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My Acne Journey

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(@jaclyna)

Posted : 05/18/2014 10:16 am

Acne has been a struggle for me for as long as I can remember. I have had countless nights of crying myself to sleep. I would hate, and still hate, looking in the mirror. Even with makeup on, I can see the raised bumps and scars all over my face. I have always thought, "If only I didn't have acne, I would actually be really pretty!" Seems so childish, but it is the truth.

Thankfully, I am blessed with an amazing husband who has loved me from the beginning, with acne and all. I really don't know how he sees past the acne, but I sure am glad that he can. I think I would be in a deep dark depression about my acne, if I didn't have his love and support.

So, enough with the sob story, and on to the regimen. I came across acne.org probably about 8 years ago. I have actually tried it before. I did not buy all 3 products from acne.org, though. I was using Dan's BP and the AHA, but I was using drug store products for the rest. I was also not "religiously" doing the regimen every AM/PM. Although, I did see minor improvements, there were not what I had wanted and it was certainly not working as quickly as I had wanted. So, I stopped.

So 5+ years later, here I am again. I just love this website. I am so thankful for Dan for not only creating the amazing products that he has, but also for creating this community. NO one can truly understand the effects of acne unless you have had it. Here, I feel people understand me. Nothing is more frustrating than when I hear someone complaining about two tiny zits on their forehead, saying that it is the most disgusting thing ever. My face has always been covered with at least 10+ zits on a daily basis. I get the lovely cystic acne that has left lots of scars on my face. I thought surely, in my 20's, I would grow out of it. That is not the case. In fact, my acne has progressively gotten worse.

Any who, back on to the regimen. I decided to try it out again. This time, I am using all of Dan's products. I am on week 3 right now. I have noticed some minor improvement. However, I am still "purging". I have been getting about 3 new cystic acne spots every week. However, I will say that the BP and/or AHA has been making them go away fairly quickly. I do find it hard to leave them alone. I have always been bad at "picking" at my acne. It is so hard to just have them staring at me.

I have been making videos of my progress, and I may post pictures on here. I think that is the best way to see progress. I feel that I will always be more critical of my skin, and will not always see improvement unless I have a side by side comparison.

So here I go, I'm going to stick with it this time. I have been doing so good this time around. I have not missed any day on the regimen, which is much better than when I had tried it out the first times. Here is to having clear skin!

Update: I have uploaded progress pictures. I have attached the gallery link, hopefully that works.

 

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(@jaclyna)

Posted : 05/22/2014 8:18 am

Just Updating. Week 4. I am seeing so much improvement. Hardly any new blemishes. I can already feel my confidence improving. It's not so scary to look in the mirror anymore. Now that I have hardly any raised bumps, my makeup looks so much better. I was just telling my husband, "I feel pretty"! :) I can't wait to see how much more it improves.

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(@jaclyna)

Posted : 06/04/2014 10:17 pm

Week 6. Wow. My skin has never felt so soft. I still have active blemishes, but not near as many as I usually have. It is a great feeling. Can't wait to post the pics and compare to week 1! I haven't seen my skin look this good in a loooong time.

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(@evertonyo)

Posted : 06/10/2014 5:12 am

Hi Jaclyn,

Looked at your pics, and yes, wow you are progressing so well. I am so pleased that this journey is going so well for you. You sound very lucky to have such a supportive husband there to take the journey with you. Best of luck with your continued progress.

John

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(@anotherstar)

Posted : 06/11/2014 1:08 pm

I just want to say I think you're extremely pretty with or without acne. I've had those thoughts as well and nothing is worse.

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(@jaclyna)

Posted : 06/13/2014 10:40 pm

Hi Jaclyn,

Looked at your pics, and yes, wow you are progressing so well. I am so pleased that this journey is going so well for you. You sound very lucky to have such a supportive husband there to take the journey with you. Best of luck with your continued progress.

John

Hello John,

Thank you! I am still shocked at how well my skin has improved. I am so glad I gave the regimen another chance. And yes, I am very thankful for my husband who has always stuck by my side through this crazy, emotional journey that I have had with my acne.

Thanks again,

Jaclyn

I just want to say I think you're extremely pretty with or without acne. I've had those thoughts as well and nothing is worse.

Awh, thank you! 🙂

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(@jaclyna)

Posted : 06/13/2014 11:27 pm

Update Week 7:

No major changes this week. My skin is looking and feeling about the same as last week. I am still getting the occasional blemish, but not near as bad as the initial purging that I had gone through. I also wanted to note that I am also using AHA with my nightly regimen as well. I love that stuff.

I have been reading around on other blogs and noticed many people mentioning the "self-tanning look" effects of Dan's Moisturizer. Taking a look at my pictures from the start of my journey, I notice that my skin, too, has also became a few shades darker. However, I kind of like that. :) Oh, and my flakiness has almost completely resolved. AWESOME! I am not going to post any pics this week, I feel there isn't much change. I'll post pics next week.

On an unrelated note, I GOT A NEW CAR! I'm just a tad bit excited. Infiniti Q50. It is a beauty. A little gift for myself for graduating nursing school not too long ago! Soon I will be starting a new graduate nurse position. So I'm nearly certain that my acne may be getting worse soon. I have been relatively stress-free since completing nursing school in May... This may have been another reason my skin has improved so much. Hopefully I can keep my stress levels in check.

leelowe1 liked
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(@faceisflaky)

Posted : 07/16/2014 7:54 pm

did you get wrinkles from the regimen?

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(@jaclyna)

Posted : 08/01/2014 12:19 pm

did you get wrinkles from the regimen?

No, not that I have noticed.

 

It's been a while. Life was a little busy for a while. Took my Nursing State Boards (NCLEX) and I passed! Now officially an RN. That being said, I have not been doing too great with my skin care regimen. Anytime I stress, my acne rears its ugly head. I have had terrible break outs. I get discouraged and I don't even want to look in the mirror. Doing the skincare regimen gives me an up close and personal look at all my imperfections. Therefore, I have been doing it, but not correctly. It has been very halphazardly. So, now that I have the NCLEX behind me, I'm getting serious again. I'll be posting pictures of what my skin looks like now. I have noticed that the BP does not dry my skin out at all anymore, which is very nice. I'm in love with jojoba oil. I also use it in my hair. It has great benefits and makes my skin so very soft.

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(@leelowe1)

Posted : 08/01/2014 4:54 pm

You've definitely made progress from day # 1, that's for sure. With the regimen you have to be consistent so now that life has settled, you can devote yourself to being more diligent with it.

Good Luck and congrats!

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(@jaclyna)

Posted : 09/11/2014 1:29 pm

You've definitely made progress from day # 1, that's for sure. With the regimen you have to be consistent so now that life has settled, you can devote yourself to being more diligent with it.

Good Luck and congrats!

Thank you very much!

 

So, my life has remained crazy. I just thought it would calm down after nursing school. However, my stress levels have sky-rocketed. The first year as a new nurse is pretty brutal. Through it all, I have remained consistent with my acne.org. I have had mild improvement since my last post. However, now that I have my first "adult" job, I have very good insurance! So for the first time ever, I can afford to go to a dermatologist. And so... I did!

She prescribed the following medications/schedule.

AM: Wash with Sal. Acid cleanser, apply Aczone and take Monodox (oral).

PM: Wash with BP cleanser, apply Ziana, and take Monodox again.

I'll see where I am in 8 weeks.

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(@leelowe1)

Posted : 09/11/2014 6:25 pm

Good Luck hun. Health insurance is a gift from God.

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