Hi acne forum goers,

I've had some problems with the Regimen. My first and biggest problem is the dry flaky skin. I occasionally exfoliate with a light exfoliant, and I've tried AHA+. AHA seemed to help even out my skin tone nicely, but dry skin is still quite an issue. Even if it's not visible on my face, as soon as I wipe my face on a shirt or cloth or anything, a smear of white specs is left behind. If I ever want to lay my head on a guys shoulder, you bet I'll be thinking way more about the residue I'm going to leave behind than about how nice that moment is, which sucks. I can't tell you how many times people have tried to be nice by pointing out I have something on my face. I even have had one person go "why?" when I explained it was dead skin, as if I never use moisterizer (umm yeah I do, twice a day everyday?). The problem isn't that I don't moisterize, the problem is that Benzoyl Peroxide makes skin shed very quickly, then moisterizer just kind of cakes it down and out of view. How to solve this? Exfoliate. What are you not supposed to do on the regimen? Exfoliate. Unless it's AHA+, which doesn't seem to work in such a fashion. I tried only using BP once a day and my skin was extremely grateful at first, but started to get very oily like it used to be, giving me a kind of opposite acne-creating problem.

I can think of other inconveniences such as cost and time, but honestly I think these aspects, while limiting, are worth it for clear skin. Thing is though not only is my skin not clear 100% of the time, but I'm sick of the dry skin and bleached clothes. I've thrown away some nice clothing just because it got an orange stain around the collar. I can't wear any sweatshirts that I have to pull over my head, I've tried putting them on first, and waiting a while to put them on, but the hood ends up bleached every time.

I recently switched to an Apple Cider Vinegar and Baking Soda hair rinse which is actually going very well for me, so I'm debating whether or not to try a more natural routine with my acne. I looked up reviews here and honestly they are not that bad at all! A simple vinegar rinse rates better than Neutrogena and the same as the Regimen, although it has significantly less votes over all in comparison with the Regimen's popularity. I'm studying abroad next year so if I want to stick the regimen, I gotta figure it out by the end of July so I can make sure and order a year's worth of regimen supplies before my journey. Any advice either dealing with these said problems or for switching to alternate acne routines? I'm ready for a change <3 to think my skin could feel more free and yet clear is absolutely amazing to me.