I used Differin for probably three months. I think it helped me a lot, but it did not clear me up completely, so I'm gonna try out some more holistic treatments now. Good luck to everyone using it though, it's a really good medication in my opinion.

everyone is alwayssssss welcome here!!! This is what this diary is for. lol. Angelcream! Safinator said it all. DO NOT BE disappointed when you get breakouts during 3-5 weeks. Thats your IB phase or whatever. it will get a little better by week 8 and week 12 you will see noticeable improvements. I SAW NEARLY PERFECT SKIN by 4 months into the treatment...! <3

MWilso, I'm now on retin a 0.1 3x a week for maintenance....what is a TCA peel!??

Week errr.. 23!

Nothing really major to say, still clearing up slowly. I will get there eventually!!

Its nice to see we inspire some people to use Differin [Edited image out] . Have found it very very useful

Week 23? What was your acne at your starting point ? Severe ?

Week 23? What was your acne at your starting point ? Severe ?

 

Erm well at the starting point, I didn't think it was that bad. However throughout the months, I sort of realised that it was kinda bad and there was a reason why Differin was taking so long.

I've seen people on here going on Accutane with better skin than mine. But thankfully I don't have to deal with any side effects and will get clear, even if it takes 7-8 months.

Hopefully by month 7 I will be happy with my skin

i'm going to apply differin on my face soon for the first time, yikes ! just wondering if i should start applying every other night or every night ? i'm just afraid to aggrovate my skin . .

every other night for the first week!

For those who are interested :

updated with pics my log :

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/index.php/topic/316993-first-ride-with-tretinoin/

I am quite clear right now.

History :

- Accutane total : 16 months in 2 times (9+ 7 months)

- Tried every antibiotic

- 2 years on BP

- 1 month on epiduo then backed on DKR

- DKR again

- Retin-A now (french brand, Locacid cream without comedogenic ingredients and full of good stuff)

Ok.

I am on week 6 still having IB but very slight, no new "BIG" pimples but they will probably appear

If I come to get too much inflammatory, I ll switch on BP with DKR again. If not, let s go for retin-a.

These results come from 10 years with acne and knowledge of my skin.

Good to see new faces on here.

sorry about my rant, i hate scars.

so i took the last 5 nights off differin, my skin calmed down significantly, the redness and flakes subsided. I used it again last night because truth is it works very well on comedones. I'm going to only use it once a week, maybe twice.

so I'ts been 11 weeks since I started differin so here's some tips from experience

• start off slowly, once every 2-3 days. Doesnt even need to be used every day to be effective.
• use gentle products alongside it, no AHA BHA or BP at least not until your skin has accustomed to it. gentle cleanser differin moisturizer and sunscreen is all you need for first 8-12 weeks also any changes in your skin during that period you can put down to differin. PIH can be tackled later
• you will probably notice side effects, redness peeling dry skin, when these occurs back off for a few days till they subside, which is okay to do. You want to minimize inflammation and keep your skin calm. If you don't back off your skin won't have time to recover.
• sunscreen every day, your skin will become very sensitive to sunlight.
• no picking, your skin's very sensitive you'll make PIH worse, let the differin do it's job.
• it's okay to use a moistuiser 5-10 minutes after applying differin.
• your skin might also get oilier (mine and allisons did) it improves with time.
• it's not a linear improvement, some good weeks some bad.
• dont apply near eyes, folds of nose and mouth, it actually spreads a little further than u applied.
• be gentle, it's a prescription drug and much stronger than over the counter stuff. Be smart you know your skin best.

good luck

Good to see new faces on here.

 

sorry about my rant, i hate scars.

 

so i took the last 5 nights off differin, my skin calmed down significantly, the redness and flakes subsided. I used it again last night because truth is it works very well on comedones. I'm going to only use it once a week, maybe twice.

 

so I'ts been 11 weeks since I started differin so here's some tips from experience

• start off slowly, once every 2-3 days. Doesnt even need to be used every day to be effective.
• use gentle products alongside it, no AHA BHA or BP at least not until your skin has accustomed to it. gentle cleanser differin moisturizer and sunscreen is all you need for first 8-12 weeks also any changes in your skin during that period you can put down to differin. PIH can be tackled later
• you will probably notice side effects, redness peeling dry skin, when these occurs back off for a few days till they subside, which is okay to do. You want to minimize inflammation and keep your skin calm. If you don't back off your skin won't have time to recover.
• sunscreen every day, your skin will become very sensitive to sunlight.
• no picking, your skin's very sensitive you'll make PIH worse, let the differin do it's job.
• it's okay to use a moistuiser 5-10 minutes after applying differin.
• your skin might also get oilier (mine and allisons did) it improves with time.
• it's not a linear improvement, some good weeks some bad.
• dont apply near eyes, folds of nose and mouth, it actually spreads a little further than u applied.
• be gentle, it's a prescription drug and much stronger than over the counter stuff. Be smart you know your skin best.

 

good luck

 

Yes

I would add :

Retinoids are one of the best things you can do to your skin. Retinol production (some kind of retinoid less strong than tretinoin or adapelene) is favored when someone has a perfect diet & sufficient sun intake, even if too much sun is bad. Most people nowadays can't have this life so adding a retinoid to your skin care is hard.

The side effects can be very hard on some and some cannot tolerate it. However, I got a very tough skin and sometimes even it gets peely etc... You definately should have under the hand a cream for irritated / atopic skin (I love Dermexa from Aveeno but cannot find it anywhere anymore, this stuff was the bomb, calmed red irritated cracky skin in 2 days, without a lie) however you re gonna suffer

It will take between 1 and 3 months to notice the first results (not talking of effects, they start in 2 days, but positive results are long and full results are long to obtain)

However, remember this is not designed for inflammatory acne. If you got strong inflammatory acne (lots of inflammed papules, very red pustules), it will just help them to heal but it does not disinfect so bacterias are still here.

If inflammatory breakout starts to show up strongly and stay, you should consider switching to BP because it does a very good job at dealing with it.

DO NOT PICK

DO NOT PICK

DO NOT PICK

DO NOT PICK

I MEAN, EVER

Picking is the MAIN, yes the MAIN source of rebel acne. This is not a result of "spreading bacteria with your hands", this is not (well mainly) infecting with other bacterias, this is putting your skin on a STRESS, weakening it, and weakened skin = prone to inflammation skin. If you pick with Retin-A you are gonna hurt yourself so much the scabs will last for days, they will probably get inflammated again and it s gonna take months to heal

Remember, a pustule or papule is healed after 45 to 60 days when your skin renewed (it renews every 25 to 30 days, with retin-a it s much faster, but still) : that means 10 days of evolution from clogged pore to PIH, and then scar tissue evacuation. So be patient. Don't touch at red spots or PIH or pink spot. They are weak.

Remember, after a few weeks on Retin-A or whatever retinoid, your skin does not have the extra 1 to 10 layers of more or less dead skin to protect it. Dead skin are unable to bind to themselves, and so after each wash they go away.

Stopping to pick is the number 1 best thing I did to my skin. It was hard, I had to go to a shrink and help me figuring out what was fucking with my acne and it is sometimes the case, I can have 1 pimple and think "oh my god ppl are going to say I got a pimple" but it s getting better.

another thing

FIND A GOOD GENERAL PHYSICIAN

Derms are like... They look at your skin, analyse and proceed step by step following general guidance against acne because for 99% of them, acne is not serious.

They are great to deliver products that can be good but most of them don't know how to advise people : find the products that work for you.

But a good general physician, if you come at him / her, saying "ok I got rebel acne since I m 15 I don't know what to do" he should prescribe you a blood test looking for :

- B12, D, Copper, Zinc, E Vit, Iron, B9 vit, blood sugar

I had, the first, terrible surprises. My body was so low on some nutrients I had to complement hardcore and it helped me in ALL aspects of life, I now feel so better... it s incredible.

Think diet too. Don't be nazi about it, it s useless, but avoid Burger King or shit like that when you can. Cheat days are OK.

Last point, EXERCISE

Exercising daily (sometimes cardio, sometimes weight lifting) helped me so much to overcome the situation too. Reason is simple : exercising means faster blood circulation + endorphins, means good feeling + better work of your overall body = faster healing. It s not a "cheat code" to clear skin but it will help.

Courage

Hey guys,

I really need some courage talk here. So I am starting 6th week of differin and my forehead is bumpier and oilier. My skin looked really great for like 2 days a week ago and I was on cloud nine thinking my acne is gone. But now it's BACK !!! and I hate it so much. I read the posts above with u guys saying that differin is not a linear treatment and that till week 8 or so perturbations are expected and then final stabilization. Is this perhaps the case with me too?

most likely naina, it's what happened to the rest of us, so soldier through it

I feel like I'm back to square 1 with my face.. Differin isn't working, clindamycin isn't working.

My face is back to having light-mild acne. It's ruining my life right now.. Sorry for people who have really bad acne, I really wouldn't know how to cope with that.

Going back to the derm tomorrow, I'll probably ask for accutane, or diane 35, I just want to be done with this shit.

First I thought the differin was working, but found out later that differin does NOTHING for my skin and the antibiotics cleared up my face 100%

But yeah, it comes back in full force after one or two months if you stop.

Feeling depressed, life sucks with acne.

I feel like I'm back to square 1 with my face.. Differin isn't working, clindamycin isn't working.

My face is back to having light-mild acne. It's ruining my life right now.. Sorry for people who have really bad acne, I really wouldn't know how to cope with that.

 

Going back to the derm tomorrow, I'll probably ask for accutane, or diane 35, I just want to be done with this shit.

First I thought the differin was working, but found out later that differin does NOTHING for my skin and the antibiotics cleared up my face 100%

But yeah, it comes back in full force after one or two months if you stop.

 

Feeling depressed, life sucks with acne.

 

Jacinthaa,

What kind of acne do you have? Is it comedonal or inflamed ?

Hmz I Dont really know exactly. I have like all these tiny skincoloured bumps on my forehead, and about 3 tiny red zits on both cheeks. And i do have a big red bump on my forehead aswell, jaw and chin are mostly clear. and ive got a lot of freckles and tiny red marks. I have an appointment with a skintherapist tomorrow. Shes my last solution, cuz i really dont know what to do with my really persistent mild acne. Im willing to do anything, take diane 35 and gain weight, i really dont care. I just want my clear skin, and antibiotics are hell. Yeah they clear you up but it comes back worse once you stop. I never had closed comedones on my forehead, and now it feels like fucking sandpaper.

sorry to hear that jacintha.

It could very well be that it was the antibiotics that cleared you up, and since u took a break from them you developed resistance hence they no longer work.

Differin worked great to clear up my deep comedones,(i should of stopped at that point) but so far it hasn't been able to stop red bumps from showing up, they do clear quicker tho.

i'm probably just going to spot treat any deep comedones i get. I'm at week 12 tomorrow, and tbh if i weigh the side effects against effectiveness it's not worth using all over my face in the long run. My skin's sensitive. In all honesty it hasn't worked any better than bp or salycylic acid with the exception of those deep comedones i had

It's different for everyone

The question of "Week 8" or "week 10" or whatever is irrelevant.

For some people with a lot of congested skin, and with a lot of sebum production (especially in summer), it can take more than 3 months to notice results. However results will, for most, eventually come.

So... Just keep using it if you don't have irritation or a lot of big pimples.

Hmz I Dont really know exactly. I have like all these tiny skincoloured bumps on my forehead, and about 3 tiny red zits on both cheeks. And i do have a big red bump on my forehead aswell, jaw and chin are mostly clear. and ive got a lot of freckles and tiny red marks. I have an appointment with a skintherapist tomorrow. Shes my last solution, cuz i really dont know what to do with my really persistent mild acne. Im willing to do anything, take diane 35 and gain weight, i really dont care. I just want my clear skin, and antibiotics are hell. Yeah they clear you up but it comes back worse once you stop. I never had closed comedones on my forehead, and now it feels like fucking sandpaper.

 

Jacintha,

I am very sorry you fee this way. But I think NoRegrets is right . You seem to have a case of infammatory lesions which is not best treated with differin as far as I know. If antibiotics work than so be it! Hang in there. It will get better. Have you ever used Diane 35 or any other bcp before?

The question of "Week 8" or "week 10" or whatever is irrelevant.

 

For some people with a lot of congested skin, and with a lot of sebum production (especially in summer), it can take more than 3 months to notice results. However results will, for most, eventually come.

 

So... Just keep using it if you don't have irritation or a lot of big pimples.

 

Safinator, Does differin make your skin more oily? I am on 0.1 gel and in week 6 with my course and my skin around the nose tends to get more oily.

Naina it made my face oilier, it's common with retinoids

Never used acne BC before, I did use microgynon the time I had a boyfriend, but it broke me out HORRIBLY. But yeah, little did I know that time -.-

So I went to a skintherapist, and I got like a glycolic acid cream to put on my face at night so I can prepare my face for some glycolic peels.

And I think about going to my doctor and ask for Diane 35 or Yasmin BC. It just sucks to have to deal with acne. It's definitely not horrible, but it just bothers me. At this time I don't care if it's just delay things with BC, and knowing that it will come back once I stop, I just want clear skin now

Never used acne BC before, I did use microgynon the time I had a boyfriend, but it broke me out HORRIBLY. But yeah, little did I know that time -.-

 

So I went to a skintherapist, and I got like a glycolic acid cream to put on my face at night so I can prepare my face for some glycolic peels.

And I think about going to my doctor and ask for Diane 35 or Yasmin BC. It just sucks to have to deal with acne. It's definitely not horrible, but it just bothers me. At this time I don't care if it's just delay things with BC, and knowing that it will come back once I stop, I just want clear skin now

 

Hun i can definitely relate to your frustrations. I definitely caution you with birth control as at some point you WILL have to come off it and then the whole process will start again. I was on birth control (which never got me clear) and accutane (which did keep me clear for 2 years in between each course) but alas, i still have acne. Kinda wish i had invested more time finding my route cause than buying time cause now as an adult, i am paying the price. Also, BC messes with your body and you don't know what it is capable of doing until it does it.

Definitely weigh your options and see what lifestyle changes you can make before you decide on hormonal means. You definitely a lot of support hereto get you through the tough parts

Good Luck

 

 

The question of "Week 8" or "week 10" or whatever is irrelevant.

 

For some people with a lot of congested skin, and with a lot of sebum production (especially in summer), it can take more than 3 months to notice results. However results will, for most, eventually come.

 

So... Just keep using it if you don't have irritation or a lot of big pimples.

 

Safinator, Does differin make your skin more oily? I am on 0.1 gel and in week 6 with my course and my skin around the nose tends to get more oily.

 

Retinoids have two ways of acting that causes oiliness :

- first they dry & irritate the skin. So the skin reacts by producing more sebum to restore lipid barrier.

- second they exfoliate quicker.

Imagine this is your skin :

-------- LAYER 1 ----------

-------- LAYER 2 ----------

-------- LAYER 3 ----------

-------- LAYER 4 ----------

-------- LAYER 5 ----------

-------- LAYER 6 ----------

-------- LAYER 6 ----------

-------- LAYER 7 ----------

-

-

- TONS OF LAYERS

-

-

- SEBUM GLANDS

When sebum is produced, it has to travel all the layers to appear on the surface. On acneic people, first layers are often keratinized (that means they are tough & hard ) and build on dead cells and some other debris, that means sebum gets "trapped" between the layers, blocks the follicles, and give hard pimples or blocked pores that may be invisible.

The non-keratinized layers renew every 3 to 4 weeks.

On non-acneic people, those first layer renew more effectively and they are not keratinized, and sebum glands are not under stress.

When you apply a retinoid, your skin looks like :

-------- LAYER 1 ----------

-------- LAYER 2 ----------

-------- LAYER 3 ----------

-------- LAYER 4 ----------

-

-

- TONS OF LAYERS

-

-

- SEBUM GLANDS

That means the top layers, after several weeks / months, will disappear.

Why ? Because retinoid dissolves the links between dead cells and eliminates the first layers. This is called exfoliation and retinoids are the best OTC exfoliator hands down.

What does it means ?

It means that sebum travels faster to the skin surface ! REtinoid also binds to some receptors that makes the skin surface more effective to travel sebum so it does not fix, that s how it cures & prevent blackheads and whiteheads. Cool no ?

Now, you may see that your sebum glands produces more oil.

That s a side effect. The sebum becomes visible.

You should get stuffed :

- a matifier for the day (Paulas Choice matifiers do wonder)

- blotting paper

- patience

Why patience ?

Because retinoids binds to sebum glands. That's how accutane works. But topical (Differin) don't go to the bloodstream. That means they only have a very slight affect on glands. However, after some months, your glands will produce less sebum.

And yes, I m on tretinoin, harder form of differin, so my skin is veryyyy oily especially on sunny day. But I keep using it at the moment.

@saffinator, I get how differin thins the stratum corneum, I always wonder what stops it from dissolving away further layers of your stratum corneum exposing the stratum granulosum?. The stratum corneum prevents water loss, entry of pathogens including p.acnes and also maintains skins pH so it's beneficial. Without it inflammatory acne is more likely.

Over exfoliating with scrubs and AHA can cause this problems which is why your only supposed to use them as recommended and not combine different exfoliators.

In fact, Retinoids does not "exfoliate" as you know. They don't eliminate the dead cells as AHA or BHA does.

They mostly tell the new cells to come quicker and stronger. They do not "over exfoliate". The new cells are just stronger and better and have a better binding and transportation of every nutrient / material.

In fact, retinoids are healthy and are one of the best thing you can do for your skin.

Exfoliating is different. It dissolves the dead skin and makes them renew faster. It can overexfoliate.

yeah i remember reading that as well. They increase skin cell turnover, so the flakes are all the dead cells.

Still I wonder how then they reduce the number of layers in the stratum corneum.