I am in the same boat as you, though I am at 2.5 months. I finally worked up to two full pumps, but now I am really dry. I think that you should be fine. The skin will get used to the bp eventually, though you can dial the bp back and bring it up to two pumps again. Are the flakes in the same area as where you get your acne? Or is it localized to the places where you don't have it.

 

I usually get scaly dryness around my chin (and below my lips) as well as under my nose and around the corners of my mouth after I dry from the cleanser. Its funny, though. I will apply 3 full fingers lengths of BP (which I am used to, partly because I had been using Proactiv to no avail for at least 2 years ) and after it drys, my skin will look less flaky and dry than it did after I had dried from cleansing! Sometimes I just can't resist scratching at those flaky areas due to the worry of them causing more acne if they aren't removed, while at the same time when trying to scratch them off, I am probably just causing new acne! Its like a never ending cycle! haha

Qwerty, if you're staying strict with following the regimen, not adding extra steps or products and have now stopped using the washcloth, your face will get clear. You are still in the early days of the regimen when everything is extremely frustrating because you're having to put up with all the downsides without much upside.

Your skin will eventually adjust to the BP (I didnt think it was ever going to happen for me, but it did eventually around the 9/10 week mark) and it will stop being so dry and flaky. Plus I found that as I was getting fewer and fewer breakouts, I was experiencing less and less flakyness from the dried out and healing pimples.

You could also incorporate AHA+ into your regimen now. That helped tremendously for me with the dry skin issues....but be prepared for additional stinging and burning (which I've grown to embrace and love. Sick I know! )

Qwerty, if you're staying strict with following the regimen, not adding extra steps or products and have now stopped using the washcloth, your face will get clear. You are still in the early days of the regimen when everything is extremely frustrating because you're having to put up with all the downsides without much upside.

Your skin will eventually adjust to the BP (I didnt think it was ever going to happen for me, but it did eventually around the 9/10 week mark) and it will stop being so dry and flaky. Plus I found that as I was getting fewer and fewer breakouts, I was experiencing less and less flakyness from the dried out and healing pimples.

You could also incorporate AHA+ into your regimen now. That helped tremendously for me with the dry skin issues....but be prepared for additional stinging and burning (which I've grown to embrace and love. Sick I know! )

 

Thanks for the response. 1.5 months seems like a long time to me, like things should already be perfect now, but I just have to keep persevering, and hopefully it will get better. I have seen how wonderful the regimen has turned out to be for other people, and I am excited for the day when I don't have to worry about blemishes on my face anymore - I will feel so much more confident.

Quick question, though (for you or anyone else): When you had dry, flaky skin (assuming you did) at first, did you just ignore it, and keep being gentle with the regimen, or did you use the AHA? Would it hurt me even if I didn't use AHA but didn't irritate the flaky skin at all, and just moisturized? Thanks

I have been lurking for some time now, and haven't seen a thread regarding this topic, so here goes:

I've been on the regimen for 1.5 months now, and while I can see some improvement, I still seem to get whiteheads (maybe about one new one a day?) as well as some under-skin, unpoppable pimples along my jaw line and by my ear. For a while, I have been rinsing the cleanser off with a washcloth (which, I know was not the right thing to be doing) but have since stopped and now I have another problem: flakiness and dryness.

Ever since only splashing water on my face to rinse the cleanser off, I have noticed that a lot of my dry skin and flakiness remains after rinsing the cleanser. I know irritation is bad for acne, but isn't acne caused by clogged pores? Could all this dryness and flakiness be attributed to clogging my pores and therefore giving me more acne? Something about it just seems counter-intuitive. I moisturize using 2 pumps and jojoba oil too, so my skin does stay moisturized.

Any thoughts? Will my acne go away if i still have all of this dry, flaky skin even if i moisturize and stay strict with the regimen and be gentle? Sorry for all of the questions, I just am anxious and worried now that I have been on the regimen this long.

Also, why do people say how many "pumps" of BP they use? The regimen kit I got, it is in a tube-ish thing. I usually use 3 fingers lengths and my skin isn't overdry. How much do you use?

Thanks for your input!

 

I started getting those small little bumps that don't have heads around my chin and neckline. I think it was because of the jojoba oil which seems strange because everyone talks about how awesome that stuff is and how noncomedogenic and such but it freaked me out so I stopped. I'm also not on the regimen but just a thought. Try a more moisturizing moisturizer maybe because I've heard Dan's is a little wimpy on fighting dry skin?

It took 3 months for me to be perfectly clear and the first two months were hell so I know how frustrated you're feeling. Hang in there!

I started using AHA+ at around 4 weeks. At first I didnt think it was doing anything apart from making my face a bit more redder, but after a couple of weeks the difference to my skin was amazing. It basically just stopped it from being flaky....full stop, and from there it week it just made my skin more and more smooth and glowing. Plus not having acne helped with that too.

So that was my exerpience, but I'm sure if you don't incorporate AHA and still keep being gentle with your skin and being sure to moisturise, your skin will adjust and not be dry. You can always apply extra moisturiser during the day to the parts of your face that are particularly dry. I still do that on occassion. I have a bottle of Dan's moisturiser sitting on my desk at work and I sometimes dab it on around my mouth when I'm feeling dry.

It took 3 months for me to be perfectly clear and the first two months were hell so I know how frustrated you're feeling. Hang in there!

I started using AHA+ at around 4 weeks. At first I didnt think it was doing anything apart from making my face a bit more redder, but after a couple of weeks the difference to my skin was amazing. It basically just stopped it from being flaky....full stop, and from there it week it just made my skin more and more smooth and glowing. Plus not having acne helped with that too.

So that was my exerpience, but I'm sure if you don't incorporate AHA and still keep being gentle with your skin and being sure to moisturise, your skin will adjust and not be dry. You can always apply extra moisturiser during the day to the parts of your face that are particularly dry. I still do that on occassion. I have a bottle of Dan's moisturiser sitting on my desk at work and I sometimes dab it on around my mouth when I'm feeling dry.

 

Hey I'm not on the regimen but I bought Dan's AHA+ and was wondering how often you can use it, and how to build up to it? You seem like a helpful person to ask.

Hey Stephanie, I now use AHA+ almost every night, but when I first got it I mixed it in with moisturiser and applied it every 2 - 3 days and built up from there. I also just wear it straight now, without it being mixed in with moisturiser but it stings like mad. The stinging/burning sensation used to make me really anxious at first as I thought that I was burning my skin off but now that I know its not doing any harm, I just go with the sensation. No pain, no gain right?

Hi im currently 6 weeks following the regimen. Ive found that my skin are no longer senitive to the benzolyn peroxide. My acne are getting better however, i find that my skin are darker and there are so much dead skin on my face. Is it okay to use a mild scrub to exfoliate the flakiness? Or will this cause acne breakout? Cos my skin is really really dull due to the benzolyn peroxide

I use a baby brush to exfoliate. I get it nice and hot, put jojoba oil on my face, then gently exfoliate. It has really helped with my flakiness....I suggest you try it. Get the softest brush you can, though.