This seems to be increasingly common unfortunately...I would honestly stop if the look is worrying you, for some it gets worse and becomes close to impossible to get their skin back to normal.

you should absolutely not be exfoliating while on a retinoid, the retinoid is powerful enough on its own...yes your skin is probably stressed out...I would discontinue and be gentle until everything returns to normal..your skin is telling you to stop, please don't ignore the first warning signs

I have heard some bad side effects with Retin A and stronger retinoids but I thought because Differin was the most gentle it would be okay? The sides of my face feel the same but here's how my forehead looks at the moment - it's harder to see the pores but I have noticed lately my makeup doesn't sit properly and my skin is feeling quite dry (other than the oily t-zone). Have you used differin? the pores near my nose are huge but I'm pretty sure they've always been that way. I'd love to let my skin go without prescriptions but as you can see, if I do that, then I'm sure the sides of my face will scar even worse. Just so fed up with these clogged pores everywhere, but I don't want to damage my skin even further so I just don't know  I used differin for 5 months last year and looking back on photos my skin looked much better, I'm just concerned that the chemical peels may have compromised my skin barrier and the differin will now have a harsher impact this time. I'm thinking perhaps I'll stop applying differin to my forehead and space besides my nose as that isn't the worst of it-its mainly the sides of my face that's covered in comedones and that area has the same texture as usual so far. 

2 hours ago, BrokenPorEcelain said:

This seems to be increasingly common unfortunately...I would honestly stop if the look is worrying you, for some it gets worse and becomes close to impossible to get their skin back to normal.

you should absolutely not be exfoliating while on a retinoid, the retinoid is powerful enough on its own...yes your skin is probably stressed out...I would discontinue and be gentle until everything returns to normal..your skin is telling you to stop, please don't ignore the first warning signs

woops not sure if I responded directly

11 hours ago, Tash1901 said:

13 hours ago, BrokenPorEcelain said:

This seems to be increasingly common unfortunately...I would honestly stop if the look is worrying you, for some it gets worse and becomes close to impossible to get their skin back to normal.

you should absolutely not be exfoliating while on a retinoid, the retinoid is powerful enough on its own...yes your skin is probably stressed out...I would discontinue and be gentle until everything returns to normal..your skin is telling you to stop, please don't ignore the first warning signs

woops not sure if I responded directly

No worries!

My retinoid was tazorac.

Hello, I would urge you to listen to BrokenPorEcelain, she knows what she is talking about. And so do I, a retinoid also ruined my skin. I would suggest you read her thread, there are pictures of her, myself and another personsskin after using assorted retinoids. I know that Differin is a different retinoid, butthey all work in the same way. Her damage was only after 2 uses, mine happened more gradually, but if I had stopped (and not listened to my Doctors) at month 1 or 2 or whatever, I may still have a face that looks like me.

4 hours ago, BrokenPorEcelain said:

No worries!

My retinoid was tazorac.

(Which yes, is a damn strong retinoid..THE strongest)

You can look through my posts to find my pictures and story, main one titled "Tazorac.05 destroyed my face".

But differin has just as many horror stories, In fact, when this happened to me, some of the very first results I found online were about differin destroying people's skin,

it doesn't really matter the strength tho when it comes to this reaction..it more has to do with the fact that you just have the type of skin that is more prone to this issue, no matter how low or high of a strength you use.

 

 

From the look of your pics, your skin is doing a HELLLL of a lot better than mine. I'm shocked that it has made it through all those chemical peels and differin and still looks like this. Granted, you have acne on your mid-cheeks, but Your pores are pretty invisible, what I do see tho, is the shiny film (that I also have going on )with maybe just a teensie bit of orange peel on the top part of your forehead and on the top part of your cheek. Where the light is shining. 

Perhaps there are a few open looking pores elsewhere if I look really closely.

And Maybe the pictures and lighting are blocking the rest out...but I think you are in the early enough stages to reverse this. 

I think you have just absolutely got to stop exfoliation and start moisturizing and being gentle until your skin loses that film/slight porous texture.

And yes, I think you may have done the chemical peels in too close of a proximity to the differin this time...try to give your skin a break.

Damage and irritation itself can cause clogged pores and excess oil so you might be surprised that those issues get better with less intervention rather than more.

I would not use the differin for awhile at all because retinoids will travel to other parts of your face even if you only apply them in one area.

 

I just read through the thread, I'm so sorry that this has happened, how incredibly frustrating.

I'll keep tracking the thread and your progress because I'm a strong believer that if you listen to your body and lead a clean healthy lifestyle then SOMETHING has to give, right? Plus I would hope that age would be on your side and that this can be somewhat reversed. I'm quite panicked at the moment, I'm not sure if it's paranoia or my skin really is reacting differently this time.  I can't afford a derm atm and even if I could, the wait list is a few weeks. I did see a doctor yesterday but he didn't mention anything about texture, simply said "you'll be a swan at 8 weeks." I just feel really helpless, like I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't kind of thing. I want this acne to go away but not at the expense of my skins overall health. 

2 hours ago, sararey said:

Hello, I would urge you to listen to BrokenPorEcelain, she knows what she is talking about. And so do I, a retinoid also ruined my skin. I would suggest you read her thread , there are pictures of her, myself and another persons skin after using assorted retinoids. I know that Differin is a different retinoid, but they all work in the same way. Her damage was only after 2 uses, mine happened more gradually, but if I had stopped (and not listened to my Doctors) at month 1 or 2 or whatever, I may still have a face that looks like me.           

Wow, I can't believe there isn't more warning or info with these things. How are you managing things at the moment? I can't tell if my skin is just super dry as it's flaking a little, or if my texture is truly changing. I'm really concerned though so I think I should give it break. I'm always too quick to do new things to my skin and I wish I never spent so much money on the peels and just stayed on the differin last year. 🙁 

Something i found concerning retinoids.
http://www.facingacne.com/retin-a/
quote:
The problem with tretinoin is that it causes the skin to open where it is healthy as well as where it is sick. The skin between cysts can be red and inflamed. The rapid growth of the skin can also, ironically, increase the number and activity of sebaceous glands that make oily, waxy sebum. New pores can clog even while old cysts open.