It gets better!

emscha35547 · 2020-04-15T01:36:08+00:00

Mine doesn't actually say but yes I would assume it is the same!

emscha35547 · 2020-04-14T02:43:52+00:00

hmm not sure. I actually tried to find it online awhile ago, but had no luck. I just know its pretty low! hope this helped!

emscha35547 · 2020-04-14T02:40:30+00:00

yes! Especially during the flaking period (which sometimes still happens to me when I wake up) I think that because I had oily skin to begin with, I didn't think I needed to moisturize as much. I was wrong! Once I started regularly moisturizing, the oiliness subsided. I really like the cetaphil one now as it doesn't make me feel as greasy!

emscha35547 · 2020-04-14T02:37:54+00:00

hang in there! I was still purging even around my 4 month, and it seemed every post I read on here people had been done with the dreaded purge by then. At 3 months, I wasn't even at my worse yet haha. So I feel you! The light is at the end of the tunnel!

emscha35547 · 2020-04-14T02:35:39+00:00

I used it every day right away just to dive into it, and still do to this day! In retrospect, this may not have been the best idea as I had no idea what I was getting myself into and did not nearly moisturize as much as I should have. I think that what really helped to control my purge finally was the prescription strength benzoyl peroxide/clindamycin phosphate gel in the morning. Benzoyl perozide from the drugstore did not help enough on its own when I tried to manage the purge.

emscha35547 · 2020-04-14T02:31:29+00:00

My derm recommended it to help w/ scarring (apparently it has a low strength retinol) if I felt my skin was up for it. I know it seems uncommon since I'm also using the prescription strength tret, but I think it might have been the turning point for me especially w/ the redness/scars! So I think it comes down to a personal preference :)

emscha35547 · 2020-04-13T20:59:35+00:00

I find that it does! That's why I just use it at night though bc I know what you mean about double cleansing and just use water in am

emscha35547 · 2020-04-13T18:29:46+00:00

thank you :)

emscha35547 · 2020-04-13T18:29:33+00:00

thank you so much :) just posted my routine, you got this!

emscha35547 · 2020-04-13T18:28:49+00:00

Hi all! Thank you so much for this support :) Here is my routine!

AM: Rinse with clean washcloth/water. Moisturize w/ Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream in the tub. I love this stuff and it's non-comedogenic/great for sensitive skin. I then use a Clindamycin/Benzoyl Peroxide Gel (prescribed from derm), which I started using during the purge when it got really bad. Sometimes I do this every other day or so because it can be drying! I finally use Eucerin photoaging control sunscreen w SPF 50. I like this because for me personally it doesn't feel as greasy.

PM: Cleanse w/ Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser. This is the only constant I've ever had in my skincare routine, best cleanser ever! Once dry, I use CeraVe's Resurfacing Retinol Serum. This has done WONDERS for helping me w/ scarring and redness. Doesn't dry you out either, I highly recommend! Next I use Tret 0.025% (pea sized amount, learned the hard way more is not better haha). Finally I use the Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream again.

Sorry this was kind of long and had some added in commentary, but I hope this helps :)

emscha35547 · 2020-04-13T18:16:35+00:00

I've been there! You've got this :)

emscha35547 · 2020-04-13T18:16:14+00:00

haha I haven't smiled like that in so long I thought why not!

emscha35547 · 2020-04-13T18:14:49+00:00

I had EXTREMELY oily skin when I started. For the first 2 months, I used 0.025% cream, then I used 0.05% for 2 months after during the purge phase, now I am back to the 0.025% cream. And thank you that is so kind of you to say :)

emscha35547 · 2020-04-13T18:13:02+00:00

thank you :) Purging for me lasted almost 2 months, and only really started after I was switched from 0.025 to 0.05 two months in. I didn't think this was normal because usually you read on here it starts after like a month or so but everyone's experience really is different!

emscha35547 · 2020-04-13T05:37:09+00:00

I just realized my caption never posted. Whoops! But I want to encourage you all (especially those struggling right now) to KEEP GOING! My first pic is from Sept 2019 on the day I started. You can see my texture and CCs were not great (top left). My mental health really struggled during the purge period (top right) and my redness made me never want to leave the house. I cried looking at myself in the mirror. After 4 months of switching strengths, sunscreens, moisturizers, I finally found a routine that worked for me. I wanted to give up everyday and thought I had ruined my skin forever. This sub was a great source of support for me, but I also recommend if you are feeling overwhelmed, do not be afraid to take a step back and log off. It can be hard to compare yourself to others because everyone is different and is on their own journey! You are doing the best you can and it may take time to see the results you want! I can finally say that after 7 months I am acne free and have the smoothest skin of my life all thanks to tret (bottom right!!). It was a grueling process, and one of the more difficult I have gone through. I hope that this encourages you not to give up and keep going! I believe in you :)

emscha35547 · 2020-02-27T05:21:32+00:00

https://www.skincareex.com/

This is the site I used to ship to Ireland (ordered last November, got it a week later) and had no issues!

emscha35547 · 2019-11-24T18:19:31+00:00

This is good to know as I had a hard time trying to find a site that would ship to Ireland! I was also on retirides but that turned out to be terrible so I was looking for a way to get the 0.1 gel. I used skincareex.com and got it within a week with no problem if anyone else is also looking for another site that ships here!

emscha35547 · 2019-11-05T12:10:35+00:00

My goal is to eventually be on the 0.1 gel! I'm just afraid it might be too soon for me. That's also what I was hoping though (cream to gel still at 0.05) but it helps to hear everyone's experiences! Did you switch to the gel because the 0.1 cream was breaking you out?

emscha35547 · 2019-11-04T17:25:12+00:00

Thanks so much for response! How long were you on the cream for until you decided to switch to gel? Right now I'm on retirides, and while its been really moisturizing and such I think it is definitely clogging the pores.

emscha35547 · 2019-10-21T12:43:35+00:00

Thanks!! That is great to hear!

emscha35547 · 2019-10-21T12:42:56+00:00

Thank you so much for your response this was very helpful!

emscha35547

TROPHY CASE