I hate the feeling of my skin after cleansing too! It's uncomfortably dry. I noticed that the last few days, especially in the morning, I'm cleansing for longer than 10 seconds too. I think that's probably making the dryness worse, so I'm going back to keeping it at 10 seconds or less. Hard for me in the morning though because I'm still half asleep and not really focusing on what I'm doing

I think the jojoba will definitely help if you decide to add it in. I think it works well for majority of people (I haven't heard of many people reacting poorly to it though there would be a few like with anything).

How much BP are you using at the moment?

Luckily my skin seems to be adjusted to the amount I'm using morning and night (as far as redness/burning goes), but I'm preparing mentally to go through it all again next week when I increase the amount again.

I'm using the full two pumps... redness and burning isn't severe for me right now, and for some reason my face never itches as some people report. The only really problematic side effect I'm experiencing right now is MAJOR dryness. Like, this morning I woke up... the area around my mouth felt SO tight. I could already see a bunch of flakes even though I hadn't moved my mouth much when I slept. So anyway, I tried opening / closing my mouth, and SOO many flakes appeared!

I don't think my Neutrogena moisturizer is doing enough, at least not at night... I wake up and feel like there's absolutely no moisture. In fact, even right after applying 8 PUMPS of it last night, my skin still felt tight. I feel like I need another factor... maybe a heavier moisturizer at night? I have a lot of Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion sitting around, but I've also heard good things about CeraVe Moisturizing Lotion... I feel like I might go and pick some up today...

I also have some of Dan's old jojoba oil sitting around, but I'm not going to use that, as it's probably like three years old by now. In fact I should probably toss it out for the love of all that is holy. I guess I'll try and find some fresh oil at my local pharmacy while I'm out looking for lotion, hopefully they have the Desert Essence...

The thing I'm worried about is reacting to products I guess... but at the same time, everyone's skin is different, so I can either sit here and worry about it, or I can go out and actually try them. Who knows, they might end up saving my skin from complete erosion! XD

The one thing I don't want to do is back out and start using less BP. I really, REALLY like what BP has done for my skin so far. I just want to press on and let my skin get used to this amount, because if I start using less, I'll just have to go through this phase again eventually.

If you're worried about adding in jojoba / how your skin will react to it then trying out some heavier moisturisers first to see if they help is a good idea (like Cetaphil which is good at night and the burning I was getting from it has stopped - I've heard good things about CeraVe too but I've never used so can't give an opinion on that). I tried a Neutrogena moisturiser in the morning a few days ago and I felt like I had to use a lot of it to make my skin feel more normal - but I think it's still a good moisturiser for the day time - doesn't make my skin look so greasy like cetaphil can.

I know what you mean about having such dry skin around the mouth though - that's been the worst area for my dryness too. I've been afraid to eat in public in case that makes a million flakes appear...

Well I've used Dan's jojoba before and it seemed to work fine... I even scrubbed my face with it and it didn't make matters worse... but I'm not sure about this stuff I got from Trader Joe's. I guess the only way to find out is to test it...

Tonight I think I'm just going to give CeraVe a test run, see how things go.

Day 7 - Evening...

Today during the day I was paranoid about lipline pimples the whole time, but I'm preeeetty sure it's just old stuff getting redder because of the BP.

The regimen is doing a good job of keeping pimples from being as aggressive as they would normally be, except for one in the middle of my stache which has swelled up since I started the reg. The really good thing is, I haven't gotten any painful ones around my mouth! I feel... no pain! Which is awesome considering it hurt to open my mouth at one point XD ... Thanks BP! Also I've been eating lots of sweeties but it hasn't reflected at ALL on my skin thus far. Who knows, maybe I'll pay for it in the near future? lol.

My main problem is still flakiness / dryness. Doing the regimen with CeraVe tonight. If it's not moisturizing enough after a couple days, then I'll switch to Cetaphil at night. That's like, the most moisturizing one I know! If that doesn't do the job, then in I go with the jojoba.

EDIT: Well right after applying CeraVe (4 pumps)... initial impressions... I am feeling more of an overall burn than I did with the Neutrogena, just BP reacting to glycerin I guess, can't really be avoided... however, my round-the-mouth region doesn't really feel as tight as it did with Neutrogena. Anyway, only time will tell... night all!

Day 8

Morning - Woke up with flakes around my mouth again, although I guess my face felt SLIGHTLY more moisturized than it did with Neutrogena. Shaved my stache and undermouth beardlet today... found a new lump in the beardlet... upon closer examination, looks like three smaller ones clustered together... blargh. Face felt super tight after cleansing, burned somewhat after BP application. Also my complexion has gotten noticeably more red: before it kinda came and went. I guess the fun part of the Regimen is just around the corner... put on the CeraVe to test its capabilities as a day moisturizer.

Oh.. just gotta say... this CeraVe moisturizer really does burn the hell out of my face! After application, face turned beet red and I had white circles around my eyes... lol. Oh how I've missed those white circles! (not srs)

Evening - Went for a run around nine. I used to run a whole bunch but ever since I started the reg I've been kinda iffy about it. Last time I ran was Wednesday of last week... anyway. Parts of my face burned a bit more as I sweated. When I got back and checked the mirror, there was some white residue running down my cheeks - I assume unabsorbed moisturizer. Yuck. Baby loves to run in the dark!

I tried something different... waited only 2 minutes after cleansing to apply BP... basically as soon as I started to get that "tight" feeling, went in with BP. The treatment burned much as the moisturizer did in the morning, but this time the burn was more transient and went away after about ten minutes. I assume because I didn't really have the CeraVe on my face anymore.

Applied 8 pumps Neutrogena with 5 drops jojoba mixed in... afterwards still felt tightness around the mouth and my face looked kinda shiny... not to mention red and pissed off... but at least the moisturizer didn't burn like the CeraVe did. Ah well... back to square one I guess. Spent some time worrying about some hyperpigmentation on my lower lipline, couldn't tell if it was new acne coming in or just some old PIH being a nuisance. In the end, didn't come to any conclusions. I know I said I wouldn't overexamine my face, but no matter how small, lipline pimples are the WORST!

Day 9

Morning - My skin was sooooo tight, dry and flaky when I woke up! Flakes literally everywhere I applied the regimen, including my upper neck. It's like the Neutrogena / 5 drops jojoba last night did absolutely nothing :/ Grrrrr... why is it that moisturizers that don't burn end up not moisturizing, and moisturizers that moisturize end up burning?

Regimen this morning... almost no burn after BP. One thing I've noticed is that BP has been shortening pimple lifespan, and also preventing them from going as crazy as they normally would. For example, that bump under my mouth that I noticed yesterday is already flattening out. Used 8 pumps of the useless Neutrogena, no jojoba.

This application marks a week's worth of consistent 2-pump usage... I'd say I've done pretty well in terms of acne, but took a nosedive in terms of dryness, flakiness and irritation. Not too worried though, that's usually how BP works But I do need to get some serious moisture on my skin ASAP!

Today, picked up some new moisturizers... Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion, Eucerin Skin Calming Daily Moisturizing Creme, and Lubriderm Advanced Therapy Lotion. Around midday, tried applying the Aveeno over my earlier Neutrogena moisturizing attempt. Observations... I did feel a little more moisture. However, the Aveeno seemed to ball up pretty bad whenever I passed over areas where I'd applied BP / already moisturized. I tried it on other parts of my body (arm and lower neck) and it didn't ball up. I'm not sure if this is a result of BP, or the previous moisturizer, or what. I'll try Aveeno again with my evening application to make sure.

Also, I did feel a slight burning sensation with Aveeno, especially on irritated areas. Not nearly as extreme as with CeraVe, much more subdued, but definitely still there. We'll see how things go in the evening.

Maybe you should be using even more jojoba oil? Especially since you're using more BP. I think I heard somewhere Dan uses around 12 drops of jojoba oil? I think it's ok to use as much as you feel you need when it comes to moisturiser and controlling flakes.

Maybe you should be using even more jojoba oil? Especially since you're using more BP. I think I heard somewhere Dan uses around 12 drops of jojoba oil? I think it's ok to use as much as you feel you need when it comes to moisturiser and controlling flakes.

Whoa really? I remember reading somewhere that over 6 is overkill... I might try more then...

Maybe you should be using even more jojoba oil? Especially since you're using more BP. I think I heard somewhere Dan uses around 12 drops of jojoba oil? I think it's ok to use as much as you feel you need when it comes to moisturiser and controlling flakes.

Whoa really? I remember reading somewhere that over 6 is overkill... I might try more then...

Oh really? Now I don't know what to think about it...

I think I heard that Dan uses a lot in one of the old acne.org youtube videos - I'll see if I can find it.

Found it:

But I think it's up to you / how your skin is feeling when it comes to deciding how much to use.

Day 9 - Evening

Soo... same old... cleansed, tightness... waited the full 15 minutes again before applying BP instead of the 2 minutes I waited for the past two applications... not gonna go into the state of individual pimples, who wants to hear that... applied four pumps of Aveeno, held off on the jojoba for now. I think I had a bad reaction to Aveeno's Clear Complexion moisturizer (although I can't be sure... when I was using that moisturizer was when I ended up getting a slew of lipline pimples, but that also could have been from concealer, or from Oxy 10% BP wash... who knows)... so I'm really hoping this doesn't break me out. Fingers crossed!

Reactions to Aveeno... it went on nicely and barely balled up as it did when I tried it this morning. There was some balling though, on my neck. Has much less of an oily finish than Neutrogena, skin looks more matte. In terms of moisturizing potential... meh. Skin is not nearly as tight as it was after Neutrogena, but the Aveeno still leaves something to be desired, especially around the mouth region.

There wasn't any burning initially, and I was hoping it would stay that way, but gradually the burning got a little worse. It never reached CeraVe proportions, but it was definitely noticeable.

All in all, since the burning from this is tolerable, I'll give it maybe a week before I make a final decision. Maybe I'll add in jojoba to for increased moisture.

Also today my girlfriend dropped off some Clinique Moisture Surge Intense moisturizer, but I'm scared to even try it lol. Smells insane, long list of ingredients, comes in a tiny little tin... what if I really like it? How am I supposed to afford something like that? XD

Day 10

Morning - Woke up feeling a little itchier than normal. Also the upper part of my neck (where I use the regimen) has gotten significantly redder than the upper part. Some flakiness on the sides of my face, especially around my eyes, as well as on my neck, but overall not as flaky as after using Neutrogena.

Gotta say that last night I was feeling a strange muted burning sensation, probably from the Aveeno, around my temples and upper cheeks... the areas that were most strongly affected by the CeraVe burn. It was kinda uncomfortable but it stopped eventually. I'm guessing because the Aveeno rubbed off on to my pillow XD

Full regimen this morning, waited 15-20 minutes between steps. Found maybe 3 or 4 new pimples. Small ones though, for the most part.

Also, gave Eucerin a test run for the heck of it... and oh BOY is that stuff terrible. Didn't absorb at all, sat on my skin in white clumps. Made my skin look oily as heck. Burned as well. Soon after putting it on I went and rinsed it off in the shower, and applied Aveeno afterwards. Night and day difference. Still, the Aveeno leaves something to be desired in the way of moisture. I really hope the BP didn't wash off when I rinsed my face in the shower, but I figure since it had been 30 minutes+ since BP application, most of it should have absorbed by then?

During the day, one pimple that was small in the morning became really big, red and pissed off. Grrr...

Evening - Was a little more gentle with cleanser this time, and used 2 pumps instead of 1... still took well over 10 seconds to wash... face was slightly less tight by the end. 15 minutes, then BP... 25-30 minutes... then went against my better judgement and tried Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream. It was super-greasy, even more so because I just overloaded my face with it. Also it did burn somewhat, but I guess it wasn't the AAARRRGGGHHH kind of burn I got after putting on CeraVe. I think it could be because cetearyl alcohol, which is present in both Cetaphil and CeraVe Lotions, in conveniently absent from the Cetaphil cream. Also, the burn wasn't really all-over, just on the irritated area around my eyes. This gives me hope that maybe it'll disappear eventually.

Despite breaking out today, I finished the day feeling upbeat and optimistic for some reason.

glad to hear you're feeling optimistic! That mindset definitely makes things go much smoother. Haha btw my girlfriend is always turning me onto new moisturizers too, some seem like they'd be awesome but they're expensive as hell...I dunno how girls afford some of these crazy expensive products

Day 11

Morning - Last night I got tired of Cetaphil's persistent burning (which was worse than I initially thought and never went away) and washed it off to give my skin a break. Never applied a second moisturizer after, so woke up pretty flaky. Still on the hunt for moisture. Also I'm a little paranoid now because the fresh breakout around my mouth came right in the wake of trying a whole bunch of new products (Trader Joe's jojoba, CeraVe, Aveeno) so I can't really tell if any of them are correlated. Shoulda just changed one factor at a time :/

This morning - cleanse, ~15 mins, BP, ~20 mins, 8+ pumps Neutrogena. Skin looks sooo nasty after I apply moisturizer, as all the flaky regions also become white and goopy. Skin still feels kinda tight after moisture, but that's Neutrogena for ya.

I'm considering maybe trying the jojoba scrub method tonight... as this layer of flakes is getting annoying and could potentially be interfering with BP absorption. I feel kinda stuck in terms of the moisturizer situation... it's like, everything that keeps other people nice and moisturized either burns my skin, or is comodogenic. Aveeno feels nice but contains isopropyl palmitate, all the others I've tried have singed my skin, and Neutrogena just can't keep up with the dryness BP causes.

After eating my entire mouth is surrounded by a sea of flakes. My neck is also covered. Normally I'd stand in front of the mirror and pick each one off individually, but at this point there's just too many flakes to do anything about it :/ Applied jojoba and that seemed to suppress the flakes a bit, but really all I can do at this point is wait till the evening application.

Evening - Tried jojoba scrub. Basically took a whole bunch of oil, like 25 drops, and just massaged it (sometimes not-so-gently) all over my face for a while. It definitely loosened up some flakes that I cleansed off in the shower. However, it wasn't a miracle by any stretch of the imagination. Skin still felt tight after cleansing, and I still had flakes galore. I'm not sure this is something I want to do on a regular basis as long as I still have active acne. Waited 5 minutes, applied BP, then 15 minutes and applied 10 pumps Neutrogena with 12 drops jojoba mixed in. For some reason my face ended up burning even though this moisturizer doesn't normally burn... grr

Okay, I realize now that the patch of irritated skin around my eyes (extending from temples down to my upper cheeks) could be more serious than just run-of-the mill redness, and is actually a mild burn. Probably from using too much BP and then topping it off with a moisturizer with high alcohol content.

So what I'm going to do is, ease off on the BP for now, probably keep it to a nightly application, and in the morning just use a gentle cleanser / moisturize. Sure, BP has done good things for me in the past week, but I really don't want to kill my skin... it's the only one I've got! I'm also going to refrain from experimenting with products too much, and just use what I've been using thus far.

Day 12

When I showered this morning, I let warm water run over my face. Shortly after showering, my skin was SOOO tight and dry! I couldn't even open my mouth as wide as I would have liked because of the tightness!

Anyway, about an hour later I cleansed with Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser, as gently as I could, and then applied Cetaphil Lotion. Yes, Cetaphil Lotion. It didn't burn at all... I guess the burning sensation only comes with applying it over BP...

Skin is still looking blotchy and angry but redness is down somewhat. Probably because I didn't scrub it raw with Dan's Cleanser and didn't top it off with a boatload of BP followed by fiery moisturizer. XD

In the evening, shaved, cleansed with Cetaphil Gentle, 2 pumps BP on FACE ONLY (no neck / ear / whatnot). Moisturized with Cetaphil Lotion, surprisingly didn't burn too bad.

Things that worry me:

> Got a new cyst on my right forehead. Haven't had cysts there for a whiiiile... I wonder what caused it? But, it's too early in the Regimen to tell, and I've changed too many factors recently.

> There is a patch of red skin above my left eye, below the eyebrow. I've been putting BP there even though that area is generally acne-free... maybe I should stop. I'm also thinking it could be dermatitis, as I experience that on and off... jojoba oil seems to be a trigger for that, from what I've heard... tomorrow I'll put cortisone on the patch after cleansing just in case.

Night all!

Day 13

Overnight, Cetaphil felt kinda warm on my skin... especially on my burned areas... I guess that's the best way to describe it. But it wasn't a burning sensation so that's good. Woke up with a slightly redder face than I'd like (maybe that's the result of using 2 pumps on my face for the first time... before I applied to ears and neck as well), but surprisingly it wasn't flake city, just flake town I guess. All credit goes to Cetaphil (cleanser + lotion). My skin also doesn't feel tight at ALL... I can talk as much as I want and eat a normal breakfast!

Morning regimen was... Cetaphil gentle cleanser in shower... then applied 3 pumps CeraVe right after patting my face dry. CeraVe didn't burn at ALL, although it did make my face a little flushed...maybe... but then again, I already had a red face when I woke up. It's definitely lighter than Cetaphil and better for daytime use... and my skin doesn't really feel too tight... maybe like 20-30% tighter than it would without the Regimen. Also it doesn't really glue down flakes the way Cetaphil does, but I feel like that's because it actually absorbs instead of sticking around on the skin. Also, I think most of the flakes on my face right now are residual.

In terms of breakouts... a couple new tiny ones right under my lower lip. And stuff to the upper-right of my top lip. Not too problematic at this point. Also some random ones near my sideburns and one near my hairline at the top. Not really sure why. Oh, I also decided to spot treat with Dan's BP, but OVER the moisturizer... I'm guessing it won't really do much, but I just feel safer having some sort of BP on my face... XD

Day 13

Overnight, Cetaphil felt kinda warm on my skin... especially on my burned areas... I guess that's the best way to describe it. But it wasn't a burning sensation so that's good. Woke up with a slightly redder face than I'd like (maybe that's the result of using 2 pumps on my face for the first time... before I applied to ears and neck as well), but surprisingly it wasn't flake city, just flake town I guess. All credit goes to Cetaphil (cleanser + lotion). My skin also doesn't feel tight at ALL... I can talk as much as I want and eat a normal breakfast!

Morning regimen was... Cetaphil gentle cleanser in shower... then applied 3 pumps CeraVe right after patting my face dry. CeraVe didn't burn at ALL, although it did make my face a little flushed...maybe... but then again, I already had a red face when I woke up. It's definitely lighter than Cetaphil and better for daytime use... and my skin doesn't really feel too tight... maybe like 20-30% tighter than it would without the Regimen. Also it doesn't really glue down flakes the way Cetaphil does, but I feel like that's because it actually absorbs instead of sticking around on the skin. Also, I think most of the flakes on my face right now are residual.

In terms of breakouts... a couple new tiny ones right under my lower lip. And stuff to the upper-right of my top lip. Not too problematic at this point. Also some random ones near my sideburns and one near my hairline at the top. Not really sure why. Oh, I also decided to spot treat with Dan's BP, but OVER the moisturizer... I'm guessing it won't really do much, but I just feel safer having some sort of BP on my face... XD

Speaking about the breakouts, do you get whiteheads? What do you do to the whiteheads?

Day 13

Overnight, Cetaphil felt kinda warm on my skin... especially on my burned areas... I guess that's the best way to describe it. But it wasn't a burning sensation so that's good. Woke up with a slightly redder face than I'd like (maybe that's the result of using 2 pumps on my face for the first time... before I applied to ears and neck as well), but surprisingly it wasn't flake city, just flake town I guess. All credit goes to Cetaphil (cleanser + lotion). My skin also doesn't feel tight at ALL... I can talk as much as I want and eat a normal breakfast!

Morning regimen was... Cetaphil gentle cleanser in shower... then applied 3 pumps CeraVe right after patting my face dry. CeraVe didn't burn at ALL, although it did make my face a little flushed...maybe... but then again, I already had a red face when I woke up. It's definitely lighter than Cetaphil and better for daytime use... and my skin doesn't really feel too tight... maybe like 20-30% tighter than it would without the Regimen. Also it doesn't really glue down flakes the way Cetaphil does, but I feel like that's because it actually absorbs instead of sticking around on the skin. Also, I think most of the flakes on my face right now are residual.

In terms of breakouts... a couple new tiny ones right under my lower lip. And stuff to the upper-right of my top lip. Not too problematic at this point. Also some random ones near my sideburns and one near my hairline at the top. Not really sure why. Oh, I also decided to spot treat with Dan's BP, but OVER the moisturizer... I'm guessing it won't really do much, but I just feel safer having some sort of BP on my face... XD

Speaking about the breakouts, do you get whiteheads? What do you do to the whiteheads?

I get the full range of acne unfortunately... ranging from the tiny whiteheads that dry up and fall off overnight, to deep huge cysts that pull back into the skin instead of surfacing.

A lot of the acne I get around my mouth becomes a whitehead or some point or another (although to be honest I don't know if they would be classified as "whiteheads" or "pustules", or if there is even a difference between the two). Oftentimes they are painful / sensitive to the touch.

I usually find it best to just leave them alone. I know it's not pretty walking around with whiteheads, but I find that a lot of the time when I pop they just become a bloody mess, and the resulting scab is even worse.

Day 13

Overnight, Cetaphil felt kinda warm on my skin... especially on my burned areas... I guess that's the best way to describe it. But it wasn't a burning sensation so that's good. Woke up with a slightly redder face than I'd like (maybe that's the result of using 2 pumps on my face for the first time... before I applied to ears and neck as well), but surprisingly it wasn't flake city, just flake town I guess. All credit goes to Cetaphil (cleanser + lotion). My skin also doesn't feel tight at ALL... I can talk as much as I want and eat a normal breakfast!

Morning regimen was... Cetaphil gentle cleanser in shower... then applied 3 pumps CeraVe right after patting my face dry. CeraVe didn't burn at ALL, although it did make my face a little flushed...maybe... but then again, I already had a red face when I woke up. It's definitely lighter than Cetaphil and better for daytime use... and my skin doesn't really feel too tight... maybe like 20-30% tighter than it would without the Regimen. Also it doesn't really glue down flakes the way Cetaphil does, but I feel like that's because it actually absorbs instead of sticking around on the skin. Also, I think most of the flakes on my face right now are residual.

In terms of breakouts... a couple new tiny ones right under my lower lip. And stuff to the upper-right of my top lip. Not too problematic at this point. Also some random ones near my sideburns and one near my hairline at the top. Not really sure why. Oh, I also decided to spot treat with Dan's BP, but OVER the moisturizer... I'm guessing it won't really do much, but I just feel safer having some sort of BP on my face... XD

Speaking about the breakouts, do you get whiteheads? What do you do to the whiteheads?

I get the full range of acne unfortunately... ranging from the tiny whiteheads that dry up and fall off overnight, to deep huge cysts that pull back into the skin instead of surfacing.

A lot of the acne I get around my mouth becomes a whitehead or some point or another (although to be honest I don't know if they would be classified as "whiteheads" or "pustules", or if there is even a difference between the two). Oftentimes they are painful / sensitive to the touch.

I usually find it best to just leave them alone. I know it's not pretty walking around with whiteheads, but I find that a lot of the time when I pop they just become a bloody mess, and the resulting scab is even worse.

I'm going to take a leaf out of your book and try my best not to pop them. If one is so huge I will make an exception though. Thank you for helping me!

Day 13

Overnight, Cetaphil felt kinda warm on my skin... especially on my burned areas... I guess that's the best way to describe it. But it wasn't a burning sensation so that's good. Woke up with a slightly redder face than I'd like (maybe that's the result of using 2 pumps on my face for the first time... before I applied to ears and neck as well), but surprisingly it wasn't flake city, just flake town I guess. All credit goes to Cetaphil (cleanser + lotion). My skin also doesn't feel tight at ALL... I can talk as much as I want and eat a normal breakfast!

Morning regimen was... Cetaphil gentle cleanser in shower... then applied 3 pumps CeraVe right after patting my face dry. CeraVe didn't burn at ALL, although it did make my face a little flushed...maybe... but then again, I already had a red face when I woke up. It's definitely lighter than Cetaphil and better for daytime use... and my skin doesn't really feel too tight... maybe like 20-30% tighter than it would without the Regimen. Also it doesn't really glue down flakes the way Cetaphil does, but I feel like that's because it actually absorbs instead of sticking around on the skin. Also, I think most of the flakes on my face right now are residual.

In terms of breakouts... a couple new tiny ones right under my lower lip. And stuff to the upper-right of my top lip. Not too problematic at this point. Also some random ones near my sideburns and one near my hairline at the top. Not really sure why. Oh, I also decided to spot treat with Dan's BP, but OVER the moisturizer... I'm guessing it won't really do much, but I just feel safer having some sort of BP on my face... XD

Speaking about the breakouts, do you get whiteheads? What do you do to the whiteheads?

I get the full range of acne unfortunately... ranging from the tiny whiteheads that dry up and fall off overnight, to deep huge cysts that pull back into the skin instead of surfacing.

A lot of the acne I get around my mouth becomes a whitehead or some point or another (although to be honest I don't know if they would be classified as "whiteheads" or "pustules", or if there is even a difference between the two). Oftentimes they are painful / sensitive to the touch.

I usually find it best to just leave them alone. I know it's not pretty walking around with whiteheads, but I find that a lot of the time when I pop they just become a bloody mess, and the resulting scab is even worse.

I'm going to take a leaf out of your book and try my best not to pop them. If one is so huge I will make an exception though. Thank you for helping me!

No problem! Also one thing I need to start doing myself is resisting the urge to touch the pimples. Sometimes I do that just to see if they "feel" any bigger, or to distinguish between hyperpigmentation and acne. But, any touching is ultimately irritating... so...

Anyway, Day 13 - Evening

So I barely had any flakes today. I had lunch with a friend, and the whole time I was paranoid that my mouth was flaking up. After we finished I jumped into the bathroom to check my face. To my surprise, there were NO flakes anywhere. Well maybe one, lol.

I do have some complaints though. First, my red face, part of which can probably be attributed to the fact that yesterday was the first time I put a full 2 pumps on my face. I wish it would go away soon though. Also, while the stuff around most of my mouth doesn't bother me too much, the stuff I'm getting in the lower corners is really annoying. Left corner actually hurts a bit (there have been maybe three or four new pimples there), right corner just feels uncomfortable. Also, both are really red because of hyperpigmentation and because of the new inflamed acne that came up. Basically I have a ring of fire around my mouth. Not the most attractive look I've sported...

I just wish I knew exactly what was causing this round-the-mouth bullshit. If I knew... man, I'd cut that out of my life so fast! XD

In the evening... BP made my face red, and burned / stung on my temples and upper cheekbones. There is still a dry patch of ultra-red skin near my right eye btw. It's really sensitive to the touch, and kinda looks like I got smacked in the face really hard. I'm considering maybe even skipping an entire day of BP just to see if it subsides. Cetaphil Lotion didn't contribute to the burning sensation much, but accentuated the patch.

Day 14 - Morning

Dammit! Back to square one with night moisturizer I guess. Last night I was on the phone with my gf until like 5AM, and throughout I felt my face burning more and more. Eventually I got up to check the mirror, and BOY was my face red. Like a tomato! I immediately washed my face with cleanser and the burning subsided. Also this morning a lot of the extreme redness is gone... of course my face is still redder than the rest of my body though.

This really sucks because I thought I had a nice routine figured out. Was really hoping I could go back to Cetaphil as a night moisturizer since it's such a good flake-fighter. I guess I'll have to go back to one of the lighter ones like Neutrogena or Aveeno

This morning... just cleanser and moisturized... after applying CeraVe, redness returned, but there was no accompanying burn... the redness didn't go away either, just got worse as time progressed... so eventually I washed it off and tried Aveeno. That lowered redness by about 10-20% I guess...

In terms of new acne... some stuff on my right jaw... also one of the ones on my upper lipline that I thought was just hyperpigmentation at this point decided to rise up again.

Aveeno kept my face more or less flake-free throughout the day, although my face was a little too red for my liking... it wasn't lobster skin by any means but it did have a pinkish hue.

Evening - Cetaphil Gentle cleanser, 2 pumps BP. I felt some burning from BP, mostly just on my temples and right upper cheek though. Face got kinda red. I didn't apply moisturizer afterwards because I'm pretty sure anything I try at this point, post-BP, will ignite my face. BP is enough irritation for now.

Day 15 - Morning

Interestingly enough, despite not moisturizing last night, woke up with less flakes than I've had in a week. In fact there were almost none. And my face wasn't obscenely red either, just a little tight.

Cleansed in shower / moisturized with Aveeno. A lot of tiny flakes (I guess "crumbs" is a better word) appeared in my beard and around my mouth, I had to spend a really long time picking them off with tweezers, and I didn't even get all of them.

Evening

Got home really late and applied BP at maybe 1:30 AM. My round-the-mouth acne sure received a lot of irritation tonight! The Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser doesn't dry at all, to the point where I'm wondering whether or not it's doing anything, as I still feel like there's a mask of moisturizer on my face... but I can also be optimistic and say that my skin is just really moisturized now XD ...

Day 16 - Morning

Did my morning thing at around 11. Gentle Cleanser followed by 3 pumps of Aveeno over face and neck. This morning when I woke up my skin looked happier than it has in a while... VERY little redness and VERY little flaking. Skin is slightly tight-ish still which makes me paranoid about moving my mouth too much lest I flake up big time...

Complaints I have at the moment... maybe not so much about new acne but about redness. I have almost no new acne that wasn't there yesterday morning, but some things have gotten redder. Also this morning, right after waking, my hyperpigmentation was dramatically reduced, but cleansing / applying moisturizer made everything stand out more.

As I type this I'm wondering whether to apply spot treatment on actives (post-moisturizer) or just leave my skin be.

Evening

During the day got maybe two pimples near mouth region, and one on forehead, whether really new or just old ones flaring up, cant really tell. Skin was hydrated and almost completely flake-free all day (some small flakes near mouth on occasion, but tweezers took care of that). Ended up spot-treating over moisturizer sometime after lunch, didn't seem to cause too much irritation, if any.

In the evening, again... Gentle Cleanser immediately followed by BP. Again my skin has a rubbery mask-like feel because of the moisturizer, but I can tell that BP is sinking in after cleansing because my skin gets tighter and drier, a tad redder (but not the lobster red that I was getting only a couple days ago), and i get an ever-so-slight burning sensation that I don't feel during the day.

Also I'm happy to say that my "burnt" patches of skin have all but disappeared. Yay!

Day 17 - Morning

Face ever so slightly reddish when I woke up, somewhat tight-ish, nothing awful. Couple flakes here and there. No new acne that I can see, just old stuff being annoying, some of it flaring up when I thought it was on its way out :/ ... Cetaphil, Aveeno. A patch of skin just above my upper lip was kinda flaky / peely after moisturizing (it wasn't big flakes either, really tiny ones), and as I tweezed bits off, new flakes appeared nearby... all in all it was a nice Zen experience tweezing little bits of skin from the stache area.

I'm noticing that a LOT of old stuff has gotten more raised / bumpy, even stuff that has been sitting underground for a while... but the upside is there has been little in the way of new acne... I hope this is some kind of purge or something.

I'm really kinda pissed... during the day, some more old stuff, stuff that I thought was on its way out, is growing again. I mean come on. Make up your mind! I guess I should be grateful that I'm not getting brand new acne, but still, this is ticking me off big time.

Evening

Okay so I am REALLY pissed now. Apparently what the Aveeno was doing, was creating a rubbery film on my face rather than sinking in. Hence why my skin felt so nice and smooth: I was just feeling up the Aveeno. I've also been getting clogged pores: well yes, obviously my pores are going to be clogged when I've got a centimeter of rubber over my skin. Also, a pimple on my upper lipline has gotten REALLY red and REALLY painful, which I'm upset about because I really honestly thought all that lipline stuff was just scars at this point.

Hence in the evening I washed my face with black soap to try and get some of that Aveeno off. Skin still felt rubbery though, so obviously the operation was NOT a success. Applied BP after.

God damn, is this frustrating. Every single moisturizer I try fails me in some way or another. Obviously BP works and works well, but I can't just go without moisture or my skin will be a flaky nightmare! I need something... in the name of science, did a patch test with some Trader Joe's Enrich SPF 15 moisturizer, on my upper face... didn't even use that much and immediately felt a warming sensation with a hint of burning... half an hour later, the burning was pretty intense and the spots where I applied were getting lobster red... most of all the areas around my upper cheeks. So I Gentle Cleansed that shit off.

Day 18 - Morning

Last night BP played a nasty trick on my skin, lol. Basically what it looked like, was every single hyperpigmentation mark from the past couple years was suddenly the same bright red color. So it looked like I had SEVERE acne, especially on my cheeks (whereas in reality, my cheeks are pretty clear by anyone's standards... a couple small-ish pimples on each). So that was fun XD ... I'm not sure why that happened, maybe because I was pissed off and applied a little more BP than usual, or maybe because I'd eliminated the rubbery barrier created by Aveeno, allowing the BP to absorb fully for once... or a combination of both.

Anyway, this morning... kinda red still... Gentle Cleanse, then applied good old Neutrogena and I have to say, felt pretty good about it. Although my skin was still kinda tight-ish afterwards, at least I didn't have a goopy mask on my face. Spot treated with BP afterwards. There wasn't any lasting redness or burning either from the Neutrogena or the BP. Kinda makes me wonder if I can get away with applying a light layer of BP over my moisturizer in the morning without experiencing burning... but, for now I'll keep things the way they are. Maybe later I can test some new approaches.

Evening

Not much changed throughout the day... angry stuff stayed angry, calm stuff stayed calm... with one major exception - a brand new (as far as I can tell) pimple on my lower lipline, left side. I have to say, I am NOT amused. Round-the-mouth acne is bad enough, but a new lipline pimple? Come on. These things are a) sooo noticeable, b) sooo uncomfortable both physically and socially (everyone is bound to think it's herpes) and c) leave hyperpigmentation that takes FOREVER to go away.

I guess the best I can do is hope that it stays relatively small instead of growing to supermassive proportions...

Honestly, NOT happy with my skin right now. At all. Sure, could be worse... was a lot worse two weeks ago... but could be a whole lot f'ing better too. Oh well. Gotta keep waiting I guess. Wonder what caused the recent flareups though. I'm kinda leaning towards the pore-clogging Aveeno fiasco.

One interesting thing I noticed is... well, new BP arrived today... and I used it instead of the old one, which had been sitting in my bathroom for quite a while... the new one was noticeably less runny, and I had a whole lot more left over when I'd finished covering my whole face. So I ended up going over the same areas twice, or maybe even three times.

Face felt pretty tight after BP (tighter than the past couple days) so I ended up moisturizing with Neutrogena. There was some slight clumping and balling up, so maybe I didn't wait long enough between BP and moisturizer or something.

Day 19 - Morning

Well... woke up today feeling a little tight-ish... flaking was minimal, except for a whole bunch under my jawline.

Really, the only pimples bothering me right now are the two lipline bastards. Big and red and swollen and UGH. If it weren't for those, I'd honestly say I am pretty happy with what BP has done for my skin thus far. Old acne has decreased in size and redness, and is more or less on its way out. But the two huge ones on my lipline kinda take focus away from that. I mean, I still can't get over the fact that they are right. on. the. lip. I mean come on, is this someone's idea of a cruel joke? Especially since I'm supposed to be spending the day with my girlfriend? Super pissed right now.

For the Regimen, tried cleansing with just water to avoid excessive dryness. Moisturized with 4 pumps Neutro. The irony was, that I ended up flaking around my mouth right after my first meal of the day. Go figure.

Evening

Was fighting flakes throughout the day. Had maybe three or four sessions of standing in front of the mirror, picking off flakes from around my mouth.

My mouth region received EXTREME irritation today from kissing. I've always wondered if heavy kissing exacerbated my mouth acne or maybe even directly caused lipline pimples. In the past there seemed to be little to no correlation, but maybe that was just wishful thinking, plus acne can take time to form. Well I guess now I can find out for sure!

Regimen this evening was Cetaphil Gentle / 2 pumps BP immediately after / Neutrogena after 30 mins or so.

Day 20 - Morning

Well so far there's been little in the way of new acne, should I even say none. What's bothering me right now are two huge deep cysts (pretty old) on my right jawline, and my mouth region in general. My lips are very red from yesterday, and all the hyperpigmentation / active acne around my mouth is red too, making my entire mouth region look large, red and inflamed. Hope this goes away soon...

This morning was just Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser followed by Neutrogena. Face pretty tight after Neutrogena but oh well.

If I can get through today without getting any new mouth-region pimpletons I'll be a happy camper.

Evening

Well I did it! Pulled through the day without a new mouth region pimple. Hooray for me. Granted, this is probably short-lived, and I'll probably break out in the area again soon, but at least I can feel somewhat relieved for the time being.

Despite no new breakouts, my mouth region is still a nightmare. I have four major pimples (big, red, swollen)... three of them on the lipline. A whole bunch of smaller, slightly raised pimples (old ones on their way out presumably), and on top of that a whole bunch of red hyperpigmentation.

Whilst on this BP-once-a-day regimen, I'm noticing that my days are kind of anxious and my nights are calm. I guess I feel safe at night because BP is protecting me, but I'm paranoid about fresh breakouts during the day. Lol.

Oh, tonight's Regimen was the usual... Cetaphil, BP right after, then 20-30 minutes before moisturizer. Moisturizing after BP (well, I guess moisturizing in general) is officially my least favorite part of the Regimen, lol. Everything looks so peaceful after BP... then enter moisturizer, and AARGH! Shiny face, weird residue and crumbs everywhere!

Day 21 - Morning

Well, what do you know. As I was video chatting with my gf last night, I had a moment where I touched my upper lip region for some reason or another, and felt a new bump. Sure enough, a new pimpleton on my upper lipline. Fml. Was super-pissed last night and woke up this morning super-pissed as well. Not just because I was clearing up nicely up until Sunday and then suddenly took a nosedive... but also because this could very well mean that kissing exacerbates lipline acne and even causes it (for me). So my choices are... a) not kiss the woman I love or b) look like I have herpes. Wow, what a wonderful selection. Seriously, **** this disease.

I know I said I would try not to stress too much about breakouts, but honestly, I can't help but stress at this point. I'm supposed to go on a day trip in a week and last weekend I was pretty stoked that I'd be clear enough to enjoy myself. Well apparently not, because now I'm stuck with a sea of large, painful red pimples on my lipline, and who knows how long these'll last. Especially with BP only once a day.

Morning was Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser + Neutrogena. Shaved stache. Had some skin peeling afterwards that I had to deal with. Spot treated with BP afterwards but I don't know how much good that did, since as soon as the BP dried it left a bit of a film that I had to end up peeling off. I guess on a positive note, areas that aren't my lipline / directly around it are doing pretty well... I'm just having trouble seeing the good right now.