I don't know how to start this, the fact that i'm even back to this point visiting this website makes me a slightly depressed.
I joined the Regimen in February of 2014, that was the beginning of a 4 month journey to being clear, during that time I delt with horrible flakes (still do), a bright red face, countless hours reading info on acne.org, and eliminating dairy, gluten, sugar, and eggs from my diet.
But low-and-behold around mid-June of this year my face was 110% clear! I was ecstatic, finally the days of looking at those ugly red marks on my skin were gone, and I could finally walk around with my head in the air with pride. This clear phase lasted from June to mid-September.
And that's when my clear faced days ended. School had started around a month ago and things were going good, people i knew from last year were giving me compliments on my skin and it felt fantastic. Even my grades benefited from my clear skin! But as it seems, the good things never last long and some minor zits started to appear on my lower jaw-line. For the next month or so, acne on my lower jaw line and corners of mouth were increasing. As soon as one healed, one or two more would pop up. This was something that was starting to scare me.
Why am I just now writing this? Well lower jaw acne is commonly related to hormone levels, so I just brushed it off as part of the fact as being a 16 year old male. But in the past two weeks jaw line acne has increased along with a few zits popping up on my nose and upper cheeks. Now this is what scares the living crap out of me because this is the type of acne that took MONTHS to heal and I really, really don't want to go down the route ever again.
Here's some details about what I do
- Strict regimen use 2x a day, same way as Dan advises
- EXTREMELY strict diet I eliminated dairy, gluten, sugar, most nuts, butters, anything processed, eggs, and grain feed beef.
- Have never decreased the amount of BP, I currently use about a pump and a half.
- I don't touch or pick my face, ever.
- 75-100oz of water daily
Here are some things I think may have caused my recent breakouts
- Originally i thought school might have brought my acne back i'm not sure, but i'm a low stress person so this is unlikely.
- Less sunlight? Winter is here and I still think this may be a cause...
- Less sleep? Summer I get 10-11hrs a day while school days im getting 9-8hrs, still not that likely
-Diet change? not likely, my diet was more relaxed in the summer months so I ruled this out.
- During the summer I took cold showers, could this be a factor in clear skin?
So I need help, anything really. I'm deeply concerned within the next month or so Im going to be back to where I was a year ago. (except I pay $44 a month on products now)
Hi...It's discouraging to have a setback after having worked so hard but periodic breakouts do happen on the Regimen and does not necessarily mean it is not working. You mentioned using a pump and a half of BP... I'd try going up to the recommended 2 full pumps and see if that helps. Dan says when in doubt use more treatment if your skin can handle it. Just be sure you up your moisturizer as well.
Hormones are likely the biggest culprit here and not much you can do about that if just typical teen hormones. If hot water is irritating your skin it could be a factor...maybe try lowering the temp in the shower when you wash your face and avoid hitting your face with the hot water.
Looks like you're doing all the right things with diet, water intake, leaving skin untouched, etc. so well done! 
I've been having the same issue. I honestly know it's from all the artificial heat and the weather getting colder. My skin just can't handle the dryness of the BP during cold months. So far this week I'm just tending to my current breakouts and really taking care of my face. I've actually used LESS BP because it was causing too much irritation and dryness. And I've ramped up my use of Lac-Hydrin 5 lactic acid lotion. It seems to be working! I'll keep you posted if it gets my skin re-balanced and clear.
 
I've been having the same issue. I honestly know it's from all the artificial heat and the weather getting colder. My skin just can't handle the dryness of the BP during cold months. So far this week I'm just tending to my current breakouts and really taking care of my face. I've actually used LESS BP because it was causing too much irritation and dryness. And I've ramped up my use of Lac-Hydrin 5 lactic acid lotion. It seems to be working! I'll keep you posted if it gets my skin re-balanced and clear.
I can see that happening, i'm going to cut down on the BP esp on the mouth and lower chin areas (big dryness problems there for me) and please do keep me updated, i'm going to start on a vitamin D supplement today to see if that helps. I currently use DML moisturizing lotion its GREAT, i'll look into the lac-hydrin.
(invest in a good humidifier, it really does a great job on keeping your face hydrated at night, it wont do anything for when you're outside but it helps)
Oh my word, only 3 days later and my skin is recovering nicely! I don't know what kind of skin you have or how severe your acne is but my face is extremely sensitive and yet oily. So finding something that works for me is tricky. I cut back on my BP, now I'm just applying a thin layer over my chin area (only place I break out now) and then follow it with generous amount of lactic acid lotion (Lac Hydrin 5). My skin feels like baby skin!!! My chin was extremely flaky and irritated last week and in just a few days it now feels like a babies bottom and I can only see 3 clogged pores and all my pimples are drying up. You should DEFINITELY get some Lac Hydrin 5. It moisturizes like crazy but also has the key ingredient.. lactic acid. My skin can't tolerate almost any glycolic acid or SA but it loves lactic because it's the most gentle of them. It kind of just eats up all the dead skin cells on your face, moisturizes and I even think it's helping with my acne scars. I'm sooo happy I got back on track and am getting clear again!!!
I also found this cool study done on the use of lactic acid lotion and how many people saw a reduction in their acne! Very impressive.
So maybe a helpful tip..
I went to the derm today (I told myself I wouldn't put off the derm if I got another cystic outbreak) and she reminded me to wait 30 minutes after washing my face to apply my benzoyl peroxide. I have been putting it on immediately after I wash my face and she said that's probably why such a small amount is still irritating my skin. Always good to go back and review instructions for the regimen, once we get clear it's easy to fudge on things and before we know if we have a break out.
Face still looks bad, at least it's only on one side of my face. Going out to buy some lac-hydrin today to see if that does anything.
I hope you get the results that you want. That lac-hydrin you bought, did someone recommend it to you? Or you just got the idea of buying it through online reviews and websites? I would recommend you use products that is tested and proven. In that way, you will have your basis in terms of results.