Seriously...when will all this be over already? I am 19 right now and started getting acne at the age of 15. When I was 18 I stopped using Proactive and my skin literally flared up and I got the worse acne ever during the summer last year. Right now I have been using Differin Gel 3% for a year and although it has greatly improved my skin and got rid of my acne I have been stuck with red, uneven, and dry skin. My skin has been getting so dry that it goes all the way down to my neck and I HAVE to use a moisturizer every morning just to keep it at bay. If I drop differin all together will I start getting that terrible acne again? Also, if I keep using Differin when will all those red marks go away? My skin is constantly red and I have had these marks for almost a year now. Thanks!

Here's an image: http://tinypic.com/r/2uix5wg/6

I would also like to note that using Differin has greatly made my skin itchy in pretty much the slightest sunlight or the slightest sweat. I am not that worried about that then my skin being dry though.

 

i was on differin for 1 year. it kept me clear but i always moisteurized heavily before i put it on. i stopped taking differin after my hair fell out but i dont think it was the differin that caused it looking back. anyway 1 week after i stopped it my acne came back so bad and my face was so oily. i seriously could have buttered bread with the oil my face could produce in like 3 hours. it was frickin crazy! anyway you cant stop differin. thats the whole point. you have to use it the rest of the time you have acne. or you can try other stuff. sorry if that sounds mean but thats the way it is. unless you want the acne to come back. i recomend putting moisteurizer on before the differin. the differin will still work. i recomend cerave.

Yeah that's just what I am really worried about. I would hate for all that acne to come back again after stopping Differin. I just don't want to use it for the rest of my life because I am worried about long term affects. I wonder if acne will ever go away..

I'll definitely have to increase my use of moisturizing though.

well i stopped using it and i kind of have my acne under control. the things i use might not work for you though. and im not really sure how you could try them without going off differin which would be bad if the acne came back. but this is what i have found to work with some studies to back up these things.

lemon juice topically because it has citric acid which is an aha which is in many acne products

zinc which is unknown why it works but is has been shown to be very effective in acne studies

apple cider vinegar drink im not really sure why this works but when i drink it 4 times a day i get no breakouts

zinc oxide which is in susan browns daiper rash cream which alsohas jojoba butter in it. zinc oxide was shown to be as effective as bp over a 2 month period but did not cause the redness or itching. but if you use zinc oxide you have to get a brand that doesn't have parabens or other pore blocking things thats why i recomended that daiper rash cream it also gets rid of scarring but you probably dont have any since you have used differin. finally the jojoba in it is good because i found a study were it was used extremely effectively to treat acne over a 3 month period.

these are just some ideas and what is keeping me clear right now. i like the zinc oxide and lemon juice the best because it dries out the skin but not to the point of redness. i liked it when i was differin because my face was dry but i moisteurized enough that i didn't have redness after 2 months. i think the products that dry out the skin work well for me because no more oil and any whiteheads i get dry up so fast. it is said that the lemon juice kind of eats up the oil

oh i forgot to mention vitamin d. a study showed it signifigantly helped 76% of people over a three month period and cured half of the participants acne. i have been taking it for 1 month and 3 weeks but i also know other people on the board who apply it topically there is a lot of studies and research to back it up

all of these methods are for the most parts natural acne fighters which is what i'm into. differin worked well for me. i was worried that it was making my hair fall. what other side effects of differin are you worried about?

Seriously...when will all this be over already? I am 19 right now and started getting acne at the age of 15. When I was 18 I stopped using Proactive and my skin literally flared up and I got the worse acne ever during the summer last year. Right now I have been using Differin Gel 3% for a year and although it has greatly improved my skin and got rid of my acne I have been stuck with red, uneven, and dry skin. My skin has been getting so dry that it goes all the way down to my neck and I HAVE to use a moisturizer every morning just to keep it at bay. If I drop differin all together will I start getting that terrible acne again? Also, if I keep using Differin when will all those red marks go away? My skin is constantly red and I have had these marks for almost a year now. Thanks!

Here's an image: http://tinypic.com/r/2uix5wg/6

I would also like to note that using Differin has greatly made my skin itchy in pretty much the slightest sunlight or the slightest sweat. I am not that worried about that then my skin being dry though.

 

I honestly think those red marks don't look bad at all. I think you should continue using differin or consult your doctor to see if you can stop using it or eliminate it.

Your skin looks great! Did you have to take any antibiotic along with the topical?

Maybe try cutting down on the differin? only 6 nights a week and if you're still doing well, cut down to 5 nights, etc.