I'm kind of in the same boat, except I've only been using tretinoin .025% for 3 months instead of 6. I'm worried because I'm still getting breakouts that clear up, but not before I breakout yet again. I was debating switching to a higher percentage, I go to the derm on Thursday, but was nervous for the same reason. I hate that we are in this situation but I'm glad we aren't alone.

On 5/27/2016 at 6:46 PM, KordFjord said:

I started .025% tretinoin about 6 months ago. I worked up to using it every night, which I have been doing for the last 4 months. There was a very long and severe IB (about 3 months), which also included a lot of flakiness and redness on my skin and has just recently died down. Unfortunately, after the IB died down my acne basically returned to what it was before I started tretinoin. I have fewer large pimples, but more small ones that disappear quickly, although not before new ones show up.

I'm considering switching to .05% tretinoin, but I'm starting a new job soon and will also be attending a new university next fall so I'm worried that I'll have another bad IB. Does anyone have experience with moving from .025% to .05% tretinoin? Will there be another IB and will it be just as severe/lengthy? Will it actually improve my acne? I know everyone reacts to treatments differently but I'm trying to decide whether I should risk an upgrade to .05% for even more potential frustration.

P.S. If it matters I am also on aczone and cephalexin twice daily.

Its possible you will have an IB, but it is unlikely that it will be as bad or as long as when you first started the tretinoin.