Acne


N.B. I am posting this page because I wish someone had told me years ago exactly how to cleanse and medicate my skin in order to keep me acne free. It could have saved me quite a bit of agony.

This web page contains a step by step regimen for clear skin. After years of trial and error I have finally got it down. My current acne treatment program works, and works incredibly well. You can read about Acne first, or You can go straight to the tratment program below.



What is acne?

Acne is a skin condition in which red, inflamed pimples and non-inflamed pimples known as "comedones" appear on the skin, usually on the face, but sometimes also on the chest and back.


What causes acne?

Acne affects primarily adolescents - whose skin is secreting an excessive amount of oil or sebum caused by hormonal changes of puberty. The degree to which hormones influence your skin - whether or not they cause acne - is different for each individual.

Other causes of acne are: hereditary factors (inheriting large pores or follicles with large oil or sebaceous glands), stress, certain medications, and the use of certain cosmetics.

Let's look at the structure of your skin to understand how acne occurs.



Each hair follicle is lined with cells and contains a hair and an oil gland that supplies oil to the follicle. When dead cells build up inside the follicle and combine with bacteria, the follicle becomes clogged and swollen. Eventually the follicle may become blocked, forming a red blemish (pimple). There are three types of blemishes: whiteheads, blackheads and inflammatory lesions.

Whiteheads form when dead cells and other material collect inside the follicle and close off the passageway. Blackheads are like whiteheads except that the plugging material protrudes from the opening at the skin surface. The "plug" of oil and dead cells change color and appear dark. Inflammatory lesions are formed when pressure builds up inside the blocked follicle and the follicle walls break down. Oil, dead cells, hair and bacteria spill out into the dermis. The skin around the pore becomes red and inflamed. When white blood cells enter the area to attack this inflammation, pus is formed, and a pustule is the result.


How do I avoid acne?

The key to managing your skin is knowing yourself. Watch to see when blemishes appear. Does your skin break out after an upsetting incident? If so, try to manage your reactions to stress and be sure to care for your skin at those times when it is prone to break out.

Gently washing your face is one of the most important things you can do to help clear your complexion. Careful washing helps to remove accumulated oil, bacteria and dead skin cells on the skin surface. But overwashing is harmful, because hard scrubbing, harsh soaps and very hot water can increase skin irritation and redness.

Thorough rinsing with clear water adds necessary moisture to the skin. Regulating your exposure to the sun is also important in maintaining healthy skin.


Is acne caused by my diet?

There are many myths about diet and acne. Diet does not significantly affect acne in most people. There is no reason to avoid foods, such as chocolate, soft drinks and nuts, unless these foods seem to cause a particular problem for you. A balanced diet that includes foods from each of the major food groups is best. And don't forget to drink plenty of water!

These basic guidelines are intended to help you attain a clearer complexion. They are also beneficial to your overall health.

Should your acne not improve or worsen, there are medications your doctor can prescribe to help you in achieving a clearer complexion.


BENZOYL PEROXIDE

Benzoyl peroxide is a commonly used topical treatment for mild acne. It is safe for adults and children.

It has the following properties:

Antiseptic i.e. it reduces the number of skin surface bacteria (but it does not cause bacterial resistance and in fact can reduce bacterial resistance if this has arisen from antibiotic therapy). It also reduces the number of yeasts on the skin surface.
Oxidizing agent - this makes it keratolytic and comedolytic i.e. it reduces the number of comedones.
Anti-inflammatory action.

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I have tried many prescriptions, including Retin-A, antibiotics, Cleocin-T, and several others. None of these worked for me. The one thing that always seemed to work was benzoyl peroxide, the key ingredient in the over-the-counter medications like Oxy, Clearasil, or Neutrogena On-The-Spot Acne Treatment (my personal favorite). But benzoyl peroxide never seemed to work well enough. I now know why. I didn't use enough of it. I'll explain this further on the "What you need to do"
ACCUTANE: I had moderate to severe acne in the past. After trying all other available prescriptions unsuccessfully, my doctor finally put me on a cycle of Accutane.

Accutane is a vitamin A derivative administered in pill form and is usually taken for a period of four or five months. Doctors often recommend it to people with severe acne, the kind that can scar. Accutane is a hardcore medication which works from the inside out, shrinking the glands that make sebum. A cycle of Accutane often produces dramatic and permanent improvement, they say in 90% of cases, although I am not confident in that statistic.

Accutane is widely considered the most important advance in acne treatment ever. Initially, it worked very well for me. After a few weeks on Accutane, my breakouts stopped dead in their tracks. I experienced no breakouts whatsoever until I stopped with my treatment. People with fantastic skin would come up to me and say, "I wish I had your skin". It was pretty incredible. However, the drug is very powerful. My bones and joints ached. Sometimes I felt very dried out. My lips got chapped and years later I still have to use chap-stick daily. My eyes felt strange at times, probably from the dryness.

Secondly, I was not one of the lucky ones. Although my skin has been more manageable since Accutane, I have experienced serious breakouts since ending my cycle. Even so, I remain very thankful that I took it. I would describe my acne now as light to moderate thanks to Accutane, and with my current regimen I stay pretty much clear. Still, I sometimes wonder exactly what Accutane did to my body. Whether or not to go on Accutane is up to you and your physician.

Accutane causes severe birth defects in pregnant women, so only women who are under close physician's care should consider the drug.

That said, if you have moderate to light acne, stick closely to what is outlined in this site, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

What you need to do


You will need to treat your skin twice a day.

1. The Morning Routine in the shower

2. The Evening Routine at the sink

You may want to bookmark this page.

You can also print this page in checklist form.


The Morning Routine

Men: In the shower, I let the hot water splash on my face before I do anything else. Then I wash the rest of me while splashing water on my face from time to time. I do this to ready my face for a shave. Women: Wash your face in the shower gently with bare hands and lather from the Purpose cleansing bar. Then pick up this morning routine 4 bullets down at "Splash your face...".


The last thing I do in the shower is to lather my hands as much as possible with the Purpose cleansing bar. I use the lather as shaving cream. I spread the fairly thick lather on using very gentle circular motions. If you prefer to use a shave cream, make sure it is "non-comedogenic" and wash your face very gently afterwards with the Purpose cleansing bar.


I use the Gillette Sensor Excel razor to shave. Shave with confident downward strokes. Avoid going over any area too many times. Again, don't stress over it. If you miss an area go confidently back over it.


After I shave, I re-lather my hands and wash my forehead, nose, and upper back very gently.


Splash your face with cold water from the tub faucet a few times--as cold as you can get. This closes your pores and gives your skin a nice tight feeling.


Pat dry with a towel.


Wait 15 minutes for pores to close and skin to dry.


Wash and dry hands.


Squeeze out a GENEROUS portion of benzoyl peroxide (BP) cream onto your left index finger. Squeeze out a generous portion. Squeeze out a generous portion. I say this three times because it is the most important thing you will do. When I started using more BP cream, my skin cleared up. It's as simple as that. I go through a tube or so of Neutrogena On-The-Spot every week. You may use more. Do not skimp. To get an idea of how much I use click here. Now that you have a nice amount of BP cream on your left index finger, using your right index finger, dab the cream in several spots about your problem areas. Then spread the BP cream into your skin VERY GENTLY with your fingers. Don't rub too hard. The cream should be absorbed into your skin, but this requires very little rubbing. This is very important as it prevents irritation. You'll want to make sure that no part of your problem area goes uncoated. Apply the medicine to the whole area usually affected by acne, not just to the pimples themselves.


Wait 5-15 minutes or so. You can do other things in the meantime.


Apply Alpha-Hydroxy Moisture Lotion. I use slightly less moisture lotion than BP cream. Apply enough so your skin isn't flaky and you can go out in public with normal looking skin. After a few minutes if your skin is still flaky apply a bit more moisture lotion.
The Evening Routine

Splash your face and neck and any other problem areas with very warm water from your sink.


Lather up your hands with your Purpose cleansing bar.
Gently wash problem areas with your bare hands. Do not use a washcloth. It is too irritating. All you are trying to do is get the area prepped for the BP. Use very warm water to rinse.


Do a final rinse with very cold water.
Pat dry.
Wait around 5-15 minutes until skin is completely dry.
Wash and dry your hands. Apply the BP cream again generously to problem areas, making sure to cover every spot without rubbing too much. Make sure to apply generously!

I do not put moisture lotion on at night. I really let the BP work while I'm sleeping. Your skin may feel dry and somewhat tight after you are on this regimen for a week or so. That is okay. It means the BP is working. Of course, if severe redness or dryness occur, you should talk to your doctor.


What I Do During the Day


Enjoy your day. Do not stress out about what you eat. No correlation has been shown in studies attempting to link diet and acne. In other words, eating chocolate does not cause acne, neither does eating oil, although prolongued exposure to oil left on skin has been shown to aggravate acne. Also, don't worry about stress causing breakouts. Stress just is not that big of a factor, and the BP is working all day.


I don't touch my face too much during the day. I try to keep my skin as free of excess oils and irritation as I can. However, if you do spill something on your face, just wipe it up with a napkin gently. You do not want to wash your face during the day unless:

your skin is extremely oily, or
you wear a facemask for some sort of sport.
If either of these is true, wash your face gently and apply BP followed by moisture lotion. Washing your face in the morning and in the evening should be plenty for most people. Excess washing can most definitely irritate your skin, and may cause more breakouts.

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That's about it. You should see results quickly, probably within a few days, at most a week or so. If this program does not work for you, first ask yourself, "am I using enough BP cream"? If the answer is "yes", than this program probably will not work for you. Consider seeing a dermatologist.

What people are saying
"Hi. I just wanted to let you know your acne regimen is working great for me and in just three days. I really thought it would be too harsh for me especially the soap but my skin actually feels softer and is not dry at all. After trying for 20 years to clear up my skin I would have never thought such a simple and inexpensive regimen would work. Thank you so much for sharing your regimen with others. I feel so much better about myself and how I look.!!" - Shelly, New York



"My utter to thanks to you Hasanain ! I have been using your system for 5 days now, and my skin is unbelievable. It has improved so much, almost instantaneously, that I am truly amazed. I just wish that I would have known about this sooner. You really should advertise your site as it will save a lot of people a lot of anguish. Thanks again." - K. in Oregon




"I have never felt better. What you have perscribed has given me my life back. No more looking in the mirror to see what blemish I need to cover up. Which is only part of what I feel. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!" - Paula, Spartanburg



"Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I saw your website through dermatologist.com and was curious. I have tried SO many things to cure my acne, I have taken every perscription known, it seems, to try to cure my problem. I am 22 and figured I should be though with acne by now but nothing could ever totally clear my face up. I have been on acutane twice and it helped temporarily but within six months of treatment my face was breaking out again. Anyhow, to make a long story short...I saw your website and decided, what the heck, I'll give it a shot. I ...started Wednesday night. I woke up this morning and my face was almost totally clear, I just cried!!! It has been such a struggle and now my face is totally smooth on one side and only a couple of minor spots on the other!" - Brittney




"Whoa, this thing actually worked. Ive been suffering through acne for a long time and no matter what I did I could never get it to clear up or anything but after I started doing this, after the first 4 or 5 days my skin was almost clear." - Nick



"Hasanain, I cannot begin to thank you enough for sharing your wonderful acne regimen! I am a 39 year old female and have suffered acne breakouts forever! Since my teen years I've tried every product/program and been treated by several dermatologists. Even with the oral antibiotics and harsh creams that caused peeling etc. they never really worked especially considering the cost of the products and physician fees! Needless to say I would go for long periods of time before seeking help with acne treatments. (my faith was gone!) Well, my acne had seriously flared up to the point that two weeks ago I broke down in tears when I looked in the mirror at my complexion. I called that day to make an appointment with a dermatologist and was told the next available appointment was 2 1/2 months away! Feeling very discouraged that I would have to remain embarrassed around my co-workers and family members for the next two months, I decided to search the Internet for advice on acne. The first few web pages were the usual ones trying to sell me their products. When I read your web site I was very skeptical yet very impressed by the testimonials. Within 2 days I was in total shock with the immediate results! The inflammation was subsiding and there was no new breakouts! Two weeks later I am a new person! I am no longer embarrassed. Nor do I feel the need to cover my blemishes with makeup! Thank you for taking the time to share such a simple yet wonderful plan to help acne sufferers like myself!" - Becky, Jacksonville