I've been using retin a 0.01% gel for 3 months now. I started in mid october 2012 and its now the 2nd january 2013 so its been around 3 months.
I'm going to be blunt here, the stuff has made me break out in the worst possible manner. I'm talking MASSIVE cysts lining my neck and jawline. Looking in the mirror has become unbearable. It was the first two months when the cysts appeared all along my jawline and neck. The corner of my jaw, nearby the bottom of my ear is just totally covered with cysts and pimples. I can't even make out any clear skin at all in that area, so you can understand the severity of the break out. and the thing is, that area was fine before I put this stuff on.
I felt awful about it at the time and still do now and again but ive just accepted that the tretinoin has brought out the underlying acne. I'm thinking of it like this, in that area i probably would have gotten cysts for years if i hadnt done something about it, so in a way, the tretinoin is just cutting short years of breakouts by bringing it all out now.
Even though its hard to take, its something that has to happen.
Do all you guys who are also using tretinoin relate to this? Or is my breakout an exceptional case?
I started using tretinoin nightly last May, and i am still using it now, but for 3 times a week. So it's nine months.
I can totally relate to your situation. I broke out very very badly and was traumatised by the number of pimples coming out daily. Every morning, I would look into the mirror and feel so depressed because I've never broken out sooo badly in my life. In the first four months or so, I was doubting the effectiveness of the tretinoin because I could not see it working.
In fact, for the first four-five months, I peeled like crazy and bits of skin will flake off my face as I was going about my business during the day. I experienced redness and sensitivity. The redness was really unbearable at times but I powered through that stage. I use powder sunscreen now - spf 30. This has helped with the redness tremendously.
only started to notice vast improvements after 6 months, but I still had little pimples here and there from months 6-9.
The journey has been tough but so worth it. My complexion is attaining a porcelain smooth texture and I'm thrilled with the results. I will use it for as long as I can. My advice is to power through the horrible side effects - it will be so worth it when you notice your skin getting better and better each day. The tretinoin not only helps with acne, but also with overall skin texture and tone - I've noticed that my skin is so smooth and radiant now. can't wait for the one-year mark