Adapalene (Differin) Reviews

Before I was prescribed Differin Gel, I had sort of mild acne. After I started applying the Differin Gel to my face I broke out very badly; but, I was told to expect that as it was an initial reaction that would subside within a few weeks to a month. I used the Differin Gel for two straight years, hoping that the "initial" flare up would subside soon, but it had only gotten better by a little. And in fact, my face was worse than before I had even started using Differin in the first place, mostly due to the red marks that I had recieved from all of the breakouts. I noticed that while on the Differin Gel, I would break out with tiny see-through-like bumps on my nose area that I had never had before, and had a constant pink/redish sunburn look to my skin.

Differin does not work very well for me - I've been using the cream for about a year now, and while I have seen some improvement in my pimples, it's made my face red, almost as though I have a constant mild sunburn. I have followed the directions exactly, and have not overused, so I'm guessing this is a problem with the product. I wish everyone using Differin better luck than I am having.

The Differin cream and gel were both extremely frustrating at first. The gel, which I used intially, dried out my skin and increased the amount of acne. This caused me to avoid the religous usage and dosage required to allow Differin to work. Recently my skin is leaps and bounds above where it was previously but I still have the occasional breakout. Usually before a date or picture.

I am 33 and experiencing acne for the first time in my life; I have always had the occasional pimple or two, but my face has become utterly blanketed with tiny hard bumps. These "pimples" are not generally inflamed (red or painful), but my skin feels like it is infested--it also feels like there might be some strange message written in braille... I am using adapalene in conjunction with clindamycin. After one month of religious use (and an initial period of irritated and dry skin), my acne totally cleared up. However, I woke up one morning to have it all back. Recently, I have decided to wash my face very very gently (I use a non-soap cream cleanser without a washcloth or any other abrasive material) morning and night and to use adapalene in the evenings and to use the clindamycin only in the mornings. I also use a moisturizing sunscreen every morning. After two weeks of the gentler approach, I've started seeing a reduction in my bumps and have some hope. I don't think adapalene is a wonder-drug by any means, but I think it can help. The key seems to be relaxing a little bit and avoiding the harsh cleansing measures that seem like a good idea when all you want to do is scrape your skin off in hopes that a totally fresh and clear layer will appear. I wish everyone the best in the quest for clear skin...

differin works alright. i use it in combination with clindamycin lotion (it reduces the redness caused by differin) and doxyclyclin (pill). i guess differin works but it leaves my skin red and slightly flaky. i have had acne for years and so far differin has made it less active than before, but i still get breakouts. (by the way i am 16). by i did find out that pimples can be caused by shock to the skin. such as using extremely warm or cold water. (just a little piece of info). but i am a teenager so i guess pimples arent uncommon. i just use a cover up. (non oil based). good luck, i know it sucks to have oily skin.

I suffered from teenage acne (16/17) and experienced excellent results with roaccutane. At 28 my acne returned (around chin area, few scattered spots on rest of face). Tried Differin gel for approx 18 months - used pea sized blob every night all over face. Used mild cleanser in the mornings. Blackheads reduced after a month or two and generally less inflamed blemishes. Skin a bit dry and flakey - corrected with oil-free moisturiser. Average product - good at keeping blackheads and spots reduced, but hasnt given me clear skin. Looking for new product as skin quite oily and still have spots coming up. Average product. Works 'OK' - better than over-the-counter cleansers etc.

the derm. gave the gel to me about 2 years ago. im a teenager and i have bad acne on my back and face. the differen gel at first just dried up my face and made it break out more..so i just put it away and stopped using it. the derm. told me to too keep using it and it will eventually work. i started up again and my face broke out really bad and was really dry, the breakouts settled down in about 6weeks. but it still looked bad. finally it got better 2 weeks later and then it broke out again. my acne just seemed to keep coming and going. so now i gave up on it and i told my derm. i want something new. if i were you..dont waste your money and try something that works better...you dont want to go through what I went through. but thats just my opinion

At 26 yrs. old I have never suffered with acne, not even as a teen, but coming off my birth control for one month certainly took care of that. Imagine how distressing this is for someone as vain as I am (just kidding, but I do take a lot of pride in my appearance, and this is shooting my self esteem to hell). I have been on Differin Cream for about two weeks now and have actually noticed an increase in my breakouts. I'm hoping this is the "must get worse before it gets better" stage that everyone keeps talking about. It makes my face somewhat dry and causes it to peel, which I guess helps eliminate some of the surface scarring and marks, but it means I have to moisturize every morning, which causes my skin to become oily later on in the day. No irritability and redness though, which I guess is good. In terms of affordability, my doc gave me free samples to use so I didn't have to pay a cent and I guess I wouldn't have lost anything if it proves not to work. However, I'm becoming slightly discouraged and am counting on my birth control to provide me with some form of relief if this cream does nothing. But I'll probably stick with it for the next couple of months in the hope that it will start working eventually. I must say, though, that reading the reviews on this website has been very depressing :)

I'm 28 and have had recurring acne all my life, but more recently I've become concerned with fine lines. My dermatologist prescribed differin (in CREAM formula) to rectify both the acne and fine lines. I had to wait out the initial two week TORTURE, where all the acne that you would have had for the next month or so comes to the surface all at once. But now it's been 3 weeks and my skin looks amazing! It is definitely flakier than before and I'm going to have to go out and buy moisturizer (a little nervous that this will cause me to break out again). But all in all, my skin looks 100 times better than before.

I have been using differin gel for 1 month. It does not work! My acne got worse then before and when I contacted my dermatologist all she kept saying was "give it a chance". She went as far as arguing with me about wanting to change my perscription. I had taken accutane 4 years ago and it worked 200% it was great!!!! I asked to be put back on and she totally disagreed what doctor does that? Well, I just wanted to share my story with those that have been convinced that they should try this very, very expensive cream. Please get a second opinion before trying "Differin" for your acne.