Treatments -La Roche Posay - Effaclar K
rainey_daze 7/17/2009 12:45:00 AM
I cannot live without this product. I don't know how it works, I don't know why it works, but it does. I've never had full-blown acne and up until about 2-3 years ago my skin was always relatively clear with the occasional zit. But somewhere the tides turned and those occasional zits turned into 1-2 giant ones that took weeks to go away and left red spots on my pasty skin, only to have another 2 emerge immediately afterwards in new places, and this cycle went on and on without an end in sight. I actually fled to Canada to buy Effaclar K [this was before LRP was in the US], tried to use it as a spot-treatment on existing pimples - what I thought it was good for - and grew pretty discouraged when it did absolutely nothing to shrink/eliminate them so I didn't touch it again for a few months. During that time my skin continued its downward spiral and something made me pick this up again to try as an all-over treatment, applying a light layer to my face after cleansing but before moisturizing every single day, once in a while twice a day. I would say within 3 weeks I began to notice pimples WERE clearing up a little faster but it was by no means a miracle product that got rid of them overnight. However, with continued use it has been a godsend. In the months following my breakouts decreased dramatically - fewer ones were popping up and the ones that did weren't sticking around as long and weren't leaving red marks. Fast forward to today and I can honestly say I get maybe one small breakout every 3 months, if even that, that immediately comes to a head with very little redness and disappears within 3 days. My complexion looks brighter, clearer and more even. Oh and I have SD so almost everything irritates the piss out of my skin, including many other LRP products, but this was not one of them! It may seem expensive at $20 for 1 oz. but I use less than a pea-sized amount daily and it lasts me about 5 months. I also cut open the tube when it's down it's last leg and am able to scrape out another few days worth. The ONLY thing I don't like is the the metal tube - I have repurchased a few tubes now and almost every single one, when there's about 1/4 or less left, has gotten little puncture holes in the metal from when I squeeze it [and I have a light hand!] and there's sometimes minor leakage.
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Shampoo -Unlisted Brand - Naked Naturals Shea Butter and Avocado Smoothing 
rainey_daze 7/16/2009 11:55:00 PM
I really wanted to love this but it does not want to love me. I have SD and despite going months without a flare-up, every single time I've tried to use this shampoo my dermatitis rears its head and I've got that wretched flaky oily scabbing action going on complete with an itchy scalp. Sexy, I know. I was looking for a gentler natural 'everyday' shampoo so I wouldn't have to use the harsher ones I really only need for flare-ups all the time but clearly this isn't it.
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Other -Unlisted Brand - Biotene Toothpaste
rainey_daze 4/11/2008 1:41:00 PM
Seemingly out of nowhere, last year I began getting huge breakouts around my mouth area. When one would finally go away, two more would take its place. They were so big and noticeable people thought I had herpes! At first I read whitening toothpastes can cause the problem so I stuck to regular toothpaste but the problem subsided slightly, only to come right back as bad as before. Some reading on MUA and Google made me see the culprit was more likely the sulfates that are in most toothpastes on the market. I had never heard of Biotene before but because it's sulfate-free I figured I had nothing to lose at this point. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find it but it's in every major [and even a few not so major] drugstore and supermarket chain I shop at - I just never even noticed it! I've been using it for over six months now and the breakouts have COMPLETELY stopped. Not only did the existing breakouts clear up, but new ones stopped forming and the area around my mouth has been clear since I switched to Biotene. This is HG for me and I will continue to repurchase again and again!
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Scrubs -Neutrogena - Oil-Free Acne Wash Daily Scrub
rainey_daze 7/3/2007 10:10:00 PM
I got a sample of this and absolutely loved how soft and cool my skin felt when I used it that I rushed out and bought a full size tube. Of course my skin waits until after I spend six bucks to decide it doesn't like it so much anymore - since the first day I bought that tube and started using it I've had more breakouts and whiteheads now than I have in years. On my forehead, nose, around the mouth, everywhere popping up OVERNIGHT. I lessened my usage of the scrub to once a week hoping it was just purging and I'd look radiant in due time but now my skin has gotten red, irritated and flaky - out it goes while I try to clean up the mess it made of my face.
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