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Daniel's Detailed Personal Log (Pics)

MemberMember
0
(@daniel95)

Posted : 02/04/2014 4:09 pm

Introduction

Quite new to all of this, so I'll start of by introducing myself - I'm Daniel and 18 years old. Evidently by embarking on this blog, I'm sure you've guessed I've had an uphill battle with acne, roughly since the onset of puberty. A bit about my background is that I'm of African heritage, Nigerian to be specific and born and bred in England, I've researched a bit into the epidemiology of acne relating to ethnicity, and I'm aware there are certain things my skin type is more prone to e.g. inflammatory acne, hyper-pigmentation etc but hopefully someone can provide more information about this. Anyways time to get to the details.

What type of acne-related conditions do I suffer from?

Based on my GP/specialist consultations and some pretty extensive research the main types of acne I suffer from are:

  • Whiteheads: This type of acne fortunately tends to be few and far between, my current regime (which I'll explain later) is quite effective at dealing with this type of acne, and an approximation of the frequency would roughly be one or two whiteheads every week/other week or so.
  • Oily skin: My face tends to be quite oily, it™s not significant after washing my face but it tends to slowly accumulate throughout the day - specifically my T-zone.
  • Papules: This appears to be my biggest problem, an accumulation of tiny little bumps across my face - specifically my cheekbone area and chin.
  • Hyperpigmentation: This is predominate around my cheekbone area in almost like a cluster formation.
  • Cystic acne: Similarly to whiteheads, these are fortunately not a common occurrence but when I do tend to experience this sort of acne, its generally around my temples, and my quite large in size. I have currently have one buried with in my eyebrow and has been decreasing quite rapidly in size. May also be important to note my last bout of cystic acne, eventually oozed blood before healing.
  • Nodules: These have seemingly calmed down after a period where they seemed to wreak havoc on my nose and chin, with there still being what appears to be inactive nodules that have been there from somewhere between 8-16 months. However this could also now be hypertrophic acne scars, I'm not entirely sure.
  • Scaring: I have quite mild cases of acne scaring, around 3 seemingly unnoticeable indents, on my forehead and my nose.

Although I've listed quite a lot of conditions, personally I don™t think my acne is that bad, especially as at my most recent consultation at SK:N clinic [Removed] , I was labelled as having mild acne with minimal cases of moderate. So moving on to my regime.

T-Zone: post-374838-0-59751700-1391618067.png

Face: post-374838-0-99403600-1391618060.png

Example of skin when oily: post-374838-0-12190900-1391618064.png

Back: post-374838-0-95349200-1391618052.png

Chest: post-374838-0-83899200-1391618056.png

What is my current regime?

Morning:

1. Take supplements: Vitamin C [Removed], Vitamin D3 [Removed], Multivitamins and Iron [Removed], Evening Primrose Oil [Removed]& Perfectil [Removed].

2. Proceed to apply lukewarm water to face to open pores

3. Apply Vitamin-Rich Cleanser for oily skin [Removed] in circular motions placing emphasis on acne prone areas

4. Rinse face with cold water

5. Pat face dry with towel

6. Apply Skin Hydrator for oily skin and acne prone skin [Removed] in circular motions until fully absorbed.

Night:

7. Take oral prescription of Tetralysal 300mg Hard Capsules [Removed] with water

8. Steam face for 10 minutes using Beurer FS 50 [Removed]

9. Proceed to apply lukewarm water to face to open pores

10. Apply Vitamin-Rich Cleanser for oily skin in circular motions placing emphasis on acne prone areas

11. Rinse face with cold water

12. Pat face dry with towel

13. Apply prescribed ISOTREX gel isotretinoin 0.05% [Removed] in circular motions placing emphasis on acne prone areas until fully absorbed

14. Wait 10 minutes before applying TriAcn©al [Removed].

Just to add a few more details, I've been using the prescriptions for about almost 3 months, and the other products for about 3-4 weeks. My current queries are:

  • Should I be using an SPF cream if so would you recommend this one [Removed] and should I apply it during the morning with or after my moisturizer?
  • I was wondering whether or not I should implement the following products into my regime: Acne.org AHA http://www.acne.org/acne.org-aha-reviews-650/ as a substitute for TriAcn©al on alternate days as a stronger method of exfoliation. Also introducing a Deep Cleansing clay mask [Removed] every 3/4 days or on a weekly basis to help combat oily skin and improve smoothness. And lastly possibly including Jojoba Oil http://www.acne.org/jojoba-oil-reviews-156/ as a method for stabilizing my excessive oil production as I™ve read about quite a lot on this forum. I™m really interested in hearing any opinions/recommendations you have on both my regime and whether I should try to include the above products.
  • I™ve neglected addressing my back and chest acne/marks which is very mild to be fair, but any advice on how I™d go about dealing with this?

What are my next steps?

I've recently met with my GP to get a top up for my prescriptions and asked to be referred to a dermatologist which I should be arranging soon. My GP also told me she would suggest Roaccutane [Removed] to my dermatologist, but I'm quite apprehensive about this prescription as I don't know too much about it (hopefully someone can tell me more). I™ll try to keep this updated as best I can, but I will have to juggle academic and sporting responsibilities so I can't promise too much.

What is my end goal?

I've started to realize, acne is largely hormonal/genetic, so I understand achieving flawless skin is only really attainable for the minority of people. I™d guess my realistic goal is to clear any current acne I have, stabilize my oil secretion and fade any existing hyperpigmentation I have and most importantly prevent/limit the onset of acne. I hope one day I™d be able to not have to religiously follow a regime, but for the time being I think it™s quite crucial. So yeah to summarize, rid any existing acne, fix oily skin, reduce marks, and prevention. God, I've realized how long this may be to read, I hope I haven™t bored you by now but I really would appreciate any advice/support.

P.S: Would greatly appreciate if someone can teach me how to hyperlink, I cant seem to do it on this.

post-374838-0-95349200-1391618052.png

post-374838-0-83899200-1391618056.png

post-374838-0-99403600-1391618060.png

post-374838-0-12190900-1391618064.png

post-374838-0-59751700-1391618067.png

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MemberMember
30
(@jackthelad)

Posted : 02/21/2014 4:09 pm

Hi,

I think the skin you are seeing is purely linked to your age, as you know the body goes through a lot of changes around the age you are. But as you say a regime will help control matters and you seem to have a good routine in place.

you are using a retinoid correct? this product i am sure you will find will do a good job on its own of turning the skin cells over, i always say less is more, yes use an AHA if you get crusty skin, but tbh it means you should back off retinoid a bit to allow it to calm down. only use an AHA twice a week whilst using a retinoid. too much will aggravate the skin.

Furthermore oddly and ironically, the more you try and 'stop' oil the more likely the products you use will just make your skin over compensate for the dryness caused and thus cause more oil production... your'll know this is happening. Some people who are on these boards thats i've read over the years have used oils and in fact they have worked to balance out the oil production in the skin.

with regards to your back acne etc, this is a harder area to treat, i think the anti-biotics will help a lot though, so let them do there job and DONT forget to take the tablets. follow the course as prescribed by the doctor.

with regards to accutane, yes its the 'daddy' of all acne treatements, 70-80% success rate. it effectively shrinks the oil glands (all of them) in the skin, thus no oil = no spots or no chance of spots occuring. Moisturiser is essential whilst on it, spf etc, and for some it clears it completely and it never returns, for others the acne can return as the oil glands naturally start working again over time. It also alters various processes in your blood like fat lipids etc so if you do decide to use it, make sure your doc/derm is monitoring blood work.

and yes read more into it if seriously considering it, there are lots of side effects for some, i.e hair loss, depression, suicide etc. (of course these are the most dangerous) commonly just dry skin and very dry eyes etc is reported.

if i can leave you any tip i guess i will say less is more. but do listen to the derm who you saw at the skin clinic. they know best. all i can do is offer my opinion

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MemberMember
0
(@daniel95)

Posted : 02/24/2014 5:53 pm

Hi,

I think the skin you are seeing is purely linked to your age, as you know the body goes through a lot of changes around the age you are. But as you say a regime will help control matters and you seem to have a good routine in place.

you are using a retinoid correct? this product i am sure you will find will do a good job on its own of turning the skin cells over, i always say less is more, yes use an AHA if you get crusty skin, but tbh it means you should back off retinoid a bit to allow it to calm down. only use an AHA twice a week whilst using a retinoid. too much will aggravate the skin.

Furthermore oddly and ironically, the more you try and 'stop' oil the more likely the products you use will just make your skin over compensate for the dryness caused and thus cause more oil production... your'll know this is happening. Some people who are on these boards thats i've read over the years have used oils and in fact they have worked to balance out the oil production in the skin.

with regards to your back acne etc, this is a harder area to treat, i think the anti-biotics will help a lot though, so let them do there job and DONT forget to take the tablets. follow the course as prescribed by the doctor.

with regards to accutane, yes its the 'daddy' of all acne treatements, 70-80% success rate. it effectively shrinks the oil glands (all of them) in the skin, thus no oil = no spots or no chance of spots occuring. Moisturiser is essential whilst on it, spf etc, and for some it clears it completely and it never returns, for others the acne can return as the oil glands naturally start working again over time. It also alters various processes in your blood like fat lipids etc so if you do decide to use it, make sure your doc/derm is monitoring blood work.

and yes read more into it if seriously considering it, there are lots of side effects for some, i.e hair loss, depression, suicide etc. (of course these are the most dangerous) commonly just dry skin and very dry eyes etc is reported.

if i can leave you any tip i guess i will say less is more. but do listen to the derm who you saw at the skin clinic. they know best. all i can do is offer my opinion

Thanks, really appreciate the advice I recently ordered the AHA product from this website and was quite unsure how often I should be using it but I'll follow your recommendation of 2 times per week.

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MemberMember
30
(@jackthelad)

Posted : 02/25/2014 3:58 pm

Yes man, if you are using retinoids you don't want to go crazy on the AHA trust me! 2-3 times max! and do it on on the opposite time you apply the retinoid i,e if applying retinoid at night (which is standard) then you'd want to use the AHA in the morning - two at the same time would probably be a little too intense. but see how you go, it could work well!

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MemberMember
0
(@daniel95)

Posted : 02/28/2014 3:50 pm

Would appreciate more advice from anyone in terms of what is it a good frequency of use the AHA for my face and back.

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