Still having a bit of a rough time.
Breaking out, but it seems to be calming down. The downside is that without makeup my skin probably looks worse than when I began treatment, due to all the red marks from healing blemishes.
However the actual congestion - my initial problem - has reduced dramatically, and every blemish breaking out ends up being one bump less on my cheeks. Of course the process is not pleasant as the blemishes look much worse than the original bumps.
On the upside: new congestion isn't building up at all! Despite the blemishes my skin actually feels significantly smoother to touch.
My face has been insanely itchy due to the drying and healing blemishes, and its getting increasingly difficult to keep my hands away. No doubt some of the breaking out can be blamed on the resulted picking. The flaking on the problem area and especially around healing blemishes has been pretty bad in the mornings, but fortunately the mineral foundation mixes with my natural oils by lunch time enough to prevent it from showing too badly.
I am loving the ASAP daily scrub! It seems to compliment the active products really well and helps control the flaking a bit too. Though I can't decide whether I should be using the scrub in the morning or at night. In the morning it would help with the flaking when I REALLY need it, but at night it helps my actives to kick in more efficiently. Currently I have been using the scrub every night before putting on my Clearskin Gel or Stieva-A. Any suggestions?
I am beginning to get the feeling that it is going to be a rough ride, but worth the trouble once I finally get there.
[caption id="attachment_298" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Starting point after 1st microdermabrasion"]
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[caption id="attachment_300" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Clearest so far - after 3rd microdermabrasion"]
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[caption id="attachment_301" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Breaking out at 5 weeks of treatment"]
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***
5 WEEKS
The treatment:
- Oral antibiotics (Doxycycline)
- Topical retinoid (Stieva-A - 0.05%)
(three times / week - alternating with ASAP Clearskin Gel)
- Topical AHA/BHA (ASAP Clearskin Gel)
(three times / week - alternating with Stieva-A)
- Topical antibiotics (Eryacne)
(as a spot treatment on blemishes)
- Weekly sandblasting (microdermabrasion)
Supporting products:
Original source: http://lilmissglamourpuss.wordpress.com/?p=295
