Hi everyone! This is my journal to keep track of my progress with the regimen. I currently am on day 4 and have been seeing some minor changes to the texture of my skin.
Now, I'm not sure if l.e.d. flash on a camera reflects how I look in real life, but it sure does bring out the redness on my face...
I also notice that my skin is extremely dry, even after I apply lots of moisturizer... It flakes constantly and is scaly.
My skin also burns throughout the day, and feels hot. I can't smile without it hurting.
Also, it looks like I have wrinkles since my skin is so dry... I hope that's just a temporary side effect.
I have a bunch of red spots on my face from past pimples... Hopefully those go away too.
Anyway, best of luck to all of you who are doing this also... I don't feel alone anymore since I found this website.
Well I actually believe that the redness is just hyper-pigmentation and I don't check into the derm. until Monday... but I will get their opinion on whether or not I have that. Thanks for the observation though I'll let you know as soon as I find out. My skin doesn't really look that red in real life by the way... I think it's just the camera flash highlighting brighter colors.
Here's a picture without the flash focused on my skin:
I have a question... Whenever I wash my face, it gets all milky from the moisturizer I assume... Is that normal?
Week 1: Well, it's been a week now and I have noticed some extraordinary results. Most of the bumps on my face have gone away, and the redness has faded some, and my skin is REALLY DRY and leathery. Lol.
Here are some pics (please excuse the hair! This is me before I took a shower in the morning):
I will keep on using the regimen day and night... The three products I use right now are:
- CVS Gentle Cleansing Wash (compare to purpose) [i may try something new once I run out.]
- Neautrogena On-the-spot 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide treatment. [i smear alot all over my face, I ran out in just a week.]
- Aveeno Clear Complexion Daily Moisturizer with 0.5% Salicylic Acid. [Made some of the redness fade on my face, noticed results the first day I used it.]
I will upload photos of myself a week before I started the regimen if I can find them.
I went to the dermantologist and he prescribed me Bactrim DS. I am currently on the regimen, and now I will be taking this. My next appointment is in 2 months, and he said I should be clear or start seeing results by then (I hope he's right...).
I have to take this twice by mouth daily.
Has anyone else ever been on this? Any good results?
Also, my skin is very red and dry and it stings all of the time... It's my second week of the regimen, is this normal?
It's getting close to another week of the regimen for me. I currently have been taking Bactrim-DS for about 4 days now and have noticed some minor results on my chest and back. A horrible side effect of this medicine is that it turns my eyes bloodshot red... The eye doctor just told me to use eyedrops for my contact lenses.
Also, my skin is flaking like crazy and is very dry. It may appear that I am wearing lipstick, that's not the case... The camera app decided to brighten lighter colors:
I can apply Jojoba oil and it handles the flakiness very well. I only use it during the day though, or if my face is so dry at night I can't stand it. Great product.
Hello there, I'm glad to see you are trying the regimen! It has worked for me for over a year and a half now. =) How much BP are you putting on your face morning and night? It was always REALLY important for me to use half a pump each time for months...I now only use one pump morning and night and I have pretty clear skin. Some people have sensitive skin and there is little to be done about that.
As for Bactrim, I advise against antibiotics to treat acne, and I say that after successfully taking Doxycycline (as prescribed by my derm) for 18 months. She would have kept me on it forever if I had not objected. The reason I say this is because the way antibiotics work, they kill off bacteria, both good and bad. When you eventually quit them, the bacteria resurfaces and can sometimes create a pretty bad breakout. This isn't always the case, and it can usually be avoided if when you are about ready to stop taking them, taper the dosage off, and take probiotics as well. I did not experience a bad breakout upon stopping Doxy, but I feel that overprescribing antibiotics can risk making you immune to them when you might REALLY need them, ie. a critical illness.
Just something to think about and I don't mean to freak you out. I just want you to be aware and have all the information available. Keep going with the Regimen, by the way. It took me a good 3-4 months to see results. But for some it's a lot faster.
I apply about a dab as big as my finger tip: to both sides of my cheeks, chin, upper-lip, 3 dabs on forehead, and nose. The bactrim has really been clearing up my back and chest. And tomorrow is week 2 of the regimen, and I'll upload more pics soon.
Anyway, here's a pic of me two years ago (and this was taken with a 1.3 MP camera... Not as good as my 5 MP camera, so details are most likely hidden):
Well, now I've completed week 2... The flaking has stopped for the most part! It's only when I sleep it flakes now, and my skin on my chest and back is getting smoother and I haven't had a big one there for awhile. The only "big one" I have right now sits on my forehead... but I'm very confident it will go away soon! Other than that my skin is ultra smooth and all I really see are scars. I'm not sure, but I think the benzoyl peroxide might be helping fade some of these scars because it peels your skin right?
Anyway, here's some pics taken in the same lighting conditions as week 1:
Well, week 3 has been completed, and boy do I have to say that I am noticing a great difference in my skin since I've started. My skin is broken as of right now (and so are my fingers from work so it hurts to type ha-ha), and it always burns whenever I put on moisturizer, but that's good because that means my skin is shedding to newer layers, hopefully reducing the appearance of scars. My skin is much smoother, and it flakes really bad when I sleep at night or rub it against my shirt because it itches...
Here are some pics:
This morning, after I shaved:
Here are some pictures of me before I started the regimen.
/> http://www.acne.org/messageboard/index.php/topic/319611-do-you-think-my-skin-is-improving-pics/
Alright, I'm about half-way through the Regimen. 5 weeks completed, only 7 more to go.
I took these pictures without applying jojoba oil, so there is a bit of flakiness around my mouth and chin area, but it has definitely improved from what it used to be, take a look:
Other than that, my body and back acne have pretty much remained the same, but I am just trying to focus on my face mostly.
Your skin looks amazing! Super jealous, keep it up man!
And you're on the regimen? Maybe I should have taken it more seriously when I tried it out for a month. I had really hard water at that time too so it really just appeared to be getting waaaay worse. Like, beyond purging.
So glad to see you're getting awesome results.
Week 7 Defeated! Here's pictures of me, 720p, no HDR, iPhone 4 camera... Hopefully by week 9 I can upload with my new iPhone 5!
I use Dan's moisturizer very generously because it makes my face look too oily sometimes... However, my face is peeling like crazy and I can notice my scars are starting to disappear using Dan's BP and Cleanser. I use my Aveeno lotion at night, and sometimes splash some Jojoba oil on my face before I go to work. I have been peeling like crazy for the week and I'm glad, simply because that's what is supposed to happen!
Anyway, to spare the story, here's the pics:
awesome man!
I'm on my second week of the Regimen. I've been on Dan's products for about 6months, but I wasn't following the Regimen, and I went on and off and on and off again, until the products I purchased, expired .
But I'm 100% on it now and SO STOKED to see your results, and hear your scars are fading!!
Phew, now moved past week 8. Skin has been flaking like crazy all week, cheeks are much much better, and forehead... Well, is getting there. I've noticed shaving removes most of the flakiness.. So I'm going to try and do that as often as I can.
Here are some pics taken with my new iPhone 5 and my 4 is on eBay, so now expect better quality and colors!
Here's pics for both Week 9 & 10:
Week 10:
There really isn't much else to take pictures of, I'm pretty much healed. As of right now I might get 1 to 2 pimples a week, but they are rather small, and I can get rid of them in a day. My acne is under control now, and I still have mild flakiness, but I've been using more lotion to fix that.
I went to my dermatologist on 10/2, and he said my redness is pretty much all gone, and that all I have is scarring, which goes away within 6 months or so. I asked him about laser treatment or mederma for scar treatment, and he said neither would do anything. He said scarring is the blood vessels deep down in the skin, and merderma is pretty much expensive sunscreen and laser treatment may not do anything.
So I will continue washing my face and everything, and yes I do take bactrim, which has significantly helped my chest and bacne. Just scarring now, and hopefully that will fade before I start my semester at OU. Thank you Dan and everyone for being here and helping me out. It's been a long journey, and I never thought I would get rid of my acne. Now I have confidence and love looking and feeling of my skin. It's so smooth and soft. I wake up every morning calling myself a sexy beast lol. I will upload photos for week 11 and 12, but will cease to upload then for a couple of months maybe... But I will still stay on the forums and help others that need advice.
Again, thank you all! I love you all. Don't give up. This actually works. Physical evidence all in this forum.
hey bro, my face is kind of like yours, except worst.
Imagine waking up every day with the amount of flaking you originally had. That is how my face is like, and i use zero products