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I didn't start to get real acne and cysts until about 4 months ago and my face has been through a lot of changes ever since. So my acne was controlled by Oxy 10% BP maximum action face wash and doxycycline. But I started to get resistance to the antibiotics and then my acne really went crazy. So at this point my dermatologist prescribed me 200 mg/day minocycline and then that's when I got sporadic cysts, so I saw him a month later and he added 0.01% tretinoin gel to my regimen with NO moisturizer. I guess my dermatologist just hates moisturizer on my oily skin because he never wants me to use any even though I keep reading that moisturizer is important...but anyway the first week on Tretinoin I was seeing improvements in my cysts and they were just dying down or flaking away kinda. But week 2 I started to get extremely oily skin and more pimples because of the retin a. the oilyness started to die down after about a week but I hit a major IB...worst than my face has been. So I started to doubt the product but then it cleared up after week 5 but then it got worse again so it was up and down...but dark marks are still lingering as a result on my brown skin. This has been a confusing time for me on this because it clears me up and then breaks me out...I'm in week 8 and still "purging" I guess. I have noticed that instead of having pimples that come to a head, I have big red papules and some cysts so I'm doubting the product again and I hate the fact that you have to use this forever to get the results you want but we'll see how this goes...month 3 is supposed to be the best month of results but Idk we'll have to wait and see. I'm hoping for the best but might consider Accutane for my mild sometimes moderate teenage acne. Anyone else with questions or have their own tretinoin experiences?
I have been using Retin A as well way back in highschool for my face and body acne and let me tell you, it was very challenging so I can understand how you feel. It does take several months for you to start seeing some results but before that, you will experience major breakouts, dry skin or sometimes really oily skin but it is effective. Just stick to your medication and hang in there and in a few weeks time, you should start seeing the effects of Retin A. Just keep away from the sun since it does make your skin more prone to sunburns.
I have been using Retin A as well way back in highschool for my face and body acne and let me tell you, it was very challenging so I can understand how you feel. It does take several months for you to start seeing some results but before that, you will experience major breakouts, dry skin or sometimes really oily skin but it is effective. Just stick to your medication and hang in there and in a few weeks time, you should start seeing the effects of Retin A. Just keep away from the sun since it does make your skin more prone to sunburns.
Thank you for replying and giving me hope. I think it's working! I'm not breaking out really...just some small pimples whenever I shave. I'm not as oily anymore but my skin just kinda flakes off really easily...idk if that's a good thing or bad because I know it's supposed to increase cell turnover rate. I'm hoping I'm past the worst. During the sunny months, what sunscreen should I use?
In choosing a sunscreen, you should use those that have very little comedogenic (pore blocking) ingredients. Usually, these are sunscreens that are waterproof since it is very hard to come off even after you washed your face. Also, choose a sunscreen with an spf ranging from 15-60 depending on your skin tone. Lighter skin need a higher spf while those with darker skin may use sunscreen with lower spf. For more information on sunscreens, you may use this link:
http://www.acne.org/spf-sunscreen.html
Good luck on your treatment 
