Hi, I've never posted on here before, and I've only just registered, but I've been looking on and off this website for years...
I'm 17 years old (18 in a month) and I've had bad acne since I was 11. I've been on loads of antibiotics, tried topical gels, Panoxyl, countless over-the-counter treatments... as I am involved in musical theatre, an industry full of beautiful people, my skin condition majorly gets me down. I spend far too long putting make up on every morning. I'm thinking about doing this Ibu thing.. I'm not sure what to use it with.
What I'm wondering is, wouldn't the Tea Tree Oil make my skin break out more? I have acne scars on my cheeks and chin that I used Bio Oil on for about a month, and although it did clear up the scars, my skin popped up with little white bumps.
I'm at my wits end
likewise i'm new to this website and i'm a bit confused by what i'm supposed to put on my face! i've read the regimen and it seems to make sense, and on the basis of the massively positive comments here ibuprofen seems like a good option
so based on the regimen and the products i've been here, is this what i should be using and in this order? its all from boots cause there's a really big one near where i go to gym:
1: Face wash: Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel Foaming Face Wash
2: Ibuprofen instead of BP: Boots Ibuprofen gel (10%) lightly applied to where i get acne (mostly on my front chin area)
3: Moisturiser: Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel moisturiser
temp123, is this ok or do you have any recommendations? bertie bassett mentioned exfoliator and a leave-on gel - is this necessary or is my combination ok? and then you mention using tea tree cream to dissolve your ibuprofen in??? argh i'm lost throw me a bone here someone!!
i'm starting med school in late september and need to start on this acne now if i want to look my best for all those lovely lady medics
cheers for the help guys, especially temp123
I bought Tesco Ibuprofen Gel today and I put it on about 2 or 3 hours a go. My spots are certainly less painful, which is such a relief. It may just be me wanting to see this, but they seem a little less red already.
I'm confused about which moisturiser to use and how to use tea tree oil, and also if I'm using the right cleanser. I cannot afford to buy any of Dan's things.. I use Clean & Clear Deep Cleaning Cream Wash and Biore Shine Control Moisturiser... I don't use a toner anymore.
This thread seems to have transformed from topical ibuprofen to tea tree oil.
I have tried tea tree oil, neat, as a complete replacement for BP. BP kept my face 99% clear. I was looking to change purely because BP is a pain in the ass for bleaching everything. So I switched to tea tree oil neat. Absolutely zero problems with irratation, didn't have any. However, it did not keep my face anywhere near as clear as BP. For me I would say it didn't work at all. And this is neat, 100%! I had read on Wikipedia (so it must be true) that it's been shown to be effective as BP. Well, if that were the case, I would think it would be just as popular as BP. I think it's no coincidence that it's nowhere near as popular as BP. I would never buy it again, that's for sure. Not only was I applying it neat, but making sure my skin was visibly wet from it all over.
Also, it's smell is almost as annoying as BP's bleaching properties.
I'm tempted to try ibuprofen gel. I've banned BP purely because of it's bleaching and am currently using Azelaic Acid (Skinoren) which is very good. Maybe not quite as good as BP, but damn good.
BP should come with hospital overalls, to be worn at all times. Also, hospital bed sheets. And towels. Completely impractical. You can't wear anything of any value. And if you do sports you're in for a whole lot of fun, when sweat is pouring down your face. You may as well pour Domestos down yourself.
i was on dan's regimen for over a year, and besides it taking so long to apply, i could never exfoliate my skin often enough. it was always so peely!! so i ordered some ibu gel from a uk site, and at first i was glopping on a lot thinking that would kill any inflammation, but i broke out just as much... so instead i put on only a pea-sized amount and spread it real thin all over... not even twice a day, i'm actually pretty lazy with it, like once every other day or every 3 days... and somehow, someway i'm like 95% clear i'm sooooo happy! i used to get tons of cysts that bp had a hard time dealing with, even when i left a huge amount right on them. now they stay sorta flat, and don't even hurt! woo!
for the record, it gets better when i use it every day. also, for people wondering about complexion, mine is about the same if slightly better as with bp, but i sorta combined it with the 'caveman' regimen, aka nothing for about 3 weeks. so i had time to heal and finish peeling. also i'm not sure if it was remnant dead skin, or using too much ibu gel, but i kept peeling all the time with makeup etc until i started using only a tiny amount of it.
I have tried tea tree oil, neat, as a complete replacement for BP.... However, it did not keep my face anywhere near as clear as BP. For me I would say it didn't work at all. And this is neat, 100%!
No, no, no. Neat TTO irritates. If you have acne that's the last thing you want to do. Acne seems to be caused by, or made worse by, some sort of inflammatory process- something irritates it.
TTO is slightly poisonous (so's BP- you seriously wouldn't want 100% strength BP!!!!!), but your skin can handle it if you dilute just fine. But at 100% strength, it's going to irritate and break you out.
I had read on Wikipedia (so it must be true) that it's been shown to be effective as BP. Well, if that were the case, I would think it would be just as popular as BP. I think it's no coincidence that it's nowhere near as popular as BP. I would never buy it again, that's for sure. Not only was I applying it neat, but making sure my skin was visibly wet from it all over.
The wikipedia says it was tested at 5% strength, but you stuck 100% on :naughty:
Question...
This Ibuprofen thing, would this be a fingers length, thick or thin, then spread over face, ie the regimen?
Reason i'm asking, having started the regimen using Panoxyl as my source of BP, I absolutely cannot handle the redness of my face and constant pain that I am in. It is just NOT worth it, IMO.
My skin is at the stage where i'm thinking it may clear itself, but still get a few reddies here and there.
I apply BP at night, AHA in the mornings over back, chest and neck. They are coming along nicely. Would this Ibuprofen thing do anything for my face at all? I will try it as it's cheap and seems to take the redness out of new Acne. There is no chance BP is going near my face for during the day.
(PS, yes, I did buy the Acne.org products. 150 quid all in, incl. charges, but that's another story... :facepalm:)
Hi, I'm tempted to order this ibuprofen gel from the Boots site:
Is this okay? Is this near enough the same as the one that everyone else has been using?
Just want to be sure before I order it.
EDIT: Link didn't show up for some, this is the description:
Boots Ibuprofen (5%) Gel - 35g
Product code 4349083
Boots Ibuprofen Pain Relief Gel can be used to relieve mild to moderate to pain.
If you search ibuprofen its the Boots own branded 5% gel.
Does a boots foaming tee tree cleanser count for my tea tree oil contribution? Can't really be fussed to mix it with moisturiser, am happy with the basic boots one that i use at the moment. Also is ibuprofen a morning + night treatment?
No, there isn't a sufficient amount of tea tree oil in Boots cleansers as it has to be between 5-10%. When I finished a pot of moisturiser with my added tea tree oil, I couldn't find the tea tree oil bottle to add to my new pot, so I used plain moisturiser. I could see the difference as I started breaking out a bit again after a week or so.
I use moisturiser and tea tree oil twice a day and ibuprofen only once, as it interferes with my make-up foundation base.
If you've got problems with makeup, the other thing you could do is take ibuprofen pills in the morning and use the topical in the evening or something.
The topical form is safer, but the pills aren't exactly instant death; ibuprofen seems quite a safe drug, and dirt cheap if you stay away from the branded forms.
Question...This Ibuprofen thing, would this be a fingers length, thick or thin, then spread over face, ie the regimen?
Just a very thin and even layer wherever you get acne, just sort of wet it, you don't need to rub it in like you would BP it soaks in just fine; I apply it twice a day, once a day will give improvement as well. You don't even need to wash before or after (just wash normally, as if you don't have acne).
Hi hi,
quick question;
has anyone tried the asda Ibuprofen gel ???
Because i am interested in trying this out.I don't get loads of spots but i have one really painful on near my nose its an under the skin one that feels like an actual bruise :'( ouch.
This is my routine at the moment :
Morning + Night; wash with clean and clear cream wash
BP 2.5% gel
clean and clear oil free dual action moisturiser
Thanks.
Just thought I would add my experience with following this regimen in the interest of telling both sides of the tale.
I have been following this for about 6 weeks but unfortunately haven't seen anything positive. If anything I have only experienced break outs while trying it. I have deep acne, where the spots are painful and last for weeks, and this hasn't done anything to reduce inflamation or stop spots forming.
It's a great idea if it works, no need for the bleaching and harshness of BP, but I think for my type of acne this is a neccessity.
I'm now going to go back to Dan's regimen
The thing is, skin turns itself over every month or so.
It looks like we need to turn over your skin about 3 times before acne improves as much as it's going to.
6 weeks would normally give about 50% improvement, but normal variation in acne can mask this fairly well, and it can look like it hasn't improved.
You should probably give it another 2 weeks or so before giving up; (although even then, sometimes it can take 3 months to respond to something that works.)
I'm not really understanding the situation with the tea tree oil here. Am I supposed to buy 100% TTO and put a few drops into my moisturiser or buy 15% TTO and use that?
For example my moisturiser is from the 'simple' range. Which TTO do I need to buy and how much do i put in the moisturiser.
edit: temp can you tell me what you think of this product [removed]