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I thought I'd report how things where going with this regimen. I about 6 weeks in, following this regimen and 10 days without any BP applied (I've been slowly weaning myself off of BP since starting this regimen). A few observations:
- Face was doing pretty well until week 4, when I got 3 smaller cysts. 2 healed OK without scarring, but 1 is persisted for a couple weeks.
- Since quitting BP, I've mostly got really small whiteheads around my nose that seem to heal pretty quickly. When I tried quitting BP a year ago, I got a lot of inflamed acne around my nose, so I'm guessing I have less inflammation now.
- I haven't really seen a decrease in oiliness on my face, though my lips have gotten drier
Well done on sticking at it. I know that elminating BP is a tough step but in the longer run your skin will be better for it.
You should however have seen a decrease in oil after six weeks in. Dry lips tend to be associated with much higher levels of B5 than 500mg.
I would suggest switching to time release B5, if you are currently taking the regular kind.
Been going at this for a while now, however I am still using BP - I tried stopping it and I got a breakout.
I was also travelling for a week and didn't have access to a juicer, so instead i bought bottle tomato juice, which didn't seem to have the same benefits as I also got worse skin during the travelling.
I was wondering what cleanser and moisturiser wingedserpent uses?
Been going at this for a while now, however I am still using BP - I tried stopping it and I got a breakout.
I was also travelling for a week and didn't have access to a juicer, so instead i bought bottle tomato juice, which didn't seem to have the same benefits as I also got worse skin during the travelling.
I was wondering what cleanser and moisturiser wingedserpent uses?
Commercial tomato juice tends to be loaded with salt -best avoided.
I'm happy to let people know the skin cleansers I use if they message me. As I've said -I don't want my post to become a discussion of cleansing regimes.
Yes, I read the ingredients and it was tomato juice + salt. It tasted very salty as well... At least now I know.
In the UK, the nearest you can get to finding decent commercial vegetable juice are the following outlets:
Health Food shops that have a juice bar (like Fresh & Wild used to)
Juice bars in shopping centres (some only do fruit juice, but there's one near me that does veggies as well)
Pret A Manger -pure carrot juice in bottles.
Some higher-end cafes -there's a nice one near me in Baker Street, London, that does carrot, beetroot and ginger.
If anyone else knows of any more (in the UK or US or elsewhere) we can add them to the list.
Could I just use V8 for my vegetable juice?
No.
Nothing beats fresh food.
The problem with all processed foods is that they've been through a production process that degrades the nutritional integrity of the food. V8 is a processed vegetable drink. It has considerable amounts of added salt. That alone is a reason I wouldn't drink it. But it's been centrifuged and pasteurised and bottled weeks, if not months, before you get to drink it. In the case of vegetable juice, the nutrients start degrading within 30 minutes of exposure to the air.
Don't look for shortcuts. If you want good skin you have to make the effort.
Don't look for shortcuts. If you want good skin you have to make the effort.
I frown at that statement. Over many years the amount of money I spent, all the doctor appointments, and the dozens of regimes I've tried; please don't talk to me about effort.
Regardless, thank you for answering my question.
3. Supplements
I don't believe in megadosing. I think it's dangerous.
I take 500mg of B5 and 500mg of L-Carnitine.
L-Carnitine increases the absorption of B5 so that you can similar effects with taking a lot less. L-carnitine also improves wound healing times.
Incidentally, way before the recent B5 studies, it was known that B5 had a beneficial effect on acne even at low doses. Adele Davies in her book "Let's Get Well" (I think published back in the 60s) noted cases that cleared up by taking just this amount -500mg.
Have you noticed any side-effects from this combination/quantity?
Also, what other supplements if any are you taking?
Also, have you tried Pantethine?
3. Supplements
I don't believe in megadosing. I think it's dangerous.
I take 500mg of B5 and 500mg of L-Carnitine.
L-Carnitine increases the absorption of B5 so that you can similar effects with taking a lot less. L-carnitine also improves wound healing times.
Incidentally, way before the recent B5 studies, it was known that B5 had a beneficial effect on acne even at low doses. Adele Davies in her book "Let's Get Well" (I think published back in the 60s) noted cases that cleared up by taking just this amount -500mg.
Have you noticed any side-effects from this combination/quantity?
Also, what other supplements if any are you taking?
I'm not taking any other supplements.
I haven't noticed any side effects.
I haven't considered pantethine.
This might work for some people. But for many, myself included, diet makes no difference whatsoever. If I use BP gel twice daily, I stay clear. I can eat vast amounts of sugar, drink coffee till it comes out of my ears, live on junk food - skin remains fine. I mostly do eat pretty healthily but no sugar diets etc made no difference to my acne. It persisted doggedly until I started using the DK regimen.
This might work for some people. But for many, myself included, diet makes no difference whatsoever. If I use BP gel twice daily, I stay clear. I can eat vast amounts of sugar, drink coffee till it comes out of my ears, live on junk food - skin remains fine. I mostly do eat pretty healthily but no sugar diets etc made no difference to my acne. It persisted doggedly until I started using the DK regimen.
Since this is a forum about Adult Acne, the overwhelming majority of people reading my posts are people for whom BP, like myself, did not work. My posts are directed towards those people.
My regime is not about eating a healthy diet. It is primarily about drinking vegetable juice and taking B5 with L Carnitine. Those two are not the same thing. My regime is essentially medicinal in nature, since the levels of B5, Carnitine, E, Bera Carotene and micro nutrients in the program exceed anything that could be ingested by eating whole food. This is the whole point of juicing.
It's now been five months since I made my original post.
Is there anyone following my regime who would like to update us on their experience?
I've had a couple of emails from people for whom it's working well but I'd like to see some positive feedback on these boards to encourage others.
I thought I'd report on my progress -- I'm about 10 weeks into this regimen and I've been off BP for about 6 weeks.
Currently, I'm still getting whitehead acne around my nose, chin and lips - I don't think I've been off BP long enough to tell if the acne in these areas are getting better or worse yet. My forehead, cheeks and temples are pretty clear - prior to starting juicing and vitamin b5 w/ L-Carnitine these were acne-prone areas.
BTW, using time-released Vitamin B5 helped normalize the moisture in my lips. Thanks for that tip.
I really want to try this regimen but I don't know how I'm going to kick the sugar. A coke and a smile (aka.hersheys w_almonds) is my fav stress medicine.
I would like to know opinions on if I should stop taking he solodyn perscribed by my derm once I start the reg...thoughts???
I will "enroll" in this program as soon as my vitamin shipment arrives.
I tried B5 ten years ago but stopped within the month as my hair started thinning and had no results. I didn't know about Biotin then.
I've been on a strict low glycemic diet for the last 11 years so that's taken care of.
I'm looking for sebum reduction as I don't have much active acne anymore.
I always suspected something very "low level" is involved, like the lipid metabolism. I also harbour the conviction that it's a genetically inherited disease.
However only in the last couple of days did I read up on genetically inherited lipid metabolism disorders: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipid_metabolism_disorder
and it really closed the circle for me: they're all about Coenzyme A (B5 is a precursor) and Carnitine.
It all makes sense to me, I can fit any known fact in this hypothesys (which is really Leung's study from 1997, plus the genetic aspect).
It makes sense for teenagers going through hormonal changes to get acne, even if they have no genetic disorder. For those of us who *are* genetically afflicted it becames a permanent condition.
Maybe a dumb question, but would be using something like V8 be acceptable in place of making your own vegetable drinks?
It is better to drink V8 instead of nothing but it is much better to make your own juices...V8 and all store bought ones are very high in sodium. If you make your won juices you know exactly what goes into it and can tweak it as need be.
believe me I took the original posters advice to a large degree and I am very pleased with the results. especially the part about cutting out most sugars...it has taken my skin inflamation way down. I owe this gentleman in a big way 
)
Hi, stumbled upon this post today, thanks for the good job. I'm willing to give ur suggestions a trial. I'm pretty sure that not more than 3 of the veggies on the list is available in my country. Can i in addition to the veggies i can find on the list use the ones i can readily get? Will it yield the same result?