Hey Everyone,
My story is as follows. I am a 22 year old male. I had pretty bad acne from the age of 14/15 and when I got to 17 I started using Duac (a mixture of 1.25% clindamycin and 5% benzoyl peroxide). I went through all the stages that this product typically gives you, dry skin, redness, flaky skin, scaly skin, but Duac works. It made me completely clear, but I would get a big pustule if I ate something sugary.
My regimen was simple I would just splash my face with water before bed, pat dry, slather duac all over my problem areas and then go to bed. When I say slather, I mean slather. I would wake up, shower and then slather my face with moisturizer. This really worked for me and I did this for about 4 years.
When I got to 21 I decided that I wanted to try to stop using Duac/Benzoyl Peroxide in general (I briefly had used Exposed 2.5% BP solution and this worked well for me too). However, whenever I stop using either Duac or Benzoyl Peroxide I break out really badly with huge pustules and immediately revert back to the product.
I have tried numerous different products including Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Face Wash, Nubian Black African Face Soap, the products from this site, Aveeno 0.5% SA moisturizer, Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser, different scrubs and I even tried an oral antibiotic called doxycycline. I thought that the black african soap was the product to finally rid me from the clutches of BP and saw initial great results, but after a week boom 5/6 massive pustules and I'm back using duac again.
My diet is extremely clean. Perhaps too clean, sometimes I don't get enough calories because of it. I eat no added sugar, only whole grains, lean proteins, healthy fats and lots of vegetables. Trust me when I say that I read about everything to do with diet and acne online and take that on board. I also exercise regularly and I'm and extremely fit/healthy person in general.
My family are all acne and care free and I get extremely depressed about mine.
I really want to stop using benzoyl peroxide and would love to hear anyones advice to doing so?
Thanks in advance!
Are you stopping suddenly or gradually. Stopping any acne fighting producting cold turkey is never a good idea and can have a rebound effect making acne worse than it was while on it. Start by maybe using duac every other day and then in a few months, do two days between each application, continuously reducing the dosage till you are done. You may continue to breakout as your skin is still acne prone. A healthy diet while helpful may not be the only reason you're having acne. Also, it is possible to eat healthy and not lose weight so look into maybe getting a nutritionist to help you meal plan.
Good Luck
If someone is getting pustules soon after stopping benzoyl peroxide acne products and not having comedones (blackheads) then other causes of pustules should be considered such as bacterial folliculitis.
Why someone would keep getting pustules for so long?
The answer could be a long-lasting colonization of nostrils with Staph bacteria.
Therefore, I think you should ask your doctor to do a bacterial swab of your nostrils to check for it.
Also if you have fury pets they can carry Staph on their fur and keep reinfecting you.
Also it seems that benzoyl peroxide clears your pustules relatively fast, so, it is hard to me to imagine
that something that can be controlled relatively easy can make someone extremely depressed,
maybe a little sad but not extremely- please do not feel like that and please see your doctor.
Talk with her in the same words as you used here, and then she will be able to help you better than anyone else.
I wish you all the best and I am looking forward to seeing some update on your situation on this forum,
so that we all can learn from it!
Vise
i would try cutting down to using it everyday, to 3 times a week, to 2 times, to once and then stop. I did this gradually and now only need it for spots around my mouth. Maybe try salicylic acid as your pores could be clogged from applying so much duac, it is quite thick compared to other products. Also, when you say 'slathered' it on, how much did you apply?