Ok, my skin is back to being clear. I'm still spot treating my red marks with the PCA Smoothing Toner instead of using it all over because it will dry my skin to death. I have been back to using the PCA Pigment Bar all over my face for a couple days now and no huge breakout which means the last breakout was from the sugar.

I want to see if I can go back to eating tomatoes. I miss them!

I bet that the Acne.org membership will go up a couple days after Halloween because people will get sugar induced break outs.

Your skin is looking radiant and gorgeous. Congrats I'm so happy for you!

I just wanted to let you know that I think you look fab. Your skin is pretty enviable at this point

Your skin is looking radiant and gorgeous. Congrats 🙂 I'm so happy for you!

I just wanted to let you know that I think you look fab. Your skin is pretty enviable at this point 😀

Thank you. It means a lot : )

Hey!

Thanks for the reply.. very helpful!

Do you have pitted scars.. I have a few pitted scars, i dont know what to do with them. How do u treat them or plan to treat them?

<QUOTE> (Shum @ Oct 4 2009, 06:45 AM) *

Ice doesn't really help me at all. It may even be damaging your skin more if you're using the ice cube directly. If you really want it gone, put a hot wash cloth over the zit and it should come to head faster. You can pop it then or use bp on it. I think the zits gets more inflamed because of bp. When I would treat one zit with bp and one without, the one without would be less inflamed. You can try manuka oil, it's kind of like tea tree oil but I didn't really like either. Neem oil clogged my pores a little so I only used that on huge cystic ones and it really only got inflammation but not the puss. Oh and you can try other spot treatments that have sulfur listed.

</QUOTE>

Hey!

Thanks for the reply.. very helpful! 🙂

Do you have pitted scars.. I have a few pitted scars, i dont know what to do with them. How do u treat them or plan to treat them?

Yeah, in the sunlight at an angle, I can see some. I don't believe there is a natural approach to remove them. Only by microdermabrasion, dermabrasion or chemical peels.

I have a cold. I was forgetting the zinc and acai so that might have played a part ha. I started the liquid acai today. It says it's 35,000 mg per tablespoon. I was getting 1000 mg taking two pills of acai so I'll see if the higher acai does anything. It taste good. It reminds me of berries or grapes.

Cetaphil was on sale, so I caved in and bought the lotion. I have used it in the past, years ago, but remember not liking it. I stopped using any type of lotion or oil on my face for maybe a month now. I switch between just water and the PCA Pigment Bar. I highly doubt Cetaphil will be a winner for my skin. I'm going to only put it on some part of face to begin.

Next month, I am thinking about trying the Mychelle Fiesta Peel. It is supposedly stronger than the Pumpkin Peel which I have.

I haven't put on makeup other than mascara since the start of August.

I didn't like Cetaphil, too greasy. I can't imagine using it on my entire face because my skin is oily. If you're on accutane, then this may be fine, but not for me.

I am liking the Queen Helen Mint Julep mask. I am normally too scared to put it all over my face but it's nice.

If you peel apart a two ply toilet paper, you can use one sheet to dab. It works the same as a oil blotting paper but it's much cheaper.

No current breakouts.

Boo hoo. I felt a zit yesterday coming up by my mouth and first thought that came to mind was, "Ugh. I bet this one is going to stay awhile.". I knew it was from that time of the month. Thankfully, it is the only pimple that popped up. I used every mask and spot treatment I had in the house. I think it came to head but I may have irritated it so much that it will get even bigger and inflamed. Or maybe I brought it to head x10 faster instead of letting it sit on my face for a week. I probably won't know till tomorrow.

I'm going to add tomatoes back into my diet this week and see if anything changes for the worse.

I am trying Philosophy Purity High Foaming Cleanser in a couple days. I don't have high hopes for it because it might be too harsh and drying even though the PCA Pigment bar is already.

Day 1 of Purity Foaming Cleanser on half my face

I'm also using the Neutragena cream with vitamin a and "multi-vitamins" but only on a small portion of my face.

I have been slacking on my Zinc but going to kick it up again.

I swear the PCA Pigment bar has to be causing these pin size white heads. I'm thinking it is the vegetable oil in it.

Hi Acnejean!

I have a question just for you

I'm interested in trying Papaya soap for my skin... I currently use the Lush 'Dark Angels' cleanser, which I love, but it's not really an everyday cleanser and it doesn't remove makeup... it has done wonders for my flakey skin though!1

Anyway...

I see that you use Lika's soap, but I was wondering if you thought any other brands would be suitable?

I live in Australia, so Lika's was the most expensive one once you add shipping...

this one is better value for me: soap I'm considering... but I know nothing about papaya soap, so I want some experienced input! Haha

Lika's has awesome reviews, but I'm just wondering if this one could be the same thing but a different brand orr?? Help!! Hahaha.

Hope the face and everything is going well (haha, 'hope the face' just seemed like an appropriate sign off for this website but reading it over it sounds kind of weird...)

MoonUnit xoxo

Hi Acnejean!

I have a question just for you 🙂

I'm interested in trying Papaya soap for my skin... I currently use the Lush 'Dark Angels' cleanser, which I love, but it's not really an everyday cleanser and it doesn't remove makeup... it has done wonders for my flakey skin though!1

Anyway...

I see that you use Lika's soap, but I was wondering if you thought any other brands would be suitable?

I live in Australia, so Lika's was the most expensive one once you add shipping...

this one is better value for me: soap I'm considering... but I know nothing about papaya soap, so I want some experienced input! Haha 😀

Lika's has awesome reviews, but I'm just wondering if this one could be the same thing but a different brand orr?? Help!! Hahaha.

Hope the face and everything is going well (haha, 'hope the face' just seemed like an appropriate sign off for this website but reading it over it sounds kind of weird...)

MoonUnit xoxo

Maybe I am reading it wrong, but the Likas soap is cheaper than the soap you wanted here. I don't know what the ingredients are in that soap but kojic acid is good for fading scars. My PCA Pigment Bar has it. The Likas soap lasts for like an entire year for me.

No, I don't think that is the same thing as Likas soap. It has a different shape.

My skin has been fine. I have a huge zit on my face though from irritating it. Oh well.

I think I am going to get this lactic peel next week here. Glycolic clearly doesn't work well with me. Even when I used a toner with it, it broke me out. Next month, it'll be a year since my horrible glycolic peel that gave me giant cystic acne wherever I put it and not even any peeling. I'm not sure if I am going to get the 35% or the 50%, It is tricky because one person says it burned their skin off, while another says it does nothing so it would probably we wise to start off with the lowest. I am not going to put it all over my face. I am most likely going to try it on my temples to see if I get any breakouts.

The purity cleanser is pretty drying but I'm used to it. No noticeable breaks out from it yet. It's kind of gross to me because it reminds me of the shampoo I used on it my cat. It was also comes out as a foam .

I bought the lactic peel yesterday on Amazon. I should be getting it this in 3-5 days if it ships when it says.

I tried the lactic acid 50% peel. I like how it is a gel so it's easier to apply. I'm not sure if the gel ingredient will be the reason if I break out. I put it on the section on my temple and a little bit toward the forehead. I didn't feel anything for 5 minutes which was strange. I put another layer on it and it seemed to tingle. I had it on for about 10 minutes and washed it off. If I don't break out from it there, I'll try it on my forehead next.

I think I'm going to stop washing with Purity cleanser. It doesn't have many good things in it I need right now like acids yet it is drying enough to seem like it does so I'm going to stop. I irritated my skin too much my rubbing it so I have little bumps and the texture looks horrible. I get them from irritation and over exfoliation.

I used the peel on my entire forehead this time. It stung on contact and left it on for much less than yesterday. I don't have any scars on my forehead but I do get these bouts of blackheads or bumps all over.

That cleanser tore up my skin but last night, I looked in the mirror and my skin looked amazing. It wasn't red or irritated and the red bumps went away. However, I did have a minor breakout by my mouth that was most likely from the cleanser or hormones. Neosporin is a life saver for popped pimples. For the ones I didn't use it on, the mark is still purple but on other ones, it fades like nothing was there.

I should be using the peel on other parts of my face near the end of the week.

I'm still using the PCA Pigment Bar and sometimes hazelnut/kukui nut oil.

I was looking through my old grocery receipts and this is what I found on them for 2007- early 2008

campbell soup

lays chips

oranges

yoplait yogurt

welchs strawberry juice

newmans lemonade

frozen dinners

red baron pizza

ice cream cones

whole grain bagels (this were thick and like 300 calories a piece)

wonder bread

pop tarts

kraft mac and cheese

elf fudge cookies

chips ahoy

fruit punch

eggs

kraft singles

marshmellow cocoa mix

miracle whip

soy milk (i was never able to drink straight dairy)

dole fruit juice

Yuck. I clearly don't eat like that now.

It has been a couple days since I used the peel on my forehead and I can see a lot of dead skin and the black heads that was covering my entire forehead died down. I used the peel on a little rectangle section that had a very old red mark on it and it's probably just the time of day or lighting but I think I can see it fading. I don't notice any peeling like pictures on Google will show for peels but it does feel rough. I'll probably use the peel on a larger part of my face Monday night.

I used the lactic peel on the whole right side of my face. I hope I didn't put it on too long. The little section I put on my cheek got two tiny scabs from doing it too long but nothing major. I hope I don't break out even though the section last time didn't.

Ok. I did the peel on the entire left side of my face. I am so glad this peel doesn't break me out. It didn't on the right side. I still don't feel dry skin on the right side. I don't want to say if it has worked yet after only one peel. I read in the packet that came with the peel that it's fine to do it once every week so I plan on doing that.

I'm still taking 200 mg of zinc a day. I have been taking it for a very long time but I don't really see a production of less oil. I'm still as oily as ever but I don't break out that often anymore.

If you have never done a peel before and wonder how it feels, it feels tingly and prickly. I used a damp towel with my spring water on it so I didn't have to use my tap water and the towel made me feel every prick on my skin but I got used to it. You can sort of feel it after you wash your face but it goes away. I don't experience peeling even with a 55% lactic peel and I would say my skin is sensitive.

I bought 100 percent pure's white tea rose toner. I always wanted that and finally caved in and bought it. I should be getting it in the mail soon.

I used the peel on the right side of my face. I guess I'll be doing it every Saturday. On the left side of my face I'll be doing it every Monday since I started them at different times.

I wonder if my skin will look any different by the end of December :/

I did another peel on Friday on my whole face so my face is really dry and flaky looking. I didn't get good sleep last night so I'm sure that is a factor also.

Last night, I looked in my mirror and was able to count the purple/red/pink marks. Before I wouldn't even do it because there were so many. I think there was less than 20 on my left side and the same for the right. It sounds like a lot but they can add up fast!

I asked someone on another forum if I should switch to salicylic acid peel but they said sticking with lactic would be better. I don't think s.a would work well for me anyways because when I would use s.a spot treatment, I would get bad burns. I never burn from bp 10%.

They also suggested trying topical niacinamide like this http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/hono_2083_196801299 . I'm not too fond on the last group of ingredients because I don't know what TEA is exactly and it's most likely a toxic chemical. I asked someone about it and they said it was fine but I am still weary. I don't like the idea of putting a lot of chemicals on my skin. That's why I don't like using cream lotions even on my body. http://gmuntz.tripod.com/ show information about the topical form.

I really don't want to take that in pill form because I'm not sure if that is truly healthy. I don't want to mess around with too many vitamins again especially with how vitamin A can collect in your body from overdose.

I think I am going to try B5. Vitacost has the cheapest B5, 200 caps 500 mg for $15. My skin is very oily so if the only thing it does is suck up some of my oil, I'll be happy. I am worried if I get an initial break out. I don't really break out anymore but I have been getting pimples forming by my mouth and jaw again. It's that time of the month so it makes sense. Sometimes, I am able to stop the pimple in its tracks with HP but that can blow up in my face and make the pimple get infected and angry.

If anyone is interested in my acne light, message me. I didn't even use it for a week.

Haha, I am fast in decisions. I bought the Vitamin B5 and also B3 gel. It is Metazene (niacinamide gel) 2oz. There are a lot of reviews and even studies on topical niacinmide. With my luck, the gel will break me out from the extra ingredients but we'll see. On the website, I used a coupon code and only had to pay $20 for it. That's the cheapest one out there without a prescription.

I am more worried with the B5 vitamins to be honest. I am worried because I can control where I put the gel to see if it breaks me out, but can't control anything the B5 does. I'm not sure which one I'll get first since I bought them a day apart. Even if the B5 comes first, I'm not going to take it first. I'd like to try the gel before anything.

I found this and thought it was interesting:

It is about the chemicals we put on our skin.

Every couple of months, I get this one HUGE cystic pimple that is a size of a dime almost. This time, I got it on the corner of my face. I would not be happy if it was by my chin, sticking out the center of my face. It's painful but it'll die down. No way I am popping it. I'm glad it can be hidden.

So, I have started the lactic peels for 1 month ago. I've done it maybe 4-5 times on each side. I don't want to jump the gun, but I do feel it is sort of working on the scars. It seems to dry out break outs. I had a breakout recently that was most likely from my period or even the peel itself which is known to happen. I know the purple ones on my mouth/chin haven't changed but those are pretty recent.