Tretinoin (Retin-A, Retisol-A) Reviews
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Prescription summary (687 votes) |
How well it works
 
3.2/5 |
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Agreeability
 
2.9/5 |
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Affordability
  
3.5/5 |
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Common brand names:
Retin-A,
Retin-A Micro,
Retisol-A,
Stieva-A,
Avita,
Renova |
Read reviews
67 pages
Anonymous
May 15th, 2008 |
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| Pros: | zero |
| Cons: | I tried this for 5 weeks and it was horrible! Small bumps everywhere with cysts all along chin. I didn't want to leave the house. I was also taking antibiotics. I stopped the retin-a and things are so much better. |
| Bottom Line: | Don't try it.....the dark scars that it leaves and the bumps everywhere are horrible! |
| Recommended: | No |
| Usage: | Reviewer has used this item for about a month. |
| Price Paid: | $64.00 |
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Meg, USA
May 14th, 2008 |
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| Pros: | Reduction of acne scarring on some parts of my skin |
| Cons: | Massive breakout, peeling and dryness |
| Bottom Line: | I used to have 1 or 2 pimples at a time, then started using this (.025 strength). At first, there was peeling and redness, but the acne subsided to the point that I went a whole week without even one pimple. Then, after using it for 6 weeks, BOOM! I have the worst break-out of my life. I just counted 39 pimples on my face. This is worse than anything I could have imagined. But, the pimples are all rather superficial, not deep in the skin, and some of them are flat already (2 days post break-out). It looks like they'll heal quickly. Although I am in acne hell right now, it seems like it must be working because this is clearly a "purge" stage. There are a few areas of skin where I don't have acne, and I definitely see a difference in that skin (i.e., clearer and a reduction of discoloration and past scarring). I'm gonna hang in there and hope that this will pass. |
| Usage: | Meg has used this item for a few weeks. |
| Price Paid: | $20.00 |
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Anonymous, Bartlett, IL
May 14th, 2008 |
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| Pros: | My made my skin a little less oilier. |
| Cons: | It made my skin really dry, and a lot of acne still formed. |
| Bottom Line: | It didn't work for me. |
| Recommended: | No |
| Usage: | Reviewer has used this item for a few weeks. |
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Not working yet, Sacramento, CA
May 12th, 2008 |
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| Pros: | none |
| Cons: | More break outs. Scarring. On my 9th week still no sign of improvement. |
| Bottom Line: | I occasionally had two or less pimples at a time. Ever since I started using tretnoin 0.025% it has slowly jumped to 15-20. Both sides of my face are covered with scars, which weren't there before I started using this product. Im probably going to stick with this product for another month and see if anything changes. |
| Recommended: | No |
| Usage: | Not working yet has used this item for a few months. |
| Price Paid: | $5.00 |
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Pizza face, NY
May 12th, 2008 |
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| Pros: | It seems to be sucking the impurities from down the shells of my skin and throwing it out to the surface |
| Cons: | Right now my face looks like a pizza:oily and red. I got big bumps some with pus, dried skin, blisters that don't heal, dry nose and lips. Skin doesn't exfoliate (crust on and around the pimple area) |
| Bottom Line: | I am sticking to it! It's my 7th week and my acne is 10x worst than before I started but I am sticking to it but at least another 2more months. I am also taking Adoxa, yaz, and drinking apple cider vinegar. I use retin-a micro gel .04 at night and clyndamycin during the day. Some days I skip it because of extremely dryness. Sometimes I use a salycilic wash(pardon my spelling) and some days a mild wash. I pick on the dry skin at times. Guilty as charged. I will come back to post in another 6 weeks. |
| Recommended: | Yes |
| Usage: | Pizza face has used this item for about a month. |
| Price Paid: | $25.00 |
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Anonymous, Toronto, Canada
May 12th, 2008 |
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| Pros: | evens tone and scarring, minimizes pore size and wrinkles |
| Cons: | extreme redness, itching, flaking and dryness |
| Bottom Line: | though one might see all the cons i listed above at first, you have to stick with it. I have been battling acne for 15 years, pitted skin, redness and uneven skin tone. This product is remarkable, it has made my pitted marks softer and less noticeable and smoothed out my tone. the only thing is that it is not getting rid of the redness inside my pitted marks. I might just go for a chemical peel to get rid of that, but i will stick with the generic form of retin-A. Also, for prolonged use for sensitive skin, use it every other night and always with a moisturizer! Good luck to everyone! |
| Recommended: | Yes |
| Usage: | Reviewer has used this item for a few months. |
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Penny Lane, Brea, CA
May 11th, 2008 |
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| Pros: | Heals scars and gets rid of a zit within a few days |
| Cons: | A little pealing at first but that just means your skin is adjusting to it. during the first few weeks your skin could take on a blush after you apply it or after you wash face. However, this is normal. Let your skin adjust to it. |
| Bottom Line: | This medicine works deep within the skin and takes time which means that as hard as it is to be patient, you must give it time. The peeling and redness won't last forever and can be minimized so maybe begin by using it every other night at first like I did. Once your skin adjusts, maybe begin using it every night. I have only used this product for about a month and I do not get much pealing or redness anymore and my scars are healing nicely. Remember: if you have scars, don't expect instant results. Scars take so much time to heal but the retin A will speed up the healing because it increases cellular turnover-that's why it may peel at first. |
| Recommended: | Yes |
| Usage: | Penny Lane has used this item for about a month. |
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acm1012, NY
May 11th, 2008 |
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| Pros: | after about 2 months of using retin-a my skin is beeeaaauuutiful!!! very clear, very smooth |
| Cons: | takes about 2 months to work, in those 2 months expect dry, flaky, sensitive skin. it's totally worth it. but....it doesnt really do much to prevent abscesses/cysts, which i still get from time to time |
| Bottom Line: | great great great! but i still wish there was a magical treatment to prevent / remove cysts without severe marking/scarring |
| Recommended: | Yes |
| Usage: | acm1012 has used this item for a few months. |
| Price Paid: | $20.00 |
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1 of 1 visitors found the following comment helpful.
Michelle, Tucson, AZ
May 10th, 2008 |
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| Pros: | Taking a long time to work but it really does help. It takes time and it is slow improvement but I would say that 5 weeks later I am 75% clearer than I was. |
| Cons: | Dry skin and SENSITIVE skin. If I am in the sun for 20 minutes my face hurts. Slow progress which gets frustrating. |
| Bottom Line: | Stick with it. Well worth the patience. |
| Recommended: | Yes |
| Usage: | Michelle has used this item for about a month. |
| Price Paid: | $10.00 |
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Hiddencat, Philadelphia
May 9th, 2008 |
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| Pros: | Builds collagen over time to prevent and repair aging, keeps my pores clear, and after a year of use the texture of my skin is very smooth. |
| Cons: | Expensive without insurance, takes a long time to work so requires patience. |
| Bottom Line: | Folks, you have to give it more than a month to work. I didn't start seeing results (well, other than peeling and redness) until 8 weeks and it took 6 months to see a difference in skin texture (softening of scars, etc). You must use a good sunscreen with this as it makes your skin more susceptible to damage when you first start using it. Also, the cream formulation is in a pore clogging base, so you want to consider the gel for acne uses.
Bottom line: I intend to keep using this forever. |
| Recommended: | Yes |
| Price Paid: | $15.00 |
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67 pages
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