Since adding the rosehip oil into my routine, my chin has gotten way more closed comedones. I think it may be clogging my pores. I'm feeling super frustrated because I felt like my skin was actually getting kind of better with my hydrating routine (at least no new closed comedones were being formed) but now it's back to crap.
I'm also wondering if maybe my acne is fungal. I'm on birth control that's good for acne, so I feel like it wouldn't be hormonal, and I've tried almost every acne treatment out there. Many work for a while, but the clogged pores always come back. I'm hoping to make an appointment with a dermatologist and see if they can test me for fungal acne. Also, many oils worsen fungal acne, so maybe this is why the rosehip oil seemingly made my skin worse. I'm feely pretty crappy and hopeless at this point. I just want clear skin, and it's been years and years of this bs.
I went to another derm. She said that I don't have fungal acne (she just looked at my face) and I am going back on Taz and Finacea. I'm started off with Taz 0.05 cream because I don't want to irritate my skin with 0.1 right off the bat. The Finacea is Finacea foam, which is supposed to be the gentlest version - also, I never really loved the consistency of the gel, it dried quickly and was difficult to spread. I am just started with Taz to see how my face reacts, and if it's not too irritated, I'll add the Finacea in a week or two.
My current routine:
AM
Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Hydrating Cleanser
Derma E Purifying Moisturizer
*Will add Finacea Foam*
CeraVe PM
Skin Aqua Sunscreen
PM
Cleanse with Hemp Seed Oil
CeraVe Foaming Cleanser
Derma E Moisturizer
Taz 0.05
CeraVe PM
I may also add the PC AHA/BHA gels in once a week or so when I see results from Taz and Finacea.
So, I've been using Taz 2 out of every 3 nights in order to decrease irritation. There doesn't seem to be dryness or irritation so far. I've been buffering it with moisturizer (putting Taz over my Derma E moisturizer) and using a humidifier at night. One comedones on my chin and one between my eyes seem to be becoming inflamed - maybe the purge is starting!! I also feel like my skin is smoother since starting Taz. I've only using it 3 nights, but this morning I felt my cheeks and they felt so smooth and nice.
I also used Finacea this morning. The foam seems a lot more gentle than the gel, which I previously used, and did not cause stinging or anything at all. I also buffered it with my moisturizer.
For most people, the purge seems to start around week 2. I didn't have much of a purge the last time I started Taz because I had been using Retin A Micro. So I think all of my comedones began surfacing slowly over the course of a few months, but it wasn't all at once or anything. I'm wondering if I'll see a purge this time because I haven't been using a retinoid.
I think I'm going to stickwith the 0.05% cream and wait at least 3 months before switching to the 0.1 cream and if needed, the gel (which is stronger). Previously, I felt like my skin wasn't perfect from the lower dose and the 0.1% cream really ended up working for me, so I'm assuming I'll have to use it again, but I'd rather give my skin time to adjust and see where the lower dose takes me before bumping it up.
So I've been using the Taz for about 2 weeks (still just every other night) and I think my purge is starting. I have a few cysts and pustules on my chin and between my eyes. My skin looks gross and terrible and is actually painful, but I'm glad because it means my closed comedones are coming up and going away! A few comedones I've had since early September are currently becoming inflamed, and I'm so happy because I know it's the Taz working its magic. The only downside is my skin has been slightly red and irritated, and my around my mouth and chin (where I had my perioral dermatitis flare-up over the summer) is a little red and irritated. I'm hoping Taz doesn't cause a big problem with my PD and that my skin just gets used to it over time - other areas are red and irritated as well, so I think it's just a matter of adjusting. My routine has stayed the same, except I stopped using hemp seed oil to cleanse because it gave me weird pimple-like bumps on my forehead. I'm just using micellar water (Yes to Coconuts brand) to get rid of my makeup/sunscreen/whatever grime before washing with my CeraVe Foaming at night.
My skin is majorly purging! Which is definitely good, but it looks terrible. Every day comedones become inflamed and turn into pimples. Some are small pimples with white heads, and the others are more cystic and take longer to go away. It's mostly happening on my chin, but a few have inflamed between my eyebrows. This is probably the worst my skin has been since early high school. But at least something's working.
I'm also searching for a new cleanser. The CeraVe foaming is a tiny bit drying, as it's a foaming cleanser, and the Neutrogena Creamy cleanser I use in the morning is just okay. Not great. It burns areas that are already irritated, such as my nose if I've been blowing it a lot, and the cream sort of "disappears" into my skin so I feel like I have to use a couple pumps to get my skin clean. I'll keep using it, but it's not perfect.
My skin is still super crappy. But it means the Taz is working! More and more comedones are becoming inflamed, mostly on my chin (and some between my eyes). It's been about 1.5 months so hopefully I'm about halfway done with the purge (I should begin to see results at month 3). In the past, I've been good results after about 4ish months. So we'll see. I started using the Andalou Probiotic cleansing milk as my AM and PM cleanser and I really like it so far. It's gentle and smells good and cleans well. It may be my new HG - best of all, it doesn't irritate my skin in any way. I also began using Finacea gel every other AM. The foam formulation irritated my skin for some reason, but the gel is much better. I'm hoping this also speeds up the purge.
OKAY SO
I have revamped my routine. I now (again) think that my clogged pores are fungal. Apparently I had a fungus problem around my mouth/chin when I was a baby according to my parents - I'm wondering if it has resurfaced as acne. Evidence includes: (1) clogged pores always seem to come back somehow, even while using retinoids. (2) oils (aka rosehip) makes it MUCH MUCH worse - this is the worst my skin has ever been, when the clogged pores probably caused by rosehip are surfacing (3) the comedones appear in clusters and lines, which makes me think it's a fungus infecting other pores near it and (4) the clogged pores appeared on the sides of my chin and spread slowly to other parts of my face. This just seems very fungal-y. I can't be sure, but from now on, I'm going to operate as if my acne is fungal and see how it goes. I switched my cleanser to fungal-safe cleansers and began using propolis and sulfur, which are anti-fungal. Sadly, I have to ditch my Derma E moisturizer as it has esters in it, which feed fungi. This will be my routine from now on:
AM
Simple Gel Cleanser
CosRx Propolis Ampule
Finacea gel
CeraVe PM
Skin Aqua sunscreen
PM
Simple micellar water
Simple gel cleanser
CosRx propolis
Tazorac
Cera Ve PM
OR Paulas Choice AHA gel after cleansing
I will update once my skin gets used to this routine! Fingers crossed 