily skin
• Mild acne in adolescence
• Stopped birth control pill in mid 20s, acne became worse (scientific point: this changes serum androgen which is acne-causal as per dermatology publications)
• Went on an antiobiotic for 6 months, acne became even worse (moderate to severe) (scientific point: antiobiotics indiscriminantly kill living bacteria in your body, including that which naturally promotes digestive and intestinal health; without good bacteria, your body is less effective at filtering out toxins).

 

I am completing 4th week on the Regimen (this Sunday will be 4 weeks).

• Skin is VERY dry and flaky, reddish, face feels like I have a flaky snake skin
• Get about 1-3 new lesions per day (this is less than "typical" for me)
• Red marks from acne are very prominent and healing very slowly
• NOTE: Jojoba oil was a bad move for me, got 4 new huge lesions on non-standard areas. Works for others.

 

I'm working towards increased water intake and decreased sugar intake. You all are knowledgeable, but generally speaking, there is evidence that increased glycemic load may be responsible for (many bad things: obeisity, diabetes, and) increased prevalance of acne.

That's it for now.

 

Hi Anons and welcome to the board! Your story sounds a lot like mine. I'm also trying to clean up damage done from diane 35 birth control pill (if someone is reading this and thinking of starting this pill for acne, DON'T! it will make you acne worse when you decide to stop it and you can't stay on the pill forever).

I wish you the best of success!

Mystory

6 Week Update

• Acne is essentially gone, just scars now and they're slowly fading
• Breakouts are not daily and generally minor
• I'm still totally flaky, and still reddish (but I got complemented on that because I'm usually very pale, go figure)

Cheers!

7 Week Update

• A minor "setback" - essentially my skin being itself by breaking out; however the lesions are much smaller than I'm used to

   

• DRYNESS/FLAKINESS: I was really struggling with dryness, my face felt like bark and flaked off. I looked around on this site and noticed that people like CeraVe lotion (I got the "cheap" one, not the AM/PM) and got some -> AMAZING difference. I was using the Acne.org lotion before. Now I have real skin on my face and have renewed resolve to be compliant with this regimen. I look like a person! Thank you!

   

• Acne.org lotion (more info): For me personally, it didn't seem to moisturize and burned when I put it on. Also, I suspect that it was responsible for my redness. Once I started CeraVe (2 days ago) skin looks sand feels normal and no burning. There is something in that Acne.org lotion that didn't agree with me.

   

• Jojoba Oil: I tried it again adding only ONE drop (via pipette) to my Acne.org lotion - no good; possibly triggered the latest breakout.

   

7 Week Update

• A minor "setback" - essentially my skin being itself by breaking out; however the lesions are much smaller than I'm used to
• DRYNESS/FLAKINESS: I was really struggling with dryness, my face felt like bark and flaked off. I looked around on this site and noticed that people like CeraVe lotion (I got the "cheap" one, not the AM/PM) and got some -> AMAZING difference. I was using the Acne.org lotion before. Now I have real skin on my face and have renewed resolve to be compliant with this regimen. I look like a person! Thank you!
• Acne.org lotion (more info): For me personally, it didn't seem to moisturize and burned when I put it on. Also, I suspect that it was responsible for my redness. Once I started CeraVe (2 days ago) skin looks sand feels normal and no burning. There is something in that Acne.org lotion that didn't agree with me.
• Jojoba Oil: I tried it again adding only ONE drop (via pipette) to my Acne.org lotion - no good; possibly triggered the latest breakout.

 

 

The acne.org moisturizer is primarily jojoba oil. This has a comedogenic rating from 0-2. From what I've seen on these boards, it works really well for some people but not so well for others.

The other thing is that oil is not a moisturizer so much as a sealant. Jojoba oil is better than some other oils, but it still won't moisturize the way a humectant will. Oil tends to just seal your skin from losing moisture, but it doesn't add moisture. Sealing skin that is dry just keeps it drier because it can't absorb water from the air. CeraVe is probably working better for your skin because a) you may be sensitive to jojoba oil 2) it is based on humectants not oils so it is adding moisture rather than sealing it out

Acne.org lotion ingredients:

Water, Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Methyl Gluceth-20, Squalane, Saccharide Isomerate, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glycyrrhiza glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Sorbitan Olivate, Cetearyl Olivate, PEG-12 Glyceryl Distearate, PEG-23 Glyceryl Distearate, Carbomer, Triethanolamine, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin

9 Week/10 Week Update:

• Not sure what is going on: doing all the same stuff but now breaking out a ton, just like before starting regimen (huge, under the skin horrors)

   

• Some days very red, some days not (no change in regimen other than use of CeraVe moisturizer).

   

• Starting to think that I have something that can't be gotten rid of. I usually respond immediately to treatments but then the acne bounces back with a vengence. I welcome your input, Regimen users.

   

I've lost count of the weeks, but its probably been about 80 days or so.

- Very little is different, other than that I stopped using moisturizer. I think my skin just can't handle it.

- Continue to break out daily - 1 or 2 new actives. However, overall I look better than I did prior to the Regimen. It's hard to tell sometimes though.

- I'm not sure what else to say.