so im 16 and i've been using tretinoin cream .025% at night and clindamycn in the morning for about three weeks now. I've noticed the pores on my nose and cheeks appear much larger and I have an ice pick scar just below my eye that was never noticeable till now. Could it be the Retin-A is doing this? I'll admit I'm using more than a pea size. Is enlarged pores and depressed scars that are more visible a side effect of using too much tretinoin?
Retin A seemed to make my sons more susceptible to scarring, albeit very light scarring that did disappear eventually. It never really helped their acne much and just seemed to thin the skin and make it look red and not healthy. After several months of no improvement, they stopped it.
So, from my understanding, just considering the collagen, the first few layers of the dermis become compacted at first, and nearing the 12 month mark on tretinoin, a large jump in thickening of the dermis occurs (hence so many women swearing by it for long term anti-aging benefits). And taking into account that it purges the heck out of your pores, I would say for the first 6 months, you could quite possibly see larger looking pores if your skin was pretty congested under those first few layers. I can attest to the thickening at the 12 month mark as many of my old scars took on a very soft look and ALL of my ice pick and boxcar scars became mild rolling scars and my forehead lines disappeared as well as crows feet. Which is why I like tretinoin, as when I was a teen they were heavy handed giving me epiduo and clinda gel which together burnt my face and I scarred due to that treatment.
For me, the peak benefits of being of clear of acne hit right around 4-6 months of being on it when I FIRST started. According to the studies, the standard is six months. This topical takes a lot of patience, but as a woman in my 30s, it has been worth the wait for the benefits.
So, from my understanding, just considering the collagen, the first few layers of the dermis become compacted at first, and nearing the 12 month mark on tretinoin, a large jump in thickening of the dermis occurs (hence so many women swearing by it for long term anti-aging benefits). And taking into account that it purges the heck out of your pores, I would say for the first 6 months, you could quite possibly see larger looking pores if your skin was pretty congested under those first few layers. I can attest to the thickening at the 12 month mark as many of my old scars took on a very soft look and ALL of my ice pick and boxcar scars became mild rolling scars and my forehead lines disappeared as well as crows feet. Which is why I like tretinoin, as when I was a teen they were heavy handed giving me epiduo and clinda gel which together burnt my face and I scarred due to that treatment.
For me, the peak benefits of being of clear of acne hit right around 4-6 months of being on it when I FIRST started. According to the studies, the standard is six months. This topical takes a lot of patience, but as a woman in my 30s, it has been worth the wait for the benefits.
So did you have large pores and then they went away? Or did you never experience that?
I used retin a last year in August. Only used it a cpl times and stopped bcuz my skin became SUPER oily, blotchy uneven color, and larger pores all over my face. It's coming up on a year and none of these problems have gone away. I know for a fact that my pores are bigger bcuz I know have these weird lines that connect my pores when I smile all across my cheeks. This sucks soooooo bad...
That's really strange. I have insanely sensitive skin and usually if something can go wrong, it does with my skin. I have had some panic moments with tretinoin cream where my skin was so dehydrated I looked like death (clear skin though). But I would slap on vaseline at night and some nights mixMagnesium ascorbyl phosphate powder with it and just massage the heck out of it and my skin was magnificent. Dollars to donuts anyone who uses it long term and isn't happy, it's because they allowed their skin to become super dehydrated. There's just too much published in the NIH backing up the effects of tretinoin. It does have to be used correctly and in adjunct with lots of water and external hydration.
On June 2, 2014 at 4:47 AM, paigems said:Retin-A does this to my pores, unfortunately. If you just started it I'd stick it out for a bit, though, and see if it gets better.
how long will it take for the pores to get better. What happened in your case??? Any improvement in pores that became large??what strength did u use??? And what was ur skin care routine like???
