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Back On The Regimen

 
MemberMember
17
(@wombat666)

Posted : 06/28/2013 3:45 pm

Hey guys,

Just going to keep track of my Regimen progress on here. My skin was pretty fine around two months ago, I still got a couple pimples but normally it wouldn't have worried me. Then I met this lovely girl and wanted to clear up 100% for her, so I went and started experimenting. Now, two months later, my skin looks hellish. Well, to be honest, it's not THAT bad... but it's the worst it's been since March, when I last had a bad breakout. Before that I was staying pretty clear with minimal regimen use, limited cleansing, no moisturizing, just watching what I eat and getting enough sun. The reason my skin went down the drain again is two, well perhaps threefold... 1) I tried a supplement with omega-6 in it and also OD'd on almonds, throwing my omega balance out of whack and giving me cystic acne on my chin. I then 2) did a very manly thing and decided to wear concealer. First it was on a spot or two but eventually I was putting it all over my face every time I went out. A lot of times while wearing it during the day, any pimples underneath would grow to massive proportions, plus I always seemed to get a couple new ones every time I donned it. Finally, 3) I experimented with probiotics and fiber supplements, and that was THE WORST. I got such painful pimples around my mouth that I could barely open it. Lesson learned: constipation causes acne in a major way because the body isn't able to eliminate all the toxins through your stool that it normally would... so out it goes through your face.

Anyway, right now I have tiny little pimples all over my cheeks, some on my forehead, a couple big painful ones around my mouth / chin region as well as along my jawline, and a slew of tiny little ones on my lipline. What bothers me most are the lipline ones, because they are so red and they are in such a conspicuous place.

I've been on the regimen on and off since summer 2010, so I know what to expect... I'm going to start by using the regimen at night only, then just cleanse / moisturize in the mornings. My skin is already somewhat irritated since I've been using a lot of 10% BP lately, so I dont' want it to get worse.

Products I'm using...

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser

Dan's 2.5% BP

CeraVe Moisturizing Cream

(EDIT: I am not using these products anymore!)

Over and out.

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MemberMember
17
(@wombat666)

Posted : 07/02/2013 6:10 pm

Hey guys, so today is actually day #1 of my return to the Regimen. I guess I didn't have the courage to go back into it full swing, as I was still hoping for holistic improvement after ceasing the irritating 10% wash / salicylic acid moisturizer / concealer I'd been using prior. But, things got worse yesterday, and even worse today. I've gotten cysts on my chin area, big red inflamed ones, so I've decided I've had enough and am going to go through with this.

I attached two pics: one at the start of June '13, and one taken today. Admittedly, I can live with the kind of acne seen in the first one. This was when I was barely cleansing, and if I did "cleanse" I mostly used just water (black soap on occasion). I also spot treated with Dan's BP, but rarely felt the need to. My skin was never red, never irritated... I just felt free and happy all the time.

Today, my mouth and chin region just burns and tingles all over. Part of it could be today's BP application, part of it could be the little whiteheads on my upper lip forcing themselves out. As I said, massive red cysts are sprouting up. Wherever I went wrong in this past month and whatever caused my face to end up like this, I have to say, I'm done with this BS. My diet is going to be more or less the same as it was in the first pic, but I'm also going to be nuking my face with the Regimen on top of that. Little acne I can handle, but these big cysts that have come up recently are going to need much more aggressive treatment.

Day 1

I did go a little overboard with BP this morning, considering it was only the first day... I used the full 2 pumps, applying to my face, neck, and also behind my ears. I'm going to hold off on BP this evening and possibly next morning - I'm hoping to ease into the regimen rather than going at it full blast, to avoid excessive redness and whatnot.

I've also decided to use a different moisturizer than in my first post - Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture for combo skin. When I did the Regimen in the past, I used Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion... well that was greasy as hell, and made my face burn something awful. I do feel slight burning right now, but it's not an all-over burn, mostly in areas where I have active pimples.. so I'm really hoping this stuff doesn't end up having the same effect. So far so good, but only time will tell.

Going to see my physician tomorrow, ask about possible vitamin deficiencies, bacterial overgrowth (seems like shit got so much worse after I tried probiotics...), and about the causes of all that stuff on my lipline. I'm really hoping it's not the herp... I feel like it's not, but I need a definite answer.

Most importantly, I'm going to try and keep my chin up... no matter how bad things have gotten, and how bad they may get in the near future, at least I know I'm on the right track...

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MemberMember
17
(@wombat666)

Posted : 07/03/2013 4:02 pm

Day 2

So last night I didn't cleanse / moisturize to avoid irritating my already red, swollen and inflamed acne. This morning I was considering not cleansing / moisturizing either, but after seeing my oily-looking mug in the mirror after showering, I decided cleansing wasn't such a bad idea after all.

State of my acne... some "new" ones coming in... to be honest I can't tell which of them are actually new and which of them were "born" a couple days ago yet only just became a problem... overall I count maybe twenty pimples around my mouth, all red, all inflamed and a lot of them quite painful. The mouth region is really the worst place to get acne... fml. It wouldn't be as bad if they kept their distance from my mouth... but a lot of them are right. on. my. lip. I would take forehead acne or cheek acne over this, any day.

Going to apply 2 pumps again this evening... I think 2 pumps would be fine for me considering I'm also applying to the ears and neck. Also going to shave my moustache and the hair under my mouth (there's a couple pimples in both of those regions), but gonna keep the beard for now.

Girlfriend wants to go see the fireworks tomorrow, but honestly I don't know if I'll be able to face her like this... she told me she understands and it doesn't bother her, but I don't know how much of that is "just being nice". Plus, my face has gotten exponentially worse since the last time she saw me.

Honestly, this shit has gotten so bad in just five days... if I thought it was bad last week, I ain't seen nothing yet! I keep backtracking over the past month and a half to try and figure out where I went wrong... maybe I should just calm down and focus on the present, or even better, focus on the future.

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MemberMember
0
(@vixinity)

Posted : 07/03/2013 4:58 pm

Yeah focus on the future dude. Your acne is 10x better than mine, I would kill for that skin at the moment! If she tells you it doesn't bother her then it doesn't! Just keep thinking about what your skin will be like once you've been using a consistent routine for a couple months, once you've got a solid regimen down.

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MemberMember
17
(@wombat666)

Posted : 07/03/2013 6:39 pm

Yeah focus on the future dude. Your acne is 10x better than mine, I would kill for that skin at the moment! If she tells you it doesn't bother her then it doesn't! Just keep thinking about what your skin will be like once you've been using a consistent routine for a couple months, once you've got a solid regimen down.

Maybe the photos don't do my skin justice... my forehead and cheeks are very mild... it's just that I've got around 20 active pimples clustered around my mouth / chin area. Some are bigger than others, some are small, but the problem is - they all hurt like mad!

But thank you so much for the encouragement! It's so easy to get caught up in daily breakouts... but I need to keep my eyes on the prize! Also some days when I'm really depressed about my skin, I stop and think about how there are people in the world who are far, far worse off than I am... I mean, all I have are some pimples around my mouth... putting my mind in that perspective makes my own problem seem so small and insignificant.

I wish you the best of luck with your own regimen as well, I hope we beat this shit once and for all and move on with our lives! :)

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MemberMember
17
(@wombat666)

Posted : 07/04/2013 9:42 am

Well last night I put some serious thought into why I'd had minor acne eruptions over the past 1.5 - 2 months, and a massive one in the past five days. I tried to see what I was doing differently from when I was clear (or at least clear enough for my purposes) back in April. Aside from the stuff mentioned in the first post, one stood out for me: I was eating way less sugar back then. Recently I've had candy, high-sugar fruits, Ocean Spray fruit juice... also, in the past two days, when this stuff really got out of hand, I've been drinking a lot of homemade Kvas (a yeasty bread-based "soft drink"). Back in April, on the other hand, sugar was one of the things I was specifically trying to limit.

This is not the kind of acne I usually get, no doubt about it. This is like, acne on steroids... it's huge, it's red, it's inflamed, it's painful, and it shows no sign of coming to a head. Plus, unlike the usual clogged pore type stuff, this seems to transcend my skin and push onto my lips, and I've even felt raised tender areas inside my mouth (canker sores but not full-on ones).

What I'm going to do is stop drinking kvas and kisel (another Russian drink), probably the sugariest things in my diet right now. Kvas has added refined sugar and yeast, while kisel is basically fruit juice with a lot of starch added to make it thick. I'm also considering not eating bananas for the time being, and POSSIBLY avoiding pasta (my lunch and dinner lately has been a plate of spaghetti).

Normally I'd be ticked off about eliminating foods (I love pretty much all food XD) but as I was on the phone last night, I realized that I couldn't smile properly because of how painful the stuff around my mouth had gotten. So, I figured... I could cut out a couple foods, which doesn't really bother anyone except myself, or I could walk around with a mouthful of painful cysts, which destroys my self-confidence, my quality of life, and probably offends everyone around me. Even if sugar isn't the cause, it still doesn't hurt to try... I'm still going to continue with the Regimen (the point of this log), but I need to tone it down, as 2 pumps nightly might be a bit much to start off with. Yesterday after moisturizer application there was a little more burn than usual, so maybe I'll give my face a break today to avoid burning it to oblivion.

Happy Fourth to those of you in the States.

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MemberMember
568
(@leelowe1)

Posted : 07/04/2013 5:05 pm

Wombat, good luck on the regimen. As hard as it may seem, try not to get too discouraged. Prepare in your mind for the first 3-4 months to be a roller coaster that you can't get off of. I am almost 3 months in and while most of my face is clear, my chin/mouth, under jawline is riddled with acne. I honestly want to quit but i know that if i don't give it at least 4 months, i'll never knwo if it works for me.

Cleaning up your diet is good for your health and who knows, it may help your acne in the long run.

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MemberMember
17
(@wombat666)

Posted : 07/04/2013 6:30 pm

Wombat, good luck on the regimen. As hard as it may seem, try not to get too discouraged. Prepare in your mind for the first 3-4 months to be a roller coaster that you can't get off of. I am almost 3 months in and while most of my face is clear, my chin/mouth, under jawline is riddled with acne. I honestly want to quit but i know that if i don't give it at least 4 months, i'll never knwo if it works for me.

Cleaning up your diet is good for your health and who knows, it may help your acne in the long run.

Thank you :)

I'll stick with it... honestly, if my mouth region does clear up, maybe all it will take is one BP application a day to keep me clear... I'm hoping that's the case, because my skin is pretty sensitive, and the first time I did the Regimen, I got discouraged because I never seemed to get over the redness unless I ended up either a) dropping moisturizer or b) minimizing application to once a day or even once every other day.

Stick with it too! I see you've tried a lot of things, a lot more than I have, but acne is NOT natural and everyone has a way to beat it. I hope the Regimen will end up being yours. I've heard of people who didn't get clear until six months in, so please give it more time!

I'm now thinking most of the stuff around my mouth is toothpaste-related... but I'm sure you've already considered that possibility for you chin acne?

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108
(@randall-flagg)

Posted : 07/04/2013 8:51 pm

Hey bud, just wanted to drop in and give you some support. My skin is SO similar to yours in terms of texture and tone, we could practically be skin brothers, haha. Sorry to hear that you're going through a rough patch right now and I know how frustrating it is to get breakouts around the mouth/chin area, that has been the bane of my existence for years...took me FOREVER to get it clear and even on Regimen for over two months I still get a random pimple there once in awhile. Hang tough man and keep at it, you'll start seeing major improvements soon, just gotta put that time in and try to soldier through the bad moments. Also good idea making some diet changes! I've been trying to do that myself lately and cut out some of the junk I usually eat. Best of luck to you.

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MemberMember
17
(@wombat666)

Posted : 07/07/2013 11:33 am

So... just wanted to say, this past week has been incredibly difficult... the massive breakout I got all around my mouth just completely destroyed my self-confidence :(

I can't believe I was complaining about my skin the week prior, when I thought it was bad... that was child's play compared to this.

I'm still blaming the Crest toothpaste... I did use it a total of six times I think, from Monday to Thursday morning... and now it's Sunday... so perhaps the bad reaction still needs time to die down. I was hoping that as soon as I dropped the paste, new breakouts would just cease, but that hasn't been the case. I've gotten a couple new pimples since Thursday, some of them tender / painful... thing is, all these painful pimples are concentrated around the mouth area, or more specifically, the area commonly associated with perioral dermatitis... my upper face and cheeks don't have this problem, and my back has been cyst-free (in fact almost completely clear) for over a month now. That's why I'm calling a bad reaction to some oral product. I guess the good news is that the acne isn't quite as inflamed anymore... but now it's darker, bumpier and thus more noticeable :(

At this point, I can't hold a normal conversation with a person without constantly thinking "are they looking at my mouth? What do they think of me? Do they think I have some kind of disease?"

In terms of BP... I've applied it to the region, but I'm not sure if it's helped any or not. I've been skimping on the regimen out of fear of irritating the area further... it's like a minefield.

Anyone reading this, please wish me a speedy recovery. I really really hope this goes away eventually...

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MemberMember
568
(@leelowe1)

Posted : 07/07/2013 3:40 pm

So... just wanted to say, this past week has been incredibly difficult... the massive breakout I got all around my mouth just completely destroyed my self-confidence sad.png

I can't believe I was complaining about my skin the week prior, when I thought it was bad... that was child's play compared to this.

I'm still blaming the Crest toothpaste... I did use it a total of six times I think, from Monday to Thursday morning... and now it's Sunday... so perhaps the bad reaction still needs time to die down. I was hoping that as soon as I dropped the paste, new breakouts would just cease, but that hasn't been the case. I've gotten a couple new pimples since Thursday, some of them tender / painful... thing is, all these painful pimples are concentrated around the mouth area, or more specifically, the area commonly associated with perioral dermatitis... my upper face and cheeks don't have this problem, and my back has been cyst-free (in fact almost completely clear) for over a month now. That's why I'm calling a bad reaction to some oral product. I guess the good news is that the acne isn't quite as inflamed anymore... but now it's darker, bumpier and thus more noticeable sad.png

At this point, I can't hold a normal conversation with a person without constantly thinking "are they looking at my mouth? What do they think of me? Do they think I have some kind of disease?"

In terms of BP... I've applied it to the region, but I'm not sure if it's helped any or not. I've been skimping on the regimen out of fear of irritating the area further... it's like a minefield.

Anyone reading this, please wish me a speedy recovery. I really really hope this goes away eventually...

My thoughts are definitely with you bud. 3 months will be here before you know it. If your face is severley irritated then take a break from BP. If it is just broken out and inflammed from the break out -trudge on. With this regimen it will often times get worse before it gets better so chin up.

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MemberMember
17
(@wombat666)

Posted : 07/07/2013 6:40 pm

So... just wanted to say, this past week has been incredibly difficult... the massive breakout I got all around my mouth just completely destroyed my self-confidence sad.png

I can't believe I was complaining about my skin the week prior, when I thought it was bad... that was child's play compared to this.

I'm still blaming the Crest toothpaste... I did use it a total of six times I think, from Monday to Thursday morning... and now it's Sunday... so perhaps the bad reaction still needs time to die down. I was hoping that as soon as I dropped the paste, new breakouts would just cease, but that hasn't been the case. I've gotten a couple new pimples since Thursday, some of them tender / painful... thing is, all these painful pimples are concentrated around the mouth area, or more specifically, the area commonly associated with perioral dermatitis... my upper face and cheeks don't have this problem, and my back has been cyst-free (in fact almost completely clear) for over a month now. That's why I'm calling a bad reaction to some oral product. I guess the good news is that the acne isn't quite as inflamed anymore... but now it's darker, bumpier and thus more noticeable sad.png

At this point, I can't hold a normal conversation with a person without constantly thinking "are they looking at my mouth? What do they think of me? Do they think I have some kind of disease?"

In terms of BP... I've applied it to the region, but I'm not sure if it's helped any or not. I've been skimping on the regimen out of fear of irritating the area further... it's like a minefield.

Anyone reading this, please wish me a speedy recovery. I really really hope this goes away eventually...

My thoughts are definitely with you bud. 3 months will be here before you know it. If your face is severley irritated then take a break from BP. If it is just broken out and inflammed from the break out -trudge on. With this regimen it will often times get worse before it gets better so chin up.

Thanks for the encouragement... applied the Regimen all over face today after shaving... feel a little dry / irritated, slight burning too, mainly in lower face... probably due to shaving, and also due to all the pimples I have there :(

Anyway, in terms of acne developments... during shaving I found a HUGE one on my right jawbone. Very deep, very red... It actually changes the shape of my jawline :/

So... that kind of ruined my evening. I went to the farm today to pick berries, and kept worrying about this discoloration I've had for a while on my lip. I kept thinking it was raised, and a raised bump on the lip can mean only one thing - herpes! But as it turned out, it wasn't raised at all. And also as it turned out, I had bigger things to worry about (literally) tinydan.gif

So yeah... the weekend's coming to an end and I feel really down... my mouth is surrounded by dark red pimples, there's a huge new cyst on my jaw, my skin burns because of BP, I look terrible without a beard because you can see all the marks on my cheeks... but I guess life goes on, huh?

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MemberMember
197
(@lilly75)

Posted : 07/08/2013 2:43 am

You'd be about to start your second week on the regimen too right? Hopefully week 2 goes more smoothly and you start to see some improvements! I remember reading, in info about the regimen, that some people experience an initial breakout - so maybe the breakout you've been having has been due to the toothpaste but exasperated by the BP (or vice versa)? Or caused by both even.

But stick with it! You know this regimen has worked for you before so I'm sure it will again :)

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MemberMember
17
(@wombat666)

Posted : 07/08/2013 8:18 am

You'd be about to start your second week on the regimen too right? Hopefully week 2 goes more smoothly and you start to see some improvements! I remember reading, in info about the regimen, that some people experience an initial breakout - so maybe the breakout you've been having has been due to the toothpaste but exasperated by the BP (or vice versa)? Or caused by both even.

But stick with it! You know this regimen has worked for you before so I'm sure it will again smile.png

Well actually things look significantly calmer this morning (albeit my face being redder than usual). The thing is, I've "started" the Regimen so many times that I'm positive I'm past the initial breakout phase... my skin is kind of expecting that when things get bad, it's sure to get a handful of Dan's BP slapped on it...

In terms of acne, I don't want to jinx anything by talking about it too much, but no new problems that I can see, the big ones on my cheek have calmed down a bit, and old stuff is receding slowly but surely. If I could get rid of one blemish on my face right now, it would be the one on my right chin. Yesterday it popped and bled in the morning, so I spent the day with a dark red scab, and it's still there today. It's definitely on its way out now, I just wish it didn't leave that scab to remember itself by... so noticeable... sad.png

EDIT: I haven't been regular with the Regimen at ALL... but once this monster breakout calms just a little more I'll hop right back on. I'm confident that the Regimen can keep me clear of the small pimples I normally get, it's just that these cysts I got last week are something I'm entirely unaccustomed to. I'm switching to Dan's cleanser though, as the Cetaphil one for some reason just doesn't feel "clean" enough... maybe because it doesn't seem to lather enough? Also, ironically, Cetaphil has SLS while Dan's doesn't... go figure.

The other task I'm facing is finding a new toothpaste. I've been brushing with just water this past week (gross, I know) and eating mints to keep my breath clean... but eventually I'll have to find an actual paste. I'm considering just going back to the Aquafresh I was using earlier this year... while not all-natural by any means, I certainly didn't have any serious problems with it.

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MemberMember
197
(@lilly75)

Posted : 07/08/2013 7:40 pm

That's good things are looking calmer for you today. Hopefully that continues :)

I think once you're being regular with the regimen, and following it exactly, from then on - that's when you'll start seeing great changes in your skin.

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MemberMember
17
(@wombat666)

Posted : 07/10/2013 11:43 am

Well, I'm not sure what day this is of the "Regimen", per se... since I've been kinda on/offing it the past week... but I'll just be conservative and say it's Day Three. Ha ha ha...

Day 3

So what happened last night... I was out most of the day. And in most of the places I visited, I ended up using the public restroom for one reason or another. And in every single one, I ended up examining my face in the mirror. What I saw depressed me every time. The skin around my mouth was sooo flaky, and the pimples looked either a) WAAY too red (especially the ones on my upper lipline... fml) or b) all dry and crusty-looking. NOT a good look to have when out and about trying to enjoy the day. I got home pretty late, and immediately realized that I'd gotten a new pimple on my upper lip, all big and swollen-looking. That was pretty much the icing on the cake for me, and I finally forced myself to do the Regimen the way I way I'm SUPPOSED to, not caring how irritated the poor sensitive pimples surrounding my mouth got. Same thing this morning. Go hard or go home I guess. I actually think that whatever flaking I get from the full Regimen is miniscule compared to the flaking I get when I try to wash with water only / nuke with BP / don't moisturize. Sure, my skin doesn't look as red, but the dryness coupled with a lot of unabsorbed BP is essentially a one-way ticket to flake city.

This ofc means there'll be regular updates again, for anyone following this. Oh and I'm using Dan's Cleanser now, I prefer the lather it has. With the Cetaphil Gentle, sometimes I can't even tell if I've hit an area or not because I can't see the cleanser on my face. Also, Cetaphil never seemed to do that much for flakes.

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197
(@lilly75)

Posted : 07/10/2013 6:39 pm

Are you using jojoba oil in your regimen? I've found that it does help with flakes quite a lot. The flakiness is worst for me when I'm waiting for my skin to dry completely after cleansing and before applying BP. I think the little flaking I've had during the day (while wearing moisturiser and jojoba) is a lot less than what it would be if I were just wearing moisturiser, and definitely less than what it would be if I didn't moisturise at all!

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MemberMember
17
(@wombat666)

Posted : 07/10/2013 8:45 pm

Are you using jojoba oil in your regimen? I've found that it does help with flakes quite a lot. The flakiness is worst for me when I'm waiting for my skin to dry completely after cleansing and before applying BP. I think the little flaking I've had during the day (while wearing moisturiser and jojoba) is a lot less than what it would be if I were just wearing moisturiser, and definitely less than what it would be if I didn't moisturise at all!

Not using it yet... I'm thinking of giving it a shot later on. Right now I want to keep it simple, and hopefully get to a point where breakouts are limited, and afterwards I want to introduce jojoba / AHA+, or both. I've actually used both products before, but with both of them, I had mixed results... wasn't sure if they were breaking me out or not. So this time I want to know for sure whether the products are problematic.

Right now I'm actually using AHA+ on my back. Just recently started, so too early to look for results. My bacne is almost nonexistent anyway, but having something controlling any potential future breakouts really doesn't hurt. Fingers crossed that AHA+ doesn't make things worse...

Anyway, Day 3 is coming to an end. Not much to report. Same old, same old. Which is kinda good I guess! At least I didn't have a monster breakout smile.png

During the day my face was really shiny though, and also, as I was out and about, one of my chin pimples decided to burst. When I got home and looked in the mirror there was a big bloody spot on my chin. Just another day in the life! tinydan.gif

Went with 2 pumps again in the evening, like a boss. The thing is, for me 2 pumps isn't really 2 pumps, because I'm also using part of the pumps around my ears, IN my ears, around my sideburns, and down along my upper neck.

EDIT: After applying BP, the pimples on my upper lip feel kinda irritated! Feeling a slight burn I guess... I think round-the-mouth is honestly going to be one of the hardest places to treat acne, especially with a harsh topical like BP... because some of it is right on the lipline... and that area is super-sensitive... but hey, gotta do what I can... can't let this stuff just take over my mouth.

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MemberMember
17
(@wombat666)

Posted : 07/11/2013 10:00 am

Day 4

Morning - Was just browsing the boards while waiting for the treatment to dry and decided to update. Overnight I witnessed the awesome powers of BP. The region to the lower-right of my mouth, which was covered in annoying cysts that I'd feel every time I moved my mouth, has shrunk significantly. To the point where I can't even feel it anymore. New mouth breakouts have been minimal. Now I'm just dreading the part where the REAL redness / flakiness / irritation sets in... sad.png

Evening - So... I've still got small pimples coming in around my mouth. I've looked at older pics and some of them were already forming a day or two ago, but one seems actually new. However, it seems that the rate of recession exceeds the rate of arrival. Which is good.

On the other hand... I'm starting to approach the "major redness / burning / irritation / dryness / death" zone. And it's only day four (well, actually, no one really knows what day it is). After I cleansed and put on BP in the evening, I felt a slight burn around lower mouth. Also my skin has gotten redder, and it's not the kind of red that recedes a couple minutes after a cleanse / application, it's the kind of red that sticks around. I'm thinking of backing up a bit and not applying treatment tomorrow morning. Just cleanser / moisturizer.

I've done some thinking and realized that my way of thinking about the Kern regimen has been skewed. I've gone into it with the paranoid mentality I had prior to BP... wherein every little pimple on my face would worry me to the point where I'd stay up at night thinking what had caused it. However, on the Regimen, I realize I can now liberate myself from these worries. Let the new pimples come: their days are numbered anyway. Plus, my skin is going to look like a red oily mess anyway for the time being, so it's not like a couple spots are going to make a huge difference. Honestly, I've spent so long in front of the mirror playing "where's Waldo?" with my face, looking for new breakouts, that it's actually kind of ridiculous.

I've also decided to have a good sense of humor about the whole thing from now on. For at least the past month, ever since my face got really bad, all I've done is complain and whine about my skin to anyone who would listen. But I've gradually grown to realize that, most people in my life are much more put off by my sulking than by my face. It's only an issue to them because I make it an issue. So I just won't bring it up from now on, and keep reminding myself that my skin is currently WIP. Eyes on the prize. No matter how long it takes, I'll get there.

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MemberMember
17
(@wombat666)

Posted : 07/12/2013 12:39 pm

Day 5

Morning - the area around my mouth felt pretty tight. There wasn't any crazy flaking though, even after eating - except for the area in the right corner of my mouth (where there's a big cluster of receding pimples). This area was flaky even before eating though.

Redness wasn't as crazy as it was yesterday evening. I had a lot of housework to do in the morning so I didn't put on the regimen until afternoon. I considered doing just cleanser / moisturizer but ended up doing the whole thing.

Evening - So tonight my lips received a whole LOT of irritation... from... well I won't go into that shifty.gif

Anyway, this is a good opportunity to gauge whether or not excessive lip irritation was the cause of those lipline pimples I was suffering from earlier (these have stopped coming in at the moment, although I've still been getting pimples around the mouth).

Applied full regimen again in the evening. Face was actually not that red by the time I went around to the regimen, so I was well pleased. Although... I did get major mouth flakes because I ate some stuff in-between cleanser and BP (the driest part). But that's no surprise... Also, despite eating a lot of sugar within the last 24 hours, acne has not flared up any more. So honestly, if I don't get any lipline pimples AND sugar doesn't appear to exacerbate the situation, heck, I'll be one happy camper! Even with a red oily face!

Night all!

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MemberMember
17
(@wombat666)

Posted : 07/13/2013 12:16 pm

Day 6

Morning - Skin tight / dry again this morning. After cleansing - SUPER tight! SUPER dry! Moisturizer helps control it a little bit but still feel tightness, especially around my mouth. Shaved before applying reg btw. An upside is, the moisturizer didn't burn AS much today as it did yesterday (I forgot to mention that part...).

Evening - Face felt pretty tight throughout the day. I'd also get some flakes around my mouth after eating. I managed to pick most of them off with tweezers. Although, these weren't the flakes that I used to get on the Regimen... these felt a lot more attached to my face, as if my skin was peeling a bit. Also been getting some cysts under / around my left jawline. Haven't really been scrutinizing that area so idk how much is old and how much is new. Considering I just started the reg, breakouts are not anything to worry about. Just gonna keep on trucking.

Applied the full reg again in the evening. I'm interested to see how long the adjustment phase will be for me, and how much drier / redder my skin is going to get before it finally starts becoming accustomed to the BP.

Some notes about my application of the products - I guess my touch is a bit harder than Dan suggests... not exactly feather-light. I take longer with the cleanser. I also take longer to move the BP around and make sure I get adequate coverage on all acne-prone areas... same with the moisturizer... I move it around and make sure it penetrates. I don't do any pressing or rubbing though. Gentle yet firm. Also I wait 15-20 minutes in-between steps. Right now my skin is driest right after cleansing... it feels like there is literally no moisture on my face whatsoever. After BP, things are a little better, but still dry as heck.

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MemberMember
197
(@lilly75)

Posted : 07/13/2013 11:53 pm

I hate the feeling of my skin after cleansing too! It's uncomfortably dry. I noticed that the last few days, especially in the morning, I'm cleansing for longer than 10 seconds too. I think that's probably making the dryness worse, so I'm going back to keeping it at 10 seconds or less. Hard for me in the morning though because I'm still half asleep and not really focusing on what I'm doing :P

I think the jojoba will definitely help if you decide to add it in. I think it works well for majority of people (I haven't heard of many people reacting poorly to it though there would be a few like with anything).

How much BP are you using at the moment?

Luckily my skin seems to be adjusted to the amount I'm using morning and night (as far as redness/burning goes), but I'm preparing mentally to go through it all again next week when I increase the amount again.

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MemberMember
17
(@wombat666)

Posted : 07/14/2013 9:36 am

I hate the feeling of my skin after cleansing too! It's uncomfortably dry. I noticed that the last few days, especially in the morning, I'm cleansing for longer than 10 seconds too. I think that's probably making the dryness worse, so I'm going back to keeping it at 10 seconds or less. Hard for me in the morning though because I'm still half asleep and not really focusing on what I'm doing tongue.png

I think the jojoba will definitely help if you decide to add it in. I think it works well for majority of people (I haven't heard of many people reacting poorly to it though there would be a few like with anything).

How much BP are you using at the moment?

Luckily my skin seems to be adjusted to the amount I'm using morning and night (as far as redness/burning goes), but I'm preparing mentally to go through it all again next week when I increase the amount again.

I'm using the full two pumps... redness and burning isn't severe for me right now, and for some reason my face never itches as some people report. The only really problematic side effect I'm experiencing right now is MAJOR dryness. Like, this morning I woke up... the area around my mouth felt SO tight. I could already see a bunch of flakes even though I hadn't moved my mouth much when I slept. So anyway, I tried opening / closing my mouth, and SOO many flakes appeared!

I don't think my Neutrogena moisturizer is doing enough, at least not at night... I wake up and feel like there's absolutely no moisture. In fact, even right after applying 8 PUMPS of it last night, my skin still felt tight. I feel like I need another factor... maybe a heavier moisturizer at night? I have a lot of Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion sitting around, but I've also heard good things about CeraVe Moisturizing Lotion... I feel like I might go and pick some up today...

I also have some of Dan's old jojoba oil sitting around, but I'm not going to use that, as it's probably like three years old by now. In fact I should probably toss it out for the love of all that is holy. I guess I'll try and find some fresh oil at my local pharmacy while I'm out looking for lotion, hopefully they have the Desert Essence...

The thing I'm worried about is reacting to products I guess... but at the same time, everyone's skin is different, so I can either sit here and worry about it, or I can go out and actually try them. Who knows, they might end up saving my skin from complete erosion! XD

The one thing I don't want to do is back out and start using less BP. I really, REALLY like what BP has done for my skin so far. I just want to press on and let my skin get used to this amount, because if I start using less, I'll just have to go through this phase again eventually.

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MemberMember
17
(@wombat666)

Posted : 07/14/2013 1:06 pm

Day 7

Super-tight, super-flaky around mouth this morning. After doing the regimen (2 pumps) with 8 PUMPS Neutrogena moisturizer, the mouth region looked a little better. However, I knew it was all fake :) After lunch, I checked the mirror, and of course, my mouth was surrounded by flakes again. Had to spend ages picking em off with tweezers... wasn't able to get all of them anyway, after a point I was just like "screw it".

In terms of acne, no real problems... one to the lower-left of my mouth is looking redder / angrier for some reason. But, I'm just taking it all in stride.

Going to the pharmacy to try and hunt down some jojoba as well as CeraVe Lotion. We'll see how that one works. If not, I'll probably just go back to using Cetaphil as a night moisturizer. Despite the burning it gave me, and how greasy it looked, it DID do the job, I'll give it that.

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MemberMember
197
(@lilly75)

Posted : 07/14/2013 6:37 pm

I hate the feeling of my skin after cleansing too! It's uncomfortably dry. I noticed that the last few days, especially in the morning, I'm cleansing for longer than 10 seconds too. I think that's probably making the dryness worse, so I'm going back to keeping it at 10 seconds or less. Hard for me in the morning though because I'm still half asleep and not really focusing on what I'm doing tongue.png

I think the jojoba will definitely help if you decide to add it in. I think it works well for majority of people (I haven't heard of many people reacting poorly to it though there would be a few like with anything).

How much BP are you using at the moment?

Luckily my skin seems to be adjusted to the amount I'm using morning and night (as far as redness/burning goes), but I'm preparing mentally to go through it all again next week when I increase the amount again.

I'm using the full two pumps... redness and burning isn't severe for me right now, and for some reason my face never itches as some people report. The only really problematic side effect I'm experiencing right now is MAJOR dryness. Like, this morning I woke up... the area around my mouth felt SO tight. I could already see a bunch of flakes even though I hadn't moved my mouth much when I slept. So anyway, I tried opening / closing my mouth, and SOO many flakes appeared!

I don't think my Neutrogena moisturizer is doing enough, at least not at night... I wake up and feel like there's absolutely no moisture. In fact, even right after applying 8 PUMPS of it last night, my skin still felt tight. I feel like I need another factor... maybe a heavier moisturizer at night? I have a lot of Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion sitting around, but I've also heard good things about CeraVe Moisturizing Lotion... I feel like I might go and pick some up today...

I also have some of Dan's old jojoba oil sitting around, but I'm not going to use that, as it's probably like three years old by now. In fact I should probably toss it out for the love of all that is holy. I guess I'll try and find some fresh oil at my local pharmacy while I'm out looking for lotion, hopefully they have the Desert Essence...

The thing I'm worried about is reacting to products I guess... but at the same time, everyone's skin is different, so I can either sit here and worry about it, or I can go out and actually try them. Who knows, they might end up saving my skin from complete erosion! XD

The one thing I don't want to do is back out and start using less BP. I really, REALLY like what BP has done for my skin so far. I just want to press on and let my skin get used to this amount, because if I start using less, I'll just have to go through this phase again eventually.

If you're worried about adding in jojoba / how your skin will react to it then trying out some heavier moisturisers first to see if they help is a good idea (like Cetaphil which is good at night and the burning I was getting from it has stopped - I've heard good things about CeraVe too but I've never used so can't give an opinion on that). I tried a Neutrogena moisturiser in the morning a few days ago and I felt like I had to use a lot of it to make my skin feel more normal - but I think it's still a good moisturiser for the day time - doesn't make my skin look so greasy like cetaphil can.

I know what you mean about having such dry skin around the mouth though - that's been the worst area for my dryness too. I've been afraid to eat in public in case that makes a million flakes appear... :P

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