Hey everyone,
I'm new to the site but have read product reviews and such over the years. I had to join because of a recent issue. I started using a retinol product, Neutrogena's anti-wrinkle night cream. I'm a male, 42 years old. I'm not using the product for wrinkles, mainly for retinols ability to shrink pore size, which it does fabulously. Anyhow, about 4 days after using this product nightly I began to notice pea size pimples under my skin. The last time this happened was when I used sunscreen alot, would forget to wash it off and over the course of a few days these nasty underneath pimples would develop.
To make matters worse, everytime I go to the gym, this song plays at least twice. I swear it's a conspiracy. Whenever the song comes on I'm convinced everyone notices the pimples protruding under my cheeks.
My usual skin care regimen is basically SA cleanser at night and I use a SA exfoliating scrub a few time per week. This in combination with drinking lots of water and eating right keeps my skin virtually clear.
Thanks.
Hey Fuzzybear,
I'm not an expert but I do know this: people say that when you use retinoids/retinol or really anything that chemically exfoliates your skin (including salicylic acid), you may go through a purging period during which any acne that is underneath your skin waiting to form will come to the surface. Supposedly that is a good thing, because once it comes to the surface it is able to heal. For most people it sounds like the purging period stops eventually and then they have clearer skin.
On another hand, I guess it is possible that an ingredient in the cream you are using is breaking you out.
That's just my two cents. 
Thanks Vabgom. I hadn't thought of that. When I began using SA I experienced a few breakouts but as my skin got accustomed to it, they leveled off. I'm going to continue using the product because other than the underneath pimples, my skin is responding very well to the retinol. If after two weeks any more of these under the skin cysts develop, I'm going to quit using it.