I'm a male teenager, and over the past 3 years I've had moderate acne (a little more on the mild side of moderate). I went from regimen to regimen looking for stuff that worked, and finally over the past few months I have devised one that works really well and has drastically reduced my acne so now I just have occasional pimples rather than multiple new ones every day.
Also, I figured I should say this, I'm not a salesman and I'm not trying to sell products here. As you can see they're all from different companies too so I really have no incentive I just want to share something that may help others.
Products-
Clearasil Oil-Free Daily Face Wash
Clearasil Ultra Acne + Marks Wash and Mask and don't bother using it as a mask(about a month ago I switched from the old formula to the new one, definitely get the new one it says new formula on the upper left corner)
Neutrogena Rapid Clear Treatment Pads
Clean&Clear Persa-Gel 10
Fruit of the Earth 100% Aloe Vera treatment gel
Now that may seem like a lot, but the last two are just spot medications that help to clear forming pimples and heal the skin/stop redness, respectively.
How to go about the process-
IN THE MORNING as soon as you can after waking up
1. Wash hands with soap, make sure you scrub it all off
2. Wet face with warm water (on the hotter side of warm), but NOT hot you don't want to irritate your skin. (same thing goes if you are in the shower. Oh, and come to think of it, this regimen works for chest/back acne too so in the shower do this to all affected parts.)
3. Wash your face with the Clearasil Oil-Free Daily Face wash. You use this one in the morning because it is gentler on the skin than the other one so won't make your face red. When you apply the stuff to your face, gently rub it around for 30 seconds before rinsing it all off.
4. Feel any pimples beginning to form? Apply the Clean&Clear Persa-Gel 10 spot lotion to them. If the pimple has already formed, don't bother it's too late.
5. Apply Aloe Vera to popped pimples that are bleeding, or any dry skin, or healing popped pimples. It calms down redness (be gentle when applying, you don't want to cause irritation/redness!!) and does a GREAT job at healing so no scar is left. This stuff has drastically helped reduce scars from healing pimples for me. So don't apply persa-gel 10 and aloe vera in the same spot, because they are both for different things.
6. Go about your day without having to worry about how red your face is.
AT NIGHT before you go to bed
1. Wash hands with soap, make sure you scrub it all off
2. Wet face with warm water (on the hotter side of warm), but NOT hot you don't want to irritate your skin.
3. Wash face with Clearasil Ultra Acne + Marks Wash.
4. Take a Neutrogena Rapid Clear pad and apply all around your face, don't scrub hard, you don't want to irritate skin. Don't apply to areas of dry/peeling skin, it will only make it worse. Wait till it dries before proceeding to step 5.
5. Feel any pimples beginning to form? Apply the Clean&Clear Persa-Gel 10 spot lotion to them. If the pimple has already formed, don't bother it's too late.
6. Apply Aloe Vera to popped pimples that are bleeding, or any dry skin, or healing popped pimples. Be gentle when applying, you don't want to cause irritation/redness! So don't apply persa-gel 10 and aloe vera in the same spot, because they are both for different things.
I don't know if it's the acne+marks face wash or the aloe vera, or both, but the red dots scars I used to have all around my lips and chin are now 99% gone.
I started this regimen in late March, and after some adjustment time it really started to work. I can't give a positive time that my regimen will guaranteed work in however, since we are all different. For me, it was about 2 months when I realized how much I had improved acne-wise. By 3 months it was REALLY working.
Now, this is not a miracle regimen, you will still experience the occasional breakout. So don't expect to have 100% perfection. But you will have SIGNIFICANTLY less acne than before.
Do your best not to skip days!!! I have yet to skip a day.
But that's not the only thing that I do to stop my acne.
EAT BETTER
I haven't had potato chips in probably like 8 months. Stay away from fried foods and foods with any oils in them other than olive oil and/or coconut oil. I eat good-for-you cereal every day (not like the sugary fake stuff, I mean like cheerios, raisin bran), as well as a lot of fruit and healthy food. I eat pistachios, bananas, oranges/clementines, apples, raisins, I could go on for a while. Drinking vegetable juice is also good too.
Besides reducing my acne, all the healthy eating has put me into significantly better shape! I was never overweight, but I was just your average teenager. The healthy foods + exercise and visits to the gym has helped my gain a lot of muscle and lose fat. But this isn't a fitness site, so I'll get back to acne I just thought I'd point out what a healthy lifestyle can do.
I will say, it wasn't easy at first giving up all those yummy processed foods like cheetos, chips, fast food places, but just USE COMMON SENSE when you have the opportunity to indulge into something greasy and oily. Do your best not to indulge. And one thing I've stopped eating is those easy microwaveable frozen meals. They're loaded with oils and bad ingredients.
Don't be a messy eater, getting stuff around your mouth probably won't help your acne situation....
I also take a multivitamin every day, which promotes better health. I think one of the keys to less acne is better health and hygiene.
If you HAVE to eat fast food, go to Subway or a place that won't serve you some greasy oily thing.
SUNSCREEN
Use Neutrogena breakout-free sunblock, I've used it several times and I've never broken out from it so I believe it works as advertised.
Despite what you may think, apply sunscreen to all areas of your face especially the ones affected by acne, because getting those areas sunburned will irritate the skin and just cause more.
PLEASE NOTE:
When you initially begin this regimen, you'll probably experience an initial breakout. It happened to me too, and I think for me it was the persa-gel 10 that did it. Regardless, once that breakout is over, these products will reduce your acne.
I think I covered it all, if you have any questions post them on here and I'll reply asap.
Just a couple of questions :
Do you use any moisturizer after applying the Clearasil Oil-Free Daily Face wash?
What's you skin type ? oily, dry, etc. Also, where do you tend to breakout?
Do you use any other treatment apart from these?
No, other than putting the aloe on dry/damaged skin, I don't use moisturizer.
My skin type varies on parts of my face. My forehead and nose tend to get very oily, but the rest of my face is more of an in-between dry and oily. When I do breakout, it is on my chin and above my upper lip, so around my mouth pretty much. Hairline and in-between my eyes/eyebrows as well. I rarely breakout on my cheeks.
No, I don't use any other treatment.
If anyone else has questions, let me know!
Did you experiment with other brands of Aloe Vera or will any 100% aloe vera gel work fine?
Based on some research I did, Fruit of the Earth aloe vera gel is the best bottled aloe vera gel you can get because there is no alcohol in it (dries skin) and there are minimal additives, it is nearly 100% aloe vera. The only thing better than that is having an actual aloe vera plant. You can break open the leaves and apply the liquid inside of them as you would the aloe vera gel. But of course, the bottle is much more convenient.
Thanks for answering. I'm willing to try your routine, since we seem to have more or less similar skin type. I'll eventually report back on how it goes, once I get my hands on the products.
Good luck, I hope it works as well for you as it did for me.
OK so now since I have all the products I have a few questions , if you don't mind 
1. The 'morning' cleanser I have that I use in the morning is Clearasil Daily Clear Oil-Free Daily Face Wash Non-Drying , I hope it's just as effective as yours?
2. Should I apply the Neutrogena Rapid Clear Pad on bleeding pimples as well? Then, proceed by applying Aloe vera on them? Also, do you wash it off or just leave it on till the morning?
3. Would it be a good idea to apply Aloe Vera on acne scars , especially around my chin (which I noticed is a bit drier than my forehead ) after applying the Neutrogena Pad?
4. Finally, I notice I always accidentaly cut my pimples while shaving, any advice on that? Also, do you use any after shave gel , or should I just use Aloe Vera? I always shave after cleansing.
OK so now since I have all the products I have a few questions , if you don't mind
1. The 'morning' cleanser I have that I use in the morning is Clearasil Daily Clear Oil-Free Daily Face Wash Non-Drying , I hope it's just as effective as yours?
2. Should I apply the Neutrogena Rapid Clear Pad on bleeding pimples as well? Then, proceed by applying Aloe vera on them? Also, do you wash it off or just leave it on till the morning?
3. Would it be a good idea to apply Aloe Vera on acne scars , especially around my chin (which I noticed is a bit drier than my forehead ) after applying the Neutrogena Pad?
4. Finally, I notice I always accidentaly cut my pimples while shaving, any advice on that? Also, do you use any after shave gel , or should I just use Aloe Vera? I always shave after cleansing.
I'm sorry! I haven't checked this post in a while.
1. Yes, I actually have the non-drying one
2. 99% of the time I don't apply the rapid clear pad to bleeding pimples. The only time I do is if I think that I didn't pop it enough to stop it from coming back the next day.
3. I'm not sure about this one honestly. I can tell you it won't hurt to do so. I'm not sure if its just me getting tanner during the summer or the aloe vera, or a combo of both, but my acne scars have been slowly going away. But anyway, my answer is yes probably a good idea.
4. I try to be as careful as I can, but it happens to me sometimes as well. I don't use after shave gel, only because I don't want to put something on my skin that might clog my pores. I don't take chances haha... Just put some aloe on those cut pimples. I've even been putting aloe on other cuts I get not even acne related. I love that aloe stuff.
OK so now since I have all the products I have a few questions , if you don't mind
1. The 'morning' cleanser I have that I use in the morning is Clearasil Daily Clear Oil-Free Daily Face Wash Non-Drying , I hope it's just as effective as yours?
2. Should I apply the Neutrogena Rapid Clear Pad on bleeding pimples as well? Then, proceed by applying Aloe vera on them? Also, do you wash it off or just leave it on till the morning?
3. Would it be a good idea to apply Aloe Vera on acne scars , especially around my chin (which I noticed is a bit drier than my forehead ) after applying the Neutrogena Pad?
4. Finally, I notice I always accidentaly cut my pimples while shaving, any advice on that? Also, do you use any after shave gel , or should I just use Aloe Vera? I always shave after cleansing.
I'm sorry! I haven't checked this post in a while.
1. Yes, I actually have the non-drying one
2. 99% of the time I don't apply the rapid clear pad to bleeding pimples. The only time I do is if I think that I didn't pop it enough to stop it from coming back the next day.
3. I'm not sure about this one honestly. I can tell you it won't hurt to do so. I'm not sure if its just me getting tanner during the summer or the aloe vera, or a combo of both, but my acne scars have been slowly going away. But anyway, my answer is yes probably a good idea.
4. I try to be as careful as I can, but it happens to me sometimes as well. I don't use after shave gel, only because I don't want to put something on my skin that might clog my pores. I don't take chances haha... Just put some aloe on those cut pimples. I've even been putting aloe on other cuts I get not even acne related. I love that aloe stuff.
Thanks . Now this may sound like a stupid question, but do you rinse with warm or cold water? Just want to get everything right lol, you know how it is.
And I agree that the Aloe Vera gel is great in reducing redness and healing. I now use a mixture of that stuff and tea tree oil as my after shave, seems to be working well.
Any idea what to do with the annoying whiteheads? I feel like i've been getting more since starting this regimen. Should I apply the benzoyl peroxide on them?
Anyway I'm roughly on my 3rd week and noticing some improvements, although I still breakout (but that's expected) . Hope it starts working well soon.
Hi! This is obviously not my personal thread, but I can add some insight that could possibly help!
I would be EXTREMELY careful with aloe on your face... I find that it works wonder on other parts of my body, but my face has never reacted well. I used it for about a month after getting some nasty sunburn and it seemed to help my face become smoother and actually more even toned. I noticed at week 3 that I started to break out and didn't think much of it, but by week 4 my forehead erupted with pimples! I dropped the aloe from my regimen and my face returned to normal, so that's what I attribute the disastrous breakout to. It is not a non-comedeogenic product, so please use with care
Annoying white heads... Have you thought about adding sort of exfoliation to your regimen? It could be as easy as washing your face with a buff puff, or you could make your own exfoliant. My favorite natural one is lemon juice, honey, and salt. (2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp of honey, and about 2-3 tsp of salt) You can use that twice a week and it should help your skin cells overturn and refresh your pores. Therefore less whiteheads and blackheads!
As for water temperature. It's always best, no matter the regimen, to wash with warmish water (more warm than cold), and rinse with lukewarm water. I personally, after rinsing off my face wash, splash with my face with very cold water a few times. This closes up your pores and helps precent bacteria and other toxins/free radicals from entering your skin after washing. Toner also helps with that as well, but that's enough story haha
Hope this helped!
OK so now since I have all the products I have a few questions , if you don't mind
1. The 'morning' cleanser I have that I use in the morning is Clearasil Daily Clear Oil-Free Daily Face Wash Non-Drying , I hope it's just as effective as yours?
2. Should I apply the Neutrogena Rapid Clear Pad on bleeding pimples as well? Then, proceed by applying Aloe vera on them? Also, do you wash it off or just leave it on till the morning?
3. Would it be a good idea to apply Aloe Vera on acne scars , especially around my chin (which I noticed is a bit drier than my forehead ) after applying the Neutrogena Pad?
4. Finally, I notice I always accidentaly cut my pimples while shaving, any advice on that? Also, do you use any after shave gel , or should I just use Aloe Vera? I always shave after cleansing.
I'm sorry! I haven't checked this post in a while.
1. Yes, I actually have the non-drying one
2. 99% of the time I don't apply the rapid clear pad to bleeding pimples. The only time I do is if I think that I didn't pop it enough to stop it from coming back the next day.
3. I'm not sure about this one honestly. I can tell you it won't hurt to do so. I'm not sure if its just me getting tanner during the summer or the aloe vera, or a combo of both, but my acne scars have been slowly going away. But anyway, my answer is yes probably a good idea.
4. I try to be as careful as I can, but it happens to me sometimes as well. I don't use after shave gel, only because I don't want to put something on my skin that might clog my pores. I don't take chances haha... Just put some aloe on those cut pimples. I've even been putting aloe on other cuts I get not even acne related. I love that aloe stuff.
Thanks . Now this may sound like a stupid question, but do you rinse with warm or cold water? Just want to get everything right lol, you know how it is.
And I agree that the Aloe Vera gel is great in reducing redness and healing. I now use a mixture of that stuff and tea tree oil as my after shave, seems to be working well.
Any idea what to do with the annoying whiteheads? I feel like i've been getting more since starting this regimen. Should I apply the benzoyl peroxide on them?
Anyway I'm roughly on my 3rd week and noticing some improvements, although I still breakout (but that's expected) . Hope it starts working well soon.
Always warm water. Yeah, I'd say after about 3 weeks the negative effects of all the new topical treatments began to reside slightly and everything just improved from there. As I said though, the longer I kept on the regimen the better and better the results became. I haven't skipped a single day since I started.
Always pop whiteheads if possible- by that I mean if you try to pop one and it doesn't pop, wait until that night or next morning to do so; excessively trying to pop will cause a scar and extra irritation. Once you pop, apply the aloe. Also always wash your hands between popping whiteheads and applying topical stuff, you don't want to spread bacteria.
Hi! This is obviously not my personal thread, but I can add some insight that could possibly help!
I would be EXTREMELY careful with aloe on your face... I find that it works wonder on other parts of my body, but my face has never reacted well. I used it for about a month after getting some nasty sunburn and it seemed to help my face become smoother and actually more even toned. I noticed at week 3 that I started to break out and didn't think much of it, but by week 4 my forehead erupted with pimples! I dropped the aloe from my regimen and my face returned to normal, so that's what I attribute the disastrous breakout to. It is not a non-comedeogenic product, so please use with care
Annoying white heads... Have you thought about adding sort of exfoliation to your regimen? It could be as easy as washing your face with a buff puff, or you could make your own exfoliant. My favorite natural one is lemon juice, honey, and salt. (2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp of honey, and about 2-3 tsp of salt) You can use that twice a week and it should help your skin cells overturn and refresh your pores. Therefore less whiteheads and blackheads!
As for water temperature. It's always best, no matter the regimen, to wash with warmish water (more warm than cold), and rinse with lukewarm water. I personally, after rinsing off my face wash, splash with my face with very cold water a few times. This closes up your pores and helps precent bacteria and other toxins/free radicals from entering your skin after washing. Toner also helps with that as well, but that's enough story haha
Hope this helped!
I think how your body reacts to the aloe is different for everyone. It works great for me and I don't breakout from it, however sometimes others, like yourself, experience breakouts it seems. So yeah, be careful and get to know your body's reaction.
I've never tried an exfoliation, I feel like the irritation would cause me to breakout I'm not sure.
I read somewhere that it is just a myth that your pores open and close. Here's a quick search result: http://askville.amazon.com/pores-face-open-close/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=6939979
OK so now since I have all the products I have a few questions , if you don't mind
1. The 'morning' cleanser I have that I use in the morning is Clearasil Daily Clear Oil-Free Daily Face Wash Non-Drying , I hope it's just as effective as yours?
2. Should I apply the Neutrogena Rapid Clear Pad on bleeding pimples as well? Then, proceed by applying Aloe vera on them? Also, do you wash it off or just leave it on till the morning?
3. Would it be a good idea to apply Aloe Vera on acne scars , especially around my chin (which I noticed is a bit drier than my forehead ) after applying the Neutrogena Pad?
4. Finally, I notice I always accidentaly cut my pimples while shaving, any advice on that? Also, do you use any after shave gel , or should I just use Aloe Vera? I always shave after cleansing.
I'm sorry! I haven't checked this post in a while.
1. Yes, I actually have the non-drying one
2. 99% of the time I don't apply the rapid clear pad to bleeding pimples. The only time I do is if I think that I didn't pop it enough to stop it from coming back the next day.
3. I'm not sure about this one honestly. I can tell you it won't hurt to do so. I'm not sure if its just me getting tanner during the summer or the aloe vera, or a combo of both, but my acne scars have been slowly going away. But anyway, my answer is yes probably a good idea.
4. I try to be as careful as I can, but it happens to me sometimes as well. I don't use after shave gel, only because I don't want to put something on my skin that might clog my pores. I don't take chances haha... Just put some aloe on those cut pimples. I've even been putting aloe on other cuts I get not even acne related. I love that aloe stuff.
Thanks . Now this may sound like a stupid question, but do you rinse with warm or cold water? Just want to get everything right lol, you know how it is.
And I agree that the Aloe Vera gel is great in reducing redness and healing. I now use a mixture of that stuff and tea tree oil as my after shave, seems to be working well.
Any idea what to do with the annoying whiteheads? I feel like i've been getting more since starting this regimen. Should I apply the benzoyl peroxide on them?
Anyway I'm roughly on my 3rd week and noticing some improvements, although I still breakout (but that's expected) . Hope it starts working well soon.
Always warm water. Yeah, I'd say after about 3 weeks the negative effects of all the new topical treatments began to reside slightly and everything just improved from there. As I said though, the longer I kept on the regimen the better and better the results became. I haven't skipped a single day since I started.
Always pop whiteheads if possible- by that I mean if you try to pop one and it doesn't pop, wait until that night or next morning to do so; excessively trying to pop will cause a scar and extra irritation. Once you pop, apply the aloe. Also always wash your hands between popping whiteheads and applying topical stuff, you don't want to spread bacteria.
>Hi! This is obviously not my personal thread, but I can add some insight that could possibly help!
I would be EXTREMELY careful with aloe on your face... I find that it works wonder on other parts of my body, but my face has never reacted well. I used it for about a month after getting some nasty sunburn and it seemed to help my face become smoother and actually more even toned. I noticed at week 3 that I started to break out and didn't think much of it, but by week 4 my forehead erupted with pimples! I dropped the aloe from my regimen and my face returned to normal, so that's what I attribute the disastrous breakout to. It is not a non-comedeogenic product, so please use with care
Annoying white heads... Have you thought about adding sort of exfoliation to your regimen? It could be as easy as washing your face with a buff puff, or you could make your own exfoliant. My favorite natural one is lemon juice, honey, and salt. (2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp of honey, and about 2-3 tsp of salt) You can use that twice a week and it should help your skin cells overturn and refresh your pores. Therefore less whiteheads and blackheads!
As for water temperature. It's always best, no matter the regimen, to wash with warmish water (more warm than cold), and rinse with lukewarm water. I personally, after rinsing off my face wash, splash with my face with very cold water a few times. This closes up your pores and helps precent bacteria and other toxins/free radicals from entering your skin after washing. Toner also helps with that as well, but that's enough story haha
Hope this helped!
I think how your body reacts to the aloe is different for everyone. It works great for me and I don't breakout from it, however sometimes others, like yourself, experience breakouts it seems. So yeah, be careful and get to know your body's reaction.
I've never tried an exfoliation, I feel like the irritation would cause me to breakout I'm not sure.
I read somewhere that it is just a myth that your pores open and close. Here's a quick search result: http://askville.amazon.com/pores-face-open-close/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=6939979
That's interesting. I've never heard that before... The logic I've always gone by is that when objects are cold they condense and when warm/hot they release tension. Think about water. When at it's coldest state it condenses into a solid mass and the molecules are very limited in their motion. But when exposed to heat, the ice melts into a liquid where the molecules are free to room and conform to any shape, and then eventually evaporate. Another example is when you put heat on achey muscles. The high temperature allows the muscles to release tension and relax. Therefore when our pores are exposed to heat they "relax" or open up to release toxins, but consequently can be clogged by free radicals. That's why you have to exfoliate responsibly and take proper care of your skin.
I don't know. I'm not saying you're incorrect. That's just been what I've been taught and believe.