10 replies to this topic

[acnebattlegirl]

Day 1:
Hey guys! So, I've been having acne for about 9 years, and I am currently 22. I've been on a Clindoxyl Gel regimen for many years and it seemed to work but recently I've been breaking out with these huge cystic pimples that Clindoxyl Gel can't seem to tackle alone. I have red marks everywhere. It's the type of acne that can be perfectly covered with makeup - but with all honestly, no girl wants to worry about powdering themselves up every minute.


I've been prescribed Retisol-A, which is a derivative of Retin-A. The only difference is you can wear this in the morning because it has built-in sunscreen.. and at night I have to use Clindoxyl Gel to kill the uprising bacteria.

I was delaying for over 2 months using this product, but today I finally have the courage to use it for the first time, WISH ME LUCK.

I will document my daily responses to this cream/new regimen.

Here is what I do:

Morning:

• Wash my face with Cetaphil
• Wait 20-30 minutes then put on Retisol-A

Night:

• Wash face with Cetaphil
• Wait 20 minutes, put clindoxyl Gel.

Edited by acnebattlegirl, 20 December 2011 - 01:36 PM.

[gems2889]

good luck

[acnebattlegirl]

Thanks Gem, Good luck to you too - I've been following your blog and it gave me inspiration to make my own as well!

Day 2:
Welll, I didn't expect anything major to happem - but since I promised to track my progress I'll let you fellow acne warriors know what's happening with my skin.

So this morning I had work so I put on makeup over my Retisol (the derm told me its okay to do this.. maybe because its a low dosage). I had to wait 20 minutes before putting on retisol after the shower, and waited a good 5 - 10 minutes before putting on my makeup over the dried cream. For the ladies, I tried many foundations/powders, the best that works for MY skin is True Match with spf. I tried all the fancy shamancy Sephora brands, and yeah they work great and look great - but for me True match TRULY matches my colour and it has an added spf. When I go out I like to use Makeup Forever's HD foundation but it's too heavy and expensive for regular use. If I'm just going out for a bit and don't care to look all glammed up I use MAC's studio fix because it's relatvley light and it has really good coverage for a powder foundation (ALSO, you dont need to rub it in your skin just dust it on, avoiding irratiation). <-- I know some people say mac clogs pores blah blah blah, but for me it works well so I'm going to stick with it

I didn't see anything really happen with my skin, the huge pimple i had on my cheek however dried up into a white ball of dead skin and fell off this morning! It didn't really sting or burn to put on the retisol-a. But I can obviously feel something on my face. '

The reason my derm told me to use this in the morning is becase it has a built in SPF 15, and at night the clindoxyl is suppose to renew the skin that Retisol is cleansing out.

It's too early to tell my progress but so far nothing drastic happened like ghost-like peeling or sun-burned reddness. I'll keep you guys up to date!

[gems2889]

acnebattlegirl

thanks. I wish we could just wake up and take a shower and not have to apply anything to cover up active acne or scars! I really took my skin for granted when it was clear. does true match last a long time on Mac does clog my pores when I wear my skin look fudging amazing with it. I waiting for my everyday minerals to come I order it like on the 15 getting a lil impatience.

[acnebattlegirl]

Yeah, I hear a lot about how Mac clogs pores. I never tried their foundation or cream foundation (which looks pretty heavy) – I just use their studio fix foundation powder which is pretty light but has amazing coverage. It hasn’t done anything bad for me. I make sure I use a kabuki brush and clean it once a week minimum – I like it because it literally takes me 10 seconds to put on my makeup and it doesn’t irritate my skin because im just dusting it on.

The true match ive been using for 5 years and it never gave me a problem. Again I’m not sure if it’s the best product out there but it works for me. It matches my skin colour exactly and isn’t too heavy, I like how it has a built in spf too and its pretty cheap like 10 – 12 dollars a bottle which me my mom and my sister share and lasts us 3 months.

Laura Mercier I’ve heard good things from and also Cover FX – Cover FX is made for acne prone skin, so if you are looking for a good makeup and want the guarantee for no breakouts, go to your local shoppers drug mart beauty store and ask them about cover fx. It’s a bit pricey, I would use it but the makeup I use currently works fine for my skin so I don’t feel the need to spend more J

[acnebattlegirl]

Day 3:
When I put Clindoxyl gel on last night my face was stinging a bit! Not too much, but I def felt that something was on my face. Normally when I put this cream on I feel like nothing is there, hence I feel like it's not working. But last night I can literally feel it seeping inside my skin. So this morning I woke up RED as a cherry tomato around the areas where I put clindoxyl.

I did the usual routine, wash face, wait 20 minutes then put on Retisol-A. This time I put Cetaphil Moisturizer under just because my face was super red and I wanted to calm it down. Sometimes too much over-drying can cause even more acne from irritation so I thought Cetaphil should help that. I waited another 5-10 minutes and put on my makeup before work. The reddness was easily covered by my powder foundation.

Right now, I don't have any major stinging but I can def feel that I have something on. My makeup doesn't look as clean as usual but that could also be because I have so many layers on right now (Cetaphil, Retisol-A, Powder).

The one thing I love about retisol-A is that it has a moisurizer base and SPF base, so it's really easy to put on and doesn't cause additional flaking. It's literally like applying face cream. This formulation also absorbs really fast.

I think tonight when I wash my mask off I'm going to sit back with a yogurt mask on to calm the reddness a bit.

As for any new pimples.. hmm...nothing too major. I have a very small raised bump on my higher cheek bone (not a place I normally get acne) - you can't see it, but I can feel it. I only have 2 active pimples which are drying up really fast and a couple small bumps.

Let me know if you guys have any specific questions!

[acnebattlegirl]

Day 4:
I applied the Retisol in the morning and put makeup over. My makeup didn't look as smooth as usual (obviously) but you couldnt really notice anything was on under. If i rubbed my skin the makeup would flake a bit, but no biggie.

BUT when I put my clindoxyl Gel at night, HOLY CRAPP did it burn. It was burning so much that I had to wash my face and skip the clindoxyl for the night!

Day 5:
I see some lightening of the red marks, or maybe thats just the dryness covering over it.
You know that pimple that always comes and goes, well that one is slowly coming out of it's shell again- maybe retisol is taking it out? I have some few little small bumps on my cheek bone - you can't see them but you can def feel it.

For me this medicine doesn't really burn and cause too much reddness.. maybe because it's a low dosage.

At night I did put on clindoxyl, but this time only a very little bit - and used it as a spot treatment instead of applying a thin layer everywhere (like I normally do) -- It didn't sting tonight!

[acnebattlegirl]

Day 6:
I put on the Retisol-A.. I really like the texture of this medicine, it's almost like my Cetaphil Cream. It's also very easy to lather on without causing flaking and irritation, i read on the box - it actually has a moisturizer base! I noticed the small bump I had last night turned into a pretty big pimple. Before going to sleep and washing off all of the Retisol and Makeup that bump turned into a pus-filled pimple (EWWWWW). I HATE THOSE.

They're not only difficult to cover, but they HURT LIKE HELL!!

Also today, when I put my makeup on, I had a very glowing shiny texture - I kind of liked it, despite my huge pus-filled pimple on my cheek.

So I just put on my Clindoxyl Gel, it stings a BIT but I kinda like it.. it makes me feel like something is actually on my face and it's working. Before Retisol, I used clindoxyl religiously - it's a great cream and all but I felt that over time it lost its effectiveness. Maybe the combo of these two meds is making it work again?

Hm, I'm also debating if I should continue posting these? I hope it's helping someone out there make the decision to use Retisol (Retin-A) out there!

- GOODNIGHT ACNE Warriors!

[acnebattlegirl]

Day 7:
I woke up in the morning and that huge pimple on my cheek grew and was also more pus-filled (sorry guys - it was def a horror movie!). I applied the Retisol-A and left it all while I baked some cookies. Looked in the mirror after an hour and my face was RED, i've never seen my face so red before. I didn't feel the burn but you could sure see it. My mom even asked me if my face is stinging me. I washed it off after a couple of hours (so I had it on for about 3 hours) -

The redness calmed down for sure, but around my acne scar patches and small pimples there was a cloud of red surrounding it. Everywhere else went back to normal. I put on makeup and went off for my holiday party.

Came home, put on clindoxyl gel only on the pimples itself.

Day 8:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

So that pimple i've been nagging about the past few days turned rock hard but it was filled with even more white stuff - EW! After taking a shower it kinda just popped itself.. maybe because I was using a hot shower. I cleaned it with a hot cloth and iced it after so the bacteria doesnt spread and put some clindoxyl Gel over. I had to go out to a Christmas lunch so I skipped the Retisol-A for this morning.

I just came back from the lunch, took off my makeup and put on the Retiol-A. Today for the first time it BURNED a lot to put this stuff on. It's starting to calm down but it almost amazes me how strong this med is. Also, to mention I put some clindoxyl OVER the Retisol on that pimple.

Progress? HM, not so much, I think my skin is just getting used to this stuff now, I do see MINOR flakes and dryness which kind of makes me happy thinking that the dead skin is falling off - but its not happening in the areas I want it to!

Anyways, Merry Christmas all!

[acnebattlegirl]

Day 8:


Remember that horrible zit I've been complaining about for the past 3 days, well today after I took off my retisol-a (from my morning application) it fell of, FINALLLLY! Today I did some things different, I noticed some minor flaking around my blemishes, so when i washed my face I lathered on some cetaphil cream and used a hot wash cloth and gently circled around my face rubbing it in and rubbing the flakes off. I let my face dry and put on the night prescribed clindoxyl. My face is stinging a bit, but it's tolerable.

Also the Retisol-A is still making me pretty red but I do see my skin getting smoother. No new pimples today, but my skin is def getting more sensitive with my new regimen. Thank god this cream has an SPF because over here in Toronto it's pretty sunny (although its Winter).

I'll keep you folks up to date!

[acnebattlegirl]

HELLO ALL! Sorry I haven't posted for a while, I figured since I have a lower dosage Tretinoin, the results aren't as fast/drastic - So I decided to do weekly posts! How does that sound?

Update on my skin:
PRO'S:

• My skin no longer burns an turns tomato red when I apply Retisol-A, at the most it tingles but goes away..
• Dead skin is peeling off
• My skin looks brighter and healthier
• It's slowly fading away those red marks and making all around smoother surface
• I don't think I had my initial breakout yet..

CON'S:

• It's still red around the "problem areas" - but easily covered with makeup
• Some pimples are coming out, but not those pus-fileld nasty ones. Just small bumps that rise to the surface and go away in a few days.
• There was a lot of flaking near the end of my first week, but that died down now.

Overall, I'm pretty happy so far with Retisol-A. I think it's working well with me because I have a very different regimen, I use the Clindoxyl at night. I feel that the Clindoxy gel (BP) is more effective with the combination of Retisol.

Last weekend, I had a lot of flaking and dryness around my mouth, but it assured me that this stuff is DOING SOMETHING!!

I have to stop Retisol-A in a couple of days for 2 weeks because I do laser hair removal on my face, so I need to have a break from it for 2 weeks prior to the session.

Let me know if you have any questions!