Hey All,
So I've been using the regiment religously for about 3-4 months now morning & night and following the directions as strictly as I can. My acne did somewhat clear up but has the results are minor and nothing too noticeable. I recently started using AHA & jojoba oil. My skin has a really hard time exfoliating & the AHA hasn't entirely helped exfoliate my skin. I used the jojoba oil once and it made my face really red so I washed it off and just put moisturizer on it.
Also, I try to up the dose of benzoyl peroxide but my face gets really red if I use too much. I really don't know what to do or if I'm do anything wrong. I also cut out diary just to see if that works but hasn't been affecting anything. Can someone please help me??
It sounds like maybe your skin is super sensitive and you aren't able to use the full suggested amount of bp, so you aren't getting as cleared up as you would like. Using the moisturizer generously with jojoba oil often helps with this. I'm not sure why jojoba made you red. It's typically very soothing to the skin.
My advice: Use two full pumps of moisturizer each time. You didn't mention if you are using this much. You might try adding a few jojoba oil drops to the moisturizer in your hand and give it another try. I wasn't sure if you just applied straight oil to your face or not in your post above, but it works best when mixed with the moisturizer.
Make sure you are washing gently and briefly so that your skin isn't irritated when you start to apply the treatment.
If you need to go slowly with the bp due to sensitive skin, that's okay, but just remember that if you aren't able to use the full amount you may not be able to get as cleared up as you would like to.
Here's more from Dan regarding sensitive skin.
Hope that helps!
Jojoba oil allergy and AHA allergies are both possibilities. Always use BP sparingly. Furthermore, your skin could be getting "used" to the active ingredients.
Try dialing back your product use to something for sensitive acne until it re-sets it's oil and turnaround cycle.
Paula's Choice, if you haven't heard of it, is a comparison-shopping site that rates products based on the safety/effectiveness of their ingredients. Many acne sufferers with sensitive skin find success with Paula's Choice's Clear and Hydralight lines. Other sensitive acne brands to check out that pass the sensitivity tests are Free and Clear, Cereve, Clinique Redness Relief and Clinique Turnaround- which has PHA, an acid that's better for sensitive skin, in a pH balanced product. AcneFree has a Sensitive line, too, that's not too bad.
It sounds like your skin isn't used to the BP yet which is alarming since you've been on the regimen for 3-4 months. Make sure you gradually increase your dosage. A sudden increase will cause your skin to panic especially if they are not used to the BP.
Also, you should mix jojoba oil with your moisturizer before you apply it. When I first used jojoba oil, it also made my face red but I stuck to it and it eliminated the redness on my face after several days of using it.