Acne.org Products
Have you heard of tea tree oil? Like everything, it may not work for everyone, but it is not Rx, it is natural, and easy to get. Google it and you will find many benefits, especially for acne. On makeupalley.com and acne.org it gets great reviews. It can be used as a spot treatment or you can mix it with cleansers, shampoo, bodywash, toners, laundry, pretty much anything but definitely use it diluted unless you just use it on spots. I mix a few drops in my toner and apply with a cottonball twice a day. Tea tree has really done a great job in keeping pimples away and healing my skin. I had small bumps on my cheeks and since I added tea tree my skin was completely smooth in most places after the first week. I was so excited!
In your pics, the skin in between the acne is very nice! Like, erase the spots and you DO have very nice skin. I don't get breakouts like yours anymore, but my skin does not look as good as the places you have that are clear. I wish I had tried tea tree oil first instead of all the overwashing and use of benzoyl peroxide, saylicilic acid, and things that stung, dried, and itched my skin just trying to treat acne. I have used differin, benzaclin, and ProActive plus everything that walmart sells...nothing ever really stopped my acne and I wish I hadn't bothered. Be nice to your skin and I hope you can keep the glowiness that shows in your pics. I am clear now but my skin is paying the price because of everything I put on it. Tea tree oil is not a prescription but it is very antibacterial and healing - perfect for acne! It also kills demodex mites that can live on our skin and cause skin issues as well (that's another google search lol).
I use Burt's bees sensitive cleanser, witch hazel based toner (add tea tree), and a water/aloe Vera based moisturizer. Whatever you use I would investigate the ingredients. In your shaving cream too. No matter what the label says, if it has sulfates and things I can't pronounce, I google them to find out what they are rated and then make the decision to buy or not. Can't generally go wrong with ingredients with a comedeogenic rating of 0-2. Anything higher and I try to avoid. The smaller the ingredient list, the better in my opinion.
Good luck!
It's pimples. A rash would just be red, I visibly see little pimples and clusters and one big one on my right temple. It's just a big red tender bump. This differin just makes my face feel bleh.
I'd stick with the diffirin. Topicals take time to work its not a over might thing, each product you try you should give 8 - 12 weeks to see if it is a good product for you. I wouldn't try anything else in the mean time. You've only been using it for a couple weeks at most right? Give it more time.
Are you using a good moisturizer? I recommend CeraVe moisturizing cream, or others like Cetaphil. Both are good but CeraVe is full with awesome products and Cetaphil isnt. If you moisturize am and pm you should be good and it should help with the itchiness.
Also CeraVe has ingredients that help reduce redness aswell
Ok here's some pictures of my face.
My forehead is pretty clear as far as I see. Obviously up close in the mirror are tiny little bump pimples, but it usually clears up. Nothing big there. 
My right side has the big bump I was talking about in my temple area along with, like I said, many tiny red bumpy pimples and big gash ones. I only so far have one hurting one. 
My real REAL problem area is my left side, which as you can see, has taken a turn for the worse. 
This one has a row diagonally of four, which I'm not sure if you can see in the picture. But it sucks. This side is by far the reddest and just makes me feel awful.
I wash with Cetaphil Oil Control Foam Wash in the morning in the shower, first with warm/hot water then rinse off and cold. Then at night, the same but after it dries, I apply the Differin and leave it on through the night.
Cetaphil Oil Control Foam Wash comedeogenic ratings according to Enviornmental Working Group: (0-2 low hazard, 3-6 moderate, 7-10 high)
Zinc Coceth Sulfate: 3; moderate hazard
PEG 75: 3
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate: 1
Zinc Gluconate: 3
PEG 200 Hydrogenated Glyceryl Palmate: 3
PEG 40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil: 3
PEG 7 Glyceryl Cocoate: 4
Sodium Benzoate: 1
Disodium EDTA: 0
I know it is "Cetaphil" but I personally would not use this cleanser. Too many ratings of 3-4. It's probably OKAY, and you don't have to do anything if you don't want to. But if I were you, i would find something eventually that has mostly all 0-2. The higher the number the more irritating the ingredients can be to our skin. You can copy paste any ingredient into EWG's database and it will tell you all about it. i started doing this and 1) my skin improved 2) I was more aware of what was on my skin 3) I never bought anything from the skin care isle from Walmart again unless it was Burts Bees since they actually carry that now.
Since you are in the market for moisturizer I would do this before purchasing one. My guess is that if this cleanser did not pass, the moisturizer won't either. Maybe look at the CeraVe one instead. But you really SHOULD moisturize while using Differin. Dry skin is not good and will relieve the itching and flakiness you have. If you have a Whole Foods store or one similar near you, i would go spend some time in their skin care isle.
Differin is probably your best bet, but be prepared for a rough ride and have lots of patience, at least 6 months.
Differin works by increasing cell turnover, renewing your skin, and during this process it slowly pushes out all the excess sebum stored in your pores.
Unfortunately this means your skin will get worse before it gets better, as pushing out all the junk in your skin goes together with an increase of acne.
So how frustrating this may be, it shows differin is working. How bad it will get depends on how much excess sebum has been building up through the years in your skin. Looking closely at your skin, under certain light, might give you a clue. Also, having lots of small blackheads is a sign there is much more stored inside your skin, as the small part sticking out is often just the tip of an iceberg.
Some redness and itchy feeling is normal. If you have areas of dry skin, Differin makes those more dry and best to use a moisturizer on those areas.
If you have trouble dealing with the increase a acne, and large pimples/pustules, I would recommend to visit a skin therapist like every two weeks, who hopefully can clean out some of the worst spots.
Personally, I can't stop picking when on differin, and have mixed feelings about it. It certainly helps ''popping out'' the trapped sebum in some spots, as Differin makes your skin more vulnerable and therefore easier to push out the junk. But be very careful: because your skin is more vulnerable, it is also much more easy to (seriously) damage your skin. That's why I would recommend to ask a skin professional for help.
Summarizing, in my experience Differin is the only medication that actually cleans out the skin. Contrary to all the other stuff people often use, that does nothing more than keeping the acne under control (by killing bacteria etc), but that doesn't solve the fundamental problem from the inside: the clogged pores.
But at the same time Differin is very frustrating to use as you need to go through a slow and emotionally painful skin cleaning process.
Goodluck.
Was your skin changing at all during the very first few days? You started on the 3rd and then updated on the 8th with skin that looked worse. They say it takes 1-3 weeks for pimples to form at all, even though many of us have had experiences where we try something new and swear the new pimples the next day are from the new product when they probably are not.
My point is, those pimples could have been on their way anyway, or the Differin is purging out your skin and bringing anything to surface quicker (hence making your face worse). Differin did not clear my skin 100% but when you try a product and really want to know if it works you have to give it time to run through its course. Who knows maybe after this patch you will not see very much formation at all 
wishing you the best!
I'm hoping for the best too. I ran out of my Cetaphil cleanser and since Cetaphil doesn't get too many glowing reviews and doesn't really give me a "clean" feeling, I'm hoping to get a new one. Any ideas? I looked up Burt's Bees but there's like a million cleansers, idk which one to try lol
I can give you some advice on the Burt's Bees. They do have a lot. I have tried the Orange Essence, Soap Bark/Chamomile, Intense Hydration, and Sensitive. That is also my order of LEAST favorite to MOST favorite.
I wouldn't get the Orange Essence. It is okay but kinda leaves you wondering if it did anything at all. You might like the Soap Bark because the featured ingredient, Soap Bark, is a cleansing and foaming agent. It is also deep cleansing. I cannot remember if it actually foamed - it's been a while - but it would probably give you the more "clean feeling" than the others. Which, about that, I have come to not like that feeling. I'm talking about the squeaky clean, oil-free, tighter skin feeling that most people associate with a freshly cleaned face. I think that was part of my problem in the first place. The cleansers took off too much of my skin's natural oils and stripped it a little too much to be effective at fighting any acne on its own. This cleanser also has a minty menthol feel so if you don't think you'd likethat I would try another. The only downside to this one is the 7th and 8th ingredients are in the "moderate" category on EWG. One of them does state that it is moderate "depending on usage" so the usage in this cleanser may still be a low rating. I did not have any issues using this though and i have sensitive skin.
Intense Hydration was nice! If they did not have the Sensitive cleanser this is what I would get. It has a nice citrus orangey scent that is natural (none of them have added fragrances which is a huge plus!) and does what it says - it cleans and hydrates.
So my favorite is the Sensitive. This one I think is even MORE hydrating than the Intense Hydration...huh lol. But I love it. The first time I used it I did not even feel like I needed moisturizer afterwards. I do use a toner afterwards (main ingredient witch hazel) and sometimes the toner still picks up make-up I had on after cleansing. Toner is always a good addition to any regimen anyway if you want to use a gentle cleanser. Walmart does carry a couple good toners and they are less than 5 bucks. My skin is SO happy and I have seen improvement every week with reducing redness and minimizing angry pores and therefore no breakouts (the tea tree oil I mentioned earlier has something to do with it too).
These have a completely different feel than Cetephil but i think it is worth a try for $10 or less. My skin ended up being a lot healthier and felt great. Maybe look for a gentle toner, too. Just keep in mind that nothing works for everybody. Most reviews about these cleansers are pretty darn good though, even with acne prone folks. I'm glad I tried it. Hope I've helped!
I ordered Aqua Glycolic a week ago, so that's coming in and staying in my cabinet unless nothing else works. I've never used toner, I don't know how it works. My face always has this oily rough look to it, even though my skin is smooth. It's from the tiny little bumpy pimples on my forehead and nose and my nose looks like it maybe enlarged pores, im not sure.
The Aqua Glycolic cleanser? 
I would be very wary of the main ingredient, Glycolic Acid, both Ammonium ingredients, and both paraben ingredients. That's like 97% of the product too lol. Glycolic Acid is used in chemical peels. I don't know that this would be a good everyday cleanser. Maybe once in a while? That sounds like a really harsh combination of ingredients that would be like having a chemical peel every single day, which I don't think you need, especially not all over. I broke out horribly from parabens in make-up once. The product as a whole rates as a 3 out of 10 on the comedeogenic scale. I'm surprised it is that low.
Joe, seriously, if you put too many irritating things on your skin at once, ALL of your skin is going to start looking dull and you will have unhappy skin even when the bumps go away. You have to take care of the skin around the affected areas and only treat the stuff that is active. I would use a gentle cleanser, gentle toner, moisturizer, and let the Differin do its work. Walmart carries Dickinson's Witch Hazel for $4-5 bucks. i even dilute it with water like half and half and mix it in a little 90 cent travel bottle also from walmart. Toners are used to balance your skin, MINIMIZE PORES , remove any dirt/oil left from cleansing (if there is anything left you can see it too which is kind of cool), and witch hazel has many benefits for troublesome skin. Just put on a cotton ball, smooth over face, and ta da. Differin, then moisturize. It may help the overall texture of your skin and those tiny bumps, too.
My face used to get too dry if I cleansed twice a day, so I only cleanse at night when my face is dirty from the day. But I mean how dirty can my face get while I'm sleeping? i don't cleanse again, I just use toner in the AM and if there IS anything to clean it is so little that toner will pick it up. Pretty cool and way less time consuming in the AM. May be something to consider if you are getting really dry with the Differin.
So these two? https://www.amazon.com/Original-witch-hazel-perfecting-toner/dp/B000GCQ04C/
https://www.amazon.com/Burts-Bees-Sensitive-Facial-Cleanser/dp/B004W24LQ6/?th=1
I really want to switch away from Cetaphil and go more natural and gentler, I think I have sensitive skin, I have no clue. I can use the cleanser, then toner, wait a little and put on Differin for the night, correct?
Yep those are it! I CAN use the toner full strength, but it doesn't need to be. I have mine mixed with other things that I want benefits from for my redness, but the toner is the main ingredient. If it is drying in any way, do a half or a third of water and put in a little plastic bottle.
Yep cleanser, toner, wait a little and then Differin. I wish I would have tried that combo while using topicals. I was so eager to be clear that all 3-4 products I used religiously AM and PM had some kind of ingredient to combat acne and it just overloaded my skin to dry, flaky, and unhappy all over. It never got a break and it did not matter where I traveled I NEVER missed a routine lol. You don't want to punish your skin, you want to treat it and keep it as healthy as possible while you do that. I hope it works for you if you try it!
Awesome. Yeah I love tea tree oil, did you read about it or any reviews? It is more of an active ingredient and should be used very sparingly (I'm talking one drop at a time). Took me a while to finally decide to add it to my regimen but the tea tree oil has done great things to help my skin be healthy, less red, and super smooth and soft! It was soft before, but not as smooth. I had some texture/bumps on my cheeks and after using this for a few days it was completely gone! I had gotten so used to the texture that I thought it was as good as it was gonna get. Guess not
Anyway that is my review about it and if you were to get any, it would be really easy to add to your toner. I don't mix it,I just put one drop (you would need a dropper) on my cottonball onto the toner and then tone as normal. You could mix a few drops into it but I feel I have more control this way.
Not sure that I would add that too soon though. Start with the new cleanser/toner first and make sure everything is good for at least 2-3 weeks. Too many variables at once makes it hard to find what your skin likes and doesn't like. I hope your skin likes the Burt's bees and witch hazel!
Keep us posted!