Regimen Week 1:
I went full dose of Benzoyl Peroxide at day one, and my face was itchy and red. My skin turns dry soon after I started the regimen and is staying that way. Week one is the toughest especially I did not start with a low dose but I didn't mind the pain.
- Skin turns red and dry
- Minor improvement of acne
Regimen Week 2:
My skin became extremely flaky that moisturizer could not help with dead skin too much. 50% of the acne are gone but my skin is red and dry, and I feel like I am a snake going through exuviae. I ordered the AHA and plan to use it to help with hyper-pigmentation and flakiness.
- 50% of acne are gone
- Extremely flaky face
week 3 update 4/5/14
Started week 3 by using AHA every night, mixed it with moisturizer half and half. Sting a bit but not long not harsh. Redness from bp is fading but flakiness stays still, AHA helps with flakiness though.
week 4 update 4/14/14
spots seem fading, acne is controlled. flakiness still exists but gradually reducing.
week5 update 4/19/14
hyper-pigmentation is fading, seems like aha really helps with that. though new pimples formed because of irregular sleep cycle. (could be a factor causes acne) since my skin is reacting pretty good with aha i tried to apply aha without moistrizer twice a day, however, it makes my skin extremely oily. a reasonable explanation is that aha or bha dehydrate skin so it produce more oil in response. ()
i have to go back to dan's advise to mix half aha with half moisturizer again, as it works better for me. also found some really helpful articles regarding exfoliants. i ordered bha and aha from Paula's choice, and prepare to mix bha and aha to improve skin condition. bha is advised for oily skin as it penetrate deeper and clears pore in order to get rid of blackhead and make pore appear smaller, also it helps with oil control; aha works better for dry skin, it removes top layer of skin which helps to fade hyper-pigmentation. ( http://www.paulaschoice.com/expert-advice/anti-aging/_/exfoliate-for-bright-smooth-and-radiant-skin )