EDIT: You might want to skip all of this and just go to my final post on October 4th, 2012 (page 4, post #80) because I changed a lot of things .
So, I have sensitive skin now, I didn't used to, but I do now. I can't use the regimen the way its supposed to, so I modified it a little. I know BP works for me -- I just need to figure out how often I need to use it and how much I need to moisturize and how often I need to exfoliate, hence this log.
I take some bp, not a whole lot -- about a dime size-quarter amount. I put it in my palm and I add my moisturizer and mix them both together very well. Then I apply it to my face. I do this about once a day. I'm just in the beginning stages, so I don't know how often I need to use it. I'm fairly clear (mild acne) sometimes I have no acne, so I don't feel I need it everyday. I hope not to, but we'll see. I've used it daily for awhile, then every other day. Then I ran out of moisturizer, so I stopped for about 3-4 days. I broke out then, but I don't know if was because of the new BB cream I tried or not, because I really never breakout. I'm using BP to prevent breakouts, because I stopped my antiandroden 3+ months ago and I do NOT intend to go back on any antiandrogens ever again. I was very unhealthy feeling and looking.
So, BP has always worked well for me. I used to do the regimen since I was teen, long before the internet was invented ;-), but then I stopped and tried something else (because I'm stupid) and all hell broke lose on my skin.
Anyway, I've always used a BP wash 2x a day and spot treated with BP since 'tane and when I was on antiandrogens and it works well for me. That's why I'm using it now for prevention.
I'm using this log to track breakouts (if any) and to gauge how often I need to use it. I also want to track irritation and dryness and see what works for that.
Products I use:
Persagel 10% ****Please do not tell me this is too strong. 10% is the only percentage that works for me. I tried Dan's and other brands 2.5% and they either didn't work or made my skin hella irritated (Dan's. Sorry Dan!) I actually think I'm allergic to dan's filler ingredients or my skin is too sensitive for his product, because unfortunately his makes my skin seem like it's allergic and it's not. The other brands' 2.5% just weren't effective for me. I'd love it if Dan made a more gentle version, like took out butylene glycol and used carbomer or something, but oh well.
La Roche Posay Toleriane Fluide -- The only moisturizer that truly doesn't break me out and actually moisturizes. I'm so happy to have found it after looking unsuccessfully for a moisturizer for 20 years! EDIT: I use this during the day when I'm not using the AHA lotion. (6/12)
Acne.org AHA - I use this sometimes. I want to play around with it and see when I should use it and how often.After reading people's posts on it, it seems I used too large of an amount. I've read you only need a pea size amount or a tad more. I used a lot more than that. Good product though. I'm currently using this during the day a few times a week to start. (6/12)
BP Face Wash - Used this for years. If I switch to a non-medicated wash, I break out. I may eventually try a sulfur wash but not right now. I am going to make my own sulfur wash by adding sulfur cream to a wash. I have dan's and I will try it with that, but only after I've worked out the kinks in my regimen and will know if my wash is messing me up somehow if I get problems Using this wash which contains glycolic in it in the am. I use a different bp w/o glycolic in the pm. (6/12)
Triclosan Face Wash - I found this again by accident! I used to use clearsil's, but years ago when I wanted to go back to it I found out they replaced the triclosan with some other ingredient. I started using this again (after not using it for 12 yrs.) on 03/10). This broke me out. I think because of the glycerin.
Edit, things I'm using now 06/2012:
1. Dan's BP - 1x a day before bed right now. I plan on going to 2x a day soonish. I've been on it a little over a week and I have no irritation and little to no flaking. I'm pretty clear as of right now, but I'm only a week into dan's bp and about a month into the bp thing in total. EDIT 6/12: I'm still using this before bed. I'm using a lot. It's working.
2. Bp wash. Unfortunately, no other normal wash works for me. They all give me tiny bumps. I use two different bp washes. One with glycolic in the am and one without glycolic in the pm.
3. AHA lotion. I just started this. I'm currently using it 2x a week to start. I use it in the daytime instead of my LRP moisturizer. Edit 6/12/12: Putting the aha on hold bc skin got a bit dry and weird.
4. La Roche Posay Toleriane Fluide. I use this during the day when I don't use AHA lotion instead.
I'm basically going back to everything I used to control my acne before I went to a derm and they gave me all of these newfangled products that just made my acne worse. Derms are good for certain things: Cortisone injections, extractions, cancer screenings, scar revision, and for pills for acne like accutane and antibiotics and hormonal drugs. It's been my personal experience that the older drugs that you can get OTC (sulfur, BP, triclosan) are the best for acne. I have mild acne, so I don't need pills or any of that. Hope I don't get severe enough to need to go back to a derm for the things I mentioned they're useful for.
That's it.
So I did the whole face last night and the night before. My breakout is gone, except for one on the side of my nose. I never get them there, I really think it was from the BB cream which I'm returning. I hope this is the end of my breakout, BB related or not.
Not sure if I'll use it tonight or not. I might. I'll definitely spot treat certain areas just in case.
If you have sensitive skin you need to start out slower than others. You should either use moisturizer first or mixed with BP. I'd only use it at night to begin. Your skin will get dry, everyone's does in the beginning. You may want to do it every other day initially or even every few days depending on how your skin reacts. I've never tried moisturizer before BP, I'm afraid the bp wouldn't penetrate, but maybe I'm just being paranoid. Mixing it together just buffers it. It may be like using a 5% for me or something.
Your going to need a quality moisturizer.
Okay, so my skin seems pretty tight and dry today. Wondering if it will peel in a few days.... I doubt I'll be using BP tonight all over. I just have remnants of that one on my nose, but it's going away. I never get nose pimples, so I do think it was that makeup. I hope it was, because if not, it's hormonal and that's more problematic. PS- Stay away from Garnier Nutrisse's BB Cream or at least use with caution. I actually used it daily (even if I wasn't going out) to gauge if it would break me out. After a week, it did, so now I know I need to return it.
I will probably moisturize today and just spot treat that one. I need to let my skin rehydrate. I'm thinking I should try out an every other day application.
I <3 my LRP! Think I'll give tonight a rest and see what happens and go back to all over BP tomorrow. My skin is somewhat dry and peely. It's fine with moisturizer on though, but I imagine if I put on base it would look bad. I'm not wearing makeup for a few more days because I want my skin to recover from the BB cream. I don't have any new pimples, but I still have that one on my nose which is staying around for some reason. It doesn't look too bad but it's there.
I felt tiny bumps on the one side of my mouth below my cheeks. I don't see any pimples at all, but I can feel them. I get that in that area sometimes. I don't know why, but like I said, I can't see them so I guess it's no biggie. I'll spot treat that tonight. I haven't decided if I'll use BP all over tonight yet.
So, I'm not crazy about my skin right now. I still have that pimple on my nose, and while it's not very inflamed or noticeable, my pimples are usually gone within two days. This is bad. Can't be a good sign. Now I'm left wondering if my skin is acting up because of my hormones. It is TTOM, but I usually get problems mid-month and I didn't this time. I got it at the end, which is normal for most people, but not for me, so are my hormones doing something different now. It seems so. It's just over three months since I stopped the AA, so I thought I was in the clear (pun!) but maybe not. My skin is far from 'bad' but it could get bad, and that's no bueno. I don't want to go on AA's because they completely give me heartburn. That's improved a lot. I'm going to start working out when TTOM is over, something I felt I couldn't do while on meds, because my stomach was a disaster. Maybe that will help. My skin is also getting a bit oily. I'm glad it's not super dry (except from BP) because on meds it was awfully dry and it looked awful. I can try omegas, because they dry me out for some reason. I'll do that tonight.
I got a few more blemishes. I hesitate to call them 'pimples' because they are just beginning and not actually formed. I wonder if BP causes a purge. Anyone know? I seriously forget. It's been many years since I did this rigmarole.
I took molasses because I read it's good for PCOS. I doubt it, but it is also supposed to be good for ulcers which I have, and it has iron (I'm on TTOM) and B vitamins and calcium -- I seriously need calcium -- I'm old and I think AA's change your hormones so that you lose it. I don't eat sugar, because I don't like sweets, so it's fine for me to have a tsp of that. That's like my only sugar,
I'll do the BP tonight. I put some on already. I'd do a mask, but my skin would shrivel up and die. My t-zone is oily. I just touched my fingers to my forehead and I can feel the oil. gah. I hope my hormones settle down.
I heard molasses as a mask is supposed to be a good exfoliant. I might do that. Sugar is good too, I hear, but I think I only have the big, course raw sugar which would be harsh. Bummer, I feel like doing a mask or exfoliating. My skin could use exfoliation. I'm going to check and see if I have any white sugar. I'd crap a brick if I actually found white sugar, because I don't eat refined junk. Maybe I have a packet from a restaurant laying around somewhere. I could run to wawa and steal a packet of sugar so I don't have to buy a sack of that stuff. I'd buy a coffee, but had to stop drinking it because of my ulcer.....stay tuned, peeps!
Okay. So no new pimples today. Yay. It's not unusual for me to be clear. I have mild acne, so I want people to know that, lest they think it works this quick. I ended up using the raw sugar last night and oh my, do I love it! It got rid of a lot of flakies. I used it this am too. I'm going to use that daily. And I didn't end up thieving packets from Wawa, so my conscience is crystal clear, hehe.
I am so unbelievably happy right now because I found a face wash like the one I used to use back in the day with my BP regimen! I used to use clearasil face wash and it had triclosan in it. It kept me clear combined with the BP.They both fight acne bacteria, but they're different so they target different bacteria. Plus it really cleans your face, even makeup. Yes, I heard triclosan is bad for you. I don't care. I have permanent scarring from acne and I don't want more. Anyway, I found it completely by accident. It mustb've been fate. I was actually going to get clean and clear 3 in 1 scrub, because I'm at the end of my Rx BP wash and they stopped carrying the brand I like everywhere. I even looked online, called different pharmacies, etc. The other ones dry me out bad. This one didn't. This one also cost me $60+. I'm over it. I can get another BP wash for $6 and I was going to do that. I tried to go back to clearasil but they changed their formula over the years and now it doesn't have tricosan anymore, I think it has SA. SA doesn't help me. I'd given up on a wash with triclosan until I found one tonight by accident. I'd gone to walmart to get the 3 in 1. I was in the skin care section and I put my stuff down on the floor to look at one of my items. It turned out I was eye level with Noxzema products and I saw the face wash. I decided to look and see if it had BP in it. IT had triclosan!!! My heart soared, I'm telling ya. I got it. I hope it works as well as it did back in the day. That was like 10 years ago and skin changes, so who knows? *Fingers Crossed*
So, I don't know if I'll put BP on tonight or not. I always spot treat. I did it yesterday all over, so I may take tonight off. I also realllly don't like sleeping in face products. I prefer them during the day. I like my skin to breathe at night while sleeping.
Oh, my hair is oily now, so this is a hormone thing. Lovely. I don;t know if they're resetting or if it's because it's TTOM or what. I hope I don't get cystic acne again.
I used the wash and oh my gosh, it was intense. I think I used too much of it, because it was like it stripped my face of every oil. It definitely took off all my makeup. I used it this am and used less and it wasn't like that. It is fine. Nothing bad happened last night, it was just a weird sensation. I think it took off a lot of dead skin too! It smelled just like I remembered it, even though it's a different brand, so that must be triclosan smell. It took me back. I'd love it if it got rid of certain perpetually clogged areas, like around my nose and on my chin, but that would be like a friggin' miracle. They look like whiteheads but they can't be popped. I've always suspected they're some type of resistant bacteria or even fungus (eww!) but triclosan is an antibacterial and an antifungal, so who knows, maybe it will work.
My hair isn't oily today, so that may have been a TOTM thing.
I haven't used all over bp for a few days now. I don't think I'll use it all over tonight either. The face wash is enough right now.
I'm still taking the molasses, no idea what, if anything, that's doing. But it has iron and calcium and B6 so whatever.
I got this new powder makeup. It's supposed to be a really good powder foundation. I'm going back to that too, since they changed the formula of my TM. Why do they change great products?! So frustrating! Anyway, I ordered it off of ebay and they sent me the wrong type of powder. Instead of the powder foundation, they sent me the powder (powder, as in just powder, not foundation powder). When I tried it I noticed so many flakes. I hadn't moisturized. I didn't see any before I put on makeup.Anyway, so that kinda sucks. I haven't used the BP in some time (3 days?) so it's good I took a break. I'm still using the face wash. I used the sugar scrub today after I saw the flakes and I also moisturized. Then I reapplied the makeup and it looked okay. I actually like how the powder looks and hope I don't regret exchanging it for the one I originally wanted.
I have two tiny ones near my hairline and may be getting one between my eyes, but they're all very small, so I'm okay with it. I wonder if it's like a purge because of the peeling and also because of the face wash...hmmm.
Just found out they're letting me keep the powder and still sending me the powder-foundation I originally ordered. Score! I was hoping they'd do that, but didn't think they actually would, and I didn't even ask!! I better like the foundation-powder after all of this -- watch, I'll hate it.
I also realized if I use the triclosan wash 2x a day and don't use the bp all over, I'm not getting any BP. Maybe I'll just use it at night. I have to think about that.
I am getting one that isn't big, but looks like it could be. I'm going to throw a ton of bp on it. I wonder if it was from that new makeup? Maybe I can't wear makeup at all...I haven't used my BP wash in days, too, which isn't good at all. I need some BP on my face.
I also have had milk (in cereal) for the past two nights. I usually don't eat cereal and mill. I wonder if it contributed, even though it's organic and hormone free, they are pregnant cows, so I'm guessing they have a lot of hormones. When I did the regimen consistently, I drank TONS of milk and never got acne, but I'm not doing the regimen consistently.
The weather has also gotten more humid.
I'm at day 7 in my cycle, so everything is increasing, but this wasn't a problem last month. I do feel like something shifted with me hormonally this month though, because I got symptoms at the end of my cycle instead of the middle this time.
I also just had my entire face peel off, so this can be a purge of some kind, but this pimple looks like it could turn into a cyst. My face feels and looks extremely soft and nourished, which is nice. It feels so soft, so I think I really did peel an awful lot.
It could be any of these, but it's probably hormones. haven't used BP all over in 3 days. I wanted it to peel. I'm definitely doing it tonight.
If this turns into a cyst and it looks like it will, I'm getting a cortisone injection.
My stomach was not happy with me. But it's okay. I may take another today too. I put a lot of bp on that cyst in the making yesterday and today, read: like 3-4 times a day. That's what I used to do when I was clear and it helps a lot.
I got 2 hours of sun today. I don't think my face got near 2 hrs, because it was lowered because I was reading, but it got some.I think that helped too. I need the Vit. D. Can't take Vit. D supplements because they break me out. They're a hormone, and a lot of people do okay with it, but it makes me breakout. I'm getting more tomorrow and until it's gone. I don't want another scar. It seems to be getting smaller, but I'm not in the clear yet. It could still turn into a cyst if I'm not careful.
I put bp on all over last night (no moisturizer) and will do so today. I find the new face wash moisturizes enough on its own. I don't seem to need it, but may when I wear makeup. We'll see....I'm not wearing makeup until it's gone and I'm getting my new powder soon -- I'm really going to want to try it. I need to wait.
I also took omegas last night. Now that I'm not on AA's, my skin isn't as dry and I can take it w/o it making me look dry and old and have bad texture. I took it for years before, but the AA's dried me to no end and they made it sooo much worse, so it was a no go.
That cyst is gone for the most part! I hope it stays that way. I keep examining my skin in the mirror to assess the cyst, lol. I think everything I did really helped out in tandem.
I did the BP all over last night too and will do it tonight. Since using the FW, my skin can tolerate all over BP w/o moisturizer, because the FW is very hydrating. I'm not dry at all even though I used straight 10% BP w/o my LRP. I'm a little shocked at this actually.
I couldn't get sun because it was cloudy. Boo.
I'm around day 9 of my cycle. This is where I typically begin to see acne, but usually it's more a problem around the 14th day to 21st day. I should know by the 20th-25th what's going on there and how well the regimen is preventing my acne.
I'm still taking the omegas and will continue to do so unless it dries me out badly, but it doesn't seem to be. I will take the baby aspirin tonight to make sure that cyst stays gone -- it's still a teensy bit visible, but not really. Once I'm convinced it's gone, I'm stopping aspirin.
Skin is a bit dry today. I've been using BP all over for about 3 days now. I do have some very small ones on my forehead. I had them before too but they looked like they went away. I haven't been wearing makeup or even moisturizer, so i don't know what to think. I wonder if it's a purge. I don't usually get these. They are very small, so I am not too bothered by them.
I got my new makeup and my skin looked a bit dry, but it's not too bad.
I didn't use bp all over last night and I don't know if I will tonight. My skin looks peely around my chin area. Other than that, it's really not too bad.
I still have small pimple-like things on my forehead only. I don't know why I have these. You have to get really close to see them. I wonder if it's from my hair? I have to get better at washing my face sooner after waking. I wait hours. My scalp gets oily, but I wash my hair everyday. I wonder if it gets on my forehead. This is the only place I have anything.
I'm wearing my new makeup today and I really like it. I hope it doesn't break me out. Whenever I find something that makes me look good it usually breaks me out.
So, I don't know if this is working...I still have tiny bumps on my forehead and it looks like I'm getting two on one side of my face. I don't know if this is a purge or what.I don't usually breakout. It's two weeks today that I've been on the regimen, though I began it a bit before, sporadically.
I used hibiclens tonight. We'll see how that works out.
I used a thin layer of bp all over last night.
I'm right at two weeks in my cycle, so this is where I used to start to have issues...
My skin is peely.
I think I'm going to stop the new face wash for a bit. Maybe I'm having a weird reaction to that, because I never get a lot of pimples. It could also be a purge from BP.
Those two went away before they could form. I'm wondering if this is a purge.
I used bp all over last night and tonight.
I don't have any new ones. Still have the small ones on my FH.
I went back to bp wash for now.
My skin has gotten a bit oily. It actually looks good because it's not all dry. It's probably because it's gotten humid here. This is a really good time to start the regimen, because skin won't be so dry. I used hibiclens midday. That seems to leave a bit of a film though, so not sure about it. It doesn't break me out though.
I'm now taking 2 omegas. It doesn't dry out my skin anymore now that I'm not on AA's.
I'm around the time I should breakout....but, my cycle changed a bit last time, so I don't know if it's permanently moved to last week of it or not. We'll see.
I think my fh looks a little better today. I think I'm having a little purge, or was, and it's getting better. I really don't know.
I've been using the bp all over for a bit now. I'm not mixing it with moisturizer because my skin is a little oily now from the weather or my hormones, so I don't need it right now.
I don't have any besides some tiny ones that aren't exactly pimples, so I seriously can't complain. I really hope this is some sort of purge and then I'll be clear. I plan on using the bp tonight too. I spot treat problem areas during the day too.
I got one that's a bit inflamed on the side of my nose. The other one on my other side of my nose that was gone has returned. fml.
The one on the side of my nose that was gone and then came back is gone again. The other one is a lot better.
Overall, pretty good. If my cycle didn't switch to being bad the last week of TTOM, then I'm almost in the clear and it wasn't at all bad. I do hope that's the case.
Ehh, not crazy about my skin. It's dry and tight. I have a pimple. I still have small ones. It's not horrible but it's not great either. I ran out of my normal bp wash today, so I had to use panoxyl. We'll see how that goes. I need to use moisturizer more.
I'm just past the 3 week mark.