Hello,

Let me just say that tretinoin is awesome, and you're well on your way to clear skin. I've been on it for almost 5 months now and its working really well. My face looks like its been buffered and is soooooo smooth, and the only breakouts I get now are super minor teeny tiny whiteheads that go away within 24 hours.

For the first 6 or 7 weeks I too used the .025%, but it wasn't until I started using the .05% that I really started seeing the power of tretinoin. By the way you described it, you look like you're ahead of me. On the 5th week of tretinoin I was still breaking out like crazy, and it didn't stop till the 3rd month. I understand that your skin is going through a rollercoaster of "omg its getting better!!" then the next day you're like "wow, looks like its getting worse", but just know that tretinoin is slowly removing every single clogged pore on your face and preventing them from coming back. People say you should give tretinoin 4-6 months to really work, and I believe thats what you should do. Its good to hear that you're seeing results so quickly, I had to wait like 12 weeks to finally see them  Other than that, you're doing pretty good. Just keep your head up high and push through with the treatment, and I promise you things will look better within the coming weeks. 

Hi, Tretinoin, and thank you for replying! Your response has made me feel so much bette already. Especially since you are a current tretinoin user.

My first question for you is: Do you use the gel or the cream?
I have only used the gel for the past two nights, and holy hell, it is so much stronger! However, I think that the gel might work better for me because my forehead already looks quite better just from the past two nights of the gel application, and I'm peeling much more compared to the cream, which I don't mind because I can gently exfoliate the flakes off in the morning.

The only thing that bothers me about the gel is that it has alcohol in it, and I'm not quite sure about what kind of alcohol it is, and if it will cause wrinkles. I still have to do research on that, but shouldn't the gel be antiaging as well?

How are your pores looking?

Are your blackheads better if you had any?

Any fine lines improving?

What is your routine like?

Isn't it weird that the cream has a comedogenic ingredient? I'm going off what Dan states as comedogenic ingredients.

Thank you for letting me pick your brain, and for taking the time to read/reply. I'm so happy for your results thus far, and wish you even better along the way.

Yup I use the gel! I started off with the .025% cream, moved on to the .05% cream, and about 4-5 weeks ago I started using the gel. I totally agree though, the gel is so much stronger. My dermatologist specifically told me the that the gel would be more irritating but would be more effective, and my skin is pretty much adjusted to tretinoin already. I wouldn't worry too much about the alcohol either, tretinoin does really well for anti-aging and the alcohol component will in no way affect that. Tretinoin is one of the only treatments PROVEN to be effective in reducing wrinkles as well. 

My pores are looking good, my skin is very smooth and I can actually count how many clogged pores I have left (4 to be exact). Blackheads on my nose have significantly improved, like no kidding, it looks like I just got an extraction. I've actually done some manual extractions on my nose as the blackheads were pretty deep and there were plenty back in month 2. Tretinoin is really good at preventing new blackheads, so thats probably what did the trick. As for fine lines, I'm 18, so I don't really have any

My routine right now goes:

Wash 2x a day with natural face wash
Apply azelaic acid 2x a day after washing face
Tretinoin every M/W/F/S at night, 30 mins after washing and drying face
Apply kojic acid every morning after azelaic acid to fade dark spots
Hydroquinone at night after applying azelaic acid, or after applying tretinoin if it happens to fall on a M/W/F/S.

And no problem. Always glad to help! 

From your experience, do you think the gel works better?
How was your experience w/ the cream?

Do you remember how long it took for your pores to unclog? Right now I feel like my pores are so clogged, & they haven't improved.

After you did some extractions, have you had to do more? The blackheads on my nose also have not improved.

How's the azelaic & kojic acid / hydroquinoneworking out? I've been meaning to go back to my doctor to get something inconjuction to work with tretinoin.

11 hours ago, Fila___ said:

From your experience, do you think the gel works better?
How was your experience w/ the cream?

Do you remember how long it took for your pores to unclog? Right now I feel like my pores are so clogged, & they haven't improved.

After you did some extractions, have you had to do more? The blackheads on my nose also have not improved.

How's the azelaic & kojic acid / hydroquinoneworking out? I've been meaning to go back to my doctor to get something inconjuction to work with tretinoin.

Yeah I do think the gel works better. The cream was less irritating, but I've adjusted to the gel so I prefer it because of the increased effectiveness.

There isn't a specific time frame where you can say your pores got unclogged. It progressively gets better the longer you use it. Things typically start to look better 12 weeks in, at least in my experience. As for the extractions, I only did it once, and I can only see my blackheads if I were to really look close with a flashlight.

AZA, kojic acid and hydroquinone have been working really well. I don't like to over analyze my skin as it just makes time seem longer if I were to check on my skin everyday, although I do know long term the marks are fading so much faster. My tip for you is to stop worrying so much about the initial breakout. Tretinoin is going to work for you, you just need to give it some time.

My son is using .05% tretinoin cream, along with the Acne.Org Regimen and it's been a great add-on for him after he got clear. He uses it every other night, after applying BP and moisturizer, and the other nights he uses Dan's AHA+ mixed with the Acne.Org moisturizer (for fading PIH). He also went through a pretty bad purge when we first started using tretinoin (the treatment purged almost all his blackheads and whiteheads...his skin was loaded with them!!), but now it's helping to prevent blackheads, pore clogs, and other comedonal acne so glad we stuck it out. His pores are clear and no longer getting stretched out by huge blackheads and whiteheads, and the tretinoin helps keep his pores open and from sticking together (trapping acne bacteria and creating a pimple) so with the help of 2.5% BP and tretinoin, he hardly ever gets a pimple! And his skin is nice and smooth without all the rough bumps that comedonal acne can create. The tretinoin is also helping the other products absorb that much better (by keeping his pores open), which helps them be more effective. Yeah, we're loving tretinoin for sure!!! Glad it's working for you, too!! 

On May 8, 2016 at 4:47 AM, Tretinoin said:

Yeah I do think the gel works better. The cream was less irritating, but I've adjusted to the gel so I prefer it because of the increased effectiveness.

There isn't a specific time frame where you can say your pores got unclogged. It progressively gets better the longer you use it. Things typically start to look better 12 weeks in, at least in my experience. As for the extractions, I only did it once, and I can only see my blackheads if I were to really look close with a flashlight. 

AZA, kojic acid and hydroquinone have been working really well. I don't like to over analyze my skin as it just makes time seem longer if I were to check on my skin everyday, although I do know long term the marks are fading so much faster. My tip for you is to stop worrying so much about the initial breakout. Tretinoin is going to work for you, you just need to give it some time. 

I'm late on replying, I know. Lol. Thank you for all your responses, Tretinoin. Right now I'm finishing with week 9, and things don't look so great  I thought my face was getting better, until out of nowhere it got worse than it has been in months. Probably just as worse before I started Dan's Regimen... I don't know if it wasdue to a makeup breakout or another purge... My forehead now again has those tiny flesh colored bumps, and I had broke out a bit on my cheeks & chin. Mostly under the skin bumps. I also don't know if it was because I had switched to gel, but I don't get that irratated by the retina. I have an appointment soon w/ a doctor, and I'm going to ask for stronger retina & something to use in conjunction with it. I really hope tretinoin works out bc I really don't want all this time down the drain and thinking I should have stuck to Dan's BP & AHA... I'm also contemplating if I should be using Dan's BP & AHA in my regimene... Ugh! Advice would be appreciated.

On May 9, 2016 at 8:17 AM, DeLovely said:

My son is using .05% tretinoin cream, along with the Acne.Org Regimen and it's been a great add-on for him after he got clear. He uses it every other night, after applying BP and moisturizer, and the other nights he uses Dan's AHA+ mixed with the Acne.Org moisturizer (for fading PIH). He also went through a pretty bad purge when we first started using tretinoin (the treatment purged almost all his blackheads and whiteheads...his skin was loaded with them!!), but now it's helping to prevent blackheads, pore clogs, and other comedonal acne so glad we stuck it out. His pores are clear and no longer getting stretched out by huge blackheads and whiteheads, and the tretinoin helps keep his pores open and from sticking together (trapping acne bacteria and creating a pimple) so with the help of 2.5% BP and tretinoin, he hardly ever gets a pimple! And his skin is nice and smooth without all the rough bumps that comedonal acne can create. The tretinoin is also helping the other products absorb that much better (by keeping his pores open), which helps them be more effective. Yeah, we're loving tretinoin for sure!!! Glad it's working for you, too!! 

Hi, De-Lovely. It is nice to meet you, & thank you for replying. I'm debating whether to use Dan's BP again in my regimen. Right now I am doing Tretinoin at night, and sometimes I would do Dan's AHA in the mornings. I'm breaking out / subsiding from a breakout, so I'm a little discouraged at the moment so it has me questioning everything. 

I'm glad your son got great results! Applying tretinoin after BP didn't cause your son a problem? I thought they weren't supposed to be used together. 

If things don't get better by week 12, I most likely will go back to Dan's BP. 

You're describing a tretinoin success story so firstly, congrats! I had the same period that you experienced with the 'purging' stage of tetinoin. I broke out on my left cheek and almost stopped using tretinoin but I'm glad I stuck it out because my skin is now dramatically better 3 months later. I have always had the tiny flesh colored breakouts on my forehead and my chin but they aren't exactly obvious unless you're looking for them and I am a bit disappointed that tretinoin did not get rid of them, but I'm really happy overall. Definitely continue with tretinoin as it's a 'slow and steady' kind of treatment. I have noticed that now I don't get a new break out every other day, its more like one every couple of weeks if that, and tretinoin takes care of it within 2 days. I'm also on the 0.025% cream formula just fyi. I also take doxy and spiro once a day and try to stay really hydrated. Other than that I don't use any creams as I'm worried they will interfere with the tretinoin, instead I use the Talika Photo Hydra day moisturizer, wait for it to absorb and apply tretinoin. 

Good luck, don't get down in the dumps, celebrate your progress! Perfect skin takes time

13 hours ago, Ugurl said:

You're describing a tretinoin success story so firstly, congrats! I had the same period that you experienced with the 'purging' stage of tetinoin. I broke out on my left cheek and almost stopped using tretinoin but I'm glad I stuck it out because my skin is now dramatically better 3 months later. I have always had the tiny flesh colored breakouts on my forehead and my chin but they aren't exactly obvious unless you're looking for them and I am a bit disappointed that tretinoin did not get rid of them, but I'm really happy overall. Definitely continue with tretinoin as it's a 'slow and steady' kind of treatment. I have noticed that now I don't get a new break out every other day, its more like one every couple of weeks if that, and tretinoin takes care of it within 2 days. I'm also on the 0.025% cream formula just fyi. I also take doxy and spiro once a day and try to stay really hydrated. Other than that I don't use any creams as I'm worried they will interfere with the tretinoin, instead I use the Talika Photo Hydra day moisturizer, wait for it to absorb and apply tretinoin. 

Good luck, don't get down in the dumps, celebrate your progress! Perfect skin takes time

Thank you for replying and giving me some inspiration! Lol. This morning, actually, my face looks like it got a lot better. I think I was just freaking out about my previous breakout and questioning everything. I'm definitely going to keep on using it to see if I get more improvement by 12 weeks. I'm starting on week 10 today. I'm going to ask for a stronger strength though. I'm pretty used to the 0.025. At first I was using the cream, but I recently switched to the gel. 
That is weird that the tretinoin did not get rid of those pesky bumps. I started getting a few on my forehead months ago, and sometimes they get better, and sometimes they get worse. Are you considering going a higher strength? I also have noticed how quickly a breakout subsides with tretinoin, I think that's why this morning I was a bit confused that my face looked a lot better than previous days. 
How is the Spiro working out? I've kind of looked into that, and I might mention it to my doctor. I'm also on birth control and considering going on one specifically for acne, but I'm not too sure yet bc I haven't looked into it just yet. 
At night, I just use tretinoin, and in the mornings I will just moisturize or treat and moisturize. 
Congrats on your success as well! I hope the best for you. 

10 hours ago, Fila___ said:

Thank you for replying and giving me some inspiration! Lol. This morning, actually, my face looks like it got a lot better. I think I was just freaking out about my previous breakout and questioning everything. I'm definitely going to keep on using it to see if I get more improvement by 12 weeks. I'm starting on week 10 today. I'm going to ask for a stronger strength though. I'm pretty used to the 0.025. At first I was using the cream, but I recently switched to the gel. 
That is weird that the tretinoin did not get rid of those pesky bumps. I started getting a few on my forehead months ago, and sometimes they get better, and sometimes they get worse. Are you considering going a higher strength? I also have noticed how quickly a breakout subsides with tretinoin, I think that's why this morning I was a bit confused that my face looked a lot better than previous days. 
How is the Spiro working out? I've kind of looked into that, and I might mention it to my doctor. I'm also on birth control and considering going on one specifically for acne, but I'm not too sure yet bc I haven't looked into it just yet. 
At night, I just use tretinoin, and in the mornings I will just moisturize or treat and moisturize. 
Congrats on your success as well! I hope the best for you. 

Thank you My derm and I first tried birth control because I had the lingering feeling that my acne was hormonal so I went in to the appointment and asked him for BC to even out my hormones. 3 tablets later I quit the birth control because it made me highly depressed and withdrawn and i'm normally neither of those things. So on the next appointment he gave me spiro instead. But if you're looking into spiro its a good idea to already be on birth control because spiro can cause horrible birth defects, if you get pregnant so that's smart. So far, all I've noticed is that I've dropped about 10 lbs, and while my face has remained clear, I'm not sure which one specifically: spiro or doxy or tretinoin is to thank for that. I think it's probably  a combination of all three that thank fully worked for me because I was so desperate I was ready to go the surgical route lol. While, the little flesh colored bumps are still there, they don't bother me, Im only concerned about the mild PIH i still have left over on my cheeks. 

And yeah, maybe ask for the gel I read another commenter say that worked better for them, or just bump it up to 0.5% and see if that yields any positive results. But don't quit tretinoin unless you're having a bad reaction to it because it's like a miracle cream that just needs a bit of time
 

Hi there, im on tret 0.025 for i think over 2 months now and its working really well. I started really slow working from once a week to now every 2 days. Im working up to everyday. In the morning i use a salicylic acid moisturizer and on nights off i use a gentle glycolic scrub and an antibacterial gel. Of course I slather sun protection too. My break out was minimal and after a month i had no inflamation and smoothing of existing bumps. Now im at a stage where i have tiny little whiteheads that are going away (they actually come to the surface and extract themselves! Unlike before ). The only thing i have to worry about is flaky skin. But honestly I prefer flaky skin than pimples that make me scar. I think its important to gently exfoliate the dead skin as to not cause blocked pores. Tretinoin does take time to work. This is my 3rd time trying because i hated the flaking and initial break out. But on my previous attemps the concertation was too high. At the moment im happy with 0.025. Have you tried incorporating salicylic acid?

Hey fila... 🙂
I have also been on tretinoin for nearly 3 months. I am seeing a lot of difference in my pimples but am getting a lot of hyperpigmentation. Are you getting it also ??
Feel free to check my Retin a log 🙂
it has detailed description of my battle with acne..... It is really a big battle with pimples but I can only say that do not lose hope in tretinoin and ignore all those people who keep judging you and keep making fun of your pimples because you will get better skin than them at the end of the day. 🙂

On 5/31/2016 at 4:32 AM, Ugurl said:

Thank you My derm and I first tried birth control because I had the lingering feeling that my acne was hormonal so I went in to the appointment and asked him for BC to even out my hormones. 3 tablets later I quit the birth control because it made me highly depressed and withdrawn and i'm normally neither of those things. So on the next appointment he gave me spiro instead. But if you're looking into spiro its a good idea to already be on birth control because spiro can cause horrible birth defects, if you get pregnant so that's smart. So far, all I've noticed is that I've dropped about 10 lbs, and while my face has remained clear, I'm not sure which one specifically: spiro or doxy or tretinoin is to thank for that. I think it's probably  a combination of all three that thank fully worked for me because I was so desperate I was ready to go the surgical route lol. While, the little flesh colored bumps are still there, they don't bother me, Im only concerned about the mild PIH i still have left over on my cheeks. 

And yeah, maybe ask for the gel I read another commenter say that worked better for them, or just bump it up to 0.5% and see if that yields any positive results. But don't quit tretinoin unless you're having a bad reaction to it because it's like a miracle cream that just needs a bit of time
 

i find antibiotics suppress my appetite especially for junk food. Added bonus!

On June 27, 2016 at 4:01 PM, snarkygirl said:

On May 31, 2016 at 4:32 AM, Ugurl said:

Thank you My derm and I first tried birth control because I had the lingering feeling that my acne was hormonal so I went in to the appointment and asked him for BC to even out my hormones. 3 tablets later I quit the birth control because it made me highly depressed and withdrawn and i'm normally neither of those things. So on the next appointment he gave me spiro instead. But if you're looking into spiro its a good idea to already be on birth control because spiro can cause horrible birth defects, if you get pregnant so that's smart. So far, all I've noticed is that I've dropped about 10 lbs, and while my face has remained clear, I'm not sure which one specifically: spiro or doxy or tretinoin is to thank for that. I think it's probably  a combination of all three that thank fully worked for me because I was so desperate I was ready to go the surgical route lol. While, the little flesh colored bumps are still there, they don't bother me, Im only concerned about the mild PIH i still have left over on my cheeks. 

And yeah, maybe ask for the gel I read another commenter say that worked better for them, or just bump it up to 0.5% and see if that yields any positive results. But don't quit tretinoin unless you're having a bad reaction to it because it's like a miracle cream that just needs a bit of time
 

i find antibiotics suppress my appetite especially for junk food. Added bonus!

Lol YES!! For me, I think spiro was the reason for the weight loss since its a diuretic, i lost all that excess water weight. Im not complaining!!! 

How is your skin doing?

Hello,
I am not currently using Tretinoin, however I used it with an antibiotic for 13 months, and by itself for a few months afterwards. For the first 6 months my skin showed some great progress and my exhausting acne noticeably diminished. After that, my skin continued to have the mild acne, and didn't improve much at all. (Note: my dermatologist switched between the gel and cream but I liked the gel much more). The last 3 or 4 months I was on Tretinoin I noticed that my eyes and the areas around them would severely swell the morning after I used the creme. My symptoms worsened to where my skin would become red and itchy, almost like hives. I eventually stopped taking Tretinoin because of that. I would recommend you see where you are at about the 5 month mark, if the progress has steadily continued, I would keep using it. However, if you do experience reactions to it, I would quit as soon as possible or at least schedule an oppointment. I hope this was helpful to you!
Caroline

53 minutes ago, Ugurl said:

Lol YES!! For me, I think spiro was the reason for the weight loss since its a diuretic, i lost all that excess water weight. Im not complaining!!!

How is your skin doing?

A lot less inflamed, I have like two tiny red bumps on my jawline not painful and will be gone by tomorrow.
My skin is a lot less oily too which I love! I'm going to ask my derm if I can take 100mg next time but I'm feeling better about it.

7 hours ago, snarkygirl said:

A lot less inflamed, I have like two tiny red bumps on my jawline not painful and will be gone by tomorrow.
My skin is a lot less oily too which I love! I'm going to ask my derm if I can take 100mg next time but I'm feeling better about it.

Ok yeah see if the derm recommends it. I'm just not gonna do that because I'm scared of the long term effects of doxy/spiro and i don't want to build up a resistance to it. So look into that make sure its safe and effective