Getting off Clear & Smooth. On Duac and Differin.

  • Thread starter Thread starter unc21885
  • Start date Start date
U

unc21885

Guest
I used Carly's Clear and Smooth for three weeks, following the manufacturer's directions to the tee. For the first two weeks, I noticed marked improvement in my complexion. But then last week, I started breaking out again (for no apparently identifiable reason). I was thoroughly discouraged, as I had to add CS to my already lengthy list of acne medications that have done little to keep my acne at bay.

Out of desperation, I visited a derm for the first time yesterday. The doc prescribed me Differin and Duac. I applied Differin gel last night before bed, and the gel was surprising light; my face was neither tight nor dry---a big plus, as I abhor topicals for that reason.

Anyhow, has anyone else been on or is currently using Differing and/or Duac? Has your complexion improved? How long did it take to see noticeable results?
 
Well, its been 6 weeks that I've been on Differin and I really cannot see any improvement. :(. To summarize, my acne flared up on my forehead and chin for a few days. Then I had a meltdown b/c of it, and then my acne calmed down. (Luckily the flare up on my forehead wasn't quite as bad as the one during week 3).

The last few weeks seems like I've hit some sort of plateau where there isn't much change. When I compare my skin to last week, I have a few more zits compared to the last week (and a ton of red marks which are lingering).

.... I hate my skin!!! I don't understand why I have acne when I am 26 years old! My brother grew out of it already and my parents didn't have acne beyond their teenage years. I have the same diet as my family because my mom raised us to be healthconscious. My life is much more laid back now that I have a fun job, supportive boyfriend and barely any stress... What is going on??
 
day 3: a little drier, i know it sounRAB a little ridiculous since differin takes such a long time to kick in but some pimples have dissapeared within the 3 days i've started using it. my derm reccommended it so i hope it works & i hope that i am almost or 100% clear by septeraber 8th when school starts!!!
 
earthdayapril22, that's encouraging to hear :)!

As promised, here is my update for week 1 of using differin:

First, a little background: I have mild/moderate acne. I have a bunch of small bumps over most of my face and ~10 medium sized zits sprinkled here and there at any given time.
Day 1-3: Skin is the same as when I started
Day 4: The sensitive areas of my nose are burning a little bit because I accidentally applied differin there. Skin is breaking out a little bit more.
Day 5: Most of my skin now feels irritated. Acne looks the same as the day before.
Day 6: Skin feels itchy. I'm trying to resist the temptation to scratch. I started to break out a bit more on my right cheek (like 3-4 more zits than normal).
Day 7: Skin feels and looks the same as yesterday, but my nose no longer burns. Yay!

I love the Cetaphil cleanser because it is so soothing when i use it. Overall my skin isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Knock on wood. We'll see how week #2 goes... I'm bracing myself for the bad breakout that people talk about.

jack27514, I just read your post that you wrote about being depressed. I totally know what you mean! When my skin gets really bad I don't want to leave my apartment. Going to work seems like a daunting task and worst of all is looking at myself in the mirror. There is a certain subset of my frienRAB that I probably won't be hanging out with for the next 12 weeks because I feel too ugly to see them until my skin starts to look better. On the other hand, there are certain people in my life that are incredibly supportive and I feel better just being around them b/c of how they make me feel. They keep telling me how I'm crazy and its not as bad as I think it is :).

I hope your treatment is going well so far; best of luck to you too!!
 
Hey Meruru
Its been a while about hearing from your updates but i was just wondering if your acne had an ending??
 
im on retin-a micro and doxy so i can't really speak on behalf of differin...however the only thing i can tell you is that with any topical or oral medication that is going to work - u must give it time....keep applying the differin...u should begin to clear up nicely...if not i would try retin -a ...its really good
 
Thank you all for your replies.

Frustration, sorry to hear that CS didnt work out for you either. I can honestly say I know how you feel. Acne's a pain, and life just doesnt seem fair sometimes.

Sandra, you're absolutely right that everyone's skin is unique, and there's really no panacea for acne. (Kinda sucks tho, right?) I'm encouraged to hear that Duac and Differin should clear up people who have oily skin, because oil is definitely something I dont lack.
 
I've been on Differin for... gosh at least 5 years? I love it. It took over 12 weeks to get results, I remeraber that. But once it kicked in I never get zits. Still have some blackheaRAB and milia, but it is the best topical I have ever been on. I've used both the gel and cream and I prefer the cream (very sensitive skin). My skin actually feels moisturized in the morning.
 
Hi Meruru,


I started using Differin and Duac over a month ago. Thinking that more is better,
I "dove" into the regimen, generously applying both Differin and Duac daily. That was
a big mistake. When the second week rolled around, my face EXPLODED with zits (the
worst it's ever been). I freaked out and vowed that I'd never touch Differin and Duac
ever again!

Five weeks later, I still have red marks from that horrendous breakout.

For the past two weeks, I've been back on the Clear and Smooth regimen, but again, C&S hasnt cleared my mild/moderate acne at all. So now, I'm looking to try something else.


It's interesting how you resurrected this thread of mine, because I was just over at another acne forum, and I read that, when using Differin, one should start slowly (e.g., apply it every other day instead of everyday), and expect an initial breakout.

So, here I am back to square one. I'm gonna risk it and get back on the Differin Duac
regimen again. This time around, however, I'll start slowly and be more patient.

Meruru, since both you and I've been on CS for the past few weeks (but havent had success with it) and now, that we're both on Differin and Duac, I was wondering if you like to keep a journal with me, to update our progress and provide moral support.

If you're interested, let me know how you'd like to set this up :)
 
I recently went to the Derm and he prescribed Duac twice a day and Differin gel at night... today's my second day using Duac and... well I don't know if my skin is just sensitive but there is some burning and discomfort. I feel like my face is RED and like.. on fire or something. Does DUAC work????! And how long does it take??
 
I just purchased Clear and Smooth bar soaps. I do not have any skin problems. After reading some of the quotes I have trepitations about using the product. Does anyone know where it is manufactured? I couldn't find any Federal Health and Safety stamp on the product. :
 
Well, I also visited the dermatologist today. I forgot the schedule for this thing you guys are talking about. Can you guys post it for me?
 
I used differin and the same happened to me. I couldn't handle the redness and burning so I stopped and I tried numerous products, even skin care from japan until I finally decided to try proactive. After the 3rd day my skin looked so great ( well you know what I mean, a whole lot better) everyone noticed. I learned after using it though you have to use it the whole system and the mask 2-3 x's a week to keep your skin looking great. Thanks to Proactive I rarely break out (when I eat lots of junk food) and it helped with some scarring but I wanted to totally heal my face so I am trying to take Clear Pores Herbal pills only with the Pro active. Did Clear and smooth have pills too? I am wondering if I should continue the pills if I start to break out, (like antibiotics) or just keep with the proactive and buy some lighting lotion to lighten the scars?
The doctors can't prescribe proactive to you. They are doctors they prescribe medicine. 3 years ago I went to 2 dermatologists. One said I had cystic acne and needed Accutane, the other said I didn't and gave me an antibotic. I broke out everywhere on my body with a rash and I was hot and feverish after 1 day on the antibiotic. I believe sometimes medicine isn't always the answer. I teach Yoga so I try to do most things natural and I save taking prescriptions only for emergency. So I am a little sceptic about these Clear Pores Herbal pills because it says 100% natural but then the other ingredients says " partially hydrogenated cotton seed oil" which has been known to cause skin problems. They claim to heal the skin, which most of us need after we control our acne there are spots and scars.
 
I've been on the Duac & Differin corabination for about 3-4 months now with very mild improvement. I have what I think is a unique type of acne in that most of the time I get large, explosive whiteheaRAB that sometimes even inflame the surrounding tissue turning it red. What a corabination. On top of the weak results from such expensive prescriptions, their corabination has led to really erabarrasing peeling just under my lips and around the corners of my mouth. I've decided to be done with Duac because it seems to be causing a burning effect and knowing how sensitive my skin is I'm surprised I didn't stop using it earlier.

As someone who's tried everything from Proactiv, to Murad Complex, to Nature's Cure (what the Hell was I thinking?) without substantial results, I'm really wondering what's left for me to use on my stubbornly persistent acne problem. I was hoping my visit to the derm and these scripts would be the end all, but after giving them ample time to work, what other options do I have left? I've researched a little on blue and red light therapy but it seems like it is going to be an expensive route, and as far as Accutane goes I don't think my condition is serious enough.
 
philfan, thanks for your encouragement. I will add retin-A to my list of "things to try" if Differin doesn't work out.

Week 7 update:
My skin has gotten a little worse this week :(. So when you compare the starting photo with how I look today, it looks pretty bad. I have a TON of blackheaRAB right now and I'm not sure if its from the Differin, or the lack of using a scrub (like Proactiv or Clear & Smooth). Feeling tempted to go back proactiv...but I've stayed on it for so long that I may as well try to the end of 12 weeks.

I think I need something with beaRAB to help get rid of the blackheaRAB. Can anybody recommend a scrub to use that won't have any negative interactions with Differin?
 
Oh no! I can see how that would make you quit. Its amazing how derms don't explain these things properly. I had to read the insert to find out it takes up to 12 weeks for results and that you are only supposed to apply a thin film.

Sure, I like the idea of posting our results and providing moral support :). That's just the thing I need b/c on that third week of using C&S I was sooo depressed! I'm not a teen anymore, and I'm kind of amazed at how frustrated I still get over this stuff. I think moral support is required for differin judging from what people are saying...so many people wanted to quit, but then the ones that stick to it all say how glad they are that they use Differin.

Maybe every week or so we can post results on this thread that sums up how the treatment is going? There is a post that says no journals on this forum, but if we post once a week i think it should be okay. And if the thread gets too long, we can start a new post.

Before I decided to fully try Differin cream, I gathered some info that you might find useful *if* your skin is getting too irritated from it:
- Wait 15 minutes after washing before applying differin
- Apply differin after moisturizer (i don't do this yet)
- Never scrub your skin when you wash
- After a week or two, the burning/irritation should go away as your skin adjusts to it.

FYI, this is my current regimen although its too early to tell if its working obviously ;):

In the morning I wash my face with Cetaphil since its supposed to be really gentle. Then I use oil of olay complete with spf 15 to moisturize and protect my skin from the sun b/c differin makes skin easy to burn. (I read in the insert that you should use a moisturizer *without* glycolic acid or alpha-hydroxy b/c those ingredients cancel out the effects of differin).

In the evening I wash my face with Cetaphil again, and then apply a thin layer of Differin. Then I use oil of olay again to moisturize.
 
Update 2:
I've been applying Differin one day and Duac the next for a
week now. Thus far, a week later I've seen no improvement.
In fact, I've developed a few more pimples here and there.

Earlier today, I checked the sides of my face
and what I saw disgusted me! Just last Xmas, I had clear skin. Six months
later, I'm hideous! Why the crap is this happening to me? And to think that
I might suffer an initial breakout with Differin for the next two months, I dont
know if I keep it all together if my complexion worsens for that long. I've been so down lately, and I dont see the light at the end of the tunnel. I feel so fragile like now. If anything else goes haywire in my life, it might be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

I visited the derm the other day, and he felt comfortable prescribing me Accutane, although I "only" have moderate and persistent acne.
But I opted out, as I fear the potentially severe side effects. My plan is to try Differin, Duac, and Doxycycline for the next two months, and if my face isn't clear by the beginning of August, I'm jumping on the Accuatane bandwagon.

I guess one reason for this rant is, hopefully, two months from now, I can look back with clear skin, and laugh this off.
 
Hi, I found this forum while searching reviews for Doryx.

I have always had a little acne here and there, but recently (past 4 months) it has been so bad. There has only been one week when I actually felt good about my face. A week ago, I went to the derm and they prescribed Differin, Duac, and Doryx pills. I began taking the Differin and Duac, both at night (shame on me). A few days later, the area around my cheek and jawline became dry and flaky. I am now taking a break from the gels so my face can rejuvenate. I am still taking 100mg of Doryx twice a day and that seems to be improving the acne somewhat. As soon as my face stops peeling (uck!) I will slowly begin using Differin again. I am nervous about the Duac though. Any suggestions?
 
its funny how we get a great review on CS and then everyone tries it and it makes them break out. i am using it right now and it is making me break out like no other product has ever done. but our faces are all different so thats why.
 
Back
Top