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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.
Nice Info Safinator!, I am anxiously curious. Can our skin ever get immune/ resistant to retinoids?
hey guys 
i haved been on differin for a little over 1 weeks now, (only applying every other day).
i have been experiencing more break out faster than normal, and I have more pimples on my face than i usually get( i have about 6-9 active breakout, in comparison to one or two)
is this a normal reaction to differin?
thanks beforehand !
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.
Nice Info Safinator!, I am anxiously curious. Can our skin ever get immune/ resistant to retinoids?
There is no such thing as "immunity" or "resistance" talking about cosmetics. This is not bacteria. your skin can adapt to bad effects (dryness redness etc) but the active principles will still remain active as long as they are not antibiotics.
When you stop retinoids, your skin will return back to "normal", and for you and me, that means, acneic.
I think the only way to "cure" this is to regulate the sebum quality + eat ealthy + exercise.
You will need more omega-3 / 6, more zinc, etc... There are tons of posts at this subject.
My skin changed the day my 12th physician told me that she would check some vitamins, copper, zinc, etc... in my skin and revelead a long term deficiency...
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.
Nice Info Safinator!, I am anxiously curious. Can our skin ever get immune/ resistant to retinoids?
There is no such thing as "immunity" or "resistance" talking about cosmetics. This is not bacteria. your skin can adapt to bad effects (dryness redness etc) but the active principles will still remain active as long as they are not antibiotics.
When you stop retinoids, your skin will return back to "normal", and for you and me, that means, acneic.
I think the only way to "cure" this is to regulate the sebum quality + eat ealthy + exercise.
You will need more omega-3 / 6, more zinc, etc... There are tons of posts at this subject.
My skin changed the day my 12th physician told me that she would check some vitamins, copper, zinc, etc... in my skin and revelead a long term deficiency...
How do u check for this kind of deficiency? simple blood test or anything special?
No, you need a doctor specialized in this kind of tests, I don't know how to say it in english. Someone who believe that beyond medication, balance is a key.
I did a test for :
- Copper
- Zinc
- Eryhtrocytea Folic Acid
- B12 Vitamin
- D3 Vitamin
- Magnesium
- Calcium
- Chromium
etc...
It costed something like 300 ($450) but took in charge by insurance in france
Regarding the Tretinoin, I have to say everyone that I am stopping at day 50.
After 7 weeks, I have seen an improvement on complexion, tone, sweetness and texture, but the last 3 days I had an explosion of like 15 big inflammed pimples and the tretinoin seemed to not help to heal them.
I am back on BP + AHA full regimen.
No reason to use something that does not work on me after nearly 2 months and that increase acne.
Hi guys!
Good news 
So I went to my skintherapist and got like a cream with 10% glycolic acid, and a face wash (used morning and night) And my skin seems to be r©ally clearing up.
Like all the tiny bumps on my forehead seems to flatten out (I must have had like about 30, and now I have like 3 really tiny skin coloured bumps) and 1 flattening pimple that came up a week ago due my period.
Cheeks are almost completely smooth, there are some red/brown marks, but because I have freckles they really don't stand out
Chin has some blackheads, but they are coming to the surface because of the glycolic acid.
I still have some bumps next to my hairline, but they don't bother me cuz you can't see them because of my hair.
Overall I'm reaaaaaally hape with how things are going
I took 2 weeks off differin because my skin got too irritated, 2-3 days of stopping differin i started breaking out with little pimples 4-5 every day. That's never happened to me. The red irrtated skin went away n my skin oils seemed to have decreased as well, Differin made my face look waxy.
Ah so becuase of breaking out worse then ever I started Differin again last wednesday, every 2 out of three days hoping this can reduce irritation. My face seems to be at the IB stage like week 5-6 when i first used it. A lot of red bumps, had two big pimples and one firm comedone seems to have erupted out of nowhere and the waxy looks coming back.
I've changed up my regimen: Cleaner:obagi nu derm foaming gel, sunscreen Obagi nu derm spf 50.
Going to really try to stick through it this time. A little support is appreciated.
noregrets! We are here for you!!!! You should never go cold turkey on a retinoid :/ Have you at least been doing some exfoliating even when you got off of it?
Anyway, I think I changed a product up or something (i ran out of my bobbi brown concealer...so I just used a pot of the mac studio sculpt concealer I had lying around)....OH MY GOD. I don't think my skin likes it very much. I can feel a few "bumpy" spots. I mean...nothing has fully grown into a pimple but I don't think my skin likes it very much. I've been using it for a few days and my skin HATES IT! So dropping that right now. Let's see how it gets!
Oh nooo! Well I hope your skin gets better soon! You know....thats an interesting question. There are times of the day that my hyperpigmentation looks like its fading! And then there are other times (like right after applying moisturizer or washing my face), that my face looks just AS red at it was. Hyperpigmentation sucks. YOU are so lucky mister that you have 3. I have like 20 on my cheeks. But they are really tiny like little freckles. But it SUCKSSSSSSSS! Its like a cluster of them too. UGH. I hate hate hate hate hate hyperpigmentation. But I will say, I like it wayyy more than acne. You can cover up color with makeup but not texture. No matter how much you try to cover up acne, it always pokes through. UGH. But with hyperpigmentation....I cover up with concealer, foundation and a powder and literally...I look FLAWLESS. I mean people come up to me in the bright sunlight and say: "your skin is perfect...." i mean, if I look with a magnifying glass onto my skin. I don't see any "bumps"...I just see redness. I can see every little pore and its OPEN! Its not clogged which is GREAT.
Anyway, UPDATE on skin: So it was definitely my mac studio sculpt concealer that was breaking me out. I stopped using it and my skin is back to NORMAL! EEEE! So excited! Lol, mac concealers dont usually break me out but thats a full coverage concealer so its pretty heavy...I think thats why it did. Usually I'll just use light liquidy-sheer powder concealers.
Oh and noregrets, I thought you might find this interesting. I tried it and it really makes your skin look good.
http://skinverse.com/turmeric-lightens-brightens-skin-and-reduces-pigmentation.html
Ah damn that concealer, I'm pretty sure my obagi sunscreen was clogging my pores so I've stopped using it and seems to be getting better. I don't know why my purge is worse this time, I've got 3 pimples at moment, 1 of them has got PIH wrote all over it hopefully the other two resolving without leaving marks.
yhhh I've heard about turmeric, I also heard it leaves a yellow tinge behind? Too early for that anyway need to clear up first but luckily I've got 5 weeks off uni and my skin tends to be better at my parents house.
hey noregrets, I was wondering if you could give me some information about adipose atrophy due to cortisone shots in a few pimples? I have these SLIGHT depressions in my skin but not enough to be called a "scar"....nobody can see them but me. Its very very slight. My pimples have NEVER left any sort of indent. I've heard of adipose atrophy but I don't know that much about it. Could it have to do with cortisone being injected into some pimples because the indents are in that place...
Damn Allison i hate it when I don't know the answer to something. I'll try anyway haha. Adipose tissue is just fat, in relation to your skin it forms the subcutaneous layer below you dermis. Cortisone shots are just based on cortisol which can break down fat for energy. So based on that it could be possible in the area it was injected perhaps too deep hence it caused fat loss. Normally when you gain fat the size and number of adipose cells increase so the atrophy shouldn't be permanent.
I'm assuming the spots you got the shots in were the worst ones you had, the scarring is possible from the acne itself. Quite a few people say they didn't get any indented scars prior to using retinoids. I think anytime i use something harsh on my skin it impairs it's regenerative ability. Your skin can basically recover after a acne lesion in two ways (this goes for any damage in your body) one's regenerate in which your skin basically heals without scarring, the other is repair in which case you end up with a scar. If it is a real scar then retin a can help fill it over time by stimulating collagen production.
This is just a wild guess, the irritation and sensitivity from retinoids could possibly affect the skins regenerative ability. still it's best to ask a doctor about it because they're more educated in the matter however like you said it's only noticeable to yourself so your doc might look at you funny.
My own skin update, I'm braking out in pustules I don't know why, it's two weeks back on Differin now
Hey guys, just wondering if you had any advice..?
This is my 9th week of differin and while it's really helped to stop the deep pimples from forming. I've noticed that each morning I wake up, my face is really oily and I have a ton of tiny whiteheads on my cheeks. Is this normal considering I've been using it for 9 weeks now? My skin is a lot smoother, but I honestly thought the pimples popping up would start to reduce by now, but I have these whiteheads EVERY single morning I wake up.
are they the ones that just wash of by themselves and not leave any PIH behind? What else are you using with differin? it could be something else that's clogging your pores, my sunscreen was my culprit. the two weeks i used it i got a lot of clogged pores and pimples despite using differin. 9 weeks is still early for a retinoid and the oily skin seems to be common supposedly the oil is free flowing since your pores are cleared, like a drain that you've unblocked.
Hey everyone great little thread right here! Anyway yeah I've been prescribed Differin 0.1% Gel with an antibiotic (check my log in my signature for more if you'd like) and today is my first day... I'll be applying Differin for the first time tonight. So I was just wondering what advice and info would you give to a newbie to this? Like I mean everything. I'm literally dumb to this whole Differin thing :L
Thanks guys!
- once a day at night
- pea sized amount - trust me it goes a long way, any more and your just begging for irritation
- wait 10-20 minutes after washing before applying differin makes it less irritating
- then wait 10 minutes before applying moisturizer if it's needed, applying it straight away dilutes it.
- For first 2 weeks use it every other night to reduce side effects, trust the irritation pops out of nowhere
- don't use any harsh cleanser toners and whatever, no salicylic acid BP scrubs or anything that has the potential to irritate, it might not of been irritating in the past but combined with differin it could be
- sunscreen everyday
- don't pick AT ALL your skin becomes sensitive on differin and your risking scars and bad post inflammatory hyper-pigmentation. I had a habit of picking but now i'm on differin which is my first prescription treatment so I just tell myself this stuff is strong enough for me to not have to intervene.
- I don't recommend spot treating any pimples i find my skins sensitive and putting on anything else just makes things worse.
- Before you start you have to understand it's a long process if you've read the thread you'll see we've ALL had ups and downs, you'll break out in the earlier weeks then it'll clear then you'll break out again, this process repeats but generally the severity and duration of the breakout phase decreases further in to treatment.
- If you do start to get irritated, too flaky or too dry take a day off. These side effects are common but they shouldn't be severe, be smart, you want to reduce your breakouts but at the same time not be walking around with a red peeling face lol.
- once a day at night
- pea sized amount - trust me it goes a long way, any more and your just begging for irritation
- wait 10-20 minutes after washing before applying differin makes it less irritating
- then wait 10 minutes before applying moisturizer if it's needed, applying it straight away dilutes it.
- For first 2 weeks use it every other night to reduce side effects, trust the irritation pops out of nowhere
- don't use any harsh cleanser toners and whatever, no salicylic acid BP scrubs or anything that has the potential to irritate, it might not of been irritating in the past but combined with differin it could be
- sunscreen everyday
- don't pick AT ALL your skin becomes sensitive on differin and your risking scars and bad post inflammatory hyper-pigmentation. I had a habit of picking but now i'm on differin which is my first prescription treatment so I just tell myself this stuff is strong enough for me to not have to intervene.
- I don't recommend spot treating any pimples i find my skins sensitive and putting on anything else just makes things worse.
- Before you start you have to understand it's a long process if you've read the thread you'll see we've ALL had ups and downs, you'll break out in the earlier weeks then it'll clear then you'll break out again, this process repeats but generally the severity and duration of the breakout phase decreases further in to treatment.
- If you do start to get irritated, too flaky or too dry take a day off. These side effects are common but they shouldn't be severe, be smart, you want to reduce your breakouts but at the same time not be walking around with a red peeling face lol.
Wow thank you so much for all the detail I haven't read this entire thread but yes I have noticed the ups and downs and the need for patience from what I've seen.
Thanks a million again All the best with your treatment and to the rest of you all too of course. I'll be sure to keep an eye on this thread!!!
are they the ones that just wash of by themselves and not leave any PIH behind? What else are you using with differin? it could be something else that's clogging your pores, my sunscreen was my culprit. the two weeks i used it i got a lot of clogged pores and pimples despite using differin. 9 weeks is still early for a retinoid and the oily skin seems to be common supposedly the oil is free flowing since your pores are cleared, like a drain that you've unblocked.
I've realised my moisturiser that I've currently been using is for dry skin. I think that's been making my oily skin even oilier, so I'll see how it goes using one for oily skin! Such a silly mistake!!
I also use a clindamycin phosphate cream alongside the differin. And yes, the whiteheads are the ones that just wash off...they're just irritating to still keep popping up though. But changing my moisturiser should definitely help! Thanks for the reply
Hey everyone.
I've been on Differin 0.3 for about 12 weeks now. I gotta say I am 99% clear. However, I noticed that the Differin made my pores look bigger. My pores were pretty much invisible before I started Differin. I was planning on switching from 0.3 to 0.1. I'm hoping that it'll put some layers of skin back on to make my pores less noticeable. Any suggestions? I'm hoping to start on 0.1 in a couple days, but I want to hear some advice before I do it.
@GJ777 try menscience ti02 it's the only one i've been able to use long term without breaking me out, fsitly light considering it's a sunscreen however it's only spf 30 tho.
went to see my GP today to get some more differin, she prescribed me eryhthromycin 250mg twice a day, I've never used any antibiotics before apart from eyedrops when i had a infection but that was less than a week so i'm a little nervous.
Allison are u still on your antibiotics? me and my GP agreed that since my acne light a 3 month course could give lasting results.
Hi you guys. Its allison. Checking in. i promised myself once I had clear skin I would post on here abotu whatever medication it was that cleared me up. Differin is a miracle product. STICK WITH IT. I want to say I saw true results after 5 months. I have not had ONE pimple in the last 3 months and I am using retin a now 3x a week for my red marks which are fading FAST. ACNE SUCKS. IT SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS. BUT there IS hope. Like I said, I might feel an underground pimple coming up but then its gone the next day. Differin/Retin a takes care of it RIGHT there and then. Please give differin or any other retinoid a good 4-5 months. 3 months is b.s. You should START seeing results by 3 months. Don't get disappointed if you don't have clear skin in 3 months. Remember, there should be a noticeable difference after 3 months; NOT perfection. My skin is SO smooth and beautiful and clear. I LOVE it. Now I get compliments on my skin wherever I go. And I just smile knowingly and think about differin. It saved my skin and my confidence. PLEASE pleae PLEASE stick with it! LOVE ALWAYS