What topical products are you using?

Hi

Its very important to know what type of acne you have, one kind of acne is Adult acne. Therefore once its discovered the type of acne you have , second step is to find the appropriate skin cream to be applied as daily cream.

Cream like Lifecell helps in treating acne within few days.

One simple advice from me is avoid touching your face often & stay hydrated.

@EleFC...the sweet girl ) .

You found out that your skin improves with healthy smoothies,and that's one big part .

The regimen seems to be a pretty mild treatment ,you will probably need the aha moisturizer to help soften those hard to unclogged pores ,for what people are saying,this treatment has to be used the way Dan instructs people to do,I'm glad you are giving it a try .I'm sure that you will find lots of tips and support right here in the acne.org site .

I know that having acne is very frustrating,one has to be very patient. Remember that acne just didn't appear overnight.

For what I have seen,Differin is a gel that works really slow and usually needs to be paired with antibiotics.

Don't get discouraged, I'm pretty sure you will eventually find what works best for you.

Best wishes.

Ripon

I was using difference for 3-4 months and now using 5% benzol prioxide for the past 1.5 weeks..

Noche )

Thank you for this kind response )

Yeah, green smoothies have greatly improved My skin and overall wellbeing.

Currently im using benzol prioxide 5% which i bought from Sweden+ mild wash + mild moisturizer

But My pores still remain clogged and i get some bumps under My skin ocasionally and bit breakouts... I Will try Dans regimen. When im done with current products... Now sure what to try next or addition..

EleFc...don't get overwhelmed.

My daughter used differin gel for about a month ,the differin gel brought the

Whiteheads to the surface ,we asked the dermatologist for something else ,since she didn't want to take antibiotics,the dermatologist switched her to ziana ,which is retin a, plus clindamycin topical antibiotic.

Clindamycin topical information booklet warns people who have digestive or colon problems, to use it carefully ,clindamycin oral antibiotic is something you would want to avoid in case you have dental work done and the dentist prescribes it,just tell the dentist to give you something else, its a bad oral antibiotic.

Benzoyl peroxide is good to use for acne ,but since it dries the pimples, paired with a good exfoliator to help shed the dry skin and the pores breathe is not a bad idea.

I once tried persa gel ,for 2 months,I used purpose cleanser ,persa gel and olay total effects for sensitive skin to moisturize,for 2 months day and night ,(those days I was having a very painful cystic acne breakout), so I was happy because all those products combined cleared me ,then all of a sudden I started getting really dry skin,and painful bumps again.

So that got me thinking,I didnt include an exfoliate.

I haven't tried Dan's whole Regimen,but I have been using the benzoyl peroxide treatment for about 4 years ,using it with over the counter Neutrogena cleansers or dual action moisturizer(oil free) from clean and clear ,with good results.

My breakouts these days are due to hormonal changes ,I'm menopausal. But I still need the benzoyl peroxide treatment .

Since my skin is mature and dry skin ,I found something by accident that I had bought at Wal-Mart for my husband itchy keratosis pilaris .it's an aha moisturizing body lotion called Amlactin ,I know it's for the body but I gave it a try on my face , on top of the benzoyl peroxide ,treatment,( the benzoyl peroxide treatment,I just use it with a latex free sponge ,just to cleanse the face,I don't use like Dan recommends,so barely a little stays on the skin) and I was , oh my , it worked really fast on unplugging the hard plugs that were plugging the pores, I was scared ,because I have really sensitive skin,it stinks really bad though,the aha is lactic acid , the ingredient ammonium lactate says it all ,ammonia smell.

My husband can't stand the smell, it kind of feels like it burns the skin a little but then the burning goes away .I guess for people who have really reactivate skin ,it has to be tested first on a very small part of the skin.

I have tried glycolic acid toners,they are milder than salicylic acid toners ,most of them contain alcohol ,so I can't use them anymore,my face used to tolerate them before because I had oily skin.

This is the reason why I mentioned to you before that maybe if you decide to use the whole Regimen , then you might also need Dan's aha moisturizer to help you. The missing piece of your skin care routine might be the exfoliation.

With the Regimen ,since it increases the amount of the benzoyl peroxide treatment that you have to use ,then the Amlactin would be kind of too much and too hard on the fragile skin.

Also dont forget that removing make-up before using a cleansing wash ,is very important.

A good site for you to go and check for product ingredient information is cosdna.com

my best wishes to you .

Noche

Thank you for the detailed response:-)

I cannot use tabs or products with clindamycin anymore as i have had some inflamation in My digestive parts.

I previously used bha moisturizer with differin- it gave some results but still after 4 months i got whiteheads daily.

I use scrub on My face Once a week or when i feel

That Its needed, but im not sure if a scrub with hard pieces is good for My skin ir it might be too harsh...i used Lumene pore cleaning scrub( Finnish brand)

In addition i am not using foundation anymore as it just sinks into My pores and it looks very uneaven on My skin+ causes more acne. It makes me feel very uncomfortable walking out without foundation simply cause i get red flashes on My face when i feel a bit uncomfortable - and i mean i get like extremely red( even when i need to buy sth from store or meet some people) i dont know why My face gets that red but i have had it as long as i remember and that is why i started using foundation on the first place. When i have foundation on then it doesnt come as often and then people dont see it either. Its like im afraid of My face Getting red flush when i have no foundation on and that is triggering it even more...

Anyway, sometimes when i need to use foundation, i use clinique blemish solutions foundation, and i wash it of as soon as i can as i hate the feeling of Having sth on My skin since i got bad acne( One year ago i used to wear foundation every day)

Well, that was long )

Thank you for your responses ) they are Always So sweet and kind ))

Thanks for that link i Will definetly check that out

@EleFC....It's better not to use cleansers that have scrubs in them

because they can scratch the skin ,causing more oil to produce , more redness and unnecessary irritation.

I know what you mean about flushing of the face ,it is probably as a result of feeling conscious about oneself.

As always my best wishes.

the stuff you have used aren't designed for your type of acne. You have a large amount of clogged pores with hard sebum plugs. you should be looking into a 2% salicylic wash and a topical that had either 10% glycolic acid or salicylic acid >1%

Noche,

Thank you for this response )

So i should use acid scrubs instead? Such as aha bha creams not wash scrubs?

Best wishes )

Ohgoshacne

Previously i Did use 2% salicylic acid wash

Now i am testing benzol prioxide,

It seems to help with acne-

Hope i can get rid of those clogged pores too

Thanks for advice )

@EleFC....It's pretty hard for the cleansers with salicylic acid to do a good job ,because salicylic acid needs to stay in the skin in order to work ,so what I used to do,was to leave the Neutrogena deep clean cream cleanser in the shower for about 1 or 2 minutes .Some people use bha cleansers after they have washed their faces with another cleanser first ,others do the exfoliation with the bha first then the cleanser .

I preferred cleansing first .

Exfoliation can be done evry 3 days or every week ,its better not to overdo it because then you can compromise the skin barrier resulting in more oil production and more breakouts.

If you have very oily skin ,a benzoyl peroxide cleanser can help .

I have always preferred benzoyl peroxide cleansers ,even now at 52,

After you have your cleanser ,then you can choose a toner ,most toners contain alcohol ,so its hard to find one that doesn't ,glycolic toners work most on the surface of the skin ,just to clean the pores,salicylic acid toners work more deeply ,the glycolic toner that I used to like up until 2009 was the original proactiv toner,I don't know if it still works anymore,because I stopped using their products when they messed up their formula and gave my daughter and myself cystic acne.

So the one that I tried after was the yellow color tone and fade rapid clear toner from Neutrogena ,that one really takes out the hard plugs,but its really strong .my preferred brand of cotton rounds is swisspers, regular not exfoliating hypoallergenic .

After toning ,I treated the acne with the acne.org benzoyl peroxide treatment,and to moisturize ,the only moisturizer that my face has been able to tolerate was the dual action moisturizer oil free from clean and clear(it has a little bit of salicylic acid).

I used this system up until I became menopausal,and it worked .

My sister still uses it ,my daughter used it and they both got cleared.

I did too .

My daughter liked to try a lot of different make-up and she would sometimes skip steps ,like no toner ,no benzoyl peroxide treatment,and she would just applied moisturizer,she even admitted that sometimes she would just cleanse her face with the make-up removers .

We used simple sensitivity skin regular not exfoliating hypoallergenic wipes.

When she came home from college ,she had cystic ,red face acne ,when she left home again for college she was cleared(about 2months).

Our cleanser was ,and it's still my cleanser, the Neutrogena clear pore cleanser/mask ,there are 2 kinds of clear pore ,this one doesn't have beads.

Take care.

My best wishes to you.

Noche

thank you for this information!! )

Im glad to hear that you found the best suitable regimen that helped you and your family to stay clear. )

I definetly have to check if they sell this neutrogena clear pore cleanser/mask )

Currently im on acne.org regimen ( 3steps)

I Will add neurtogena mask in there then.

Do you happen to know what Will help against red scars from acne?

I have also many red scars on my face( mostly cheeks)

Best wishes to you ))

@EleFC....I thought that you were waiting for the regimen to arrive .

These suggestions are only an option for over the counter products ,not being on the regimen.

My advice would be to stick to the regimen until you see results ,I have never been on the Regimen ,but I can tell you that if you stick to it ,you will probably see results,unless your acne ends up being very severe, or too complicated,and react to any of the ingredients. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

You have to stick to the instructions,remember the example I gave of my daughter?

Ok then ,do not incorporate any other over the counter products unless the time that you have been on the Regimen approves of that.

All treatments take time to work ,remember we didn't get acne overnight.

Besides the Regimen has an AHA ,that can be introduced later on ,and for what I have read it has good reviews and a balanced ph .

As usual,take care and my best wishes to you.

Thank you for the information. )

Yes, i was waiting for his products and i got them few days ago and started with regimen yesterday.

I guess i have to get the aha also at some point:-)

Best wishes! )

EleFC....How exciting and great !

Please let me know how it goes .

I really hope that The Regimen works for you!

Take care!

The best of my best to you !

Hey!

Now Its been about 2 weeks on Dans regimen and 3 weeks on BP -

Its working great!

It seems that BP is scrubbing off clogged pores- every time after i wash My face and whipe it clean with paper all the small plugs come off( out of My pores) there is still much left but My pores are many Times' smaller and many have cleaned up! God i never thought BP would scrub off this dirt from My pores that Nothibg Else has cleaned up- now My skin starts to remind me a skin that i used to have!!!

Has it ever happend with anybody Else??

Btw My face is white and flacky but thats just awsome!!! Finally seeing some healthy skin under it! ))

Hope it continues gettingbetter )

BP eliminates acne bacteria, but you are having comedonal acne (blackheads/clogged pores) not inflammatory acne caused by too much acne bacteria. the other posters are right about a glycolic acid/salycylic acid product being a good choice for unplugging pores, and you can get combo products as well.i like gly-sal 10-2 wash, my derm reccomended it, it also comes in pads. however what will do the most good for you is a retinoid, a prescription-strength topical pore-unclogger. seriously, they take a while to kick in but the plugs will just pop right out of your face while youre washing it an its an amazing feeling. differin is a VERY mild retinoid-like cream, it didn't work for me. i'd reccomend tretonin (retin-a/atralin are some brand names. you'll need a script from a doctor but they are very benign creams so you should be able to get one from your GP and not have to go to a derm. good luck!

also if they came on suddenly it might be a hormonal or environmental change... did you change makeup or products, go on or off birth control pills, or start using a fabric softener? all those can clog pores. i've even gotten bad clogged pores from using hair products with pore-clogging ingredients, they get from your hair onto your pillow then you smush your face in them all night... worth a think-over!

Glitznzits

Thank you for this informative response!

Currently i Will stick with Dans regimen but i Will definetly try it out if at some point i should get worse acne. I have no idea why i had such a breakout. Last year after trip to Thailand i started Getting deep whiteheads that really Did hurt a Lot and left a hole Once they popped( or i popped) also during that tome i started using too much unquality make up. I was on duac the whole time after trip. Then in may i went on doxocycline pills ( 1 month before diagnosed UC amd stopped pills) and My dumb derm put me on skinoren for 4 months- i told her that doesnt work but she insisted( btw BP is not allowed or sold here in Europe)

Then summer were many points it got almost like severe acne( well severe for me) then september was also horrible!

I went on differin in sept.

And i went to BP 3 weeks ago

I Will Add some pic so u can see how horrible it was( how was before and now)

Btw i started with green smoothies in september/ october and i think it has helped a Lot!!!

All the best!

) in AprilJune

End of june beginning of August

September

October

October

december

Now january( red cause i washed face before picture)

And i think that My huge acne break out was due to UC. At some point My skin started to produce so much oil, ( in spring/summer) so when i woke up i looked as sb had dropped me into oil pot!

aha. I can see from the pictures you are having inflamatory acne when i thought from the description is was just clogged pores. BP will help with that! good luck, your skin is already looking much better!

and yeah, i live in ireland, have so much trouble finding BP. i wonder why they banned it? it doens't really seem harmful at all.

Hey )

Yeah i had very bad inflammatory acne but now it has calmed down and before i started using BP each of My pore was totally clogged, ( this would create more acne)

Now Its Getting better

Yeah very odd why BP is banned in Europe( only Sweden sells that i think- when i was there then i got myself One tube while i was waiting for Dans products to arrive)

Its strange that Its banned cause Accutane is way more dangerous and still allowed everywhere

Best regards:-)

Ele

EleFC.... its such a great improvement, and yes , my sister and I noticed that about Dan's benzoyl peroxide treatment, we both have used it, in a daily basis routine using other over the counter products.

I do really well with benzoyl peroxide,either in a wash or treatment,lately has been in a cleanser form.

But I am so happy that finally you have found something that has been working.

Stay away from sugars and nuts and just keep up the good work.

Two thumbs up.

My best wishes to you as usual.

Hey:-)

You are Always so sweet!

But why to stay away from nuts?

Best regards,

Ele

EleFC.... Sometimes people are allergic to nuts ,I think it has to do because nuts ,corn,or wheat are kept in warehouses for such long periods of time that they tend develop mold ,I'm one of those unlucky ones who react to those, my dad says that is not the mold itself but the preservatives , the same happens to me when I eat frozen fruits ,I get itchy .

The dermatologist did the allergy test(blood work ) ,and it showed that I wasn't even allergic to peanuts.

My son can eat raw nuts and he doesn't react ,but I keep telling him , your skin doesn't react, but your sinuses do .

The way food is grown these days ,it's not like the old days ,for example I bought some lemons during the thanksgiving holiday and guess what,I still have some of those lemons in the fridge and they don't have a single moldy spot,and they taste the same. I mean ,growing up in Mexico,I remember a lemon would be spoiled in about 5 to 7 days .My husband says that there's a lot of people in this world and we all need to be fed ,and if farmers grew their crops like the old days then there wouldn't be enough food.

So, the only thing to do ,its just eat as natural as we can .

I miss eating a chocolate bar,drinking hot cocoa .

I try to avoid dairy and soda drinks.

,but sometimes it's hard.

My allergies have been acting up ever since I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism.

So as long as you don't react to anything ,just keep it healthy ,I know you do .

Take care , I'm really happy that the acne.org Regimen is working for you. I'm also glad that you are reading others postings and sharing your experiences,it will help you a lot .

My best to you as usual .

Thank you for this answer and yeah i know they put so much chemicals into food nowadays - i guess the best is to try to eat ecological food when ever possible,

I try to stay as healthy as i can but i slip some Tiny bit of sweets into My diet Once a week... Maybe i shouldnt do that ..

Yeah i hope this regimen Keeps working - i have got some breakouts in the past few days i hope it heels now

Best regards:-)

Ele