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Xxyy's Regimen Log 🙂

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(@xxyy)

Posted : 05/21/2013 7:33 am

 

I dont want to bore you all with my life story but basically I cleared my acne last year using Panoxyl 2.5% BP and after it got discontinued ive since tried everything else possible and its taken me until now to just suck it up and order the acne.org BP. I'm kinda pissed off with myself that I didnt just save myself nearly a year of pointless suffering but that times gone now and i'm on the right track again now.

My regimen

African black soap (a few regimen users on here use it and it seems to work well with the regimen) I love it because it removes most of my flakey skin - usually an entire layer of dead skin comes off my face when I use this. There's only 4 ingredients so its free from any irritants or chemicals. I have cetaphil gentle skin cleanser if my skin gets too dry but ill let you know if I have to use it.

 

Cetaphil Gentle skin cleanser - any kind of foaming face wash for me is drying on its own, this is perfect especially for the regimen. If I didnt start using this im confident id still be battling with dry skin.

Acne.org BP - Just got this today (been using a 5% until now which was way too irritating)

Cetaphil Lotion - Again, this works for a lot of regimen users on here and I dont have any complaints with it.

I'll be doing this twice a day - my skin is possible a world record holder for the oiliest skin ever (no exaggeration) so I want to keep my skin nice and BP'd so the oil doesnt get a chance to breed any nasty bacteria.

I use Vichy Dermablend foundation as a concealer. (a guy wearing makeup omg burn the witch!!!1!1) I used this when I got clear last time so I dont think it causes any problems.

Once i'm consistently clear I plan to introduce AHA because I have a lot of purple marks and some light scarring - i'll order the Acne.org version because that and the BP work out cheaper than any UK alternatives even with the postage costs (we dont have as many options here in the UK because the laws are stricter on ingredients).

So much for me not boring you with my life story - whatever, I love me a good life story. popcorn.gif

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(@ebun321)

Posted : 05/24/2013 9:31 am

Good luck bro! i live in london and i know exactly what you mean about the products here in the Uk. I have been on the regimen for just under 7 weeks and my AHA is arriving in 2 weeks hopefully.

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(@xxyy)

Posted : 05/27/2013 1:43 pm

day 6

Havent had any 'smaller' spots like little whiteheads or pustules but ive had a couple of cysts and two big-ish normal spots, looks like most of the stuff from the upper layers of my skin is out but theres the last few deeper ones left so im expecting a few breakouts in the coming weeks.

Ive got a cyst on my lower cheek thats basically two that are next to eachother and its really nasty, its totally under the skin but its really big and swollen but you cant see it in most lighting (when the redness is concealed) but in some lighting it looks huge. Ive took ibuprofen to hopefully take it down a bit and because its quite painful.

Even though my skin is only slightly dry and a tiny bit red when I first apply BP ive been flaking a lot more than I did with quinoderm 5% BP (which made my skin red raw). As a result my hyperpigmentation seems to be fading faster than usual, so once the flaking wears off Ill order the AHA to keep it going because the flakes completely come off in the shower so they dont bother me during the day, and when they do come off the skin underneath is really soft)

Ive also been taking a zinc supplement (from holland and barrett, 30mg a day) but im not sure if it really does anything, it does seem to be the go-to supplement for acne so i think everyone on the regimen should take it because its cheap enough. (also Dan takes it and he's basically our god)

I must remember to get a multivitamin with copper in it though because taking zinc for a long period of time can cause a deficiency in copper.

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(@leelowe1)

Posted : 05/27/2013 2:29 pm

Good Luck to you! The Regimen is a process but since you've had success with BP before, you'll probably have it again. Keep positing!

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(@xxyy)

Posted : 06/02/2013 9:51 am

day 12 (i think)

Skin generally looking good

the cyst that was sort of on my cheek/going onto my chin burst (not like a giant gash in my face, the stuff just sort of came out of a pore) when I was in the shower so I gently pushed the rest of the stuff out and its pretty much gone now but there is a purpley mark left behind, but its better than a giant thing sticking out of my face (it got bigger after my last post and it was so embarrassing)

I had a cyst on my cheek from a while ago and while the inflammation on it went away there was still the stuff left behind and there was just sort of a lump under the skin and a mark over the top so it was like a permanent spot, but it 'reactivated' and its gone painful and squishy again so its gonna either go down on its own or burst like the other one. Either way it wants to hurry up.

Blackheads on my nose dont seem to be doing much, does anyone know from experience if the AHA helps with this?

Dryness is dying down, still a bit flakey but its still nothing that doesnt wash off in the shower. I've been cheating and havent been using moisturizer during the day but my skins okay with it. For anyone reading, the dryness really does go away, just push through it because its so worth it,

Apart from that ive had a few small whiteheads but they go away really quickly. I turn 18 at the end of july and if the regimen keeps on going like this I might have half decent skin for my 18th biggrin.png

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(@carwinns)

Posted : 06/02/2013 12:34 pm

day 12 (i think)

Skin generally looking good

the cyst that was sort of on my cheek/going onto my chin burst (not like a giant gash in my face, the stuff just sort of came out of a pore) when I was in the shower so I gently pushed the rest of the stuff out and its pretty much gone now but there is a purpley mark left behind, but its better than a giant thing sticking out of my face (it got bigger after my last post and it was so embarrassing)

I had a cyst on my cheek from a while ago and while the inflammation on it went away there was still the stuff left behind and there was just sort of a lump under the skin and a mark over the top so it was like a permanent spot, but it 'reactivated' and its gone painful and squishy again so its gonna either go down on its own or burst like the other one. Either way it wants to hurry up.

Blackheads on my nose dont seem to be doing much, does anyone know from experience if the AHA helps with this?

Dryness is dying down, still a bit flakey but its still nothing that doesnt wash off in the shower. I've been cheating and havent been using moisturizer during the day but my skins okay with it. For anyone reading, the dryness really does go away, just push through it because its so worth it,

Apart from that ive had a few small whiteheads but they go away really quickly. I turn 18 at the end of july and if the regimen keeps on going like this I might have half decent skin for my 18th biggrin.png

Acne on the cheeks are the worst! Mine always take their time with healing.

Near the end of July I'll be turning 17 :) let's have a party, no acne allowed! :P

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(@xxyy)

Posted : 06/05/2013 2:34 pm

day 15

only thing i have to report is 3 spots in between my brows (i think from plucking lol) but i can feel a few spots coming up on one side of my chin and i think orange juice is a trigger food for me so i'm going to avoid that from now on. Sort of off-putting getting a breakout when youre on the regimen but im barely on week 2 so its to be expected really. Oh, the big cyst on my cheek did pop, left a really cute purple mark behind but w/e i'm just glad to have the inflammation down from it because it was so swollen i could see it in my peripheral vision.

Its annoying how clear my back is, because my back acne used to be sooooooo bad and its responding way better to the regimen than my face, although i have been using BP on there for a lot longer because ive never had any dryness or irritation issues there so i used to use 10% with no problems there.

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(@xxyy)

Posted : 06/09/2013 6:08 pm

day 19

i broke my no dairy rule because i was like "f*ck it i want cornflakes" and i have a hormonal-y breakout on the side of my chin so thats definately a trigger (i mean all of my acne is hormonal but i know what i mean). Also a big bump on my forehead (boo u whore), a whitehead on my jaw and a whitehead on my upper lip (i always get really ouchy whiteheads on my upper lip for some reason). Been using extra BP on my nose and thats taking care of my blackheads.

Today my dad brought home an aloe vera plant so ofc i was like "hey let me snap ur leaves and wipe ur insides on my face" and it was really soothing and my skin seemed a lot less oily today. not sure if ill keep using it because i dont want to go too off-track with the regimen but it was nice day time moisturizer so i might go and but the pre-tubed stuff because i feel really mean dismembering plants every morning (lol).

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(@xxyy)

Posted : 06/19/2013 4:13 am

day 28as you can see in my signiature i've since moved on to cetaphil gentle skin cleanser, im not actually sure why I did but whatever i'm glad I did because my skin looks and feels so much healthier for it, I no longer feel my skin slowly tightening after I wash my face (you know the feeling). Acne wise i've had a few spots on the left side of my chin but thats about it really. Pretty confident that ill be clear for my 18th which is exactly 4 weeks tomorrow :D

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(@xxyy)

Posted : 06/20/2013 2:31 pm

Introduced an AHA tonight - I emailed Eucerin randomly a couple of weeks ago saying "oh i dont know what moisturizer I should use on my acne prone skin" (i do) because they send you free samples. I got a letter apologizing that they didnt have any sample sizes so they sent me the full size day/night moisturizers for free!?!?!! £20 worth of products for free, bonus. And I can add it into the regimen :-) the day moisturizer has the liquorice root extract thats in the Acne.org moisturizer, and the night time one contains Lactic acid (AHA).

I hate to add variables to the regimen but I have used these before and the ingredients seem regimen safe.

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(@LewisS)

Posted : 06/20/2013 2:57 pm

Introduced an AHA tonight - I emailed Eucerin randomly a couple of weeks ago saying "oh i dont know what moisturizer I should use on my acne prone skin" (i do) because they send you free samples. I got a letter apologizing that they didnt have any sample sizes so they sent me the full size day/night moisturizers for free!?!?!! £20 worth of products for free, bonus. And I can add it into the regimen whistling.gif) the day moisturizer has the liquorice root extract thats in the Acne.org moisturizer, and the night time one contains Lactic acid (AHA).

I hate to add variables to the regimen but I have used these before and the ingredients seem regimen safe.

I got on that and asked for some 'samples'! ;)

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(@xxyy)

Posted : 06/23/2013 3:19 pm

You'll notice I added supplements to my signature. Ive took them inconsistently for a while but now im making a point to take them every day now, mainly to combat oily skin.

So I ordered the acne.org AHA and decided not to bother with those Eucerin products just because I reminded myself that I need to stay strict to the regimen.

Since switching to cetaphil gentle skin cleanser ive noticed something worrying - ive had few of these tiny clogged pores. I'm going to keep using cetaphil but if the clogged pores get any worse I think i'll have to go back to the african black soap, or I also considered the normal-oily skin cleanser instead bc my skin is so oily maybe the gentle cleanser isnt enough. We'll see though. Perhaps the AHA will sort it out.

Just had a thought - maybe the clogged pores are potential full-blown spots that have been kept tiny by the BP? like maybe if I wasnt using BP they would have been big pustules or something.

Also, a self reminder to keep the fudge away from dairy bc i know it breaks me out but i keep having milk with cereal. XXYY, can you like, not?

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(@carwinns)

Posted : 06/24/2013 1:20 pm

You'll notice I added supplements to my signature. Ive took them inconsistently for a while but now im making a point to take them every day now, mainly to combat oily skin.

So I ordered the acne.org AHA and decided not to bother with those Eucerin products just because I reminded myself that I need to stay strict to the regimen.

Since switching to cetaphil gentle skin cleanser ive noticed something worrying - ive had few of these tiny clogged pores. I'm going to keep using cetaphil but if the clogged pores get any worse I think i'll have to go back to the african black soap, or I also considered the normal-oily skin cleanser instead bc my skin is so oily maybe the gentle cleanser isnt enough. We'll see though. Perhaps the AHA will sort it out.

Just had a thought - maybe the clogged pores are potential full-blown spots that have been kept tiny by the BP? like maybe if I wasnt using BP they would have been big pustules or something.

Also, a self reminder to keep the fudge away from dairy bc i know it breaks me out but i keep having milk with cereal. XXYY, can you like, not?

You could switch to soy milk? or instead of cereal eat oatmeal or something. Or add water to cereal xD I knew a kid who was lactose intolerant and eat his cereal with water sick.gif

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(@xxyy)

Posted : 06/27/2013 4:32 pm

 

3 actives, but theyre not even slightly painful to touch. Hopefully the AHA doesnt give me an initial breakout. Waiting for it in the post :D

 

<---- also, that is me, lol. hi :)

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(@randall-flagg)

Posted : 06/27/2013 4:37 pm

3 actives, but theyre not even slightly painful to touch. Hopefully the AHA doesnt give me an initial breakout. Waiting for it in the post biggrin.png

<---- also, that is me, lol. hi smile.png

Good luck man! Those three actives will be gone in no time. The AHA is really nice, I pretty much only use it to spot treat with and on my dark marks, but I know some people use it as a moisturizer sometimes too. Hope it works well for you.

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(@xxyy)

Posted : 07/01/2013 2:05 pm

1 new active on my cheek and a small whitehead next to my eyebrow (again from plucking lmao)

Cant wait for my AHA to arrive :D

oh yeah and my hair is now white, i feel like storm from the x men its so cool haha

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(@xxyy)

Posted : 07/03/2013 6:26 am

Used the AHA last night - mixed half and half with cetaphil lotion (although it was more like 65:35 aha to moisturizer lol). Skin looked really bright and even toned before I washed my face (yellow colour of the AHA maybe?)

When I washed my face, a lot of gunk came off - a mixture of product and dead skin I think.

Afterwards my hyperpigmentation looks worse, im not gonna lie. But thats how it works right? with minus one layer of skin its gonna be more noticeable.

couple of small spots looking a little more angry, again its to be expected. My skin does feel softer though.

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(@xxyy)

Posted : 07/16/2013 7:08 am

 

week 7

 

Kind of had a breakout from the AHA - idk why but i decided to mix it with my moisturizer every night where youre supposed to use it every 2nd/3rd night.

Skin is a bit drier, to be expected.

I have a huuuuUUUUUUGE spot right on the center of my chin. Its not a cyst because i can see its coming to head but damn it its so hard to cover up (although its the only active on my face right now). I also have one on my chest, and a couple on my back - theyre all similair looking so i guess theyre AHA related. I'm going to keep using the AHA every other night though just because I want my skin to get over it ASAP rather than drag out the breakout phase.

Obviously too early to say if its doing anything for the hyperpigmentation, but since it looks worse the day after I use the AHA I guess its working its way through the skin to get to it.

Also, the supplements thing kind of failed, I just keep forgetting to take them. Also I have a feeling the breakout might actually be from the B5, so i'm stopping that anyway for the sake of variables.

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(@xxyy)

Posted : 08/07/2013 1:58 pm

week 10

holy crap its been 10 weeks?!"!?/dghjndfg WHERE IS MY LIFE GOIng

uh, anyway

still sort of at the one pimple point. usually that one will go and heal and another will appear to replace it, but if this is as good as the regimen gets for me then i'm still really happy with it. HOWEVER i'm currently awaiting the full acne.org regimen in the post - cleanser, moisturizer, jojoba oil - already using the treatment and AHA - so maybe this will get me 100% clear instead of 99.9999% clear. But really when i think how bad my acne used to be i am so happy to even be 99.9999% clear. To me this is "clear" - i can say the regimen absolutely has worked for me. smile.png

Update on the AHA - I have noticed my hyperpigmentation is fading, slowly but surely. If i use the AHA more than usual they do that thing where they look loads worse again temporarily, but thats just how it works.

I've also ditched the heavy full coverage makeup since, well, i dont need it anymore, in favour of the garnier BB cream for oily-combo skin and its really great smile.png checked out all the ingredients and its totally non comedogenic (as already stated on the box, but you cant be too sure). I've been using it for 2 weeks now and havent had any major breakouts from it so i think its safe in that sense. It can be built up to quite a full coverage though so even if you have quite bad active acne i'd still reccomend it because it will cover it if you let it dry and reapply it over problem areas.

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(@xxyy)

Posted : 09/01/2013 6:24 am

week 13

so switching to dans cleanser/moisturizer/jojoba, as expected, didnt go down awfully well with my skin because it is a little more drying than cetaphil, and i think the slight irritation has caused a few breakouts (along with skipping BP applications to combat the dryness). Nothing OTT, were talking like 3 spots.

Also, i checked the dosage chart and ive been using like half the reccomended amount - ive been doing the full fingers length but mine was a really skinny one and not thick like dans (i dont even have the mental energy to reword that so let the innuendos commence) so im going to start using the proper full amount.

Also i'm going back to the vichy foundation as a concealer, because the BB cream contains alcohol and i can tell thats been drying my skin out too. Plus its too dark for me and aint nobody got time for lookin orange eusa_shifty.gif

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