Hey.
Great advice Allisoncatherine and u look amazing in ur picture!!
It is 2 am in Cali and am very angry. At the bday party I attended my friend got toooo drunk so decidEd to sleep over at their place for her to recover since I drove. So I didn't use my differin tonight for the 1st time since starting treatment!! Ah when I get home at 9. I'm wearing differin and not going outside!!
I hope this doesn't mess up my progress.. Anyone know if this is bad...
Gnite!!
I swear you're only on this forum to show everyone your good looks! [Edited image out]
What is everyones diet like? Recommend any thing to eat or drink to help our skin?
I drink Green tea, Lemon water, plenty of water and I hardly ever eat chocolate, cakes etc. And I guess it works.
Hey ya'll good morning!!!
Kariya, that should be fine I think...I notice that my acne gets worse if I sleep with makeup on though so you might wanna watch out for that :/ Anyway...I woke up with 2 new pimples!!! AHHH! NOT happy about that AT all!!! I thought the purging period was over 
-sigh- I hope it gets better guys!
Wiseboy, lol....you're funny. I think hydration is definitely key to amazing skin! The derm said that I should be drinking at least 8-12 full glasses of water especially when using products like retinoids that will dry out your skin!
So sad about the new pimples
On 4/9/2012 at 3:28 AM, allisoncatherine said:this is tuning out to be a miserable day! i hate acne [Edited image out]
I think we all do! But look at it this way. This time next month your face may be completely clear and only getting the odd pimple every 2 weeks.
Short term pain, long term gain is how I look at it. Just keep positive as you know Differin will do a great job on your skin and WILL work.
Also with every day ticking over, you know your skin is improving. PMA - Positive Mental Attitude 
i seriously love you for posting that wiseboy. Thank you! Gosh its been such a hard day....I work in an industry where my looks are like hyperfocused on so it always feels like people are totally looking at whats wrong with me Oh well....I hope my skin improves. Retinoids are such a risky business in that one week they give you good results, one week its bad...but please keep in your prayers you guys!!!! I have a huge fashion show coming up in June and graduation is in May....please let me be semi-clear by then! AHHH! <3 ya'll! Thanks for the support!
By the way I can't mention how thankful I am that people like you guys respond I love every single person for responding. Thank you You guys are so awesome!
On 4/9/2012 at 10:45 AM, allisoncatherine said:i seriously love you for posting that wiseboy. Thank you! Gosh its been such a hard day....I work in an industry where my looks are like hyperfocused on so it always feels like people are totally looking at whats wrong with me [Edited image out]Oh well....I hope my skin improves. Retinoids are such a risky business in that one week they give you good results, one week its bad...but please keep in your prayers you guys!!!! I have a huge fashion show coming up in June and graduation is in May....please let me be semi-clear by then! AHHH! <3 ya'll! Thanks for the support!
By the way I can't mention how thankful I am that people like you guys respond [Edited image out]I love every single person for responding. Thank you [Edited image out]You guys are so awesome!
Haha, no problem [Edited image out]. But you also should be thankful that your skin isnt worse and stuck with permanent scarring.
And looking at your pictures, you pretty much look perfect anyway, so I wouldn't be too down!
You're now like 4 weeks in? I think you can be semi-clear at May/June, you'd be at week 8 so that's the magical mark
I'm not even using any foundation anymore. I stopped using it when I got my IB, because i thought: what's the point of hiding it? I'm having these pimples and I'm not gonna do anything to make them worse. But with your job and industry you're working in, I think you've found a great foundation to cover things op nicely! You can't even see you have pimples in your picture 
I still have days where I think, OH GOSH I really don't wanna have that pimple (I woke up this morning with a semi-small pimple on the downside of my chin), and It's really a job itself to not let it get you down. You have to remember that when you look closely to a person's face, you'll see that no one has crystalclear skin (or at least, very few people do). That was also a struggle for me, to accept that's just fake hope.
Now I have about 2-3 pimples at a time, and sometimes a week with only one pimple. We can live with that right?
OH, and I have a question to all the users of differin:
I still have days when I wake up with a semi-small red patch on my face (dry skin?) And I think it's really strange because I don't have any dry skin (more oily actually)
So do more people recognize this? Because it's just a small red mark, which will disappear in 1-2 days, but still. HATE IT.
So allisoncatherine, just hang on, things wll get better!
love x
Thanks Jacinthaa and Wiseboy!! I had the two pimples i was talking about come to a head so I popped 'em using a comedone extractor so yeah...anyway....I'm on the last few days of week 5. Week 6 starts on Wednesday. I doubt there will be any significant changes till then....but I'll let you guys know! I'm NOT giving up on this differin/klaron/doxy/orthotricyclen thing just yet! If I have bacterial acne...i got the klaron attacking it. If I have clogged pores, I got differin attacking that...if I have inflammatory acne, I have doxy attacking that...If I have horomonal acne, I have orthotricyclen attacking that....so....i'm going at this trick from all angles....its gonna lose the battle soon enough! NOT GIVING UP!!!!!
Love ya'll!
Also Kariya....I missed hearing from you today I hope you're doing well!
hey all..
sorry for no update.. i try to stay away from acne.org so I stopped spending hours just researching acne, but i failed to stay away again.. haha.
i think i miscounted my weeks on differin as i feel like its been 11 weeks, but I believe its only been 9-10... hopeing i see result in 2 weeks then..
i like your positivity allison!
On 4/11/2012 at 2:16 AM, kariya025 said:sorry for no update.. i try to stay away from acne.org so I stopped spending hours just researching acne, but i failed to stay away again.. haha.
Haha, I do that aswell. Always looking for positivity and solutions!
This Friday will be 12 weeks on this and not sure how my skin looks, as I hate looking in the mirror as it will get me depressed. But will see what its like soon enough [Edited image out]
Kariya, wiseboy....do you guys see no improvement in your skin yet? You guys are like further down the differin path than me....what are the major things you see wrong with your skin at this point? Have you guys stopped breaking out at least? Do you have an even skin tone with just PIH? AHH! I hope ya'll are seeing improvements cuz I wanna see improvements by the time I'm further down the line.
hey.
im 4 weeks into differin and 6 weeks of tetracyline.
Week 3: my breakouts seemed to be slowing. instead of waking with about 15 whiteheads around my mouth, im only waking up with about 4 or 5 and they usually are at the surface and "wash off" easily enough. i guess thats my skin thinning out.
so far this week (4) im having similar improvements. its seems to come and go in terms of breaking out. ive had a few rough days the last week, but nothing compared to the IB i had in week 2.
Im happy that my breakouts are slowing, its giving me a bit of hope in getting clear for summer. The scars and redness of the IB madness i went through seem to be starting to fade, but my jawline and chin area are still extremely red and the "old" acne are still quite red. I'm used to that though, ive been dealing with acne for long enough so it doesn't bother me too much.
hey g33tar, what concentration of differin are you using?? Today is my last day of week 5 I'm glad you posted here!!! I have another person to share the differin journey with! Retinoids are such a battle but i've heard from countless people using differin, retin a, taz, epiduo, zianca, atralin...etc...that the results were incredible if they stuck with them for like 5-6 months I have hope. The first two months are so awful though!!! Oh well. Lets keep our fingers crossed and our heads held high....this too shall pass .
Kariya, wiseboy....do you guys see no improvement in your skin yet? You guys are like further down the differin path than me....what are the major things you see wrong with your skin at this point? Have you guys stopped breaking out at least? Do you have an even skin tone with just PIH? AHH!
I hope ya'll are seeing improvements cuz I wanna see improvements by the time I'm further down the line.
Yeah my skin looks much better than it used to 10/11 weeks ago. My marks are fading and I have pretty much stopped breaking out. If I do, it goes next day.
The major thing wrong is the red marks/scars on both my cheeks. But thankfully Differin is fighting that and is working.
I don't know what your skin is like Allison, but I am sure your skin will look amazing in the next few weeks or so
Wiseboy, you always cheer me up I'm pretty happy with my skin today. Yes...I still have a few bumps here and there but...my PIH looked like it was fading today and my skin pretty smooth. Its been 6 weeks of me using diff 0.3 today. Ive recently amped up my dose to 0.6/day because i apply it twice. I like seeing the flaking...it denotes PROGRESS to me for some reason. Lol. Anyway...lets see how this journey goes!!!
i was panicking a bit so I decided to see my doctor today because i feel like its getting worse..
anyways, he told me dont worry and be patient as this is a long process. I asked that its getting worse not better and he said.. "no its not, I know its getting better." that was a bit reassuring but makes me wonder how much longer as he told me that 3 month isnt always the rule of thumb as everyone is different...
i told him im getting more bumps so he told me to take doxy 2 times a day rather than 1...
ugh, but i feel like i am peeling a lot more.. but still have bumps.. tho i guess a little less.
overall, i think im seeing light progress..
glad to hear your is going well too allisoncatherine!
I think it also matters if you have a lot of under the skin bumps.
Before I started differin, I used Tretinoin and because the overly drying effect, I had a lot of tiny under the skin bumps.
When using Differin, the first weeks all those tiny bumps were pushed out. So far a really harsh initial breakout. All of them became really inflamed and did hurt a lot.
But it was totally worth it! The pimples I get now, aren't even visible sometimes. Maybe 1 or 2 pustules a month.
I'm really happy i sticked with my regimen, my patience finally paid off
kariya, well thats good to hear At least...its working!!! Thats what my dermatologist said the first time I gave up on differin...I went to him and was like: "omg my skin is awful now...differin made it worse...i think I had an allergic reaction" and he said "thats not what I call worse. Yes, its inflammed, but there are less overall lesions..." oh well. Now second time around..I'm sticking with it. I have no choice. I really want it to work!!!!
Anyway, Jacinthaa, I'm so happy for you!!! Keep us in your prayers!
Today, I went to a store and I caught my face in the lighting of fluorescent lighting....UGH!!!!!!!!!!! My right cheek looked AWFUL close up!!!! Kinda sad. i am officially starting the 6th week today.
So I have been talking about how awful my skin is. Ugh. Here you go. It's like the worst thing I have ever seen. This is my cheeks without any makeup. And thats the only place I get acne on. So hallelujah. Ugh. Its repulsive. Almost all of the redness is from PIH. Its ten times worse in real life....because the camera's flash blinded a lot of the scarring.
So...yes...thats the beast that lies under a very well made up me...
So glad i found this, got prescribed differin today by my GP, haven't tried it yet been looking around the net for peoples experiences...
he gave me .1% and told me to use it every night.
lil about my acne, i tend to get mostly whiteheads (clogged pores) about 10 on my face at once, that last for ages and i pick at them which leads to pustlues, but recently theyve been turning into deeper ones without a head. i also get a few pimples max 3 at a time.
stilll thinking on trying this, im curently using benzoyl peroxide but thats made my skin flaky, although it did help brake down the whiteheads but on pimples it prevents them from coming to a head and they last longer as a 'bump', which then leads PIH behind that lasts agesssssss. That's why i stopped benzoyl peroxide a year ago but since then i havent found anything over the counter that worked as well as benzoyl peroxide, so i started it again a wk ago but i'll stop using it if i start the differin. does everyone get purging?