In mid-January of this year I decided to stop doing the Acne.org BP regimen after 7 years. My skin seemed fine a for couple of months but then I slowly started to get acne on my forehead again. It has only gotten worse since then. I have only been rinsing my face with water - just letting the water run over it, not scrubbing it at all. No chemicals or cleaners or anything has touched my face since then. The acne is much worse than it ever was before I started the regimen. So I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced a withdrawal from the BP regimen of this magnitude and if it ever healed on its own.
Additionally, I'm wondering what type of acne it is since I have never gotten acne of this nature. The acne starts as a small red, hard, painful bump under the skin. It then slowly gets bigger and appears to fill with blood. If I leave it alone, then it will eventually come to a large whitehead, become softer and eventually begin itching. They never go away on their own. I eventually give in and pop them to get some relief. I barely have to apply any pressure and they explode and bleed much more than any other acne I have ever had. I have been taking antibiotics for this that my dermatologist gave me 1.5 months ago but there has been no improvement. Also, my skin seems very flaky since I have been washing only with water. I don't know if this is contributing to it or not. The times I have tried gently exfoliating my forehead with a towel has only seemed to cause more acne a day or two later.
I really appreciate any insight! Thanks!
It sounds like cystic acne...I'm surprised your derm didn't give you a topical to try to keep the pores clear too. Cystic acne is tougher for sure- I had it too, and for me antibiotics and even accutane didn't work- I gave up dairy and gluten and now only get an occasional cyst.
I suggest you try some diet changes, give up dairy for a month and see if you get any improvement. As it relates to the cysts, ice never worked for me or heat although they do for others - for me I cut the end off of an Ibuprofen capsule and apply a drop of the ibuprofen directly to the cyst morning and night. If it does pop, then dab on some calamine lotion to speed the drying and healing.
Also, if the regimine worked for you once, then get back on it! But do try a diet change as well, it may help in addition to the regimine!
Okay - thanks for the info. I thought it might be cystic but I wasn't sure. I wonder if I'm not exfoliating enough. I have basically just been letting water run over my face in the shower for a past 6 months without any sort of rubbing or washing with cleansers. I've basically been trying the "water-only" caveman regimen. I guess it's safe to say at this point that it's not going to work for me like it has others. I may go back to trying some sort of gentle cleanser but I'm not sure which one yet.
Also, I have tried diet changes in the past. I gave up dairy years ago and have not gone back. I have cheese very rarely but that's it. I did not see a noticeable change when I stopped having dairy. I also gave up gluten for a long period of time but it did not have any noticeable effect either. I have gone back to eating gluten but not as much as before. I eat pretty healthy (avoiding processed foods as much as possible) and make fresh vegetable juice every other day.
My dermatologist has recommended accutane but I am hesitant to go on it. I am keeping up hope that one day I will no longer have acne.