9 replies to this topic

[nj3355]

ive been reading that basically the lowest strength of tret is just as effective as the highest strength..if so than whats the point of raising the strength? the reason i ask if becuase ive been on .025% for about 4 weeks now and my face doesnt really get dry or irritated besides sometimes in the morning ill wake up and its alittle peely only around my chin/mouth area..does less peeling mean its less effective?

[asburypark101]

Really? I did not know that. Can you cite the article(s) where it says that the lowest strength of tretinoin was just as strong as the highest. I always thought that there were strong differences with the dosages. I remember taking strongest dosage of the retin-a cream and it was way too strong for my face, so I went back to the .05 and have been tolerable with that, although now that I am getting older I think it is too irritating on my skin, so I may ask my doc for a prescription of retin-a micro.

[nj3355]

I'm pretty sure I've been reading posts here that have been saying the lowest dose is just as effective than the highest. It's just the ammount of irritation as you go stronger. I could be wrong though

[asburypark101]

No you may definitely be right. I would ask your derm about it and see what he/she thinks. I have not changed my dosage fo retin-a in years, so I am not sure of any new research on it from talking to my derm, although like I said I most likely will ask to switch to retin-a micro in the near future.

[Fred Q]

Lower strengths are just as effective as higher strengths but it takes much longer to produce results with lower strengths.

[nj3355]

how long do you think it takes the average person on .025% to clear mild-moderate acne?

[Fred Q]

nj3355, on 01 January 2012 - 09:20 PM, said:

how long do you think it takes the average person on .025% to clear mild-moderate acne?

It is impossible to say but I've read things that say it can take about a year.

[nj3355]

wow really that suckss, on reviews i was seeing like up to 12 weeks, even on .025 =/

[frackgirl33]

I have been using .025% Tretinoin for 7 weeks now, also had mild/moderate acne. Check out my blog/gallery for info and pics at the 1 month point and 7 week point. Sorry I don't have any "Before" pictures because I never really thought about blogging my journey until I had already been using it for a month. My face is the clearest it has been in YEARS!!! Still not perfect, but the Tretinoin is definitely doing its job. Hoping my redmarks start fading away soon. I don't know that I'm a "typical" case though, because unlike many Tretinoin users, I never experienced an initial breakout from it. But at this point, I don't experience much peeling or dryness either...like you, sometimes I wake up with flakes around my mouth and on my chin, and sometimes on the very tip of my nose, but that's it. And it is definitely working!!!

[nj3355]

im exactly almost up to you right now, im in the middle of my 5th week i think..last week i broke out worse than normal i thought maybe it was the initial breakout but now my face is back to normal , im having that minimal drying sometimes too i just hope i can seee some good results soon..i also started taking solodyn last week because my back has gotten pretty bad so maybe that will help my face too..friggin acne sucksss