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 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 blackhead can leave you with a 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 surface peeling. Gentle exfoliation can help get rid of the shedding layer of skin; you can use a soft facial brush or a silica microbead scrub. 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 them 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.

Can you still get this at CVS/Walgreens because I havn't been able to find it??

Hey!! I am trying to find someone here who has tried this before I buy....
Found it on the internet yesterday while searching for something different to try on my face....have just about given up...

This is an oil...called Complexion Perfection. Its got essential oils in it. I contacted the person who makes it... and they are offerring to GIVE me a years supply if I send them "before and after" pics... for their website.. Hmmmmmm.....

I am supposing this offer would apply to anyone who did the same thing... Seems to be pretty confident that it will work...

Supposedly all natural... no chemical ingredients...
Anyway... I'm just interested to know if anyone here has tried this... and if so... can you tell me if it worked? I found it on a website called healinghandsapothecary.com

thanks for any / all info!
Chardonnay

I am going to be switching my birth control, before I incorrectly stated I am on ortho-evra, I am actually taking ortho-novum, which really no one ever knows about. ANyway Friday I am going to try and get on a new pill and I don't know whether I should ask for yasmin or diane. What do u guys think I know it's different for everyone, but does one seem to have a better success rate than the other? Thanks for your input, I wish my acne would just disappear over night, after all it did just show up over night. Thanks again!!!

ok i have sum dark spots left by acne and im guessing one is pretty deep cuz its been there for like 6 months and seen no improvement.... anybody know any great products that will help reduce the appearance????

So I have heard great things about Cetaphil daily cleanser, so I bought some, I am on my 3rd day and I see no improvement, and I am using it when I wake up and at night. When will I see improvement?

Btw the texture sucks, it reminds me of baby shampoo, and it smells like it too.

I have very oily skin especially my nose. This cleanser claims to reduce sebum production which I would like? Has anyone tried this cleanser and how is it?

I have been using benzoyl peroxide for 2 years now and I was thinking of switching to mandelic acid in hope of getting better results. Your response will be greatly appreciated.

So who uses it? What are results and side effects?

I bought some samples on like of the .3 because I know my face can be very sensitive. I apply it at night and right now it seems to be working but I know to wait longer because sometimes my face places games. Today I notice it was a little red but that may have been from the cold. It has been causing me to peel a little bit so that's why I use it at night.

So far I like it. I also ordered some samples of the .6 to use when I'm done with the .3.


Personal update: I have stopped using green cream. It made my skin smoother and healthier looking but it did not seem to help with my acne. I would still recommend that you try it because it might work.

I have switched over to Diacneal which really seems to be working. I broke out at first but now things seem to have cleared up and my skin is a lot smoother and more even. Right now I have no active pimples, just healing spots and some comedal acne.

My face used to break out pretty bad a few years ago. I was left with red marks and scars, which I still have but they are not too bad. Recently though, my face started to break out again. I was up in the air as to which kit I wanted to buy. I used Proactiv years ago without much help, but this time it actually has helped with my breakouts.

Why does everyone hate Proactiv on these boards anyways?

Does anyone else use it?

Okay so i was thinking about switching to all natural stuff for my face. I was thinking about getting a natural face wash with herbs in it, and then applying witch hazel, and then maybe Aloe Vera. Has anyone used these products? Do you guys prefer natural products over products that contain BP or sylcic acid or however you spell it. I want to know your experience with Natural products and if they work better or worse?

and replys would be great!

I have super dry skin yet it gets oily fast. Any suggestions?

I have oily skin and can't seem to find a moisturizer that doesn't leave me shiney.

What do you guys/gals use?


I have darker asian skin...




thanks.

I never was going to try pro active but I know people who swear by it and told me that it was amazing so I decided why not and give it a try. It has made my skin so much worse and now i have way more red marks left over then ever before. Im so frustrated. I never heard such bad things about proactive until I came on to this site and now I see why. Im so angry and tired of using different products. I guess the last thing is to try dan's products but Im just so negative right now that im sure it wont help me at all.

running out of hope.

So I've suffered from moderately bad acne for the past 3 years or so. After going through many OTC flops, I finally saw a Dermatologist this year, and with a combo of oral antibiotics and Retin-A, my breakouts are getting less frequent, and this summer I'm going to work on laser therapy to reduce the scars.

In the meantime though, I still have the occasional pimple and some dark scarring on my cheeks. One thing that's absolutely gotten me through the past few years has been the Clean and Clear Concealing Stick. I'm fair skinned, and it has a lighter tint than Neurtogena's concealing stick (the only other one I know of).

But now it's discontiuned - can't even find it online anymore, and I'm in BIG trouble. I RELY on the C&C concealer to make my deep scars look less visible, from dark red to pink. I'm a guy, so makeup is out of the question. This is the closest I can get to makeup, and while friends have confided in me that the concealer IS visible, I think people will accept it on me if I don't go overboard because of my acne, and it doesn't look as "gay" (please, I mean no offense)than if I wear foundation or something.

I know everyone will still treat me the same (to my face) if I go outside without it but it's kind of a crutch. I don't have great self-esteem as it is so until my scars fade with the laser I need a comparable concealer.

So...

1) Does anyone know any ACNE concealers I can sub this with? Ones with a light skin tint - I'm very fair skinned. If they don't have acne medicine in them (BP or SA) are they at least advertised as non pore-clogging?

and

2) Would buying a product with SA that's over the due date (I can find it on Ebay but it expired 08/2008) be detrimental to my skin, or would it just not have any effect.

Thanks.

I've seen the commercials of the skinID treatment but am not sure to trust it. It said 500 out of 500 people trails were successful....I'm just so weary of commercials though.

Have any of you tried it?

sorry i didn't mean to put it under the accutine forum....

How the heck do some people use facial scrubs? Every time I use one, I get the stupid exfoliating beads in my eyes, even if I am nowhere near my eyes. The last product of that sort that I used was St. Ives apricot scrub, and it got into my eyes---never again will I use a scrub.

okay.. when you apply benzaclin or whatever you use at night. Is it better for your acne to be a little dry? then moisturized? I always thought when your red pimples were dry from the cream it will dry up the pimple in general. But then when you have dry skin you tend to break out more. I use benzaclin at night and it makes my face pretty dry, but i have cetaphil moisturizer and wondering if i should put it over the benzaclin, will that defeat the purpose of the benzaclin?

can anyone give me an answer.

Ok, im so confuse, im going to cry.
I have been using Aveeno oatmeal soap for combo skin, and it has been drying out my skin really bad. I can see flakes, after each time i wash my face.

I got the Dickenson's Witchhazel as a toner.. is this stuff good? I notice on the cotton ball, bunch of brown spots.. are those dead skin?

I use Zapzyt, and it works great.

I used AHA at night.. and BHA in the morning.

Im still breaking out.

I need a new creamy cleanser that doesnt lather up. cuz those that do lather causes breakouts.

What should i do?!!?!?!

I heard of another product, boscia.net. It seems to be good. but i dont know if i wanna buy it.

I need a good gentle cleanser/soap thast not medicated. What about clearasil?
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

ok thanks.. sorry..

Been browsing the forum for about a month now and finally decided to join!! My acne is just getting annoying now; i never used to care too much about it as i thought it was hormonal and it would go away, however im 18 now and its just getting worse lol. In the past year its got a lot more severe and ive tried everything literally lol. Ive been on 3 different types of antibiotics which just made things worse, retin-A that was awful lol, benzoyl peroxide, clearasil, home remedies etc literally the list is endless.

Back to the original question ive decided to just stop with all nasty face creams and horrible chemicals as they always make my face feel horrible. So ive decided to only use 2 products. These are garnier 3 in 1 and sudocrem. I chose garnier 3 in 1 as its REALLY gentle on the face; its creamy and makes your face feel really nice afterwards, along with this i apply sudocrem however only at nights. My question is do i apply a large amount of sudocrem and leave it on my face ( so your face is very white) or do i just rub in a small amount ( which ive been doing) so all the whiteness goes and it just looks greasy?

Thanks for any answers! Acne truly is made of fail. Mine is now leaning to severe acne, however my cheeks and nose are clear its my forehead thats the problem and my chin is moderate most of the time. I was told by the dermatologist that ive inehrited acne from my mum who had it very bad. Does that basically mean that i can never ger rid of my spots as its in my genes?

Thanks for reading!

I've been using Neutrogena On-the-Spot 2.5% for many months. Is it normal to feel like you've been injected with too much botox after applying it? I can't move my face at all and it's extremely dry and uncomfortable. Moisturizers help a lot but then my skin goes from being too dry to too oily. And to add to the frustration my skin still isn't fully clear. I have one or two bumps and lots of red marks. I thought the whole not being able to make any facial expressions ordeal was normal but I haven't read any complaints about it on here. Are there any other over-the-counter benzoyl peroxide products you can recommend that are easier to deal with?

Hey guys, well for the last 8 weeks and 2 days i've been on Benzoyl Peroxide. (PanOxyl.)
-First 2 weeks I was on 2.5% - Did a good job, but acne was stil getting through
-Next 5 and a half weeks I was on 5% and that did an amazing job but only got rid of 80% of my acne and stil had a few left-over spots on my face
-Now for the past 5 days or so i've been on 10% and it has finished the job. it's amazing, everything is gone, all i have is 1 small whitehead pimple left. - Heres some progress pictures.

October 21st - Treatment of BP day 1.
[attachment=15196:Picture0001.jpg]

December 6th - 7 weeks 5 days later..
[attachment=15197:Picture0005.jpg]

As you can see, It's a big difference (for me anyway.)

Now here is where I need some questions answered/advice given...

1. Do I stay on the treatment im using even though pimples have basically gone?
2. Staying on the treatment, should I stick with 10% or go back to 5%?
3. Should I be using a cleanser aswell?..

Any other tips/advice is welcome, thanks!!

Can anyone with a bottle of this tell me where the expiry date's lurking? I had to get it shipped from the US so will be less than happy if it's out of date!

has anybody here tried the cerave cleanser? does anybody else feel like it makes their moisturizer feel sticky? i'm scared that sticky feeling means i'm gonna get clogged up. it doesnt feel heavy on my face though, but when i touch my face it's sorta sticky ><.

Just in case people don't see this in the other thread, I'll make it short here:

I relied on Clean and Clear Advantage Concealing Stick to hide pimples and my deep scars. It had Salicylic Acid 1% but I've never used it to actually TREAT acne - mainly because I use it on scars and when I do use it on acne it doesn't seem to have any effect.

Unfortunately, it discontinued, and now it's very rare. I'm thinking of buying it off of Ebay - but it expired about 5 months ago, in August 08. I thought that at least. the Salicylic Acid prevented the concealer from clogging my pores, so if it's expired is that still true?? Are there any risks in using a product with expired S.Acid, or will it just "not work" (not like it did before).

I really feel like I need this until my scars fade, so I would really appreciate the help! Thanks

Is Panoxyl a prescription only medication or can you get it in stores/online?

How well does it work for moderate acne?

How long does it take to start seeing results?

How dry and flaky does it make your skin?

Can you wax your eyebrows without having layers of skin ripped off like Differin causes?

Can it be used on body acne?


Please help me out!

I know proactiv has gotten a lot of crap but it is working for me so far. If you'd like to try it, e-mail me @ mychellie@hotmail.com and I can send you a referral to try it Free!

I read a topic on this site about ibuprofen gel (5%). Andd its a lil bit of an old thread and hasnt really been too active lately so i thought i would try and bring it up and get a bit more input into it.

This is the original topic where i got the idea:

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/Topical-i...bl-t204919.html

Anyway i went out and purchased some ibuprofen gel (5%) a lil while back and have been using it lately, apparently its worked wonders on some people because it prevents new acne from forming. I've been using it about 4 days now and i think its already showing signs of preventing new acne from forming i will keep people posted with what happens with it but i am pleased with it so far with what it appears to be doing.

Only problem i have is that it burns quite a bit for the first couple of minutes its on my skin, doesnt like flare my acne up or anything it just burns for a bit. But i've kept at it and i think the results are now beginning to show a little bit .

Anyone else tried this? Any other input about this product would be good! I have moderate - severe acne andd this is a product i feel quite confident about, i know the product is specifially for like sporting injuries etc lol but it appears to be good for acne as well!

I just bought the bioglycolic bioclear cream. It's supposed to be good for adult acne. It has salicylic acid, azelaic acid and glycolic acid. It is supposed to help wrinkles too. I used it today, I really like it so far, it's a good moisterizer. It will take more time to know how it works on the acne though.

Hey all, mainly got 1 Q to ask those who have used / using proactiv 3 step treatment..

I've been using these products for about a month, give or take 3-4 days less than 30days lol, and have been seeing... very slow but promising results... just the past 4 or 3 days recently, the oil which forms on my nose area (just my nose) has been increasing at a very fast rate.. there used to be none after using proactiv... bt was b4 i started.. i use proactiv once a day ( at night after showering), cut back about 2 weeks ago coz it was making my skin very dry and itchy.. but my skin settled... just wandering what shud i do?

Shud i start using proactive twice a day?

ive read alot of the reviews.. some ppl say it doesnt work for some.. am I one of those??

tnx in advance - some feedback with some