Posted by: @SkinCareThumbsUp

First, I am in no way stating that it is the cause. Just curious; can a bad (or close to expired) tube of Acne.org Treatment (Benzoyl Peroxide 2.5%) be the source of a breakout? Because I am at a complete loss as to what is going on with my skin. I had used The Regimen before Dan manufactured his own BP (2006, when the only OTC option in 2.5% strength was Neutrogena in the small tube). I have been clear ever since (after spending five figures on dermatologist visits, medications, and treatments prior, and none of it came close to clearing my skin like The Regimen). Nothing has changed on my end. I have introduced no new foods, drinks, medicines, vitamin supplements, detergents, etc. I have not moved; the weather is normal for this time of year where I live (besides, if I see any changes in my skin, it is during the winter). I am very strict about such things as I have been able to live a life without acne for so long that I do nothing to take that freedom away because I remember how it once was. But since May, my skin has reverted to 17 years ago. I once again have cystic acne all over my face. And just like long ago, it is not going away. If it begins to clear, new cysts form extremely close to where the old ones were. It once was familiar territory for me, but it has not been since discovering Dan's Regimen and sticking to it with no lackadaisical effort.

I could not find a cause, but I realized something when I was washing my face today - I began using a new tube of BP in May, and it expires next month (8/23). But I went on vacation for two weeks, and my skin cleared of the cysts while away. As soon as I returned (we are speaking the day after), the largest cyst that had left a dark mark began to pop back up in the same spot. The difference? I ordered and used a travel-sized bottle of BP while I was away. So if absolutely nothing has changed with the products I am using, the food I consume, what I drink (I do not drink alcohol), and the only thing I did differently while on vacation was switch to a new bottle of BP, I had just purchased, could the tube I am using at home be the culprit? Has anyone ever experienced/found/traced the formation of a bad breakout back to a product they have utilized solely for years? Can effectiveness be affected by a product so close to expiration?

I am staying inside and not going around others as a result. It feels like when I was younger. This acne is cystic and will not go away. New acne forms throughout the day, every day. Some have been on my face for a month and a half. I will switch back to the travel-size container of BP tonight and see if my acne begins to clear.

P.S. I had no idea the last full-size tube I ordered had such a short expiration date. While I purchased it back in January and did not open it until May, that is due to stocking up so that I never run out and break out. Acne is the worst. It is even worse to have it under control for over a decade and deal with it like when I was a teenager (again).

Hey! Something similar happened to me a few months ago & this just stood out to me so I figured I'd share just incase it could help. For me, it was the expiration of the BP, and me unknowingly using a whole 16oz bottle. I did the same as yourself and bought too much BP at one time, ended up actually being able to cut back on the BP I use, and ended up having an unopened but expired bottle. Didn't notice the expiration date and used it, I got about halfway through the bottle so maybe a month or so for me, and couldn't figure out why I was getting fairly regular pimples again. After some time of trying to figure it out, I happened to notice the expiration date on the BP I was using, I still didn't realize how much difference it could make, but I switched to my last bottle that was still "good" and my face almost immediately started clearing up. The expired stuff was kinda watery and clear - the new stuff was thicker and white, I kicked myself for not noticing the difference sooner but I learned that lesson the hard way. Hope this helps at all!

@starpower

Thank you for sharing your experience! I have been puzzled, but sometimes it can be the simplest answer. I, too, go through far less BP than most that use The Regimen, but I had some issues with orders taking longer for delivery and began ordering more products to keep from going without cleanser, AHA, and BP. I have only had one problem with receiving a product close to expiration, AHA, in 2018. I go through a tube a year for my face, and they sent a product that was to expire in four months from the date I received it. Customer Support told me at that time that they "ship out products that have 4-6 months left of their expiration date because usually the time frame that it takes for customers to finish off the entire tube of the AHA if used as indicated on our site." And "there is still enough time to leave the AHA on the shelf for a while." The blanket reply boggled my mind as anyone who works for Acne.org should know that no two people have the same skin, and what works for the majority still may not work for everyone. I responded by letting Customer Support know that my skin cannot tolerate the "more is better" approach that works for most others. I learned early on that I had to find the amount of product that works for me. But this time, the BP's closely approaching expiration date is the only part of my life that is different or has changed. It takes a lot of self-discipline to eat the same foods (I am vegan now, and have been since 2019 because it helped my skin so much), get the proper amount of rest, exercise six days a week, not consume sugar, drink a ton of water, use the same detergent and products in general - watch everything in your life because it affects your acne. I have done all of those mentioned above for the sake of my skin, and I have no regrets about it. Those things are not restrictive to me; they are freeing because my skin is clear.

The travel-sized BP bottle expires in March 2024, so I have already begun using it instead of the tube I just opened. If my skin heals and clears, I must throw away a nearly full product, order some more, and hope it expires at least a year (or further) out. Unfortunately, I cannot do as I always do in a store and grab the product with the furthest expiration date. With shipping, you get whatever the person who pulls and packs the orders gives you.

Once again, thank you for your response. I truly appreciate it!

Hmm. I somewhat doubt this is what is the culprit. Anyone who makes BP (inside the U.S. at least) is supposed to send it through FDA required stability testing, which means you have to prove that for the entire shelf life it still contains within 10% of the active ingredient. So, theoretically, at the very last day of expiration, it should still be strong enough to do its thing.

Also, you're saying you're breaking out badly, not just something like "I'm breaking out a little more than usual" or something. That makes me think it's probably something else. My top things I would think about:

• A new product, particularly sunscreen. Started using anything new? New makeup maybe? Any other new skincare product? Sunscreens especially can wreak havoc on people's skin.
• Hormones: I dunno if you're female? If so, anything happening with hormones? Recently stopped birth control? Pregnant? Gave birth recently? Noticing irregular periods? Excessive hair growth anywhere? When in doubt, get your hormone levels checked.
• Irritation: Started using a face guard for a sport? Started using virtual reality goggles a lot? Got a new significant other and making out a lot? You get the drift...anything random that started repeatedly irritating your skin? If so, try to stop the irritation.

Try to think through this stuff, because I doubt it would be BP that isn't even officially expired yet. But of course, just to be safe, buy some new BP, and perhaps buy a different brand than the one that's giving you issues.

@dan

Thank you for replying. It is your brand of BP that I am using, Dan. I have never found a quality BP and cleanser as good as yours. I definitely will not be switching, but I will have to order more as I am clearing since switching to the trial-size BP.

(Though I know it is a quick clearing process and goes against everything I have read about Benzoyl Peroxide and how acne forms/the time it takes to appear and heal).

And unfortunately, not a single thing you have listed applies to me. As stated, I live a rigorous and genuinely repetitious life due to my acne. I never wanted/want to go back to the days when it kept me from living. As a result, I genuinely eat the same foods, meals, use the same products, make sure to get 8 hours of sleep per night, exercise, do not stress, watch the temperature I wash my face in (and shower in) the list goes on and on. I refuse even to take medications my physicians prescribe out of the chance and fear it might cause me to break out. While most slack on routines, even ones that help so much, I never skip The Regimen, no matter what is going on in my life, where I am in the world, or what I am doing. I have physical and mental scars that keep me on track. I am not like some others in that regard.

As I said, I am a thinker by nature. I use deduction if something (anything) is off in my life or is not working correctly. I do not only do this for my face; if anything stops working or working correctly, I deduce and isolate it. I have done this since June. Then as I was washing my face before this post, I realized the BP was the only thing I never noticed or considered, and I had used a newer bottle while clearing on vacation. I am lost if it is anything else, as I have exhausted every other possibility. I work from home and am not going out much due to my skin (though it is now at the point that I can by next week if the clearing continues). I do not even wear masks any longer.

As I said in the first few words of my initial post, I am not claiming it is the BP. I am not ungrateful for your work or the products you have created you have changed my life when dermatologists could not do so. All I know is my skin cleared when I stopped using the tube in question and switched to the travel-size bottle with the expiration date much further out twice now. But I will update this thread if I recall anything else. I have not had a breakout like this in over a decade (perhaps years more). I doubt my mind is strong enough for a placebo effect. But I recognize that anything is possible in both instances (BP or placebo).

I would keep looking for what might be causing this, and get hormones checked too. Every single batch of BP is the same, and it's for sure still working all the way until its expiration. It just wouldn't make sense that all the sudden it would be the BP that stopped being effective. I know it seems like you have deduced every possible thing, but I have thought this myself so many times, and then ended up being wrong. There are so many variables in life and it's so hard to nail things down.

Please keep us posted. What about hormones btw? Sometimes PCOS can spring up or another hormonal disorder.