I think RAM would be great for your white heads! Despite my bad experience, I know a lot of people it works great for.

Sounds like your acne is similar to mine (mostly just whiteheads, which make your skin bumpy + occasional big inflamed spots that last forever)... the retin-a made me break out pretty badly for a few months while it brought all the whiteheads to the surface... my cheeks were really covered in whiteheads... my cheeks are all smooth now, though, and I'm mostly just dealing with red marks.

My initial breakout seemed to last forever, but when I switched to the .1% RAM my skin started finally getting better.... so the best advice I have for you is to use a higher concentration if you're still breaking out after a few months. Hopefully the .04% works for you, though.

You can also check out amorfati's log for a good RAM success story.

Anyway, good luck!

DAY 9

nothing new. some of the whiteheads seem closer to the surface. . . trouble is brewing. definitely going to be seeing some new action in the next couple days. oh shoot.

theComfyCat: im curious to how long your IB was? do you have any advice to keep the whiteheads from becoming inflamed? how do you like retin a micro?

DAY 12

couple of whiteheads made their way to the surface. i kinda poked at them luckily only 2 became inflamed and gross. lots of boy related drama the past couple of days and 2 midterms tomorrow, so im super stressed out, i just hope it doesnt show on my skin!! boy issues are almost resolved and im *trying* to study right now.... gotta be a problem solver!

im still anticipating an IB, im approaching week 3 so i know its coming soon. my skin doesnt look too bad right now, especially if i use some concealer to hide the red marks from the aforementioned dying zits. my goal is not to have to wear any makeup anymore!!! but for the time being there are so many things lurking under the surface... just waiting to turn into nasty zits. booo.

ummm lets see what else. still peeling, mostly around my chin area which goes away with some lotion. the peeling doesnt bother me much because thats how i know the RAM is working i really hope this works!! id love to not worry about how my skin looks, i took nice skin for granted for so long

DAY 13

Looked at my skin in natural sunlight and went kinda crazy!! Definitely revealed my skin for what it really was ... worse than i thought. little bump (damn whiteheads!) and tiny zit heaven!! i guess my super flattering bathroom light made me think i wasnt as bad off as i thought. oh well its ok most people arent super close inspecting my skin (like i was) or at least i hope not. having these zits has made me super obsessed with skin!! so unhealthy.... and strange but i cant helpt it!! instead of looking at peoples clothes (like i used to ie "wow super cute top!") i look at their skin (ie "wow great skin!"). I decided to pop a few but luckily i stopped myself before i could cause any real damage then slathered on some bp and went to study.

So i supposed the IB has started... it just took me a while to notice it!! im hoping the RAM .04 is strong enough to get all the grossness out in a timely matter. if it doesnt in a couple weeks i guess ill ask to go up to RAM .1.

Anybody out there have any experience/stories about RAM .04?!?!? Did it work well enough for you guys?????

DAY 15

Had to use some bareminerals to cover up the red marks and zits and im pleased with how it looks. this is the first time in my life ive had to use a powder and even though its really light i dont like having to worry about makeup coming off/fading/reapplying. i hate thinking about my face, it takes up so much time, yet i cant help myself. i find that i indulge in my worrying and "woe is me" which is SOO unhealthy. i just want time to speed up so that i can have clear skin, well i guess that IS what retin a is doing... speeding up the time it takes for cells to shed, fixing the pore lining ect ect.... so i guess i got my wish??

back to business enough ranting. still lots of red marks and zits on my cheeks. chin is clear. forehead is clear except 2 marks. 3 new acives in the past few days, one is on THE TIP OF MY NOSE, one is on my forehead, and the last is buried deeeeep in my cheek. totally freaking out about the nose pimple, its at least _____ big, and the under the skin kind. no joke. im hoping the doxy i just started taking yesterday will help these....crossing my fingers that its not too late!

does anyone know how long it takes for doxycycline to start its antibiotic effect????? i heard it absorbs in a couple hours and remains there for about 24.

DAY 18

Peeling still but i rub it off gently when i shower in the morning. little zits coming and going, about 5 became inflamed one was super gross and had gunk in it so despite my no popping rule, i popped it. i just have to keep myself from going overboard and popping the whiteheads. i mean a little bump is way less noticeable than a red infected picked spot...i just have to keep reminding myself that lol. ive been taking motrin and icing the rudolf nose bump and (knock on wood) its doing better. the deep cheek zit is being taken care of by the doxy (i hope) and if it knows whats best will never surface again!!

overall im pleased with the RAM so far, though it totally sucks getting more inflamed zits than usual, especially all at once!! but im still optimistic about that end results just please let this be the worst of the IB!!!

it might be overkill but ive started a bp wash in the morning instead of my usual wash with sa. i think i should get some bacteria control just for the first couple months, just in case. my skin can tolerate just about anything, thank you super chlorinated swimming pool youve taught my skin to deal with drying chemicals!!!

DAY 21

done with 3 weeks!! picked at a little whitehead yesterday that turned into a scab. the IB is very different that i imagined, i was totally expecting an explosion of zits but instead im getting a couple here and there. hopefully its doesnt go on for much longer because every pimple i get leaves PIH for a couple months ..... im starting to become discouraged with the IB. i know its supposed to last 3-6 weeks but all the marks it leaves behind is soooo disheartening.

right cheek (the bad side) has a bunch of PIH and 1 active. lots of whiteheads threatening (per usual) to become inflamed. left cheek has only a couple PIH marks and a couple whiteheads (also threatening to become inflamed).

i completely stopped using bareminerals, i tried it earlier and it gave me a weird shiny look plus i didnt want the mica to clog my pores and set back any progress i made. so its just concealer for me! i really like the almay blemish stick which has 1% SA and is oil free, so its medicine/makeup!!

ANY stories/advice about retin a or the retin a IB would be greatly appreciated!!

Hey aprilmay!

I'm living in France and was recently prescribed Retin-A 0.05% CREAM for mild-moderate inflammatory acne (convinced the cream was a mistake, was prescribed by a GP, not a dermatologist, and I think because of that it was exacerbating my breakout). I recently switched to the craziest alternative they have here, since they don't have Retin-A gel they have tretinoin LIQUID! So strange, I'm finding it really hard to figure out what a pea-size amount of liquid is.

So anyway, I'm on my 7th week with this stuff. The IB has been really super bad around my chin. I'm 27 and never had any experience with acne treatments before and that's where I always break out so I guess there was a lot of stuff underneath to come out. However, I can see that the rest of my skin tone has really improved so I'm hoping that totally clear skin is just a few weeks away (fingers crossed!)

Here's some things that I feel like I've learned in this process.

I find that a damp, warm towel in the morning is the best way to exfoliate, anything else seems too harsh/imprecise and I don't trust this St. Ives stuff, even though I have it and desperately WANT it to work!

Jojoba oil is an AMAZING moisturizer, I have 100% Weird European Brand and just put a few drops in my hand with cetaphil moisturizer morning and night.

I've really found that Tea Tree Oil 100% is as good a spot treatment as any, just be sure not to apply it to already dry skin cause it will make it worse!

My biggest complaint since being on Retin-A has not actually been the IB, but the red marks left behind afterwards. It's been a sea of red marks around my chin (which looks super ridiculous cause it's only there, I've always been blessed with clear cheeks/forehead) that stay for weeks regardless of whether or not I'd picked it! I don't know if you're having this problem too but I've made some changes this week that have instantly helped clear up red marks at least 60%:

Added about 3g of cod liver oil tablets to my diet daily (spread out of course)

Started using AHA lotion

Despite some people who advise you not to, I've been using the AHA lotion at night about 20 mins 1/2 hour after Bizarre Liquid Retin-A, just cause I feel like AHA will make you exfoliate during the day (after you've put make-up on and are trying to buy a baguette or something: 2:00 PM bride of frankenstein effect) and I'd rather be gentle to my face during the morning and just moisturize. So far I really recommend AHA but if you want to do this, make sure your skin is no longer irritated by Retin-A!

So these things have really helped, I've also been taking Zinc supplements but they didn't seem to do a darn thing, unless they coincidentally kicked in the day I started fish oil tablets. Seriously it seems like the day I took fish oil = that night way less redness. I don't even know if this is possible. Try it and tell me what you think.

Sorry this is long, hope this helps! Also, a question for ComfyCat - in case my skin takes a turn for the worst at the beginning on month 3 (fingers CROSSED and staying that way) I'm curious if you ever wished you had upped your Retin-A dose sooner? I've read all over these blogs that many people stopped breaking out and finally had results when they moved from a 0.05 to a 0.1. Thoughts?

Hey aprilmay!

 

I'm living in France and was recently prescribed Retin-A 0.05% CREAM for mild-moderate inflammatory acne (convinced the cream was a mistake, was prescribed by a GP, not a dermatologist, and I think because of that it was exacerbating my breakout). I recently switched to the craziest alternative they have here, since they don't have Retin-A gel they have tretinoin LIQUID! So strange, I'm finding it really hard to figure out what a pea-size amount of liquid is.

So anyway, I'm on my 7th week with this stuff. The IB has been really super bad around my chin. I'm 27 and never had any experience with acne treatments before and that's where I always break out so I guess there was a lot of stuff underneath to come out. However, I can see that the rest of my skin tone has really improved so I'm hoping that totally clear skin is just a few weeks away (fingers crossed!)

Here's some things that I feel like I've learned in this process.

I find that a damp, warm towel in the morning is the best way to exfoliate, anything else seems too harsh/imprecise and I don't trust this St. Ives stuff, even though I have it and desperately WANT it to work!

Jojoba oil is an AMAZING moisturizer, I have 100% Weird European Brand and just put a few drops in my hand with cetaphil moisturizer morning and night.

I've really found that Tea Tree Oil 100% is as good a spot treatment as any, just be sure not to apply it to already dry skin cause it will make it worse!

My biggest complaint since being on Retin-A has not actually been the IB, but the red marks left behind afterwards. It's been a sea of red marks around my chin (which looks super ridiculous cause it's only there, I've always been blessed with clear cheeks/forehead) that stay for weeks regardless of whether or not I'd picked it! I don't know if you're having this problem too but I've made some changes this week that have instantly helped clear up red marks at least 60%:

 

Added about 3g of cod liver oil tablets to my diet daily (spread out of course)

Started using AHA lotion

 

Despite some people who advise you not to, I've been using the AHA lotion at night about 20 mins 1/2 hour after Bizarre Liquid Retin-A, just cause I feel like AHA will make you exfoliate during the day (after you've put make-up on and are trying to buy a baguette or something: 2:00 PM bride of frankenstein effect) and I'd rather be gentle to my face during the morning and just moisturize. So far I really recommend AHA but if you want to do this, make sure your skin is no longer irritated by Retin-A!

 

So these things have really helped, I've also been taking Zinc supplements but they didn't seem to do a darn thing, unless they coincidentally kicked in the day I started fish oil tablets. Seriously it seems like the day I took fish oil = that night way less redness. I don't even know if this is possible. Try it and tell me what you think.

 

Sorry this is long, hope this helps! Also, a question for ComfyCat - in case my skin takes a turn for the worst at the beginning on month 3 (fingers CROSSED and staying that way) I'm curious if you ever wished you had upped your Retin-A dose sooner? I've read all over these blogs that many people stopped breaking out and finally had results when they moved from a 0.05 to a 0.1. Thoughts?

i completely agree with you about the red marks!! even the smallest zit leaves a mark on my skin that lasts for months...im only at week 3 so i have a long way to go. thanks for all the advice, my skin is really tough so i could incorporate an AHA... hmmmm. red marks are the bane of my existance!!! how well is the strange retin a liquid working for you? are you clear of actives?

i went to france for the first time a couple months ago! it was awesome! i really truely think the metro is the best thing in the world, i was just so amazed by how quickly i could travel across the city. it was so nice to finallllly be able to put to use the 5 years of french i took in school, not that im that great, it was just so fun to ask for directions, food, and other touristy annoying questions in REAL LIFE lol. what is it like living in paris? i imagine it to be aweesome!

DAY 24

i just have a couple of whiteheads on each cheek and my forehead. as usual im just hopeing they dont explode into zits. lots of red marks still!! grrrr cant they fade any faster!! they are keeping me from clear skin!! the RAM still is working, i can still peel a layer of skin off in the shower about every other day which is actually nice because whatever skin underneath is superr smooth.

cant wait for thanksgiving!! and christmas!! new years!! and hopefully by then the RAM will have faded redmarks and killed the whiteheads (fingers crossed, knock on wood)!

Hey aprilmay,

Yeah, Paris is fun, just not the place that I would choose to be going through my first acne crisis! My old bedroom in my parents house seems much more appealing at the moment. .

Just a word of caution: even though I have sensitive skin I overzealously used the Weird Liquid Retin-A and AHA cream on the same night, causing a three-day skin freak out that has made me discontinue my Retin-A for three nights at least! When my skin recovers and I'm back on Retin-A I might try to get back on the AHA, but definitely alternating nights. Skin just becomes way too sensitive on tretinoin, as I learned the hard way.

Yes, I still have actives, unfortunately, but hopefully that is to blame on being on the cream and not being as gentle with my skin at I should have

Just had a skype talk with my mom though, who said she told her friend about my condition (I LOVE how moms always blab) and her friend said she knew a girl who was on Retin-A and now has perfect skin and always gets compliments. So I guess we have to just hang in their and overall treat our skin kindly. Why do I find something so simple so hard to do??

Good luck on your progress and keep posting, I'm rooting for you!

DAY 27

Im reallllly on the rocks about RAM right now, im finishing up week 4 and all RAM has left me are marks!! ive concluded that RAM either imflames my whiteheads which leaves a mark or turns the whiteheads into a giant zit which lurks for 2 weeks then turns into a mark!! urggg so frustrating!!!!!!!!!!! im really tempted to quit because at the moment my face looks way worse than when i started. sure my skin is super soft but thats about it.... i really dont know if i should continue or not, i know im only at the 4 week mark and technically the IB last 6-7 weeks but knowing that any zit leaves a mark on my skin really concerns me. i dont like the fact that some of the IB turns into deeep zits, is it really worth it??

i guess im debating whether to a) stick it out and hope for the best in the long run or b) stop and use the SA, BP and time method.

i dont know what to do....def having a bad skin/weak moment

Hey aprilmay,

 

Yeah, Paris is fun, just not the place that I would choose to be going through my first acne crisis! My old bedroom in my parents house seems much more appealing at the moment. .

 

 

Just a word of caution: even though I have sensitive skin I overzealously used the Weird Liquid Retin-A and AHA cream on the same night, causing a three-day skin freak out that has made me discontinue my Retin-A for three nights at least! When my skin recovers and I'm back on Retin-A I might try to get back on the AHA, but definitely alternating nights. Skin just becomes way too sensitive on tretinoin, as I learned the hard way.

 

Yes, I still have actives, unfortunately, but hopefully that is to blame on being on the cream and not being as gentle with my skin at I should have

 

Just had a skype talk with my mom though, who said she told her friend about my condition (I LOVE how moms always blab) and her friend said she knew a girl who was on Retin-A and now has perfect skin and always gets compliments. So I guess we have to just hang in their and overall treat our skin kindly. Why do I find something so simple so hard to do??

 

Good luck on your progress and keep posting, I'm rooting for you!

hmmm retin a sucess stories are always nice to hear! at the moment im really upset with RAM and my skin zits ect ect you probably know the whole bit its hard to see your skin just go bonkers out of no where after being used to decent skin. hope youre doing well with youre weird european liquid lol!

Don't give up yet!! Just think, you've put in 4 weeks of great effort, if nice skin for you is only a few weeks away then you'll be throwing away the time you've spent! From what I also hear, once you get through this breakout period (and I know, it's HORRIBLE), your skin is supposed to improve really fast. I really really recommend fish oil for the inflammation and redness. I'm taking 2.4 grams a day and I see that it helps.

As for me, I'm still recovering from the mixing of tretinoin and AHA before my skin was ready (convinced it caused a huuuuuge breakout) and my skin is slowly coming back to normal). I'll keep you updated. Hang in there! You can do it!

Also, if you wear make up, have you tried a green concealer stick for your red marks? It's saved me.

DAY 28

well i gave retin a rest for a night bc i was upset. and i woke up with 3 huge new zits!! im sure i would have gotten them regardless, they were def IB zits. two are cystic and just chillin next to each other on my right cheek and 1 was a nodule/whitehead that i zapped with bp and then popped ... i learned early on that if its ready to pop i HAVE to pop it, otherwise it takes twice as long to heal and no matter what it leaves a mark. still on the rocks about RAM, but a couple nights off wont hurt while i decide what to do / give my skin a rest.

i miss my old skin so much!! the days i could just wake up and go to class without doing anything oh man what i woudlnt give for that right now!! granted my skin wasnt perfect, but it was definitely clear and normal and not slightly pink all the time.

i miss sleeping over at my guys place and not having to worry about waking up early to do my makeup, taking forever after a shower bc thats when my redmarks looked the worst, or playing, sports, running, rockclimbing, anything athletic i refuse to do these things now because of acne.

its def a low point i hope im just burnt out from school and papers. all of my roomates are home for thanksgiving and i have 1 day left! im sure once im hope ill be feeling cheery again, i mean, whats not to love about thanksgiving?! its a holiday purely about food!! (and plymouth rock, pilgrams, indians, balbhalbhahabablh)

Don't give up yet!! Just think, you've put in 4 weeks of great effort, if nice skin for you is only a few weeks away then you'll be throwing away the time you've spent! From what I also hear, once you get through this breakout period (and I know, it's HORRIBLE), your skin is supposed to improve really fast. I really really recommend fish oil for the inflammation and redness. I'm taking 2.4 grams a day and I see that it helps.

 

As for me, I'm still recovering from the mixing of tretinoin and AHA before my skin was ready (convinced it caused a huuuuuge breakout) and my skin is slowly coming back to normal). I'll keep you updated. Hang in there! You can do it!

 

Also, if you wear make up, have you tried a green concealer stick for your red marks? It's saved me.

Aprilmay, I can't sympathize with you more. The IB on retin-a made me seriously question why I went on this thing, and in fact I probably wouldn't have if I had really researched it before going on it. Seriously, I'd never had acne this bad in my life, and being 26 was especially hard when all the pimps that my friends had combined didn't even add up to the ones on my face! (I call them pimps cause that's what they are, they take your money, humiliate you, and try to take over your life). However, being on this thing had made me learn so much more about my skin and what's good for it, and hearing all the life-long benefits of retin-a helps me get through it. I've discovered the benefits of natural oils that I never would have before (in fact check out my theory of moisturizing on retinoids that I posted under the retin-a forum, tell me what you think) And maybe it's good to get some perspective, and I'll no longer complain about the occasional zit now that I've had this monster breakout? Ok, maybe that's pushing it.

Anyway, 7 and a half weeks into my treatment and my skin is calming down, redness adn zits from breakouts are down 50% at least, and I'm cautiously optimistic. My skin looks very good in the places where I haven't broken out. And just think, you will probably get results even quicker from not being on the crappy retin-a cream like how I was for the first 6 weeks. I've also started using AHA to spot treat (as per dan's recommendations) and it seems to work as long as you do it on calm skin.

keep going! keep us posted! you can do it!

hmmmm youre post was interesting americaninparis! ill look into it although im skeptical about putting oil on my face, though i suppose if its all natural it should do any harm.

Just checking into see how it's going, I might not be around much through the weekend cause my sister and her boyfriend are visiting! Seriously, I was reeeeally skeptical about jojoba oil too, but if you look it up, it's one of the least comedegenic things out there (less so than cetaphil!) if you look on the boards, there are one in five people who will say it made them break out more, but who knows, it can also be coincidence. Definitely try it on a small part of your face first. My breakouts have really slowed down since I switched from cetaphil to the oil.

Heading into the end of my 7th week I have very few actives, just some red marks with their flakiness that need covering. Too soon to tell if this is a permanent turn-around, but I'll let you know.

Have you tried fish oil yet?? I swear, when I started taking those things my redness AND inflammation went down at least 50%. It should help your pimples from getting so inflamed.

Good luck and happy turkey day!

I'm also on the retin-a but only 8 full days into it. I have seen improvement so far, very little skin irritation, but am leary of a major breakout since it happens to some people. The first few days things looked more red and vivid, but that's calmed down a lot. I venture to say my skin actually appears healthy (nose and cheeks). My forehead is still bumpy and I'm healing on my chin from a cystic freaking colony who moved in for the month of Nov, and their evil cousin who decided to stop by for a visit, but they are packing their bags and going away at last.

Have you tried any specific vitamins or minerals? I added Evening Primrose Oil, Zinc, Melatonin, No-Flush Niacin, and Vitamin's A & E. I drink TONS of water and have ordered the rooibos tea that I've seen people raving about here but it won't arrive until next week. In the meantime, drinking this other tea that's better than green tea but not quite on the same level as the rooibos (it's called yerbe mate, i believe, found it on hand in the cabinet so decided to try it). I also am using an antibacterial enzyme gel from sephora.com. Naturally not at the same time as the Retin-A. I put the gel on in the morning, or whenever I have an inflamed looking area - like the cystic sister colony - it totally shrank them overnight without causing a ton of dryness like SA or BP would.

I am scaring very easily too, but the scars DO seem to go away faster than they used to. So while it looks like a lot, they actually fade faster than "real" scars. I just use a green concealor, blend, then a tiny dab of skin color concealor over the green, blend. Set it with a light powder. I don't like the bare minerals either, it made my face oddly shiny and basically brought light sources direct to the imperfections like a spot light. Ick!

hey I have been on Retin a .04 for almost four months now. I think its helped? Idk. I still break out alot, only now the zits are alot smaller. I havent seen any improvement in my black heads from it. The white heads go away, but every few weeks I get a new patch of them on my forehead. My adivce to you would be to go see your derm and ask him to prescribe you a higher dose. With a higher dose comes more dryness though.

Hey there, just checking in. Had a mini breakout this week that I'm sure was caused by stress and hormones, but they're much smaller than my usual pimples. Overall it's my eighth week and things seem to be clearing. I'm going to go full out this week, put aside my cleanser (which I know is too harsh for my skin anyway) and try the oil cleansing method. There's a pretty inspiring post on it in the whiteheads forum (whiteheads forum? gross.)

Will let you know how it goes.

Send us an update when you can!

DAY 33

well after my giant freak out about RAM after seeing those two giant cysts i took a couple days off RAM. and my face looked....the same. the cysts were going down in size by thanksgiving only to be joined by another (larger) friend! it was upsetting but no way did it get in the way of my eating 3 plates of food.

in other news i decided to go off RAM a couple nights everyweek. i know RAM is supposed to help with PIH but i SWEAR the three nights i took off my marks faded. anyways cysts are still dying ever so slowly and i have 3 active on my right side. it doesnt sound that bad, except the PIH makes me look super spotty. ill worry about fading them once i take care of the acne! anywho its back to school and work (whomp whomp) but in two weeks its winter break!! and christmas and new years! yesss!

AMERICANINPARIS: sorry about the stress related breakout but im glad to hear that things are clearing for you!! and i hope that the oil cleansing method works for you it sounds like it should from what ive read about it. btw the idea of christmas in paris sounds wonderful, christmas carols in french sound sooo pretty!

MILGIRL: i take vit C and vit e, i try to eat healthy so hopefully im getting everything else from my food. ive been eating a lot of brocoli lately which has vit k which is supposed to help skin heal!! cross my fingers hope thats been helping. the marks kill me too!!! and they lurk for months!! ill have to look into green concealer but it sucks having to use so many products, i long for the day my bag has like 3 products in it instead of 2398432.

LETSGOPSU: thanks for the advice! im going to see my derm for a checkup next week, ill either ask for a higher dose or for something else, depends on the inprovement i see. at this point im leaning towards something else. since (for me) RAM turns a barely noticable whitehead into a cyst/nodule, im kinda losing hope. i want to get ride of the whiteheads first, then use RAM to maintain it? love to hear what you think

also!!! i just found this on the org.

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/Red-Acne-...tio-t92304.html

its veryyyyyyy informative and i totally think i have mostly broken/excess capillaries with very slight PIH. i am VERY fair so this makes the most sense in why RAM doesnt work with my red marks. i was wondering why they seems better when i stopped (less irritation perhaps?) and this makes THE MOST sense!

if any of you guys out there have a fair complexion this may be the reason why RAM, skin bleach, or glycolic has little effect for you. its sad to think that time/lasers maybe the only cure, but its better than experimenting, wasting time and money, causing a breakout, or having false hope in a product. im not saying this is true for everybody but it certainly makes sense in my case!!