Products used:
Morning:
* Cetaphil gentle cleanser
* Nature Republic soothing and moisturizing green tea gel
* Makeup routine as usual (sunscreen, primer and foundation)
During the day:
* Regularly supply water to the skin by spraying bottle
Night:
* Lauress oil to cream cleanser
* Physiogel cleanser
* Duac gel (Clidamycin phosphate 1%, Benzoyl peroxide 5%)
* Physiogel AI Creme
Week 1: 24/7/2011 – 30/7/2011
Day 1:
- Night: I started applying Duac for the first time. It did not feel anything burn or hurt. I’m ok for now. I’m wondering how this topical treatment cures my acnes. FYI I am having some small pus-pimples on my forehead atm.
Day 2:
- Daytime: My face started getting warmer then hotter throughout the day. It was a freaking humid and hot day today, but the burn is pretty tolerable. But I can see my face turning red.
- Night: After I removed my makeup and cleaned my face, oh boy it was nearly red on the cheek sides. I was pretty hesitating to put anything else on, yet I thought I should just continuously apply BP for maximum effect. So I did apply Duac at problematic areas (chin, cheeks, forehead), but skipped moisturizer, since I still cannot find a proper product for the purpose of keeping my skin hydrated.
Day 3:
- Daytime: In the morning when I woke up, oh no my face was real red and I could feel my skin burning and severely dehydrated. My face was a bit swollen and very itchy. I had to cover the redness with Revlon Colorstay Softlex Foundation. Oh no, during the day it got worse. My skin itched all the time that if it wasn’t for my foundation to be there, I could just scratch it off. It was that bad. And I could feel the burning more and more during the day, as well as see the redness… Huhu…. Now I know where the allergy I got last year came from! It was exactly the same symptoms and all, only harsher. BP is too hard on the skin.
- Night: After normal makeup removal process, my skin was a bit sore and I could literally say it almost cracked at areas of dryness. Oh dear I seriously got so nervous and worried now that my skin gets really irritated. For one second I actually thought I should stop the regimen here, then I quickly then remind myself of how it went last year. Oh well, there’s no way of turning back. Either I continue, or quit – which is what I did last year. I knew how it turned out, and do not want that result again. So this time I am going to really stick with the regimen and be patient with it. Despite the fact that my face is hot, red, constantly burning and itchy… huhuh
Day 4:
- Daytime: I woke up in the morning with real oily face, which I think I put too much moisturizer last nite. Anyway, I did not see much difference that the moisturizer claimed to do to my skin *yet*. But I do hope it could do something to it. I even applied Physiogel to my skin in the morning as a moisturizer, yet it did not absorbing so well into the skin and it left my face greasy and shiny. And after I put on the Monistat primer, my face was super oily. I could not stand the gross, so I went washing my face again with Cetaphil cleanser and tried the NR green tea gel for moisturizing. Well fortunately enough, it worked well and absorbed right into my skin, which I literally thanked God for it. During the day, my face was still red and itchy, but I could feel the severity lessens very little by little (but it did anyway), so I was pretty satisfied.
- Night: I applied Duac to problem areas as usual, followed by Physiogel AI Crème. After a while I could feel my face less hot, and see my skin less red. I am pretty satisfied about the progress.
Day 5:
- Daytime: I woke up with less oily face than yesterday. Pretty satisfied no. 1. Also it is noticeably less red too. Satisfied no. 2. Haha. During the day I can see my skin slowly getting better. Although still a little red and dry, the itchiness and swollenness of the face has reduced by around 50%. I am glad that I can see the progress. Fingers crossed for good result!
- Night: My face got a lot better. When I removed the makeup, I can see it looked a lot less red. I am pretty satisfied rite now. I did the normal night routine. After that I felt a little itchy, yet just a little. Let's see how that part going.
Day 6:
- Day time: During the day I felt my face a little itchy constantly. Oh well I hope it is not too bad. I also notice some new pimples forming up at the chin and cheeks areas. I think that’s the progress of Week 2 that acne.org refers to in the website. Anyway I am trying to hold my impulsiveness and be patient here. Haha, and one good thing is that I am at the end of Week 1 and already can see the supposed progress of Week 2. Is it bcos I used BP 5%, which double the suggested concentration. Lol. Anyway, that seems pretty promising hah! Hope so.
- Night: I removed my makeup and saw my face like only 30% red, it is a little dry on the cheeks, but the roughness had greatly reduced. Very pleased! Other than that, I dabbed a little more BP on the pimples, hoping they go away soon. Hehe.
Day 7:
- Day time: I did not see much discomfort today. Only a little itchiness still going. Well actually I felt more itchy than I did yesterday. Perhaps the itch increased? Don’t know.
- Night: The redness greatly reduced now. I think around 15% left. Very pleased about that. Yet the itchiness persists. I can live with that. Also, the pimples from yesterday had gone away pretty fast, however, new ones coming up. Sucker! Ok, I’m being patient here.
Week 2 (31/07/2011 - 06/08/2011)
Day 8:
- Day time: I had extreme itchiness along my jawline during the night. It lessened in the morning. However, I scratched my face (at that part) a lot, although I already tried really hard not to even in my sleep. In the morning, I noticed a weird difference: my face got really dry and not so oily at all (which is unsual). Moreover, my face got a little redder, just a little bit, yet it did anyway, which I also did not understand why. During the day, my face was less itchy at the jawline part. But I could feel some acnes forming up, that's so not nice to touch and really annoying to see. Grr.... I really have to persuade myself to be more patient here...
- Night: Oh dear, I was glad removing my makeup and felt my face nice and clean with little redness left. Yet once I applied Duac to my face, it gradually started itching all the way through now. And that was after I applied my moisturiser already. Sigh, I thought I should increase the amount of BP applied, and I knew irritation is going to occur, yet I did not expect my face to be soooo itchy. Huhuhuhu... Additionally, I think Physiogel is a little too greasy for me, I do not like the feeling it gives to my skin. I am thinking of switching it to something else easier-to-absorb, which I have not found so far (even Cetaphil lotion, I do not think it worth trying since so many people have complained about how greasy Cetaphil lotion gives their faces). Sigh (again), I also will be changing BP product from Duac to (perhaps) Panoxyl, since Duac is too much expensive for my pocket to afford it. It runs out fast, since it's only 10g, does not last so long, and I'm not sure if the Clindamycin does anything to my skin. So yes! I'll be changing products (hopefully). Maybe Duac will last me for another week or two. I do not have much saving left, however. I'm pretty broke for now (sigh) and I should be doing some saving. Just spend money on medication and skincare products (no clothing, and eat-out restriction)...
Day 9:
- Day time: I woke up in the morning having pretty bad itchiness, and a little dryness on the cheeks (mostly at the laugh lines) and chin. However after I put my my foundation, it soothened a little. During the day, my face was so itchy I could have scratched it over and over yet I tried not to. Oh dear how could I be so patient! Haha. Nothing much during the day, except that I got 3 medium-sized pimples on my forehead, with some scars from old acnes which can be covered by foundation, one painful pustule near my laugh line (where it was very dry it flaked!) and one small pimple on my chin. The rest of my face was pretty tolerable, in terms of redness, swolleness and hotness, except for the continuous itches....
- Night: I just finished my night routine. I was thinking of changing Physiogel into NR Soothing and moisturising gel for moisturiser at night then realised well perhaps it is not enough. After I thoroughly removed my makeup and looked at my bare face in the mirror, wow my complexion was not any redder than usual (I meant before BP regimen), yet the itchiness persisted with flakes around my laugh lines got so obvious. I knew I needed to keep using Physiogel for the night then. I applied Duac then Physiogel as usual. Gosh this time my face turned red again, with the itchiness increasing and a new burning feeling coming up. 15 minutes after, my face got a little less red, and the burn started decreasing, yet the itchiness is persisting. I do not know what is going on. I am trying to tolerate it here... Arrggg my face is sooooo itchy now... huhuhuhu
Day 10:
- Day time: Nothing much happened in the morning. Yet the itchiness rapidly increased from afternoon onwards. By the end of dinner, I already gave the itchy areas several swipes. Addition to that awkward itchiness, skin around my laugh lines flaked, and peeled. Literally! Oh no :(( I really don't know how to deal with the peeling and all these uneasiness. Huhu... On top of that, I had one huge pimple on my left laugh line, which looked disgusting, and irritating, and painful. huhu. The peeling mostly happened around there.
- Night: I LITERALLY had to scratched my face during removing makeup. It was sooooooo freaking itchy I could not not-scratch it. Oh man. I freaking hate it that I did so to myself, yet I could not resist. It was soooo itchy. After I finished cleasing and applied Duac, I changed moisturiser for my skin for a trial. I used Jojoba Oil and found it a little greasy (just like the Physiogel AI Creme). Perhaps that's how all products that claim to have ingredients close to skin sebum do? Well or perhaps I put too much Jojoba Oil in use? Yet the itchiness did not go away even after I put moisturiser. My face even burned a little, then the burn quickly decreased after a while. Yet the itchiness did not go away, I had to persevere and tried not to touch my face at all. Luckily the sleep helped lessen it a bit.
Day 11:
- Day time: Itchiness reduced by 50% to my surprise. I applied Jojoba Oil to my laugh line areas in the morning, and also mixed a little Physiogel with bb cream. Yet the areas were still so dry, there were peelings all over the area on the left side, around my huge pimple. FML
- Night: I finished all routine. I scratched my face during cleansing again, since there were lots of flakes that would not go away without the forcing scrub. I think the forcing motion thins out my face, yet I have no other way but do so, for the sake of 'no flake'. OMG. The slight burn occured again after I applied moisturiser as the last part. It quickly disappeared soon after though, yet I do get that uncomfortability in this regimen, perhaps because I have yet found a moisturiser that suits my skin. Oh one more thing, I see more and more pimples coming on my forehead and the far part of my cheeks. Soo disgusting! Also I don't think my face has yet gotten used to BP so far, since the redness and burn always come back once I apply Duac (although stop very quick after). I hope it goes well and suits me, as I am having no other choice right now than carry on this regimen. Any chance will cost me time, and money. And since my face is already a big ugly mess, I think it should not be much uglier than it already is. So I am really trying to be persistent and stick with the BP regimen for at least a month or two and see how it's going. If I stop here then FML :-s
Day 12:
- Day time: Ok so I had flakey face during the day, so the bb cream just fell off of my face. Darn! I revealed my acne face to the whole world. FML. On the bright side, the itchiness did not seem to bother me so much anymore. On the dull side (which is more terrible), more and more acnes coming. My forehead had a huge huge flare up. Continuous cystic pimples are on my freaking forehead rite now. I can't stress enough....
- Night: I made a little change to my routine. So now I applied Jojoba Oil rite after cleansing, then BP, then moisturiser. That did seem to smooth out my face so much better, and that did also greatly reduce the redness and burning feeling I usually had prior to this change. One more important thing today is that I thought of stopping the Regimen since: (1) It starts breaking me out so crazily and I really desperate. (2) I'm thinking of later when I (hopefully) may get clear, I will gain an dependence on the product, and that is no fun!
Yet the idea is still on the hanger for now... Let's see!
Day 13
- Day time: I applied BP in the morning under makeup. And gosh it did gave my face an itchiness whole day. I could not stand the itchiness and more breakout BP gave me, as well as not like the idea of having to stick with sth that freaking dry out my precious skin all this life. So I DECIDED TO STOP THIS BP REGIMEN. I've had enough and I know it does not work for me as well as it does for others. It's ok. I am looking into other options right now. Perhaps going back to basic with eating healthy food and having healthy lifestyle is the best with my skin so far. Yet all I have to deal with first is to treat my current pimples. Huhu
CONCLUSION:
I don't think BP works well for me.
I am off the regimen with pimples all over my face, mostly on my forehead.
It also gave me a freaking itchiness that does not stop even I stopped applying BP 3 days already.
I think that BP could be used as a spot treatment for Emergency situation, so I'll keep the Duac tube with me in case I may need it later.
However, BP overall is not suitable to be applied all over the face as it gives a more severely negative effects than positive ones in my case.
Week 2 (31/07/2011 - 06/08/2011)
Day 8:
- Day time: I had extreme itchiness along my jawline during the night. It lessened in the morning. However, I scratched my face (at that part) a lot, although I already tried really hard not to even in my sleep. In the morning, I noticed a weird difference: my face got really dry and not so oily at all (which is unsual). Moreover, my face got a little redder, just a little bit, yet it did anyway, which I also did not understand why. During the day, my face was less itchy at the jawline part. But I could feel some acnes forming up, that's so not nice to touch and really annoying to see. Grr.... I really have to persuade myself to be more patient here...
- Night: Oh dear, I was glad removing my makeup and felt my face nice and clean with little redness left. Yet once I applied Duac to my face, it gradually started itching all the way through now. And that was after I applied my moisturiser already. Sigh, I thought I should increase the amount of BP applied, and I knew irritation is going to occur, yet I did not expect my face to be soooo itchy. Huhuhuhu... Additionally, I think Physiogel is a little too greasy for me, I do not like the feeling it gives to my skin. I am thinking of switching it to something else easier-to-absorb, which I have not found so far (even Cetaphil lotion, I do not think it worth trying since so many people have complained about how greasy Cetaphil lotion gives their faces). Sigh (again), I also will be changing BP product from Duac to (perhaps) Panoxyl, since Duac is too much expensive for my pocket to afford it. It runs out fast, since it's only 10g, does not last so long, and I'm not sure if the Clindamycin does anything to my skin. So yes! I'll be changing products (hopefully). Maybe Duac will last me for another week or two. I do not have much saving left, however. I'm pretty broke for now (sigh) and I should be doing some saving. Just spend money on medication and skincare products (no clothing, and eat-out restriction)...
Day 9:
- Day time: I woke up in the morning having pretty bad itchiness, and a little dryness on the cheeks (mostly at the laugh lines) and chin. However after I put my my foundation, it soothened a little. During the day, my face was so itchy I could have scratched it over and over yet I tried not to. Oh dear how could I be so patient! Haha. Nothing much during the day, except that I got 3 medium-sized pimples on my forehead, with some scars from old acnes which can be covered by foundation, one painful pustule near my laugh line (where it was very dry it flaked!) and one small pimple on my chin. The rest of my face was pretty tolerable, in terms of redness, swolleness and hotness, except for the continuous itches....
- Night: I just finished my night routine. I was thinking of changing Physiogel into NR Soothing and moisturising gel for moisturiser at night then realised well perhaps it is not enough. After I thoroughly removed my makeup and looked at my bare face in the mirror, wow my complexion was not any redder than usual (I meant before BP regimen), yet the itchiness persisted with flakes around my laugh lines got so obvious. I knew I needed to keep using Physiogel for the night then. I applied Duac then Physiogel as usual. Gosh this time my face turned red again, with the itchiness increasing and a new burning feeling coming up. 15 minutes after, my face got a little less red, and the burn started decreasing, yet the itchiness is persisting. I do not know what is going on. I am trying to tolerate it here... Arrggg my face is sooooo itchy now... huhuhuhu
Day 10:
- Day time: Nothing much happened in the morning. Yet the itchiness rapidly increased from afternoon onwards. By the end of dinner, I already gave the itchy areas several swipes. Addition to that awkward itchiness, skin around my laugh lines flaked, and peeled. Literally! Oh no :(( I really don't know how to deal with the peeling and all these uneasiness. Huhu... On top of that, I had one huge pimple on my left laugh line, which looked disgusting, and irritating, and painful. huhu. The peeling mostly happened around there.
- Night: I LITERALLY had to scratched my face during removing makeup. It was sooooooo freaking itchy I could not not-scratch it. Oh man. I freaking hate it that I did so to myself, yet I could not resist. It was soooo itchy. After I finished cleasing and applied Duac, I changed moisturiser for my skin for a trial. I used Jojoba Oil and found it a little greasy (just like the Physiogel AI Creme). Perhaps that's how all products that claim to have ingredients close to skin sebum do? Well or perhaps I put too much Jojoba Oil in use? Yet the itchiness did not go away even after I put moisturiser. My face even burned a little, then the burn quickly decreased after a while. Yet the itchiness did not go away, I had to persevere and tried not to touch my face at all. Luckily the sleep helped lessen it a bit.
Day 11:
- Day time: Itchiness reduced by 50% to my surprise. I applied Jojoba Oil to my laugh line areas in the morning, and also mixed a little Physiogel with bb cream. Yet the areas were still so dry, there were peelings all over the area on the left side, around my huge pimple. FML
- Night: I finished all routine. I scratched my face during cleansing again, since there were lots of flakes that would not go away without the forcing scrub. I think the forcing motion thins out my face, yet I have no other way but do so, for the sake of 'no flake'. OMG. The slight burn occured again after I applied moisturiser as the last part. It quickly disappeared soon after though, yet I do get that uncomfortability in this regimen, perhaps because I have yet found a moisturiser that suits my skin. Oh one more thing, I see more and more pimples coming on my forehead and the far part of my cheeks. Soo disgusting! Also I don't think my face has yet gotten used to BP so far, since the redness and burn always come back once I apply Duac (although stop very quick after). I hope it goes well and suits me, as I am having no other choice right now than carry on this regimen. Any chance will cost me time, and money. And since my face is already a big ugly mess, I think it should not be much uglier than it already is. So I am really trying to be persistent and stick with the BP regimen for at least a month or two and see how it's going. If I stop here then FML :-s
Day 12:
- Day time: Ok so I had flakey face during the day, so the bb cream just fell off of my face. Darn! I revealed my acne face to the whole world. FML. On the bright side, the itchiness did not seem to bother me so much anymore. On the dull side (which is more terrible), more and more acnes coming. My forehead had a huge huge flare up. Continuous cystic pimples are on my freaking forehead rite now. I can't stress enough....
- Night: I made a little change to my routine. So now I applied Jojoba Oil rite after cleansing, then BP, then moisturiser. That did seem to smooth out my face so much better, and that did also greatly reduce the redness and burning feeling I usually had prior to this change. One more important thing today is that I thought of stopping the Regimen since: (1) It starts breaking me out so crazily and I really desperate. (2) I'm thinking of later when I (hopefully) may get clear, I will gain an dependence on the product, and that is no fun!
Yet the idea is still on the hanger for now... Let's see!
Day 13
- Day time: I applied BP in the morning under makeup. And gosh it did gave my face an itchiness whole day. I could not stand the itchiness and more breakout BP gave me, as well as not like the idea of having to stick with sth that freaking dry out my precious skin all this life. So I DECIDED TO STOP THIS BP REGIMEN. I've had enough and I know it does not work for me as well as it does for others. It's ok. I am looking into other options right now. Perhaps going back to basic with eating healthy food and having healthy lifestyle is the best with my skin so far. Yet all I have to deal with first is to treat my current pimples. Huhu
CONCLUSION:
I don't think BP works well for me.
I am off the regimen with pimples all over my face, mostly on my forehead.
It also gave me a freaking itchiness that does not stop even I stopped applying BP 3 days already.
I think that BP could be used as a spot treatment for Emergency situation, so I'll keep the Duac tube with me in case I may need it later.
However, BP overall is not suitable to be applied all over the face as it gives a more severely negative effects than positive ones in my case.


