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Hello!
30 yrs old male here. Started to break out due to high amount of stress, tried some azelaic acid, niacinamide and some BHA acids. Didn't go that well and went to see a dermatologist. He prescribed some gel with tretinoin 0.02 and glycolic acid 4% that made my face really irritated. I had a white zit that i tried to pop up, and i dont know how, but got a really big red mark in that place (around 1cm). The doctor told me to continue with the tretinoin gel, but I don't know what to do, I'm afraid that will only irritate my face more. Usually, red marks after a pimple would normally disappear in like 1-2 weeks, but it has been 4 weeks so far and it doesn't seem to fade away. What should I do?
Tretinoin can irritate for the first few weeks and then usually that subsides. It's a retinoid that actually can help fade redness, so I can see why he's saying to keep using it.
In other words, your redness may have come from the initial zit and irritation at that time and you got some extra pigmentation going and now you have to deal with getting rid of it.
There's not a ton you can do. The retinoid probably won't hurt the situation at this point I wouldn't think. Also, take some fish oil (up to 6 pills a day) to help your body heal from the inside out.
Keep us posted.
Oh, and P.S. if you're still breaking out, you can always use The Regimen to actually get 100% clear.