Hi. I've heard prescriptions like Epi take a while to get used to. At the same time, I'm also a firm believer in trusting your instincts and not worsening your face. I tried a sample of Retin-A Mirco 0.04 cream, for example, and perhaps it was worse because I used it too often to start out (a tiny layer every night vs. every other night) but it caused breakouts in unusual places and didn't bring the actual problematic cc's to the surface. There waspainful peeling that actually darkened my skin and gave me a horrible chemical burn (according to derm). It wasn't a normal IB....it was too strong for my skin. As soon as I stopped, the reactions went away, though Ihad the aftermath of a few tiny weird whiteheads popping up on/around the areas where it burnedme.

If you feel this is doing more harm than good, you need to see the derm you went to and ask for advice. Hopefully they'll be able to determine if what is going on is a normal IB cycle or an allergic reaction/intolerance. BP gel can be very irritating to some...according to my derm, it irritates 1 in 10 people. I can't tolerate it personally; every OTC Bp gel and wash I've tried has been too drying when used every day.Maybe Differin 0.01% would be a better option for you if you want to go down the retinoid route. But no matter what, it's important to moisturize when you use anything harsh because dry skin = more acne.

On 1 October 2016 at 6:09 PM, cloudydreamer said:

Hi. I've heard prescriptions like Epi take a while to get used to. At the same time, I'm also a firm believer in trusting your instincts and not worsening your face. I tried a sample of Retin-A Mirco 0.04 cream, for example, and perhaps it was worse because I used it too often to start out (a tiny layer every night vs. every other night) but it caused breakouts in unusual places and didn't bring the actual problematic cc's to the surface. There waspainful peeling that actually darkened my skin and gave me a horrible chemical burn (according to derm). It wasn't a normal IB....it was too strong for my skin. As soon as I stopped, the reactions went away, though Ihad the aftermath of a few tiny weird whiteheads popping up on/around the areas where it burnedme.

If you feel this is doing more harm than good, you need to see the derm you went to and ask for advice. Hopefully they'll be able to determine if what is going on is a normal IB cycle or an allergic reaction/intolerance. BP gel can be very irritating to some...according to my derm, it irritates 1 in 10 people. I can't tolerate it personally; every OTC Bp gel and wash I've tried has been too drying when used every day.Maybe Differin 0.01% would be a better option for you if you want to go down the retinoid route. But no matter what, it's important to moisturize when you use anything harsh because dry skin = more acne.

Thanks for your reply. I'll tell my derm that I think it might be irritating my skin/making it worse when I next go. It's just hard to know whether like you said, I should trust my instincts and stop using it, or if I should stick it out and see if it eventually improves! Thank you anyway:)

On 10/9/2016 at 3:19 PM, KindlyPear said:

On 10/1/2016 at 1:09 PM, cloudydreamer said:

Hi. I've heard prescriptions like Epi take a while to get used to. At the same time, I'm also a firm believer in trusting your instincts and not worsening your face. I tried a sample of Retin-A Mirco 0.04 cream, for example, and perhaps it was worse because I used it too often to start out (a tiny layer every night vs. every other night) but it caused breakouts in unusual places and didn't bring the actual problematic cc's to the surface. There waspainful peeling that actually darkened my skin and gave me a horrible chemical burn (according to derm). It wasn't a normal IB....it was too strong for my skin. As soon as I stopped, the reactions went away, though Ihad the aftermath of a few tiny weird whiteheads popping up on/around the areas where it burnedme.

If you feel this is doing more harm than good, you need to see the derm you went to and ask for advice. Hopefully they'll be able to determine if what is going on is a normal IB cycle or an allergic reaction/intolerance. BP gel can be very irritating to some...according to my derm, it irritates 1 in 10 people. I can't tolerate it personally; every OTC Bp gel and wash I've tried has been too drying when used every day.Maybe Differin 0.01% would be a better option for you if you want to go down the retinoid route. But no matter what, it's important to moisturize when you use anything harsh because dry skin = more acne.

Thanks for your reply. I'll tell my derm that I think it might be irritating my skin/making it worse when I next go. It's just hard to know whether like you said, I should trust my instincts and stop using it, or if I should stick it out and see if it eventually improves! Thank you anyway:)

You're welcome. I hope you get the answers and treatment you need. Remember, some peeling and a bit of redness is always normal when introducing strong products, but extreme itching, blotchiness, redness and peeling is not normal. It also means you might just have to decrease the frequency of the treatment and see if that helps at all. Personally I dislike BP since it contains free radicals but for some people it can work very well.

On 10/10/2016 at 3:19 AM, KindlyPear said:

On 10/2/2016 at 1:09 AM, cloudydreamer said:

Hi. I've heard prescriptions like Epi take a while to get used to. At the same time, I'm also a firm believer in trusting your instincts and not worsening your face. I tried a sample of Retin-A Mirco 0.04 cream, for example, and perhaps it was worse because I used it too often to start out (a tiny layer every night vs. every other night) but it caused breakouts in unusual places and didn't bring the actual problematic cc's to the surface. There waspainful peeling that actually darkened my skin and gave me a horrible chemical burn (according to derm). It wasn't a normal IB....it was too strong for my skin. As soon as I stopped, the reactions went away, though Ihad the aftermath of a few tiny weird whiteheads popping up on/around the areas where it burnedme.

If you feel this is doing more harm than good, you need to see the derm you went to and ask for advice. Hopefully they'll be able to determine if what is going on is a normal IB cycle or an allergic reaction/intolerance. BP gel can be very irritating to some...according to my derm, it irritates 1 in 10 people. I can't tolerate it personally; every OTC Bp gel and wash I've tried has been too drying when used every day.Maybe Differin 0.01% would be a better option for you if you want to go down the retinoid route. But no matter what, it's important to moisturize when you use anything harsh because dry skin = more acne.

Thanks for your reply. I'll tell my derm that I think it might be irritating my skin/making it worse when I next go. It's just hard to know whether like you said, I should trust my instincts and stop using it, or if I should stick it out and see if it eventually improves! Thank you anyway:)

Do not stop using it all of a sudden! I had my worst acne breakout a week after I suddenly stopped using BP!

Once you start using BP you need to keep going. If you stop it'll come back 100xs more worse. I have epiduo also, but haven't touched it. Because I just want to use Bp on my face for the rest of my life. But since now my acne cleared up I don't need any BP. Best of luck. Patience is the key.

On 10/13/2016 at 1:20 AM, WoahShay said:

Once you start using BP you need to keep going. If you stop it'll come back 100xs more worse. I have epiduo also, but haven't touched it. Because I just want to use Bp on my face for the rest of my life. But since now my acne cleared up I don't need any BP. Best of luck. Patience is the key.

If you use a BP spot treatment OTC, like a 2.5% gel by CC, would you need to taper off the dose or is it just Rx-grade BP [Epiduo] that you cannot suddenly discontinue? I figured it was the latter, but I was curious.

On 13 October 2016 at 6:20 AM, WoahShay said:

Once you start using BP you need to keep going. If you stop it'll come back 100xs more worse. I have epiduo also, but haven't touched it. Because I just want to use Bp on my face for the rest of my life. But since now my acne cleared up I don't need any BP. Best of luck. Patience is the key.

My acne gets noticeably and considerably better if I don't use BP for a couple of nights, so do you think this is a sign that I should stop using it? Or will it get worse if I leave it for any longer without using BP? Thank you.

9 hours ago, KindlyPear said:

On 10/13/2016 at 0:20 AM, WoahShay said:

Once you start using BP you need to keep going. If you stop it'll come back 100xs more worse. I have epiduo also, but haven't touched it. Because I just want to use Bp on my face for the rest of my life. But since now my acne cleared up I don't need any BP. Best of luck. Patience is the key.

My acne gets noticeably and considerably better if I don't use BP for a couple of nights, so do you think this is a sign that I should stop using it? Or will it get worse if I leave it for any longer without using BP? Thank you.

It depends how long you have been using BP? IF you just been using it for a week or so. Stop now and find a gentler solution. If you been using more than two weeks and it's helping. Just keep using it.

On 10/18/2016 at 3:25 PM, KindlyPear said:

On 10/13/2016 at 1:20 AM, WoahShay said:

Once you start using BP you need to keep going. If you stop it'll come back 100xs more worse. I have epiduo also, but haven't touched it. Because I just want to use Bp on my face for the rest of my life. But since now my acne cleared up I don't need any BP. Best of luck. Patience is the key.

My acne gets noticeably and considerably better if I don't use BP for a couple of nights, so do you think this is a sign that I should stop using it? Or will it get worse if I leave it for any longer without using BP? Thank you.

I would consult your dermatologist. Honestly if you notice an improvement with stopping it might be causing a reaction. I feel that way with SA cleaners as well. The minute I stop using them my acne doesn't get worse, my skin actually calms down and my pores get smaller. Just because BP is great for many doesn't mean it's one size fits all. Same with SA and other traditional methods.