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.

Hey Kiddies,
So today I went out and got the Cerave moisturizing lotion after reading some great reviews on here and on makeup alley. I decided to can my cetaphil moisturizer after having my skin become way more oily than it already is and developing some cysts.

I was just wondering what your experiences were with Cerave and if it made anyones pimples worse. That is the last thing that I need right now to be quite honest. I don't need any surprises tomorrow morning. Any input would be nice

Hey Everyone,

I've been using 100% organic Golden Jojoba Oil for about a month now, and My skin is near flawless! I have never had this great looking skin! Although I still get small whitheads once in a while, my face is not nearly as severe as before.

The only other product I am using is Astara Botanical Cleansing Gele, and then I apply 3 drops Jojoba, and ?I'm set for the day!!

If you guys haven't tried Jojoba, I strongly reccomend it!
snow..

Hi All,

i am planning to incorporate some aha in my regime. The 2 product that is readily available is mentioned above. I was wondering which is better?

Exfoliac is AHA cleansing gel, however i donot what AHA is used as main constituent. Normaderm had glycolic and salicylic in it but no idea in what percentage.

So please lety me which is better?

I'm sending this out to let EVERYONE know to use extreme CAUTION when using Spectro Jel's Vanishing Lotion (for sensitive skin). I used this about 3 times and left it on over night. On the 3rd time I woke up in the morning and my chin (which is where I put the lotion) was one HUGE blister filled with infection and pus.........clearly a chemical burn from this product. Luckily it left no scarring but took a long time to heal and it was VERY painful. So please.....be careful with this product. I love Spectro Jel cleansing products though.......steer clear of their acne care line!

I know we're not supposed to pop those darn zits when they come up, but I'm one of those people who keeps obsessing over it until I cave in and pop it. It's nasty, yes. Do I WAIT until it's "ready"? Nope. I just keep touching it, staring at it in the mirror, and thinking about it until I just...can't...take it. So if you're like me, and don't have the patience nor the self control, take my advice: use neosporin. I know this has been mentioned somewhere (if not a lot) on this forum, but neosporin has been my miracle post-zit popping treatment for the past year or so. It helps them heal really fast without leaving scars/red marks. Try it!

-Don't worry, I'm not advertising for them or anything. It's just one of those cheap, but works, kind of product. Plus, I know we've all been there in terms of just caving in to the pressure and pop those things!

Im guying to be buying some tablets from justvitamins (http://www.justvitamins.co.uk/products/Pantothenic-Acid-(Vitamin-B5)-550mg-1070.aspx) are these ok or are slow release better? I saw some slow release at Holland and Barrett.

Also i read a story about someone who became seriously ill after 2 years of taking 10 tablets a day, he said something about a deficiency elsewhere and taking other tablets to stop this happening at the same time. Does anyone know what these other tablets are?

i looked everywhere but i coildnt find the answer i needed, i forgot my account name lol been a member for a longtime but anywho...
I want to begin putting a thin layer of 2.5% bp to help my acne, but i moisturize with jojoba oil, so after i apply BP how long should i wait to apply BP?

I use my moisturiser every day, and i use benzoyl peroxide every day.

Today i tried a new brand, panoxyl 2.5% bp, it was fine, then a couple of hours later when it was dried, i applied my moisturiser, just like i do with my usual b.p, then my face started hurting, i quickly rinsed off all of the moisturiser/panoxyl and have been left with slight white marks on my forehead, does anyone know what this is caused by?

Panoxyl was fine till i moisturised, but i moisturise the same way with bp every day...

also, will these white marks go naturally or do i need treatment? thanks

2 of the steps in Proactive are 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide... From what i've read here on the forums it seems like just about everyone who has gotten clearing using dan's regimen has also tried proactive before hand it had never worked for them...

What's this mean?

Me personally proactive never worked for me either... It would only make the redness go down and if I stopped using it i would have 5 times worse acne then before I started using it...

I saw a commercial from neutrogena that you can go to skinid.com, customize the medication for 3 steps and you select your skin type, acne type, and stress level. Neutrogena is respected and i have tried their products that really do help my acne and quickly but im a bit iffy on trying something that is advertised on tv but i only saw this commercial once and most of the time products that are not advertised as often or not at all work the best. So has anyone tried this? Please put your input on it.

Hello, I live in the U.S. i have looked for panoxyl gel at many stores and I can't find where to get the 10 percent aqua gel. I really want to try it out but all i can find in the stores is the face wash and the bar. Where can I go to get the panoxyl 10% bp aquagel? Is it OTC n the U.S.? Please help. Thanks.

I've been using AcneFree severe for a few weeks and having ok results, but last night my face itched like whoa, Ponds for Dry Skin didn't help and when I woke up and washed my face, everything seemed ok, I used the toner (which I like) and then applied the 3% BP cream from my Redness kit mixed with a little of the 10% and hoooooooooly biscuits. Acid! Acid! I washed it off using a mild soap and STILL ARGGGGHHHHH!

So, I'm quitting that system today. (owie)

I want to give my skin a break before I put it through anymore trauma. The toner from the Redness system is an alcohol free gel with nice soothing things and witch hazel is pretty soothing (in theory, haven't touched my skin with anything yet)

I'm now leary of BP. I've been eying Dan's system butm ya know, BP. Any suggestions for 36 year old skin?

Should I just to hell with it, go AHA all the way?

bubzbeauty swears by an organic cider vinegar/green tea/sugar/honey mask, Egyptian Magic, and a cider vinegar/green tea toner

So I ordered this cream from a Canadian pharmacy called Aziderm, the active ingredient in it being 20% Azelaic acid. Azelaic acid is apparently prescription only in the United States, but I have had no problems receiving this product in the mail. I put this in OTC section seeing as I purchased this without a prescription with no problems. So can anyone else, type in Azelaic Acid in google, go to a secure online pharmacy and you can order it.

I have only been using it for 2 days now. I would say my skin would lie somewhere in the middle range of ability to handle abuse from exfoliation and such, and I would assume this acid has the potential to be pretty harsh for those with very fair skin, at least only at first, as I've read that its only rough on your skin for the first month or so and then the skin gets used to it.

After first nights application to whole face, I had immediate tching. This stuff itches like crazy for about 15 minutes, then thankfully the itching stops. The next morning, my face was a little red and raw, so I applied a moisturizer and nothing else. However, zits had shrunk greatly, redness reduced, scabs flaked off. A very nice effect! The second nights application was more of the same, with some skin flaking. Its pretty good stuff so far, I will write follow ups in a weeks or so because I really haven't been on it that long.

Check it out on Wikipedia, its cool stuff. Women should definately check it out, unless you want to grow a beard. Heres the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azelaic_acid.

Has anyone tried the pill Acnepril? I have heard a lot of good reviews about it but i know how often they let us acne sufferers down. . I just wanted to know if anyone has tried it?

I went to two different Target stores and I did not see it anywhere, does someone know if it's now discontinued?

I hope not, because I liked it!

All,

While I am in no way against this product or what it does (I think it is great that Dan is selling it in large quantities), BEWARE of using Benzyl Peroxide as a full regimen. It was developed and manufactured to be a spot treatment only, and there is a BIG reason for that.

Using BP on your whole face over the long term causes a lot more harm than it does good. Benzyl Peroxide does kill your P-Acnes and will generally clear up your acne, but it also has a major drying effect on your skin. If you use it on your whole face on a daily basis, what will happen after a while is that all of the oil glands in your face will slowly ramp up their production of sebum (oil) to try to compensate for the dryness. While not irrevocable, this increased production of oil is permanent. You will become dependent on BP and not be able to stop using it, because as soon as you do, you will have severe (and often cystic) breakouts due to your skin producing 10 times more oil than it should. As you well know, overproduction of sebum is the number 1 cause of acne, the bacteria feeds on it.

As a well experienced dermatologist dealing with thousands of cases of Adult Acne, I just thought I should warn everybody about the effects of long-term BP use. You should not use Benzyl Peroxide products as a long-term acne regimen as this website claims, because if you do, sooner or later you will end up on Accutane if you ever want to get off of the stuff. You are much better off saving your clothes from getting bleached and just going on something systemic right from the getgo if you suspect a case of adult acne. If one cycle of Accutane isn't enough and the acne comes back after a while, a second cycle can be administered which often puts your acne into permanent (or very long term) remission, without the need for putting expensive harmful creams on your face every night and waiting 30 minutes for it to dry. Accutane does have some side effects, but as long as you don't go on any higher than a 40mg dose they are usually very minor...dry lips, sun sensitivity, and a bit of general fatigue. Very small price to pay to get rid of your acne for many years.

Hey everyone. Although I am completely clear now, I struggled with acne for a while. I credit my results to my own personal regiment that incorporates typical otc medications (salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide cleanser; salicylic acid liquid toner; benzoyl peroxide 10% gel; salicylic acid spot treatment; salicylic acid moisturizer. It took me a long time to learn how to perfectly balance the enormous amount of medication I was putting on my skin. Recently I've been incorporating acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin), and I have nearly eliminated the occasional blemish, blackheads, and lingering redness. Although my skin looks really good, I spend an hour in the morning and at night applying my regiment. I find that allowing the skin to completely dry after each medication provides much better results, and crushing the aspiring and converting it to paste is also time consuming. After discovering this site recently, i've been inspired by it's unique approach to providing effective and inexpensive medication. My goal is to incorporate the chemicals in my current regiment, as well as others, into as few medications as possible. Hopefully I can get it down to 2-3. A combination salicylic acid and resorcinol cleanser, a combination benzoyl peroxide, acetylsalicylic acid, and hopefully a topical antibiotic and if able, I would like to incorporate a moisturizer into it. I would much prefer it if I could get my hands on some sort of gel base and pure forms of the chemicals I plan on using, so that I could construct my ideal medication. Is there a way to legally obtain Rx topical antibiotics without a prescription (I'm going to assume the answer is no, but I'm going to ask anyway. My goal is to use multiple different types of medications into one "super-medication", because I am really getting tired of overpaying for store bought supplies I suspect I can manufacture myself for less. I would really appreciate it if I could get some advice or feedback from you all. Especially from anyone who knows where I could locate my supplies (preferably online), or from anyone who attempted something similar to this.

P.S.- I plan on testing my medication on areas of my body that have thicker layers of skin and in smaller doses at first, and gradually increase quantity and location. So comments about my testing are most likely unnecessary unless you have something generally useful to add. When I am finished with it I will gladly post my results, ingredients, and recipe.

Thanks

I ordered some of these online from HK (can't find them anywhere else).
I haven't used them yet, but they looked so cool. I thought it would help when I get those ones I want to pick.
Anyone tried them? what do you think?
Do they work on breakouts that haven't come to a head?
Do you need to carefully poke them first so the pimple is open (probably not too great for my skin)?
I need to do as little damage to my skin as possible, it scars too easily.

I would love to hear what you think, if you have used them.

I was just wondering if anybody uses any of the skin products (for your acne) by Aveeno, or anything from The Body Shop? And what ingredients in acne products should i stay away from?

I have just started to use Cleanance K treatment from Avene and have noticed they also make Diacneal which also seems to be good. Does anyone use them together and if so how? Do you get good results?

I have read on the sticky on this part of the forum that it is ok to use AHA/BHA and retinols together, but to be aware that starting them together can cause excessive irritation so its probably best to introduce one at a time. Therefore I'm definitely going to go slow with introducing both products. I was just wondering whether anyone has developed a good routine with both the products and got good results?

Thanks

Has anyone here tried acneticin and have gotten good results? im thinking about trying it but i want a second opinion. http://www.acneticin.com/

I was doing research on Epsom Salt and found that it's really good for acne.
One guy uses it as a scrub, he tells you how to use it on this website:
http://www.squidoo.com/end_acne

Other people say they put some in their bathtub and soak in it, and that gets rid of their bacne.
It also relaxes you and eases the muscles.

Has anyone had any experience with this stuff?

I've suffered with moderate, stubborn acne on my face and neck for about 15 years. About four year's ago, I discovered something that cleared me completely. I've stopped using it, though -- I'll explain why later.

The product is alpha hydroxy lotion (lotion -- not the face wash mentioned in a previous post). I used a product that was 10% AHA once a day (at night). In the morning, I washed my face with a gentle cleanser.

This stuff works quickly. For me, my acne would get a little worse during the first few days of use. After that stage, dramatic clearing would begin. I'd be completely clear at about 2.5 weeks.

I'm sure you all know that AHA is a hard-core exfoliant. While most exfoliants work by scrubbing away dead skin, AHA works by dissolving the bond that holds the dead skin to your face. I don't know why this clears acne, but one theory I've read claims the acid dissolves sebum.

Constant use of AHA strips away the protective barrier of dead skin. Therefore, any exposure to the sun can lead to problems. If you decide to try AHA, you should wear sunscreen whenever you go out, and also should consider wearing a hat with a wide brim. That's why I've stopped using it (I'm currently experimenting with other products).

Also, you'll probably notice a slight burning sensation the first few times you apply the lotion. For me, this was minor, would last only a few minutes after application, and went away completely after about three days of use. And one last warning: if you decide to use AHA, don't combine it with any other product. I don't know this for sure, but I suspect you'll fry your face.

Well, I've been using hibiclens for a couple weeks now and have really liked it so far. Probably the best cleanser I've ever used for my face. Who else is using it and how do you like it?

By the way, Chris_23 has put together a terrific site on the active ingredient in hibiclens. See the following thread http://www.acne.org/messageboard/chlorhexidine-info-websit-t58552.html

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.

- So ever since I've been cleaning my brushes my acne has basically disappeared on my cheek area and my face is definitely less oily however, I work out every day and I work at a restaurant where I'm constantly around grease...before I was my face I usually put "deep cleaning astringent" on my face to get all the extra bacteria and makeup off. Is this okay to do? Or has anyone had any bad experiences with it?
- I was out all day today with a little makeup and decided to use it a few hours before I clean my face. I don't want to be sitting in oil all night but I don't want to wash my face just yet either...any feedback would be much appreciated! heheh thanks!

is this any good
http://www.acuzine.net/