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Tretinoin is KILLING my skin

MemberMember
256
(@tretinoin)

Posted : 02/07/2016 11:00 pm

So I started the use of .025% tretinoin about 4 weeks ago, going into my 5th week now. I use it every other day as instructed by my dermatologist. First few weeks I broke out a little, not too bad. I'm on my 5th week now and DAMN, i'm getting pretty bad breakouts. No cysts but I'm getting pimple after pimple on my cheeks (biggest problem area), my chin, and even a bit on my forehead which was never a problem. I've been using .05% on my forehad and nose, and noticed quite a bit of peeling on my forehead.

ATM I'm pretty bummed as I thought I wouldn't get a so called "Initial breakout" after 3 weeks of miniscule breakouts. Now my face is getting more & more, and are leaving NASTY red marks. Just before treatment I had what I would call "normal people acne", nothing too bad and looked like normal teen acne. Now my face is beginning to look worse everyday.

I also use azelaic acid as precribed by my dermatologist, 2x a day. Have any of you guys had to deal with these harsh tretinoin breakouts as well? & How long does it take for them to finally stop?

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(@hbxgirl)

Posted : 03/19/2016 2:42 am

Hey friend. You've come to the right person for this 🙂 I'm a big tretinoin user. I used for my severe closed comedones. First week I thought I wouldn't break out because my face was just really dry and some scars were fading. But.No. I developed a horrible horrible breakout 2nd week of using it. It was bad. My face was oily and filled with all kinds of acne. I also had pimples in places I normally wouldn't break out. Anwyays, I assume your dermatologist has already told you that tretinoin breaks you out in order to get rid of all the stuff underneath your skin and then clear your skin completely.At first I was so skeptical. I never said I loved this cream from the beginning. I didn't have faith in it. I used it because I have tried everything. And man, I'm glad I bet my life on this. It's been 3 months now and my face has gotten SO MUCH better. It cured 60% of my acne already and it makes my skin so glowy and smooth. The initial breakout may take from 2 to 6 months, depends on how bad your acne is but I can promise you that it wouldn't take any longer than 6 months to see the improvement. However, you have to use it consistently and do not give up on it. Think about it like this. Would you rather stop using it and spend time finding another treatment somewhere else or keep up with it for about 5 more months and you have nice skin for the rest of your life? It works. It works for everyone. I can't tell you enough. As much as you think it doesn't, it does. It takes time and patience. Once you pass the initial breakout point, the rest is gonna be so much easier for you. It'll still give you one or two pimples here and there but only to keep your skin constantly flawless. I wish you the best of luck. Hope everything turns out perfect for you.

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(@legendv2)

Posted : 03/20/2016 2:15 pm

Tretinoin is awful. Throw that thing away. I'd rather use toothpaste

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599
(@delovely)

Posted : 04/08/2016 3:46 pm

How's the tretinoin going? My son stopped for awhile cuz the initial breakout was so bad...severe cystic acne!...we needed to deal with that first. But after things calmed down again and most of the acne cleared we started using it again. He's been using tretinoin going on a month and his skin just keeps getting better and better! So soft and smooth!! Still a ton of PIH and red marks from the IB...oh well!...but no zits and only a few blackheads/whiteheads left!! Tretinoin purged almost all his comedonal acne!!! And I like that it's keeping his pores open and from sticking together so that bacteria won't get trapped. We're going to the derm next week for a 3-month follow-up (he's also finishing up minocycline...one week left!) and will definitely be renewing the tretinoin script!!

Hope it's going well!! :)

Helen8792 liked
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MemberMember
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(@tretinoin)

Posted : 04/16/2016 9:16 am

On 4/8/2016 at 4:46 AM, DeLovely said:

How's the tretinoin going? My son stopped for awhile cuz the initial breakout was so bad...severe cystic acne!...we needed to deal with that first. But after things calmed down again and most of the acne cleared we started using it again. He's been using tretinoin going on a month and his skin just keeps getting better and better! So soft and smooth!! Still a ton of PIH and red marks from the IB...oh well!...but no zits and only a few blackheads/whiteheads left!! Tretinoin purged almost all his comedonal acne!!! And I like that it's keeping his pores open and from sticking together so that bacteria won't get trapped. We're going to the derm next week for a 3-month follow-up (he's also finishing up minocycline...one week left!) and will definitely be renewing the tretinoin script!!

Hope it's going well!! :)

Yeah skin is a lot better now, very glowy and radiant :P  My marks are fading faster than ever, probably cause of the kojic acid and azelaic acid my derm put me on as well. Overall im very glad i stuck with tretinoin, the initial breakout stopped a few weeks ago and im seeing constant improvement, hopefully I can upgrade you guys in 6 months time when i should be clear hehe 

Glad its going well for your son as well! I've noticed the same thing too,  all the purging happened in the areas where I had clogged pores, and now i don't get new ones cause I believe the tret is turning over the skin cells so fast it doesnt allow the pores to get blocked

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MemberMember
599
(@delovely)

Posted : 04/16/2016 2:31 pm

5 hours ago, Tretinoin said:
Yeah skin is a lot better now, very glowy and radiant :P  My marks are fading faster than ever, probably cause of the kojic acid and azelaic acid my derm put me on as well. Overall im very glad i stuck with tretinoin, the initial breakout stopped a few weeks ago and im seeing constant improvement, hopefully I can upgrade you guys in 6 months time when i should be clear hehe 

Glad its going well for your son as well! I've noticed the same thing too,  all the purging happened in the areas where I had clogged pores, and now i don't get new ones cause I believe the tret is turning over the skin cells so fast it doesnt allow the pores to get blocked

Yay!!!!!!!   So glad to hear it!!!!!! Yeah, we're glad we went back to the tretinoin...such a great add-on to his Regimen!!!...but I do think giving the IB a chance to heal was the right decision for him. He's all done with minocycline...WOOHOO!!!!...so just doing the Acne.Org Regimen and tretinoin to keep him clear...hope this will be enough to stifle p.acnes when they start to repopulate, which they inevitably will!! BTW, here's his progress log so you can see how far he's come since January!  http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/345725-acneorg-regimen-progress-14-yr-old-boy/?page=4

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