Hello Acne.org Family. First post here,after reading tons of them.
Let me start with my personal history.
I'm 17 years old,my name is Franco and i am from Argentina. I've have never been severe or even moderate acne prone. You know,regular white heads here and there,maybe one or two cystic ones (mainly because i used to pick a lot small whiteheads that spread the infection).
But my main problem,since i remember,is clogged pores / blackheads. On my nose,on my forehead and mostly on my both cheeks. I've been having this issue for years now,it's nothing serious because they aren't visible at all at distance,but if you touch my face or stretch it,they are pretty noticeable.
I used to pick at them,releasing the debris but that caused me LOTS and serious hyper-pigmentation (what i thought PIH was just from pimples) and of course,after some days they came back.
So after being tired of looking everyday at these ugly ass but not very noticeable clogged pores,i decided to visit a derm. (thing that i never had done it before,since i repeat, my acne is really mild)
The derm prescribed me differin gel 0,1% (i have sensitive skin and oily,thanks dad for that). Told me that it may take up to two months to see noticeable changes since my acne was mild,so i started using it and damn,i'm not happy at all.
Week 1~2 : Literally nothing. Maybe some minor redness when applying the differin in my face that fade away a few seconds later. No improvements,no breakouts.
Week 2~4 : Oh my god,im having acne. What is going on ?. Two cystic pimples on my left cheek,that i popped and two more RIGHT next to them appeared the next day. I remember being sore as hell,having scrabs while the other two weren't even developing a head so i had to treat them with hot washcloths,so i could pop them (of course leaving awful big PiH). Forehead looking pretty nasty,nothing serious but whiteheads were raising there and there,little bumps...way to much for me that i've never had experienced that.At least Right cheek looking good,no significant changes to my blackheads. Developing SUPER oily skin on my nose and forehead. Did the derm gave me poison or what ?. Started to do a cleansing face routine. Face cleaner (salicylic acid),astringent (salicylic acid),moisturizer two times everyday. . aHa exfoliator every 3 days. Differing at last,every day at night time
Week 4~ last day of week 5 [now]: No improvement at all. Forehead looks exactly the same. Actually i have three little bumps that hurt a lot,but they didn't developed a head or even redness. Popped a big white head (no cystic) last night with a warm washcloth. Hyperpigmentation faded away a bit on my left cheek but GUESS WHAT,two small white heads are EXACTLY were the PiH spots are,thanks you life. And i already have a couple of them so my left cheek is the most disgusting thing i ever had on my face. Thanks to a makeup i bought it helps to dissuade a bit. Also popped a awful pretty big white head on my right cheek,now is going to the scrab phase. Nasty. Still with super oily nose - forehead. NEVER had this kind of acne in my life,and i am really worried. I notice a really minor change in my blackheads. I see like open pores in my forehead and some of them fall off when i wash my face. But not at all an noticeable improvement. Clean routine helps the oil in my face and helps fighting existing white heads.
Week 6 : Starting it tomorrow,seriously i EXPECT to have at least some improvement. I know the acne i'm having now i would have it sooner or later since differin is bringing it faster to the surface. I'm almost the only one in my friends group that have acne now,and it's because this dumb differin thing. Anyways i have faith on it and i am at least using it till i reach the 10 week mark. It should be a lot better by then since I HAVE NEVER HAD ACNE LIKE THIS BEFORE. And i hope this blackheads are at least 90% clean on my cheeks.
So what can i say about differin now ? . Is crap but im attaching to it at least till week 10 mark. If it doesn't get better i'm sending a hitman to my derm for fucking up my face. I have an appointment with her at my 8 week mark,and told me that if it isn't getting better she will prescribe me antibiotics. But wtf ? antibiotics for what ? for the acne that the differin caused me ? I don't think is really needed.
On 11th week still having breakouts on cheeks and near mouth...but still hoping atleast it will clear till week 12..first suffered from dry skin with rashes..n now oily skin with IB...
hoping for best..
I'll suggest you to change your medication for another one. If u had very mild acne and differin made it a lot worse after at least 6 weeks with no improvement,you should try something else. Literally differin fucked up my face in 6 weeks. Derm told me i should have seen improvements or at least an reduction of breakouts in week 4. Also IS NOT normal that differin makes your skin ultra oily. It should dry,not oily it up.
Update 31/3: Differin regimen aborted. Changed to Erythromycin Liquid 4% (two times per day) + Benzoyl Peroxide Gel 5% (one time at night after erythromicin). Will be updating. I should see several changes in 2 weeks,even in one. Thanks differin for the acne.
Update : First day using both products. Already felling dry skin and got a bit of peeling. Nothing to serious. Moisturized after 20 mins of applyng benzoyl peroxide gel,and so far skin seems hydrated. Used a really tiny amount of it,but enough to cover all my face at least.
Lets see how i wake up tomorrow,i'm hoping an minor dryness.
Amazing how my face went to super oily,to pretty dry in one day. Had to change my oily skin moisturizer to a normal one.
Second day with the regimen: Waked up with minor kinda moderate dry skin. Applied erythromycin,that it seems to be more dryer than the benzoyl. Maybe because i apply more since i'm kinda afraid of using way to much bp ?. Nothing to serious for a moisturizer cream with vitamin to handle. Already peeled off an hyperpigmentation stain i had. Looks a lot better,but it is still there. My skin is finally not shiny or usable for car gas.
Will update in some days to see major changes / effects.
72nd day of differin..no improvement. Just more n more acne..
Damn girl . I really hope you see major improvements by the 12 week mark. Personally,i think if u are the kind (like me) that only had those stubborn microcomedones / whiteheads and some minor random pimples,differin is way to risky. I would prescribe it for someone with persistent acne with inflamed pimples (between a "less than moderate" and moderate).
In cases like me,that i only had microcomedonal acne is to harsh. You suffer way to much,for way to much time for an not 100% optimal result. Differin created acne in zones that i didn't used to have and worsened my skin just for getting rid of the stubborn whiteheads. Yes they are annoying,and yes Differin or any other kind of retinoid DOES help to remove them in a long time period term (not all of them for sure). But it is just a to problematic path to take if u were an case like me,that may not help you a lot. Seriously,differin made awful oily skin,persistent breakouts (all kinds of acne) and almost none improvement,more than a couple less of closed comedones. (when i have a lot of them,so it didn't made any visible difference,at the same time it was destroying my overall face for such a poor improvement).
Finally,if anyone here haves this kind of acne like me,known as comedonal (the less problematic,but the harder to fight to) i would suggest to think twice before using an retinoid (Really,im on acne treatment now because of the acne that differin caused). Try other paths like aha,bha exfoliation,salicylic,benzoyl peroxide,etc. I'm not saying differin is a BAD PRODUCT,it is just that it should be prescribed for an actual real acne problem.
Anyways the best FOR ME is the extraction of the blackheads / whiteheads by a professional. It may be expensive but you may be saving money at a long term. If u have an good cleaning routine,they should not come back,or maybe yes,but for sure in minor quantity.
I got tiny lil skin colored bumps on my nose under my eyes ( which makes me look like an old lady and rough skin 
) i got whiteheads on my chin covered with that tiny stubborn thingy.. and differin aint doing anything to them. I mean its same as it was like when i started using differin actually i feel its spreading.. i got dry and itchy skin newr my nose n under my eye..and after applying differin at night n waking up at morning my face is oily. Well lets see will update ya after i see atleast a lil difference thou..:/ 
and yeah coz of differin i scratched my face which caused wound n den it peeled off n now der a dark brown spot..thanks differin for all this..well still hoping for best lol
I got tiny lil skin colored bumps on my nose under my eyes ( which makes me look like an old lady and rough skin ) i got whiteheads on my chin covered with that tiny stubborn thingy.. and differin aint doing anything to them. I mean its same as it was like when i started using differin actually i feel its spreading.. i got dry and itchy skin newr my nose n under my eye..and after applying differin at night n waking up at morning my face is oily. Well lets see will update ya after i see atleast a lil difference thou..
I was going trough the same thing. Expect those little bumps where in my forehead and they were red and painful. I style my hair almost everyday and i've literally stopped doing it since my forehead looked so ugly. Also my face didn't ever get dry or peeled. Just permanently over oily.
I fell you Sarah. I did experienced itchiness on my face,and sometimes i popped some pimples from scratching making everything worse. It's horrible when you see yourself at the mirror and day by day you are getting worse and worse,when it should to help you. Hold on tight,maybe you will get trough an miracle week and get major improvement 
. Bests of luck,and don't worry acne is not permanent and you will find something that will work for you. Don't let acne takes over you life. It may look bad,but almost everyone experienced it at some point in their life. There are a lot worse things in life,and we already should be happy that we are alive.
Update 4/04 - Friday: 5 Days in the treatment. Started to use BP 2 times per day since yesterday,because my skin was responding amazingly good. Now im experiencing some redness,and prolonged minor sting. No peeling or dryness.
Seeing changes. Forehead is a bit cleaner. 2 actives pimples that are painful. 2 on my left cheek and 2 on my right cheek. Only one of them hurts. These should be gone in two-three days. These things dry pimples super quick. My face fells smoother and not oily at all
Saturday 04/5 Day 6: Going trough some side effects caused by the two use per day of BP. My skin it's like i been tanning or exposed in the sun without sunscreen. It's not burned at all,just experiencing redness,stinginess when applying bp and moderate dryness. Im reducing to using one time per day bp,and only on my active / healing pimples (spot treatment),till my face recovers a bit. Maybe for the next two days. Will keep using the erythromycin twice a day,since it just dries me out a bit. Moisturize is a must.
About my acne,im having some good improvements. The ones on my forehead are drying out (they are scabs),but one is coming out. On my cheeks most of them are drying out,just one is active.
Also.. THE RED MARKS THO
Thanks dude..
Its getting drier now..flakey around my nose and mouth. Been using sweet almond oil at morning for dryness. But it aint moisturizing.
BEST OF LUCK..glad u r seeing good improvements...
Thanks you !! keep updating,i wanna see how are you doing .
4/6: Finishing first week of treatment. Popped two big pimples,one on my left cheek and the other on my right one. Couldn't resist,they were to big and nasty lol. No active pimples on my face. Anyways two are active on the very end of my forehead 
. At least my hair covers them so no worries.
I can say that my face is kinda better. Post acne marks are the big deal now,but it seems that they are fading away,or they will do this week. For my luck my skin is not scar prone at all,but it is black spot prone (PIH),but they do fade pretty fast. Using bp as a spot treatment since friday,im dealing with dry skin and i don't want it worse !
Starting week 2: Seems that my initial breakout is calming down / clearing. Weird that i had it the first week. Maybe because i was already having the differin purgin effects and the BP + antibiotic rushed it ? Don't know. Experiencing moderate dry face but no redness or any other side effects more than a bit of stinging after applying bp.
Drying is good in a certain way. It really helps with pih marks since it peels it off,making the fade process super fast.
Actually 4 pimples actives. One bastard under the skin that is hurting like a bitch.
04/10. In the middle of week 2. Skins seems to be getting used to this products. No redness at all,very little stinging when applying bp that fades away after some minutes. Anyways the erythromicin seems to be the one that dries me out the most. Still using moisturizer after morning application. Two actives pimples at the moment.
PD: Red marks / PIH that faded away time ago,are appearing again. It's true that BP prolongs / reappear old acne marks. Fucking sucks,it heals something but fuck up something else. After ending week 2,i will be adding an daily bha neutrogena scrub and salicilyc acid cleanser,also from neutrogena,obviously bp only at night.
4/12: Almost ending week 2. No active whiteheads 
. Just one under the skin red bump that should fell better by tomorrow. Dealing with marks and pih that re-appeared due to the bp. Zero improvement on closed comedones,i have to add an bha exfoliant in the next week and give it a try.
4/13 Fuck shit..i am having an allergic reaction to BP. Moderate itchness and redness. I toke a antihistamine. Face looks bad. Seems that bp is way to harsh for my skin. Weird that i have it after 3 weeks of use. The good thing is that BP + erythromycin kinda fixed the shit differin caused so i may change to my old routine with drugstore products,mainly from neutrogena. Cleanser + lotion + daily exfoliation.
4/16 so i decided to relay on OTC products. Each treatment has,or worsened my skin or my acne. I still have mild acne to moderate(less than 15 inflammatory lesions) so this treatment is to harsh for me. Allergic to benzoyl peroxide,antibiotics point less,just temporal fix and bacteria becomes stronger. Acuttane,dah i don't need it at all and is super expensive.
I used to have an controlled acne with the religiously use of astrigent + secative mask. So,im back to that.
Personally i think acne is a business. Treatments should be for extremely / pretty severe cases / persistent acne after teenage.
Acne is a stage that most of us go trough,applying harsh chemicals that MAY damage the skin forever,putting antibiotics on your body just for an aesthetic porpoise (ALL of them have side effects) it just doesn't worth it. Acne will go away on his own,if you are a teen like me,whose brother and father had acne and disappeared completely....DON'T WASTE MONEY IN TREATMENTS
Deal with your NORMAL teenager acne. Don't screw your skin if u don't need it at all.