Does your gf always wear lip balm or something? I wonder if that's contributing to your acne? My guess though is that it's probably more the direct 'irritation' from kissing her rather than a lip product - but it's something to consider. Hopefully you figure it out because you're right - neither are great choices!

I know it can be really tough to see the positives but hang in there! You know BP works, it just takes time and patience.

Does your gf always wear lip balm or something? I wonder if that's contributing to your acne? My guess though is that it's probably more the direct 'irritation' from kissing her rather than a lip product - but it's something to consider. Hopefully you figure it out because you're right - neither are great choices!

I know it can be really tough to see the positives but hang in there! You know BP works, it just takes time and patience.

Thanks for reading ... Well what she tends to do, quite by accident, is scrape her teeth along the outside of my lip. That's my primary suspect.

Although she does also wear lip balm. That could be it as well.

Anyway we agreed to a several week trial run with minimal lip contact to see if my theory is indeed correct... the fall semester starts in a month and a firepit around my mouth isn't the best first impression to make, especially since this is my senior year at university and my classes are all fairly small and tight-knit, almost no large lectures anymore.

Day 21 - Evening

Well the texture of most of my face has been VASTLY improved by BP. My cheeks used to be all bumpy, now they are pretty smooth except for a couple pimpletons here and there, and some small icepick scarring which I honestly don't care about.

My mouth is still bothering me, but the redness receded slightly today, and some of the actives came to heads. I'm one of those weird people that prefers whiteheads to cysts, because whiteheads give me the impression of being on their way out, whereas no head = indefinite stay.

In the evening, Cetaphil, 2 pumps BP, Neutrogena. Nothing fancy. Although I am running out of Neutrogena so I'll have to pick up a new bottle tomorrow.

Acne situation... round-my-mouth has stayed the same... a couple new ones on the rest of my face... and maybe two new cysts on my left jawline. Also the two on my right jaw are still HUGE and annoying. One of them actually deforms my jawline XD

Does your gf always wear lip balm or something? I wonder if that's contributing to your acne? My guess though is that it's probably more the direct 'irritation' from kissing her rather than a lip product - but it's something to consider. Hopefully you figure it out because you're right - neither are great choices!

I know it can be really tough to see the positives but hang in there! You know BP works, it just takes time and patience.

Thanks for reading ... Well what she tends to do, quite by accident, is scrape her teeth along the outside of my lip. That's my primary suspect.

Although she does also wear lip balm. That could be it as well.

Anyway we agreed to a several week trial run with minimal lip contact to see if my theory is indeed correct... the fall semester starts in a month and a firepit around my mouth isn't the best first impression to make, especially since this is my senior year at university and my classes are all fairly small and tight-knit, almost no large lectures anymore.

Day 21 - Evening

Well the texture of most of my face has been VASTLY improved by BP. My cheeks used to be all bumpy, now they are pretty smooth except for a couple pimpletons here and there, and some small icepick scarring which I honestly don't care about.

My mouth is still bothering me, but the redness receded slightly today, and some of the actives came to heads. I'm one of those weird people that prefers whiteheads to cysts, because whiteheads give me the impression of being on their way out, whereas no head = indefinite stay.

In the evening, Cetaphil, 2 pumps BP, Neutrogena. Nothing fancy. Although I am running out of Neutrogena so I'll have to pick up a new bottle tomorrow.

Acne situation... round-my-mouth has stayed the same... a couple new ones on the rest of my face... and maybe two new cysts on my left jawline. Also the two on my right jaw are still HUGE and annoying. One of them actually deforms my jawline XD

That's great she seems understanding of your acne situation.

I know what you mean about uni - I'm in my last semester and my degree has always been a pretty small group of people (in comparison to other degrees). Not many large lectures at all really. Hopefully your skin does calm down by the time your back at uni.

 

Does your gf always wear lip balm or something? I wonder if that's contributing to your acne? My guess though is that it's probably more the direct 'irritation' from kissing her rather than a lip product - but it's something to consider. Hopefully you figure it out because you're right - neither are great choices!

I know it can be really tough to see the positives but hang in there! You know BP works, it just takes time and patience.

Thanks for reading ... Well what she tends to do, quite by accident, is scrape her teeth along the outside of my lip. That's my primary suspect.

Although she does also wear lip balm. That could be it as well.

Anyway we agreed to a several week trial run with minimal lip contact to see if my theory is indeed correct... the fall semester starts in a month and a firepit around my mouth isn't the best first impression to make, especially since this is my senior year at university and my classes are all fairly small and tight-knit, almost no large lectures anymore.

Day 21 - Evening

Well the texture of most of my face has been VASTLY improved by BP. My cheeks used to be all bumpy, now they are pretty smooth except for a couple pimpletons here and there, and some small icepick scarring which I honestly don't care about.

My mouth is still bothering me, but the redness receded slightly today, and some of the actives came to heads. I'm one of those weird people that prefers whiteheads to cysts, because whiteheads give me the impression of being on their way out, whereas no head = indefinite stay.

In the evening, Cetaphil, 2 pumps BP, Neutrogena. Nothing fancy. Although I am running out of Neutrogena so I'll have to pick up a new bottle tomorrow.

Acne situation... round-my-mouth has stayed the same... a couple new ones on the rest of my face... and maybe two new cysts on my left jawline. Also the two on my right jaw are still HUGE and annoying. One of them actually deforms my jawline XD

That's great she seems understanding of your acne situation.

I know what you mean about uni - I'm in my last semester and my degree has always been a pretty small group of people (in comparison to other degrees). Not many large lectures at all really. Hopefully your skin does calm down by the time your back at uni.

I really do hope so... she IS very understanding, and somehow she's always seen right through my acne, even when it was REALLY bad...

Day 22

Morning

Woke up today hoping to see positive changes... well I was disappointed when I saw ANOTHER new one on my lower lipline, off to the side. Right now just a slightly raised, really red mark, but I can imagine it getting big and bad quite soon. As soon as I saw it, my confidence and motivation went straight down the drain. Just like that. I know it sounds pathetic, but that's how much these lipline breakouts get to me. I just can't operate knowing that my lips are covered in huge red welts. If it was just me alone in the world, heck, I wouldn't mind... I'd still put BP on and wait for them to heal, and it's still try and find the cause... but having to face people with these is a whole different ball game.

Regimen today was Cetaphil Cleanser, and then a bunch of BP on actives. It's different from what I've been doing, but I feel slightly safer knowing that there is some BP on my face during the day, so that maybe I can minimize the damage from this new breakout at least somewhat...

Evening

ANOTHER new lipline pimple, lower lip. I feel like the more I get now the less I care, because I already look horrible. Also, that cyst on my right jaw is HUGE to put it mildly. I don't think I've ever had one that big. Regimen tonight was Cetaphil + BP.

Day 23 - Morning

Well the mouth region doesn't look sooo bad I guess... the BP is doing a good job at keeping things from getting too out of hand. I've definitely had worse. I have maybe three or four cyst-like pimples on my cheeks, one which seemed to come up last night, the others from a couple days ago... but so far BP has been keeping them pretty flat. Jawline is kinda flaky, I'm thinking because of my facial hair & dead skin getting caught in it and whatnot. Still got the couple big cysts on the jawline to worry about.

Regimen was Cetaphil + BP again (spot-treat only though). I'm doing twice a day for now, to see if I can minimize the damage caused by the recent breakout before my trip on Saturday. Then, I'll probably take a day off BP to let my skin recover some moisture. If things still look really bad I'll try and apply some concealer or something. But I really don't want to miss the trip, it's been in the books since May :/

Evening

Had a fun day out today. Saw "The Conjuring" which was an AMAZING horror movie by anyone's standards. Flakes weren't a major issue. In the evening, cleanser + 2 pumps BP. Dryness was minimal after. No new acne that I can see. Good night!

Day 24 - Morning

Woke up feeling kinda liiittle tight, sides of face (that I slept on) had some minor flakeage. Acne situation is okay, no new spots that I can see. Old stuff is either better or the same, hasn't gotten any worse. I shaved last night so maybe not having facial hair is contributing to the overall "cleaner" impression. Although now the cysts on my jawline are more apparent :/ Regimen was Gentle Cleanser and then a bit of BP on actives.

Okay, so today I was inspired to post some progress pics... it's really easy to get caught up in the little stuff, as I've been doing, but once I took a step back and realized how bad my acne was not that long ago, and how much better it's gotten... well, I really can't complain! It's been a bumpy ride thus far, lots of mistakes and mishaps, but totally worth it. I really look forward to what BP can do over the span of a couple months.

Day 24 - Evening

Whoa, I think I went the whole day without a new pimple! At least, not a noticeable one. Things look more or less the same.

Today there was dryness / tightness during the day, although not too much flaking. I dabbed moisturizer on parts of my face in the afternoon to relieve some of the tightness. Also apparently I misplaced my precious tweezers (which I use for flakes) when I was out last night, so had to buy a new pair today.

In the evening, face got kinda red after cleansing, but maybe that's just because I used pretty hot water. 2 pumps BP.

Big day tomorrow! Moving! Gonna be back and forth pretty much all day.

Looks like you're really making some great progress - That's awesome

Good luck with the move too!

Edit: Also I know you tried a lot of different moisturisers.... what was the Aveeno one you tried? I bought their Ultra Calming Daily Moisturiser (with SPF and it's supposed to be good for redness). Did you try that one / what did you think of it?

I'll try it out myself anyway, just wanted to check what other people thought of it too.

Looks like you're really making some great progress - That's awesome

Good luck with the move too!

Edit: Also I know you tried a lot of different moisturisers.... what was the Aveeno one you tried? I bought their Ultra Calming Daily Moisturiser (with SPF and it's supposed to be good for redness). Did you try that one / what did you think of it?

I'll try it out myself anyway, just wanted to check what other people thought of it too.

The one I tried was Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion. I also used Aveeno Clear Complexion (the one with SA) before, when I wasn't on the Reg. I wouldn't recommend the Moisturizing Lotion for the face, as it tends to leave a thick film that doesn't allow BP to absorb properly (unless you scrub it all off beforehand, which is quite irritating when cleansing is supposed to be a gentle affair) and is obviously pore-clogging.

However, if you're using a Moisturizer designed for the face, I'd say go for it!

Day 25 - Morning

Rainy day today... of course the first big rain shower we get in a while has to happen on moving day

No new pimples that I can see, just some flakiness and dryness. Flakiness between my eyebrows too which is kind of a first.

Regimen was cleanser, then some Neutrogena. Face was pretty red / blotchy after cleansing so I decided I'd go for as little irritation as possible. In the next couple days, I want to find a good balance between keeping pimples away and avoiding unnecessary redness / dryness, since when I go on my trip on Saturday I want my mind to be as far from my complexion as possible.

Looks like you're really making some great progress - That's awesome

Good luck with the move too!

Edit: Also I know you tried a lot of different moisturisers.... what was the Aveeno one you tried? I bought their Ultra Calming Daily Moisturiser (with SPF and it's supposed to be good for redness). Did you try that one / what did you think of it?

I'll try it out myself anyway, just wanted to check what other people thought of it too.

The one I tried was Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion. I also used Aveeno Clear Complexion (the one with SA) before, when I wasn't on the Reg. I wouldn't recommend the Moisturizing Lotion for the face, as it tends to leave a thick film that doesn't allow BP to absorb properly (unless you scrub it all off beforehand, which is quite irritating when cleansing is supposed to be a gentle affair) and is obviously pore-clogging.

However, if you're using a Moisturizer designed for the face, I'd say go for it!

Thanks for that Yeah it says it's non-comedogenic (but I haven't checked the ingredients myself) and for the face so hopefully it works well enough.

Day 25 - Evening

Well today was kind of a tough day. Lots of stress, physically and psychologically. I flaked around my mouth during the day and had to keep jumping into restrooms to pick flakes off. Also spent a long time without BP on my face (almost 16 hours)... ended up with two new pimples that I can see, both moderately sized reddish ones kinda near my mouth, below. Also some stuff on my cheeks and forehead but I honestly can't tell what's new and what's old. I guess I am a little disappointed but what can I do.

My face was also pretty red and shiny throughout the day. It didn't help that I sweated a lot during the move.

Regimen tonight was Gentle Cleanser, BP and then 6 pumps Neutrogena afterwards.

Not sure if I'll make the trip now. I have a lot of stuff to do before next weekend, plus I don't think I'll be able to enjoy myself while knowing that my face is red, oily yet dry and flaky at the same time, covered in a million hyperpigmentation marks as well as bright red pimples.

EDIT: It's amazing how much my mood can change over a couple pimples... I felt so good last night, tonight I feel awful. It didn't help that everyone I saw today had good skin, and I was the only pimply, dry, red, blotchy, oily one. But, I guess this unfair ride that we call life just keeps on rolling.

Day 26 - Morning

I realize I may have overreacted last night about the severity of my acne. I think I got maybe one new pimple total, looking at old photos of my progress, the other "new" pimples had actually been on the skin for a while as marks, so I assume they just chose yesterday to surface a little more. I was pretty stressed yesterday when I got home considering I barely got anything done in the move (the new place was in a pretty shambolic state, not to mention that the power to the neighborhood got cut in the evening because of the storm). Plus I had an illustration job to finish for this morning.

After applying this morning's Regimen (Gentle Cleanser, BP on actives and then a bit of Neutrogena) I realized something: perhaps I should be spending more time rubbing in the BP. Maybe that's why I've been having moisturizer absorption problems. For the most part I kinda rub it, but really there's a whole lot of wet BP just sitting on my skin by the time I'm supposedly done applying treatment. It's too late this morning of course, but it's something to try this evening.

EDIT: Even though I spent a lot of time rubbing in moisturizer today, not long afterwards I had a banana and got a whole bunch of flakes around my mouth. Interesting that yesterday and today, despite actually moisturizing for once, I've gotten a lot more flakes than I have in the past week.

I never did an evening update last night... felt pretty tired and never got around to it. Anyway, yesterday was same old... flaked on occasion after eating... kept getting oily during the day too, from working in a got environment. Evening Regimen was cleanser and 2 pumps BP.

Day 27 - Morning

Woke up to a whole bunch of flakes, and dry scaly skin especially in my beard area. Scrubbed a lot of it off with water and cleanser. Applied 2 pumps BP this morning (as opposed to what I've been doing lately, which is either spot treatment or just no BP whatsoever) because I was getting somewhat frustrated. Moisturized after. I have two new problem areas around my mouth that I'm concerned with, won't go into detail.

All in all, the Regimen has definitely driven away that monster breakout I had when I started back in July, and I think it definitely keeps breakouts more subdued than they otherwise would be. What bothers me is that my skin was of similar quality back in April and May, without a harsh regimen, redness, irritation and need to constantly check mirrors to see if I'm flaking up. I'm really not sure how bad I would be breaking out now if I wasn't on the Regimen though.

I also have to keep in mind that it hasn't even been a month yet, plus I haven't been consistent. I've done 2 pumps every night, but daytime application has always varied. I guess I would be a little more eager to apply BP regularly if the only moisturizer I can use without my face burning up (Neutrogena) wasn't completely useless.

EDIT: Evening

Well today was a mixed bag. Face got pretty red throughout the day, red and shiny, because I sweated a lot. When I sweated I could feel a bit of BP burn, and my upper neck also turned red because I guess a little bit of BP mixed with sweat made its way down there. On the other hand, the new breakouts I was worried about this morning have both come to heads, a sight that always makes me happy. I also got a good amount of moving done and am actually able to spend the night in the new place tonight.

I would type more, but I am honestly so tired I can't type properly anymore. I'm just going to wait a couple more minutes, then apply moisturizer (already did cleanser + BP) and call it a night.

Day 28 - Morning

This morning (well afternoon really, applied the Regimen around 1) was cleanser, two pumps BP, moisturizer. Waited ten minutes between cleanser and BP, and a really long time between BP and moisturizer.

My skin is redder than it was with once-a-day application, and my upper neck is pretty red too. Also got flakes today around my lower mouth after eating. I'm hoping to continue with twice-a-day application for a bit, but also want to refrain from too much redness / irritation. Facial redness doesn't really bother me, but the fact that it extends onto my neck is pretty annoying.

Evening

Shaved tonight. I think I look better with some facial hair, but at the same time it feels so much nicer applying the Regimen when there is no hair in the way.

Face is pretty red. Tonight I tried yet another slightly new approach... Cetaphil Cleanser, waited 5 minutes then applied moisturizer onto my upper neck (where the unnecessary redness is), then applied treatment. Moisturizer on face 20 minutes later. I'm hoping this creates a barrier to keep the BP off my neck...

Day 29 - Morning

Face was kinda dry this morning, not too flaky. Applied "morning" regimen at noon... used only one pump BP. Same method as yesterday (covering upper neck in moisturizer first) although I'm not sure if that'll end up doing anything. Face is pretty red, as is upper neck. Can't tell if it's any redder than last night though, but doesn't seem like it... at least that's good.

Evening

Throughout the day, flakes were minimal, although face was pretty tight and dry throughout. My mouth movement especially felt restricted. In the evening, I was considering just doing 1 pump BP as I did in the morning, but stuck with two.

Day 30 - Morning

Face was pretty red upon waking up, but nothing serious, and probably not any redder than previous nights. Morning regimen was cleanser, neck moisturizer, 1 pump BP, moisturizer. Again I have to say that the Neutrogena moisturizer seems pretty useless: it gives my skin a slightly oily feel, makes it look a little shinier, but my skin does not feel any tightness relief when I apply it. Which is a shame, because my skin doesn't react as badly to it as so many other moisturizer I've tried.

Skin is still reddish after morning regimen application, although not beet red and maybe SLIGHTLY less red than before. Hard to tell though. Some major flaking below my mouth after breakfast. By this point my skin feels just as dry as if I hadn't been wearing moisturizer.

Evening

There's some stuff brewing to the lower-right of my mouth but I'll do my best to take it all in stride. I mean, I've been breaking out sporadically with at least a pimple a day, maybe two, but I think I'm kind of fixated on the mouth region because that's what convinced me to go on the Regimen to begin with. Anyway, gotta not let it get to me and keep on trucking. Let the breakouts come. It's only been a little under month, and an inconsistent one at that. If anything, breakouts such as these make me all the more intent to see the Regimen through to its end.

Evening Regimen was same old... cleanser, 2 pumps BP, moisture. Despite the skin problems, feel pretty upbeat. Finished a lot of work today meaning I'll have most of the rest of the week free. Hanging with friends tomorrow, leaving for vacation on Sunday and spending the two days before that with gf. Maybe I'll even forget about acne for a second! Hah.

EDIT: Just realize I got a pimple in my ear! Like deep in the ear! loool

Day 31

I kinda forgot to do this yesterday, so I'll do it now. Face was same old, albeit with a bit more redness (or at least it seemed like it). I stopped at CVS and spent a LONG time browsing the cleanser / moisturizer section simply because I was sooo fed up with Neutrogena. It's expensive for how small the bottle is, yet even with eight pumps, I feel like my skin literally gets no relief. Within ten minutes or so, it feels just as dry as it was without moisturizer, internally and externally.

I ended up picking up some Moisturel. When I moisturized with it last night, there wasn't any severe burning, so that was good. The most I got was maybe a slight "warming" sensation. Face didn't get any redder than it did with Neutrogena, either. Although my skin was still feeling kinda tight / dry after the moisturizer, I'm going to give it a couple days to see if things don't improve.

Something that happened last night that really pissed me off... since this Moisturel is thicker than Neutrogena was, I had to do more rubbing and spreading to spread it over the skin... it was at this point that I realized how many flakes were actually on my face, because the act of moisturizing kinda loosened them off. My whole face looked sooo nasty lol... super-red hyperpigmentation, oily and greasy from having just applied moisturizer, and a sea of white creamy flakes covering the whole thing. Thankfully once the moisturizer dried, things looked a little more civilized. XD

Day 32 - Morning

Woke up this morning with really dry and flaky skin on the sides of my face. Shaved and hopefully got some of the flakes off that way. Spent a little more time cleansing too, surprisingly my face seemed less red / irritated than yesterday though. Waited two and a half minutes, applied moisturizer to neck... 2.5 more minutes, one pump BP... then twenty minutes later, Moisturel. Not as many flakes appeared this time, probably because of the shaving. Again, Moisturel didn't give me the hideous burning sensation that CeraVe and Cetaphil did, despite benzyl alcohol being among the first on the ingredients list. Strange stuff.

EDIT: During the day, face still felt kinda tight. Came back to the mirror a couple times to take flakes off with tweezers. I notice that there is dryness / flaking in areas that end up coming in contact with BP accidentally I assume... such as, in the area above my eyes / below my eyebrows, or on my earlobes. I need to find a way to keep BP from getting on those areas. I think I might do the same thing I've been doing with the neck... after cleansing, apply a layer of moisturizer just to those areas, and also when applying BP, make sure to maintain some distance from them.

My situation really kinda sucks because I don't just get acne on the face. Even if my face does clear up, I'll still get occasional acne behind my ears and on my neck. Plus, there's still my bacne and a slight amount of chest acne to worry about. I love my genetics! That's part of the reason I'd given accutane some thought a while back. But for now I'll just stick with this here Regimen.

Evening

Nothing much to say, cleanser, moisturizer to cover sensitive areas, 2 pumps BP, then moisturizer all over.

Day 33

Woke up kinda flaky. Decided to skip BP in the morning, and just water rinsed / moisturized. Flaked up quite a bit around the mouth after breakfast, and my skin felt super-tight all day. In the evening, the tight feeling finally went away after a prolonged makeout session, but of course my whole face ended up covered in flakes. Didn't bother removing them all: got what I could with Cleanser, then 2 pumps BP. The only obvious new acne is at the bottom of my left eyebrow, and its kinda painful. Some older stuff flaring up but who cares. I guess the only real problem stuff right now are the big huge cysts along my jawline and such.

What I really hate is the acne that comes up in areas where I can't / shouldn't apply the Regimen, such as between eye and eyebrow, and on my neck (not to mention my back and my chest). This is part of the reason I've been giving accutane (maybe low-dose) some more serious thought recently. My acne isn't localized to my face... it's all over, and ideally I'd like to get rid of it everywhere, not just my face. But we'll see. Derm appointment in exactly a month.

How have things been going for you lately? Hope you're seeing some improvements!

You are able to apply the regimen to neck / chest / back (there's instructions for it if you're curious) but I can understand why you wouldn't do it there. I think it would be hard to do - especially when it could bleach all your shirts etc - how annoying.

I understand why you'd be thinking of accutane then too. I think if in 2-3 years if my acne is worse / nothing else works then I'll be considering it more seriously.

How have things been going for you lately? Hope you're seeing some improvements!

You are able to apply the regimen to neck / chest / back (there's instructions for it if you're curious) but I can understand why you wouldn't do it there. I think it would be hard to do - especially when it could bleach all your shirts etc - how annoying.

I understand why you'd be thinking of accutane then too. I think if in 2-3 years if my acne is worse / nothing else works then I'll be considering it more seriously.

Hi Lily! There was significant improvement before I went on vacation, albeit with a LOT more dryness and flaking. My skin felt like a tight mask and I couldn't eat or even smile without flaking up all over.

I didn't keep a log on vacation because I wanted to keep my mind off acne. I even went for a week without BP, hoping to reduce some of the redness and dryness and restore my skin back to normal. Unfortunately, I broke out a lot more toward the end of that week, and ended up using BP again, albeit without cleanser because I forgot to pack it (I just used water).

Right now my skin is pretty bad I guess... I mean it's been worse, but all my old marks are really dark, I have a bunch of new acne to deal with. I guess the only upside is that I'm not as red / flaky because I've been off BP for a bit.

I think I'm going to try minocycline (probably still using BP) for as long as it lasts... maybe even something else, if my derm has an alternative... but really, like I already mentioned creams can't be the solution to my acne problem... part of the solution maybe, but seeing as how I have acne all over my back now (clusters on my upper back, sporadic cysts on my lower back), random pimples on my neck as well as around the ears (even in the ears for crying out loud), and sometimes even in my hair... I feel like I really need something internal. Can't be rubbing creams all over my body!

That's good that you're skin is less flaky / red after a bit of a break from BP. I understand taking an internal approach - I think all acne is internally driven and that topicals can help still - but it's all about finding what works / the combination of things that work for you.

Good luck with it all!

Wombat, i am sorry that you are having such a hard time. The thing with The Regimen is that this early on, you hae to be consistent, even when the side effects seem unbearable. Keep in mind i was still breaking out and getting terrible rash like redness by the corners of my mouth up until the end of July. I don't have that anymore and dryness has cut way back. I am now dealing with skin discoloration and hope to have that nder control in a few months. Stick with it while you work about eating better, living better, stressing less.

Don't give up!

Good Luck

Well, currently my face is doing decently... still much better than when I started... I have maybe five actives in the general area around the mouth, plus one or two small-ish ones near the lip that came up overnight I think. The lip ones are from kissing, the rest is probably from unhealthy eating. All of the actives that aren't near the lip are actually remnants of the previous week, when I was on vacation and went without BP for some time.

I also got flakes (serious flakes as opposed to one or two here and there) for the first time today in maybe a week. This whole week I've been going with BP at night only, no moisturizer, then in the morning water rinse + BP on actives (occasionally). I want to keep acne away as much as possible but at the same time avoid excessive flaking, seeing as how I am unable to use moisturizer

I've been trying to eat more healthy as well, avoiding sugar, alcohol, dairy, red meat... it's helped in the past and I want to see if it will help my situation again. Heck, a limited diet used to keep me clear-ish even without BP! Unfortunately, I haven't been super-committed to it yet... had a lot of soda yesterday, and the couple days before that drank a lot... also made halva today and was tempted to try it, and ended up eating more than I should... but I'll get better at it, lol.

I also have to work on my mirror fixation... throughout the day I keep checking the mirror to see if I'm flaking up.

School starts next week... looking forward to major stress, what with taking full-time classes PLUS having to support myself. Derm appointment on the 7th, maybe she can help me out with her infinite wisdom... but until then, in BP and diet I trust.

Quick update... things are about the same I guess... some stuff leaving, some stuff coming in... not going to count all the ones I have around my mouth, I think it's a little worse than before though. Another new one on the lipline, at the top, kinda hurts. My girlfriend gave me some concealer to use, so I'll just put that on if anything gets REALLY red and out of control. Other than that, dryness, flakiness, redness (especially around mouth)... From now until my derm appointment, I'm going to stick with nighttime BP and daytime spot treatment rather than 2x a day application.

Also need to stick to the diet. Today I started off well but ended up eating a couple buttery cookies. I knew I shouldn't have, but I had a craving and just couldn't resist. Hopefully I can hold up better in the future.

I'm just having trouble seeing the light at the end of the tunnel right now, but I need to tell myself it's going to get better.