prescription retinoid, BHA/AHA question
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free skin care · Thu May 10, 2007 11:50 am

I have been using tazorac for over 2 years, and do short contact therapy. It keeps my pores fairly clear but doesn't work great for my minor acne (I have the weird kind where the rest of my skin will look great and then I'll have one or two nasty zits out of nowhere...otherwise my pores aren't really congested).
I've started using JM bioclear during the day, which has been helping a lot. No real irritation. My question is, could I start using it at night as well, since I'm technically not wearing the tazorac at night (I wash the tazorac off after 5 minutes). Will my face implode? Will they inactivate each other? I don't plan on doing it long term, because my skin tends to go in cycles (this latest attack was triggered by my attempt to dabble in jojoba-containing products) and generally once it clears it stays that way with mild prevention.

free skin care · Thu May 10, 2007 12:14 pm

waffle -- are you saying that you would apply taz, wash off, then apply bioclear?

marla

ETA -- a couple of years ago I would use bioclear, then my tazorac. I've never had such CLEAR skin in my entire life BUT I've also never had such SUN SENSITIVE skin my entire life too!!!

so -- yes, you can use both but proceed with caution! Wink

free skin care · Thu May 10, 2007 12:28 pm

marla wrote:

waffle -- are you saying that you would apply taz, wash off, then apply bioclear?

marla

ETA -- a couple of years ago I would use bioclear, then my tazorac. I've never had such CLEAR skin in my entire life BUT I've also never had such SUN SENSITIVE skin my entire life too!!!

so -- yes, you can use both but proceed with caution! Wink

thanks marla! that's exactly what I was thinking of doing, washing off the taz and then putting on bioclear. definitely will take note about the sun though!! although I try to be careful already because of the taz (and I get freckles like an irish stereotype)

free skin care · Thu May 10, 2007 12:35 pm

waffle -- have you tried just alternating nights with the Bioclear and Taz? That might give you the benefits of both without the sensitivity issues...

free skin care · Thu May 10, 2007 12:39 pm

marla wrote:

waffle -- have you tried just alternating nights with the Bioclear and Taz? That might give you the benefits of both without the sensitivity issues...

well I'm not having sensitivity issues now using JM in the am (it rhymes!) and taz in the pm, so I don't think I need to do it even less. The ladies on the MUA board have suggested that I need to up my time with the tazorac first to see if that works, so I might try that instead. I've been doing short contact therapy for years so maybe it's time to leave it on for longer.

free skin care · Thu May 10, 2007 1:11 pm

Let me know what happens with increasing the STC. I never did STC but maybe I should. How long do you leave yours on now?

A couple of years ago I got a sunburn while using both Bioclear/Taz (even with wearing a very good SPF product). AFter that, I downgraded to ISC Active and various OTC Vitamin A products. I really do like Avene's Ystheal and Eluage, but they don't even come close to the performance the Taz, IMO.

free skin care · Thu May 10, 2007 2:00 pm

I am not sure exactly about your question, but let me pose this to you. I am on Tazorac also and have been for almost a year. The purpose of the taz, is not to clear your pimples or your pores. The product is to sluff off the dead skin so your pores don't become congested or clogged, thus causing breakouts. The taz is made to apply at night and leave on. If you wash it off, it really can not do it's job (that is my understanding after lots of research). It must penatrate deep down and break the "glue" that holds those dead skin cells together and don't allow your pores to get clean. I have tried bio-clear and I could not find anything great to say about the product, but maybe alternating or as others mentioned apply the bioclear and then the taz. I am still a big believer that less is more. I think applying lots of products can either counteract each other (and how would you know) and/or cause your skin to stress out due to all the different items you are applying. I keep my skin routine somewhat simple.
AM:
Wash skin w/ Acne Free cleanser (new experiment for about two months now, so far I am liking it)
Apply Toner -clearasil (I just can not skip this step, I love my toner)
Apply benzeclin (this is an RX that actually kills the bacteria on the skin

PM: Wash skin w/ Acne Free Skin Cleanser (twice a week, I apply baking soda in the cleanser to get a scrub)
Toner
Tazorac

(I just tried a l'oreal intense face peel product with the cleaner, peel and then the mosturizer. I read great reviews so I thought I would give it a try. I have a few spots that are clogged and I never can seem to extract)

**sorry for the long post. Razz

free skin care · Thu May 10, 2007 2:10 pm

bergquis wrote:

I am not sure exactly about your question, but let me pose this to you. I am on Tazorac also and have been for almost a year. The purpose of the taz, is not to clear your pimples or your pores. The product is to sluff off the dead skin so your pores don't become congested or clogged, thus causing breakouts. The taz is made to apply at night and leave on. If you wash it off, it really can not do it's job (that is my understanding after lots of research). It must penatrate deep down and break the "glue" that holds those dead skin cells together and don't allow your pores to get clean. I have tried bio-clear and I could not find anything great to say about the product, but maybe alternating or as others mentioned apply the bioclear and then the taz. I am still a big believer that less is more. I think applying lots of products can either counteract each other (and how would you know) and/or cause your skin to stress out due to all the different items you are applying. I keep my skin routine somewhat simple.
AM:
Wash skin w/ Acne Free cleanser (new experiment for about two months now, so far I am liking it)
Apply Toner -clearasil (I just can not skip this step, I love my toner)
Apply benzeclin (this is an RX that actually kills the bacteria on the skin

PM: Wash skin w/ Acne Free Skin Cleanser (twice a week, I apply baking soda in the cleanser to get a scrub)
Toner
Tazorac

(I just tried a l'oreal intense face peel product with the cleaner, peel and then the mosturizer. I read great reviews so I thought I would give it a try. I have a few spots that are clogged and I never can seem to extract)

**sorry for the long post. Razz

yeah, there's a lot of controversy about short contact therapy because there haven't been many studies, but many of them suggest that leaving taz on for 5-10 minutes is equally as effective as leaving it on overnight. since it's not conclusive, I'm going to give it a try for longer.
I also think that using too much can't be good, but at the same time, it doesn't seem to be irritating my skin, so who knows. I definitely couldn't follow your regimen though, BP is a no-no for my skin -- my skin is actually sort of dry.

free skin care · Thu May 10, 2007 2:14 pm

bergquis wrote:

I am not sure exactly about your question, but let me pose this to you. I am on Tazorac also and have been for almost a year. The purpose of the taz, is not to clear your pimples or your pores. The product is to sluff off the dead skin so your pores don't become congested or clogged, thus causing breakouts. The taz is made to apply at night and leave on. If you wash it off, it really can not do it's job (that is my understanding after lots of research). It must penatrate deep down and break the "glue" that holds those dead skin cells together and don't allow your pores to get clean. I have tried bio-clear and I could not find anything great to say about the product, but maybe alternating or as others mentioned apply the bioclear and then the taz. I am still a big believer that less is more. I think applying lots of products can either counteract each other (and how would you know) and/or cause your skin to stress out due to all the different items you are applying. I keep my skin routine somewhat simple. Razz

Hi berquis,

Prior to using Tazorac, I used Retin A for many years. During that time, my dermatologist was emphatic about using the Retin A on clean skin and only using moisturizer over it if it was absolutely necessary. In other words, keep it simple!

When he prescribed the Tazorac, his instructions were VERY different. He's the one who introduced me to Short Term Contact application (washing it off after leaving it on for a few minutes). He feels that Taz, while the same "strength" as Retin A, has a stronger "bite" and patients get just as good of a result with STC while avoiding the potential irritation.

I obviously didn't do STC (I opted instead to use a lower dose Taz and slowly working my way into everynight application).

The AHA/BHA of Bioclear does help with surface/pore exfoliation so that the Taz can penetrate better.

free skin care · Thu May 10, 2007 2:20 pm

cool, thanks for the thoughts. I think like everything, whatever is working I always say stick to it. I am always in search of my HG of skin care, Hair care, body care, and Man care! (he he he) Laughing

free skin care · Thu May 10, 2007 2:28 pm

It's a sickness, huh?
It's funny (well, not too funny Wink

) -- after spending the past two YEARS spending God knows how much money trying new products, I'm landing back with Jan Marini and (possibly) Tazorac...exactly what I started out with Brick wall

Marla

free skin care · Thu May 10, 2007 2:34 pm

Oh dear. Yes frustrating, but I still feel like I learn so many new ideas and techiques that don't cost a dime. Yes, spending lots of money too, but keeping it simple is making my life (strike that comment) my pocketbook better.

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