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[AsiaXiah]

Well, I had pretty bad acne starting about 10th grade of highschool. So, just when it was about getting too late, my parents decided finally to take me to the dermatologist.

She wanted to hit me up with the strongest stuff - offered me accutane. Aftering hearing about the side effects, my parents refused and the doctor instead put me on an insane regimen of:

1. Triaz (benzoyl peroxide facial wash)
2. Glycolic Acid Toner
3. Tazorac Cream

Well, after having been on that regimen for about 3 months, my face cleared up insanely. The only problem was, my face would get so red whenever I laughed or got embarassed, to a point where one time my teacher came up to me and asked me if I were all right.

So, I found another dermatologist who put me on a simpler regimen of:

1. Cetaphile (cleanser)
2. Differin 0.1% Gel

This was definitely not as strong as Tazorac. I wasn't getting the very clear skin I had, and the redness didn't exactly go away either.

While on this regimen, I went through 6 Fraxel sessions. The very final session, I endured the highest level permitted by the FDA, and man, was that painful...

The bottom line is, now I'm in college, and am on a regimen of:

1. Cetaphile (cleanser)
2. Retin-A Micro 0.04%

My acne isn't completely gone; in fact, I still have "not too severe" but moderate acne... The difficult part is that the redness makes things a lot more complicated. My face is still red to a point where people think I'm drunk even when I haven't drank at all.

It's also getting really annoying to have to resort to "It's because I had laser treatment before coming to college" as an answer to "Why is your face always so red?"

I know there isn't some miracle treatment, but I'm definitely getting so worn out. It definitely feels like I've tried just about everything other than the accutane...

So does anyone have good suggestions for continuing with Retin-A Micro and dealing with the redness?

It's getting to a point where I'm just wondering if I should just go back to Tazorac and be red as a tomato, since I'll be red anyways with Retin-A.

I've also tried the Differin 0.3%, but that was making me more red than being on the Retin-A.

Anyhow, sorry for such a long post ~ practially wrote my entire life story there.

Thanks!