OTC topical retinoids are a great alternative to prescription retinoids (Retin A, Tazorac, Differin) for people with mild/moderate acne who find the prescription products too irritating to their skin.

Topical retinoids are very effective anti-acne AND anti-aging products. They transform your skin cells over time, speeding up the rate at which skin cells form and making them less "sticky". Retinoids also increase collagen production. Long-term retinoid use results in smoother, more even and glowing skin. Topical retinoids are not effective spot treatments, but are meant to be used all over your face, and on a regular basis.

A lot of people get started with retinoids but give up quickly -- usually because they have not been properly taught about how retinoids work, and what to expect in the early weeks.

Here are some key things to remember:

1) IRRITATION

Topical retinoids are irritating to the skin, even the OTC formulations, and you MUST ease into them gradually. Here is a general schedule that I suggest people follow when first starting out:

Week 1: once every 3 days
Week 2: once every 2 days
Week 3: 2 out of 3 days
Week 4: daily

Pay attention to your skin! Red, sore, "sunburned"-looking skin and excessive peeling are signs of irritation. If you experience either, STOP using the retinoid until your skin has gone back to normal. Then pick up the schedule where you left off.

2) INITIAL BREAKOUT

Retinoids work against acne by forcing the comedones that are clogging your pores to come to the surface. It takes about 3 months for your pores to clear, and during this time, you will probably see some breakouts. Blackheads may appear larger and more noticeable as they surface; small hard bumps may form; and if you are prone to inflammatory acne, you will probably get pimples. (A short course of antibiotics can help people with inflammatory acne get through this initial breakout, but I do not recommend taking antibiotics for more than 2-3 weeks.)

3) SKIN FRAGILITY

Retinoids make your epidermis thinner and more fragile (don't worry, though, because they actually thicken and strengthen the underlying dermis). DO NOT PICK AT YOUR SKIN! Trying to squeeze out a single blackhead can leave you with an ugly red mark for weeks. Be patient.

Be sure to use a very mild cleanser with no other active ingredients while you are getting accustomed to the retinoid, and cleanse your face with lukewarm water no more than twice a day. Once is probably better. Retinoids compromise your skin's barrier function, and excessive washing is going to result in dehydrated skin. You can reinforce your epidermal barrier and reduce dehydration by supplementing your diet with fish oil.

4) PEELING SKIN

Some peeling is normal. Not only are your skin cells regenerating very quickly, but they are not sticking together as cohesively, and you will see the surface layers peeling off. Gentle exfoliation can help get rid of the shedding layer of skin; you can use a soft facial brush or a silica microbead scrub each morning to prepare your skin for the day. BE GENTLE! You can do a lot of damage if you aren't.

5) SUN SENSITIVITY

Retinoids increase your skin's sensitivity to the sun. Wear sunscreen during daylight hours. If you are getting laser or light treatments, be sure to tell your consultant you are using topical retinoids; you may need to avoid product use for a week or so before a treatment.

6) PRODUCT APPLICATION

Most OTC retinoids need time to absorb into your skin and do their work. You should apply them to clean, dry skin and wait at least 30-45 minutes before applying moisturizer. Many retinoids degrade in sunlight, so it's best to use them at night.

7) USING RETINOIDS WITH ACIDS

Retinoids can work really, really well in tandem with AHAs or BHAs, but I don't recommend trying to introduce both at the same time. Your best bet is to start with the AHA or BHA product, and when your skin is fully accustomed to it (in other words, you can use it daily with no drying or irritation!), then start gradually introducing the retinoid. I would recommend using the AHA or BHA product in the AM and the retinoid at night.


SOME OTC RETINOIDS I LIKE .....

Green Cream (my personal favorite) is a retinol gel that comes in three concentrations: Levels 3, 6 and 9. Level 3 is quite mild, and is intended for people with highly sensitive skin. Most people with normal skin can start out with Level 6. Level 9 is quite strong and probably not the best one to start with. I didn't start using Level 9 until I could tolerate Level 6 twice a day. GC is pretty expensive, about $45 - $55 for a one ounce bottle (this will last a month or so, depending on how often you use it). I have bought from www.lindasy.com, www.dianayvonne.com, and www.amazon.com. More information and a message board are available on the product website, www.greencream.com.

Diacneal is made by Avene. It's retinaldehyde-based, which some people prefer to retinol, and contains 6% glycolic acid as well. More readily available in Europe and Canada than Green Cream is.

The Vivant Vitamin A products are also very highly regarded. Check them out at www.betterhealthyskin.com.

hie everyone. i am 26 years old, female, asian (pakistani-american), with fair/light skin and beige/yellow undertones.

i have had acne since i was a teenager...however it has calmed down a bit, but now, instead of the usual acne with a head, i have started to get several (2-6) cystic acne...the ones that are red, bumpy and hurt like hell if you touch them and they do not have a white head, which means you cant pop them. I am currently using the regular acnefree cleansing wash (white bottle) and cetaphil lotion. I am thinking about getting the kit, but i dont know which one..i am leaning towards the severe one, just because i have gotten cystic acne...several of them and it seems like those are the ones that are getting more of...i also get a few (1-3) of the regular, acne with the white head.

i have been putting on the Acnefree Terminator 10 Medicated Spot Treatment with 10% Benzol peroxide. It has worked on my regular acne, but not my cystic. usually, it will dry it out, and then a few days of regularly putting the medication on, it looks as if it is about to burst with puss and forms a white head...which i then pop and there is no more pain or reddness, but a scar seems to form...on my scars i put on neosporin cream ointment and concha de nacar #3...its AMAZING.

so, what you guys think? Severe??

Hi all,

Just wondering if anybody has used there products? After reading a few articles on here about Mandelic acid, I have found this company who seem to be the only sole UK seller of the stuff.

I have ordered the Mandelic/Glycolic face wash to use in place of my normal cleanser. I am using Azelaic Acid as my topical treatment... after extensive research on the web, using Mandelic acid, alongside Azelaic acid really speeds up the process... there have been some tests carried out by docs in the Philippines which gave very favourable results.

So, anybody got any experience?

THanks

Masp

link or file whichever works its the same thing

(check out vitamin D part)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P...0364%2D0024.pdf

vivants xpf 15 is suppose to be non-comedengenic but look at these ingredients octyl palmitate is a 4. capric trig is a 2 and cetal alcohol is a 2 and ceteraly alcohol is a 2. all in high concentrations which to be is would appear to clog pores. what do yall think.



Water.Propylene Glycol,Ethyhexyl Palmiate,Caprylic/capric Triglyceride,Cetl Alcohol,Glyceryl Sterarate,Peg-100 Stearte,Ceteraly Alcohol, Dimethicone,Aloe Leaf Juice, Zinc Ferment,Carbomer,Polysorbate 20, Sodium Hydroxide, Titanium Dioxide,Disodium Edta,Urea, Parabens.

Check it out at www.drdermal.com.

It's an all-natural treatment system that doesn't have a whole lot of notoriety here in the US. I heard about it through Taylor Thompson, the owner of AcneTeen.org, who posted a review of it on his YouTube channel. He's said numerous times that it's his favorite product on the market, partly because it apparently doesn't cause any side effects.

I'm receiving my trial package tomorrow. Has anyone on these boards tried it yet?

I know it's not exactly OTC as I had to get it online, but anyway.......
Quite excited ( I don't get out much, clearly! ) as my ClearPores arrived today! So I'll start tonight and let you know how I go.

I'm impressed you get the herbal pills with the lotions too. I did a search on all the herbs listed in the ingredients, and they are indeed recommended for skin probs. So although it's not an entirely natural regime, it's got a bit of nature in it!

Until my skin got really bad ( to the extent that I had to actually ring in sick from work with a BS excuse, cos who's gonna be sympathetic if I told the truth?! ) I went along with the whole " You shouldn't put anything on your face that you wouldn't eat" school of thought. It did feck all! So I unsubscribe from that opinion and now it's more " I'll do whatever the hell it takes to get my quality of life back! " tbh.

So watch this space. Is anyone else currently on this regime, by any chance? It's my birthday in 4 wks. I'll be 34yrs!!! That's my incentive. I seriously DO NOT wanna be edging into the mid-thirties bracket with acne AND the ever-encroaching wrinkles!!

I need a good exfoliant, right now I am using the apricot scrub, the one for exfoliation. I know this scrub is terrible but it does get the dead skin off pretty well. Anyway, I have a crapload of black heads and as much as I try to get them all they just seem to keep coming back, so I need something that will help them. Anyone have any suggestions? I really don't want to pay over $30 or even over $15 for that matter, or else I would have bought Dermalogica Gentle Cream Exfoliant. So I really need reviews for products that you may like and may work for you. I'm looking for anything, a scrub, or a chemical, doesn't matter.

I am on minocycline and Tazorac. My acne is basically gone; just a bunch of red spots/marks let. I also use a salicylic acid cleanser in the morning and night.

I was wondering if I should change to something that says "redness soothing" or something like that? However, all of these cleansers don't have salicylic acid. Does it really matter if that is in there or not? Would it have any effect with my regime? I found one that does have salicylic acid (the Neutrogena redness soothing oil free acne wash) but it's comedogenic!

How can people buy comedogenic products when it actually makes acne worse!? I don't get it. Thanks! What cleanser to use?

Pronexin, Anyone heard of it or tried it?


It's ranked #1 on acnetreatmentsreview.net

also wondering if that site is legit, the other product reviews are pretty spot on.

I'll try and make this a quick story so as not to bore some of you. I'm just very very happy with my simple daily regimen and wanted to share it with anyone who would listen in the hopes that it could help even just one other person out there. Just a little background, I'm 32, asian, cursed with the acne genes from both sides of my parent's families, and took one too many laps in a giant pool of oil.

I've had acne for as long as I can remember. At first they were the small little white bumps that you get here and there, then they multiplied like crazy that my brother used to jokingly call me the walking pimple with a face. After attacking my face with every possible "proven" acne medication, my face and my neck had finally had it. My acne was so bad I had to photoshop my pictures before sharing them with other people because it was so gross and very embarrassing. I tried everything from changing my diet, my sleeping habits, drinking gallons of water until I drown, facial scrubs, medicated face wash, proactive, peeling mask, 10% benzoyl peroxide, fish oil, xanga juice (don't ask), toothpaste, birth control pills, and - late last year when I stumbled on this site - I contemplated on doing the urine thing eechk! You name it, I did it (except Accutane. My dermatologist wouldn't hear me out on it).

Sometime in february of this year, I started to wonder, after putting my skin through hell trying to get rid of the acne, how on earth is it able to regenerate new skin cells? Well, I guess you could say I had an epiphany. The next day I went and bought Olay Regenerist Night recovery moisturizing treatment. The next morning after my first application, my skin felt smooth and plump (like i just had a facelift). I was sold. I'm going to spare you all the details and just tell you what my daily ritual comprise of. Evening: 1) I use oil of olay regenerist daily regenerating cleanser (try not to scrub too hard), 2) I follow it with Daniel Kern's 2.5% BP (or equivalent substitute), 3) Last but not least, I apply a thin layer of regenerist night recovery moisturizing treatment. Morning: 1) Regenerist cleanser again, 2) followed by Daniel Kern's 2.5% BP, 3)lastly, regenerist deep hydration regenerating cream. I did this for three weeks straight and the results were phenomenal. Not only did my acne cleared up, it prevented further breakouts AND lighten some of my acne scars. I am absolutely ecstatic. I just joined today and I'm typing this at work, but I will definitely post a before and after photo as soon as I get a chance. I know my regimen will not work for everybody, but I sincerely hope it does for some of you. There is hope.

**Update: 31 Dec 08**
Uploaded my before and after pic. I don't wear make-up so what you see is what you see

hey guys , can you buy BP 2.5% in any pharmacy and if so what brand's are the best and how much do they cost?( in euro)

also what cleansers are the best for acne prone skin , i know they don't get rid of acne but just something to keep my face oil free , get rid of dead skin cells and PH balanced.

thank you.

anyone used this and has it worked?? it seems to be working okay for me..
the only thing i can say is that annoyingly nothing in the cleanser/toner/treatment is antibacterial, so alothough its packed with SA, you still wake up with whiteheads! gr nightmare!

Hi,

I'm doing a report on skin care companies for my school and would like to ask the
acne.org community for their help.

I want a huge list of INTERNATIONAL skin care companies.
Examples:

ProActiv Solution
Nivea
Estee Lauder
Avon
Neoderma
Dermalogica


=D

Thanks in advance

Did anyone else see the Max Clarity Foam commercial on your tv?
It says unlike many other acne treating gels and lotions, the foam penetrates in the skin instead of just sitting on top and irritating your healthy skin.
So this foam is suppose to work better because the skin, I guess soaks the foam up unlike the gels and lotions. I don't know if it's legit, but the treatment consists of two different types of foam.
One bp and the other salicylic acid. Has anyone tried it?

I'm just wondering if it really works, but it's most likely the same way as murad and proactiv. They have ads on tv that look really good, but the product sucks.

Does anybody have any experience with this treatment. It looks really legit but i dont know if i can bring myself to trust only a scrub once a day. Id reallyyy appreciate any experience with this product, or even if you have just heard something?? Thanks in advance guys! Your input will really help me decide what im going to do

Hey,
So I've tried many things in my 24 years. Many. Including ProActiv. To be honest I found this stuff called AcneFree which is like ProActiv except it's half the price and has time released BP in the third step. They carry it at Target. My skin was mostly clear for years except it was horribly uneven and I'd have to wear foundation. Two weeks ago my roomie told me to switch to something with Sulphur or Tea Tree Oil. It ends up they work better than BP but are more expensive to manufacture so less companies use it. I actually found out AcneFree had just come out with one called Redness Relief and decided to try it. Let me tell you- WOW. I still put on concealer on my chin where past marks or hormonal breakouts occur but otherwise my skin has completely evened out. Also, my oil on my forehead and nose is no longer a problem. I've only been using it two weeks and I'm very happy..... except I need to find a way to get rid of past marks! My friend has told me to try something with AHA's or BHA's but I'm a little worried about screwing up my current skin balance that seems to be happening. My routine is below. Let me know if you have ideas.

Morning:
AcneFree Redness Relief routine with only step 3 on problem spots
Meaningful Beauty moisturizer and eye cream

Evening:
AcneFree Redness Relief routine with only step 3 on problem spots
Meaningful Beauty Night Fluide and eye cream

[attachment=21296:karin_29_smaller.jpg]

i heard that Proactiv has changed thier formula (im not sure how recently, it may hev been months ago) from thier old formula and no longer burns as bad as it used to and it is more gentle. anyone else heard this? im thinking of ordering. a friend told me she has been using it for a couple months and her skin looks amazing!

Hi All,

I am trying to follow the advice of a fellow poster regarding the following:

"New routine is as follows:

Morning/Night
Wash with Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser
Apply differin .3
Apply Cetaphil Moisturizer"

I live in China and there is only one place to get the Cetaphil products. Its all written in french though and the Chinese can't translate it. Can anyone please help me confirm the equivalents of these products? I looked online but not getting anywhere. Any help would be great.

Cetaphil: Feuchtigkeitslotion; Hydraterende Lotion (Hohe Hautvertraglichkeit Goed Verdraagbaar) -Is this the Gentle Skin Cleanser?

Cetaphile 2: Lotion Nettoyante (Haute Tolerance)- is this the moisturizer?

Thank you so much guys!

PoorDan

How can you tell if its just the normal dryness associated with BP (I'm using 2.5 once a day) OR if I am just too sensitive to use it? I'm getting rashy and my skin feels so tight and its peeling and red, especially on my chin. I've been using it for like a a little less than two weeks.

When I was watching TV (more like a news source), they featured an old woman with the smoothest complexion I've ever seen. It was all thanks to some oxygen facial therapy she was doing on a regular basis, and the her derm was telling the newscast that pure oxygen in minimal amounts is healthy for the skin (too much oxygen means too much hydrogen peroxide, which is toxic). Unfortunately, this type of facial treatment is COSTLY! But the woman was like above 60 and her skin looked so clear, wrinkle-free, and glowing rosy.

So then when I was at ULTA, I came across Neaclear products (lo and behold, they happened to contain oxygen!), and I was skeptic to purchase them without doing research. So I researched as much as I could find, and it seems as if not many people have tried their products because this company is relatively new! The sites that I usually go to for skin product reviews feature the product with no reviews whatsoever. Acne.org doesn't even have neaclear products in the database. I've only come across four sites total that have user reviews, and all these reviews are positive.

Today, I purchased Neaclear Liquid Oxygen Acne Wash (with Salicylic Acid) and Neaclear Liquid Oxygen Acne Scar Remedy. In total, it cost me about $23 at ULTA. I am planning to use them in small amounts, because I don't want to get a hydrogen peroxide overdose or anything.

Has anyone here tried them/is trying them at the moment?

Looking to find a gentle organic face cleanser. In a non bar form....Anyone ever heard of this ? and what's your opinion on the ingredients ?

And any suggestions on a organic cleanser...Sulfate free,and removes makeup well.

http://www.beeceuticals.com/product_info.p...1d5f35d355a5c43

AM and PM is the same...

Wash for 1-2 min with Proactiv cleanser
Pat dry
Apply Proactiv toner
Wait for it to dry
Apply Proactiv 2.5% BP (about 2-3 peas size)
Wait for 5-10 minutes
Gently massage in a small amount of virgin coconut oil

=)

anyone tried the M2 range?

they made mama lotion also.

be good to hear some reviews on it

My dad just came back from an agricultural show and brought me back some Propolis and Honey cream which has a very informative leaflet with it that says it can help acne as it has antibacterial, antibiotics and antifungal effects. Has anyone has any experiences with Propolis which i think is the same as Royal Jelly and is made by bees? I currently have some red, unsightly scabs left over after squeezing went wrong and not sure to put this on or not.
thankyou

G'day everyone just reporting what treatment i have had success with, i have tried quite a few treatments ranging from ACV, johoba, coconut oil, callandula, tea tree, coloidel silver and other ones while my face looked better with this stuff it still wasnt good enough, any way i come to useing neutrogena original glycerin bar to wash my face with, and aplying "finacea" (over the counter at chemist) after shower and ANNA'S Wild Yam Cream to my body at the same time all once a day, now i dont know if it is one of theses things that is doing it or the combination because i started useing them all at the same time. hope this has helped I'm not totally clear but its a vast improvement and i dont really worry about it any more, the other thing i will say is from what i've gathered stress has something to do with it.

hope this helps

Cheers

Well is it worth buying? Or will it make it worse?

So I'm about to start using green cream but don't know what face wash to use with it. Is it okay to use a wash with salicylic acid in it like Neutrogena or should I just use something like Cetaphil? I don't want to be too harsh on my skin since it's a retinol. Anyone else using this, what wash do you use?

PEOPLE YOU NEED TO READ THIS.

ASAP

http://www.highonhealth.org/do-not-use-ben...reat-your-acne/