As you can see from the photo I have moderate cystic acne with bad scarring.After the many interventions, over the counter (Neu... Read More
As you can see from the photo I have moderate cystic acne with bad scarring.After the many interventions, over the counter (Neutrogena, murad etc.), birth control, a 10% BP solution, all sorts of serums, dermatologist prescribed meds, nothing has resolved my acne. I tried the Korean Skincare routine which made my non acne affected skin greatly improve in texture and overall health, but did not touch the stubborn acne.The photos are from the morning after my first application, days 34, 62, and 100 after the morning routine when my skin is as bad as it gets (sorry for the bad lighting).Within one night of using it, my cystic acne started turning into whiteheads which is very uncommon for my skin. This appears to be a repeating event where any red bumps that start to surface inevitably are turning into whiteheads that eventually burst with the lightest of touch. I used neosporin - I find it helps with the scarring and inflammation. I can have eczema patches around my eyes or ears if they get too dry so I have to keep the BP at least 1 inch away from those areas (sometimes the BP migrates with the lotion so be careful there).I started this regimen in late summer so the first week my skin burned anytime I went outdoors hence the sunblock (I really like the Neutrogena daily moisturizer with spf 30). If you can avoid wearing makeup or at the very least only use eye makeup for the first week, I highly recommend doing so. If not, use moisturizing foundations etc. stay away from matte finishes because it will severely dry out your skin and flake. I was able to go back to my matte makeup ~2 weeks in, but not every day or I get flaky.Application: Be diligent on washing your hands (~30sec) any time before touching your face - with that here is my routine. As I mentioned I had great results with the K Skincare routine so I weaved my serums and toners into this routine. I only recommend keeping what you already know works great for you. If wearing makeup, I use a cotton ball with remover (the wipes ended up being too rough). Make sure you get it all off because this face wash is far too gentle to remove make up. I let my skin dry ~10 minutes, wash my hands, and apply my klairs toner. Let that dry ~5 min, wash hands, and then apply my essence. I let this dry for 15 minutes, wash hands, and then apply BP (avoiding eyes and ears). I let this dry for 15 minutes, wash my hands, apply my vita C serum and lotion to areas without BP. Then I start to apply to areas with BP, being careful to not let it migrate. I have also found if the BP gets on my neck, it gives me a light red rash. It took me two weeks before I felt comfortable with using the BP 2x/day and I stopped increasing the amount after about a nickel sized drop. I didn't want to have a terrible reaction to the BP so I took my time and let my skin adjust. I still have a red tint to my skin, light sunburn type, but really is only noticeable under bright fluorescents. The BP is very harsh and drying on your skin, but if you're like me and very desperate for a resolution, this system works.I give every skin care routine 3-4 months to control my acne. At first I did not like the lotion that came with this product as it really did not do a great job and definitely could not stand up to winter use. Winter for me consists of 15-35 F so I purchased the jojoba oil from the same manufacturer as the price was competitive compared to other, similar products on amazon. I used it as the company instructed, mixing 5 drops into my lotion step, but had okay results. I got a separate clear plastic bottle to mix them (lotion and oil) and had vast improvements. I think my skin needed more so I mixed them to a consistency where if I flip the bottle upside down, the mixture will fairly rapidly fall. This keep my skin hydrated in the single digits days we've been getting with zero flakes. If you have dry skin, buy the oil! It really will save you on going through the itchy, red, flaky period and BONUS it's great to put on chapped lips before bed during winter monthsFrom my photos, this system obviously works! I did go through the it gets worse, before getting better period but at around two months in I had a lot of improvement that only continued. At 100 days in I maybe get one blemish per month and it will go away within a week. When wearing just a foundation (no concealer) my skin looks amazing and you can't even really see my discoloration or scarring. I would 10/10 recommend this to anyone who suffers as I did (finally past tense) from acne.Goodluck and Cheers! Read Less