Mistakes on my acne skincare regimen...

As far as I remember, I have problem with acnes... lots and lots of it... My acne–prone skin does not bear those little whiteheads or red bumps, people usually called zits or boo-boos. Usually I got the hard core one , a cystic acne, which take days to heal and swell up really big... I think that is the one they call ‘jerawat batu’.
Having acnes is one of the reason that I start wearing makeup, but my interest in makeup just grew out more thans just concealing acne. However, now I want to blog about the mistakes I did in my acne skincare regimen.
Okay, I’ve been to a doctor for oral antibiotic treatment but that does not work permanently, and you have to keep coming back. There are other treament such as accutane, laser, and hormone...I just thought I cannot concentrate on the treatment knowing the lack of financial support and dedication since I’m still a student. So, I give this a rest.

Then I discover, Acne.org (you never know how much does acne bother me in my life)... it is wonderful site and I believe everyone can benefit from it. So Dan from Acne.Org has introduce this basic skincare regimen, which is very simple and affordable but sound crazy. It only requires 3 steps

1. Gentle cleansing with gentle cleanser, don’t use cleanser for oily skin.
2. 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxid(BP) Gel . Usually people only heard of 5% Benzoyl Peroxide like OXY5, but it is good enough to use 2.5%. Other stuff like, Tea-tree, Triclosan (T3 pimple gel and biore), Salicylic acid (Sebamed)... I’m not sure how good they are. But I believe BP is the best, where it targeted the bacteria directly by providing oxygen condition (the bacteria are anaerobic, can’t survive in oxygen)... something like that. Well, usually this treatment you use it on spot or area, but for Dan’s regimen, you smeared the stuff all over your face especially the part with acnes. It might seem too much,but it is not.
3. After using the 2.5% BP gel, it will be too dry, so you will need to moisturize. So, last step is to moisturize your face as usual using light moisturizer, it is also adviced to put on sun screen as to protect from UV rays(actually everybody need sunscreen ... not the acne-prones only)

Then I found local forum page (at lowyatt.net I think) which actually use this regimen but with local product and very very affordable..
They recommend , Cetaphill Gentle Cleanser, PanOxyl 2.5% BP Gel and Neutrogena Moisturizer SPF15 or the one for Combination Skin.
I did follow the essence of the skincare regimen which are gentle cleansing, 2.5% BP gel all over my face and gentle Moisturizer. But I added gentle toner, because I can’t let it go. My version : Neutrogena Refreshing Foaming Cleanser, Simple Soothing Facial Toner, PanOxyl 2.5% BP gel, Simple Light Moisturizer.
At first, yeah, it does make a different, even if I change to other brand but keeping the same method, there is no real outbreak like before. And I would say, it control and improve my skin, even better than when I was in secondary school, despite the fact I love wearing makeup (like I said before, makeup does not necessarily cause acne). It is the best skincare regimen I ever tried.

However, after a while I notice that it does not work like it did before... so I visit again Acne.org skincare regimen and I notice a few mistakes I did.
1. Eventhough I was using gentle cleanser but I tend to be harsh while washing my skin. (always in a hurry)
2. I was ‘kedekut’ with my 2.5% BP gel... I was not applying enough 2.5%BP gel.
3. I don’t do the skincare regimen regularly. It is supposed to be done twice a day, 10 to 12 hour part... but lately since sem 4 I seem to get lazy to apply my BP gel. So that is not good.
4. Sometimes, ... this is the worst... I forgot to take off my makeup...

And it does not help especially when I was out a week for BTN where I usually have no time for this and staying at home make me more reluctant to apply BP gel and moisturizer as it should be.
So now, I have to correct all this mistake, not to forget to do this regimen regularly, 2 times daily... and not to be stingy with my 2.5% BP gel. I remember from Female Magazine “sloppy skincare lead to sloppy skin” and let this be a reminder to us all.

PS: I really thankful for the forum that has introduce me to PanOxyl which is much much better acne medication compare to other BP gel such as Oxy... Oxy5 or Oxy10 might work for someone else... but not me... even Clindamycin gel which prescribed by my doctor does not work as efficient as PanOxyl... but the Clindamycin is way better than Oxy 5 or Oxy 10... whatever it is, just try to find out more about acne then you will have an idea of how to control it...

PSS: My dream of how to spend my first paycheck is to get my acne treated with continous antibiotic treatment or maybe hormonal treatment... follow by skin resurfacing treatment that will get rid of the scar on skin.... pudarkan semua kawah-kawah ke kuali macam permukaan bulan...