My Differin Log - Retinoids Take 2

AppleySauce · 2015-12-03T10:16:05Z

TLDR; Differin did not work for me in the end. Figured out I'd come back and update the first post to this so no one potentially wastes their time reading this till the end. Personally though, I think it's the best retinoid, so feel free to read this log anyway as I can't delete an entire topic from this site. I'm taking Accutane at the moment and so far it's going great for me! Okay, granted, the first time I tried using Retin A (a whooping 5 months of commitment last year) I didn't really do anymore research into it other than ya just slap a lil' bit on and then you turn into a lizard after a short while and reveal your blemish free skin. Essentially during the time I used it I was putting the product OVER my moisturizer in the evening. Even worse, my 'moisturizer' was rose hip oil. So basically I wasn't even letting the retinoid touch my skin... and it wasn't. I was so confused why this product was having no effect whatsoever, you can go back through my past posts and see me whinging about it... God have mercy on me. How do I know I had stuffed up? My doctor insisted I give differin (a different class retinoid but with the same effect, essentially) another go as a last resort before accutane. I left the office major po'd, in tears, with a firm belief that this was fruitless and set out to the nearest dank alleyway to hire a hitman... jk jk. Anyways so this past week I have been skipping nightly moisturizing out of laziness and just putting the differin on and sleeping... heavens forbid my skin has started peeling and becoming flaky! Blackheads on my chin that were never close enough to the surface to extract are coming to the top! Scars that I have had for years are beginning to change in a way that I've never seen before. Of course this doesn't necessarily mean it will work this time round, but it's suddenly just dawned on my why my 'stubborn skin' is finally reacting to something and I had to share. (I'm also on doxy for three months but I don't believe this will contribute as mino did not work whatsoever and my acne is rarely pus like.) On a side note this is a list of everything I have tried over the past 5 years (granted I did not obviously give three months for each, but reading the list of things I have tried you could probably not imagine doing any of these for three months): EXTERNAL: Coffee masks, Baking soda, Benzoyl peroxide 5%, Sulphur soap, Mild cleansers - (simple, trilogy, antipodes, skinfood nz, sukin)., Radioactive cleansers - (eg clearasil foaming acne wash (you may as well put undiluted hcl on your face for the lols at this point)), ACV diulted, Yogurt masks, tumeric masks, Garlic, Honey, Cylic acid, Egg mask & Egg white porinnamon paste, Betadine, Lemon juice, Biore, Urine therapy (my absolute lowest point), Nutrogena, Retin a, Potato (my second lowest point), Both kaolin and bentonite Clay/mud mask, Salice strips diy that sh*t, Walnut scrub, Clearasil complete kit, Clindamycin liquid, Duac, Fresh aloe vera gel, Toothpaste,, Oil cleansing method, Clove oil, Neroli oil, Rose hip oil, Peppermint oil, Neem oil,Tea tree oil, Lavender oil, Zinc oxide, Sea salt soaks, Himalayan salt soaks, The sun, Epsom salts, Bactroban, Foban (thought it was staph), Ketoconazole & Athletes foot cream and oregano oil (thought it was fungus), Hydrocortisone, Permethrin cream 5% (thought it was demodex)INTERNAL: Minocycline, Dieting & food elimination so excessive I lost 5kgs/10pounds, Birth control - diane 35 for 6 months, Evening primrose oil, Turmeric capsules, Multivitamin, Consuming large quantities of - raw garlic, lemon water, ACV in water, liver cleansing teas (the teas do help a little!), Attempting to water fast, Gluten free, 100% dairy free, Zinc tablets, Stopped drinking alcohol at parties despite I do not experience breakouts from it, Probiotic liquid supplement, Collecting rain water, fluoride free toothpaste The caveman regimen, taking bentonite clay internally. Peace

Last Post

Natsu

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(@natsu)

Posted : 02/04/2016 5:56 pm

16 hours ago, AppleySauce said:

Thanks natsu for your concern
Thank fully now that my skin is clearing it's getting ALOT better.
I would say most of the picking comes from the anxiety I have over my acne, but that's gettting better now too.

Great to hear! Hopefully your anxiety will disappear with the improvements ^^

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Appley Sauce

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(@appleysauce)

Posted : 02/08/2016 6:06 pm

END OF WEEK 10(?)

So my skin has evened out so much this last week! I still have bumps coming to the surface but I know they are ones that have been there for ages.
I hope by the end of the month I might be almost clear!
** I don't even care if anyone recognizes me, if you're on this site and you know who I am (slim chance anyway), you're probably here because you understand my struggles.**

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Appley Sauce

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(@appleysauce)

Posted : 02/08/2016 11:50 pm

3 hours ago, Chloe123 said:
How did you get rid of the hyperpigmintation?

I think I'm just lucky I have skin that doesn't keep PIH too long.
But 100% of the time find that the more I try to treat it the less it improves, so I don't use anything and let my skin heal naturally.
In saying that I do have some shallow scars on the back of my jawline.

Edit: One thing I do that could help with it is that whenever I extract a 'ripe' pimple I ice it immediately, regardless of whether I got all the contents out or not.

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Appley Sauce

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(@appleysauce)

Posted : 02/18/2016 10:13 pm

END OF WEEK 11

Bit of a late update but better than never.
So my skin is still getting better very slowly, i had about a 3-4 day period of no significant bumps! But just now i have discovered about 4! Argh.
too lazy to be any more specific, will update for twelve weeks soon!

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Appley Sauce

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(@appleysauce)

Posted : 02/22/2016 9:16 pm

~~IMPORTANT UPDATE~~

I am quitter... Yep I quit differin.
I went to my doctor today as it has been exactly 12 weeks since I started and about 4 days ago my skin broke out again so bad and so painful. Originally I was going to ask him for tazorac, as I knew it was a stronger retinoid.
We decided though, that because I am scarring now, and I have tried other retinoids, bp, clindamycin two antibiotic courses, and two birth controls, that it would be best just to start accutane...
It's annoying to finish this log on such a failed outcome but I just want this stage of my life (acne) to be over!!
Good luck to everyone else who is on differin.

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My Differin Log - Retinoids Take 2

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