Day 3 of acne.org regimen
My skin before I started the regimen was somewhere between moderate to severe acne. I would get sensitive pimples, but I never had a problem with cysts. I have had acne since I was 15 and it gradually got worse spreading to every part of my face. I am now 20 and after I stopped taking my birth control my face exploded. Super red and bumpy. So sad too because it really was showing signs of clearing. I am back on birth control and have been for a month. There has only been slight improvement since Ive gotten back on schedule.
I started the regimen 3 days ago and have tried not to get too excited because I'm a pretty unlucky person. If there is any chance for this to go sideways it will. Since I've started my skin is slowly looking clearer (a little more red and my entire mouth area and slight irritation and itchiness). A lot of my pimples turned into whiteheads and I didnt pop them for a while until they decided to last for 3 days. I tried to use the proper method of popping pimples but it was a lot harder than I thought. I probably won't try to pop them anymore. I put bp on the tip of my finger from the first line closest to my nail. I've been doing that am and pm since I started.
I woke up this morning and still most of my pimples are small whiteheads. The rest are just many small red bumps mostly around my mouth and forehead. My cheeks are the only spots that are clear. I try to be as gentle as possible and use plenty of moisturizer and jojoba oil. I'm not expecting this period to last long and I'm waiting for the initial hellish breakout to start.
Day 7
Its been a week. A very long week but there have been some changes. My skin is drier and, as of yesterday, started to flake. I have just continued to use two pumps of moisturizer and 6+ drops of jojoba oil. That amount seems to help for some time until later in the day as I approach my next wash. My skin is also very tight, making it hard to smile and move. After the gentle cleanser I can really see the nastiness coming out of my skin, this regimin seems to be drying everything up until it pretty much falls off your face. The whiteheads that popped up all around my mouth and chin are also drying up since I decided not to pop them.
My skin looks really red around my mouth and chin especially in direct sunlight. Im in college but I've decided that I don't want to wear makeup, especially in the first several weeks on the regimen. This is really hard because sometimes I feel embarrassed but I have a loving and supportive boyfriend so I just try not to care about what other people think.
After reading some other personal logs I got really scared because some stories say this regimen gave them acne worse than before after several months of use but I'm gonna try to stick with it for at least 2 months. I also did some research and found out I should buy non-comedogenic hair products.
I'm eating healthier and exercising just so that if these products don't work at least I'll have a nice body. So my body is in competition with my face and if they both work out then I'll be perfect for the summer season.
I forgot to mention yesterday that I'm still getting new breakouts and white heads...I've also started to use a little bit more of the BP. I put bp from the top of my finger to the second line. I did this because the irritation I have is minimal so I think my skin is adjusting...hopefully. There is still hardly any improvement to my skin...it might actually look worse than before but because I can feel stuff happening it doesn't bother me too much.
Every morning I wake up and hesitantly approach the mirror to see if a miracle happened over night which of course it didn't. Well, like I said in my first post, I will try not to be too excited. I would rather be pleasantly surprised that this regimen works than depressed and disappointed.
Okay skin is suuuuper red and itchy. Especially around chin and mouth area. I could hardly sleep last night . I've been looking at pics from before I started to see the differences. I noticed that some of my acne did clear but lots of new whiteheads formed until now the whiteheads are slowly subsiding leaving a lot of redness. My face looks worse just because its so red and irritated. Some people mentioned a darkening of their skin but I think that can be attributed to the redness which makes it look dark. Maybe...
This is gonna be a long week though. Using extra moisturizer and jojoba oil!!!
I feel like I'm posting too much but I've just been so impatient for some reason and I think its because I've been such a acne nerd all week. Constantly on forums and reading logs. I've read so many logs of people quitting that I'm beginning to think this regimen won't work for me and if it does it will take a year or more.
My skin is sooooo dry and flaky I don't want to see my family cause its so embarrassing. I also need to find a summer job but interviews would be too stressful. Ugh. Acne is a curse.
2nd week update
My skin is dry and still terribly flaky. I want to exfoliate so I searched methods on this site and there was a way of using your nails and jojoba oil. I tried it twice but I really think I shouldn't because I still have a lot of active acne. I also have been touching my face too often because I'm constantly trying to peel flakes off. Uuuuuugh!!! Frustrating!
Anyways, my for head broke out and the acne around my mouth has lessened slightly but I still have moderate-sever acne. I use an entire fingers length of bp and sometimes a little more for problem areas and it doesn't sting. The moisturizer with jojoba oil does seem to help with flakes as long as I don't move my face (esp. Eating burgers or smiling), but I still don't like the way it makes my face look greasy and yellowy\red. The moisturizer used to sting a lot too but now it doesn't if I wait longer than the recommended 15-20 min after applying bp and I have to he very very gentle while applying....takes forever too.
Well I just realized it is almost the end of week three... My skin still looks awful.
I have a lot of break outs and they're red and I have whiteheads everywhere.
I've been touching and scratching my face a lot so it's most likely that.
It just seems almost impossible not to touch. This is the hardest part of the regimen because I want to quit.
Nothing has changed and I'm pretty sure it's gotten worse. Oh well I'm gonna stick it out.