Hey,
Ironically enough, a couple of months after I post a topic thanking acne.org and its users for helping me with my acne problem and having more or less overcome it for around three years, I've been breaking out for about a month now.
Basically, I live in China and use a Chinese-brand 5% BP cream. I've used it for about two years.
-- I use a Neutrogena non-comedogenic facewash, and have used the same one for around two years.
-- I wash twice daily -- once in the morning and once at night.
-- I use a UK-brand non-comedogenic moisturiser, and have done for years.
About a month ago I had the worst outbreak I've had in about five years -- seventeen or eighteen largeish inflamed pimples on my upper lip and chin. It was absolutely soul-destroying, and I just prayed it would pass. It did, but I'm still getting new, large pimples every couple of days. I can't figure out what has changed. There's been no change in my diet whatsoever (I went for sushi before the huge outbreak, which I figured might be a factor). I've also had a cluster of about three pimples on my chin for the last week, neither getting bigger nor peaking nor reducing. Just sitting there. This never happens.
Basically, I'd like to know if anyone else who's had success with BP has suddenly returned to having pimples regularly break out. If so, what caused it? Is there anything I can do to reverse what's going on?
One more thing -- I have several tubes of 2.5% BP gel from England that I used to use religiously, but it was drying my skin out too much. They're about a year out of date now, though. Anyone have any idea if they'd be safe to use?
Thanks in advance. It's extremely depressing to go back to this after a good three years of being free of it.
Hey, thanks for the reply. With me living in China, it's virtually impossible for me to get any products except those in the country. The BP here has always worked for me before. I'm thinking about just growing my beard out; A couple of years ago I didn't shave for a couple of months, and I seem to recall not really getting acne in that area. This is getting really depressing; I've got a massive pimple just under my mouth at the minute that's been growing for like a week straight. I really don't understand where this has come from.
Are you trying to do The Regimen? If so, please take this quiz. http://www.acne.org/regimenadvice.php
And read here: http://www.acne.org/biggestmistakes.html
It's common for people to slack off without even realizing it. BP works best when used very generously. Perhaps you haven't been using enough of it. One full fat finger length twice daily if you are dispensing from a tube.
Thanks for the advice. One thing I don't do is dispense a fingerful and then apply; I put dots all over my face and then rub it in.I am using quite a lot of it, and always have. I'll following the regimen more closely and see if it nets an improvement. Thank you again.
One other thing I do -- the moisturiser almost never absorbs quickly enough, and I'm usually left with a 'moustache' of moisturiser that I wash away with water before I leave the house. The place where I live is very hot too, so if I don't do this, the moisturiser sweats back out. Maybe I'm using too much moisturiser; I'll try taking it down a bit and seeing if that causes any improvement. Thank you again.