My dr adviced me to put retin-a for red marks I have for acne. I saw so many good reviews about it here so I tried.
Perhaps I put too much-but this was one of the worse choices I made-my skin became thin. I have huge pores-I never had those before. I used to be tan-now I am white in my face-and my face can not tan-all my body does get tan except for my face. Scars are much more noticeable.
Does anyone has sugestions what to do to cancel out the damage? to get back the texture I had before using the retin a? It seems like my skin barrier is gone)-:
39 minutes ago, mjg713 said:Are you guys sure this is from Retin a? I never hear dog Retin a damaging skin, I actually heard it can help with thin skin problems.
Yes, positive.
It was an overnight occurrence and unfortunately the more research I did , the more people I found with the same symptoms.
Im telling you, after reading about 500 posts online from various people, I've seen about 2, only TWO say they healed from it...it took them almost two years and I have yet to even get into email contact with them to see the healing pics for myself.
Im starving for hope right now.
The damage is very similar with the usual variations of "orange peel"
Whetherit be from any topical derivative of vitamin a, laser, chemical peels, even over the counter strength retinol creams..
I don't know why this happens to some people and not others but it's devasting..feels like someone transplanted my skin with my 80 year old grandmother's overnight.
Now all i do is look at skin..I'm recognizing people with similar skin on tv and when I look at the rest of their face, I realize they are usually over 30 years older than me and look like they've smoked or sunbathed/have a disease,etc.
I want to tear my skin off right now!
how a little cream can do this is unreal..i'd be just as well getting an abusive SO and having them throw acid on my face, I swear.
Also just go through the reviews of retinoids on this site..go to lowest rating..you will seemany with similar issues resulting from this nightmare topical..I also thought it was harmless when I put it on my face..it was a little sample..given to me without great care or warning..now I'm just left being able to do absolutely nothing to help myself..all I can do is sit and wait, hope I don't kill myself and hopethat I DO heal..and sooner than later..can't even touch my face right now
i also wonder if others using this cream who have tons of acne or are older with wrinkles, just don't notice the side effects because they have so much else going on..ofcourse mine also came with other symptoms such as intense pulling of the cheeks and eyes and burning to the pointI was going to go to the emergency room for fear that I was just leaving my face to be damaged by doing so little..so thatwould be hard not to notice...but I've read other posts where people only had the visual side effects, not other pains and sensations so it's still possible that others aren't noticing or won't notice untilwhatever else they have going on with their skin dissipates..I've noticed a pattern that most posting about this seem to have had near perfect skin before using it and having thisreaction, as was the case for myself..if your face is alreadycompletely covered with scars and acne it's harder to notice the texture going amiss when using this junk..which is banned and labeled as poison in many other countries btw
Also surprising that Itaffected me the way it did when I got little to no side effects from Accutane four years ago,a supposedly even more controversial drug.
Iguess my skin can't handle any topicals..it's got to be internal or nothing.
Im sick over this.
Makes me angry and incredibly sad.
especially after all I do to protect and ensure the health of my skin..it showed but now all of that is dust in the air, gone, worthless, years of taking great care only to destroy the work in a matter of days
6 hours ago, BrokenPorEcelain said:Yes, positive.
It was an overnight occurrence and unfortunately the more research I did , the more people I found with the same symptoms.
Im telling you, after reading about 500 posts online from various people, I've seen about 2, only TWO say they healed from it...it took them almost two years and I have yet to even get into email contact with them to see the healing pics for myself.
Im starving for hope right now.The damage is very similar with the usual variations of "orange peel"
Whetherit be from any topical derivative of vitamin a, laser, chemical peels, even over the counter strength retinol creams..
I don't know why this happens to some people and not others but it's devasting..feels like someone transplanted my skin with my 80 year old grandmother's overnight.
Now all i do is look at skin..I'm recognizing people with similar skin on tv and when I look at the rest of their face, I realize they are usually over 30 years older than me and look like they've smoked or sunbathed/have a disease,etc.I want to tear my skin off right now!
how a little cream can do this is unreal..i'd be just as well getting an abusive SO and having them throw acid on my face, I swear.
Would you mind posting a picture?
I was prescribed retinoids for my acne as well, and while they did get rid of a lot of the acne, they left my face full of red, raw spots. I went back to the derm and they gave me Tactupump (which I think is Canadian but they should have the same thing under a different name elsewhere). After a couple weeks of using it my skin healed like crazy and it also prevented new acne from forming.
Definitely give it a shot!
Mjg713,
Yes, ofcourse, I already did about a month ago, befores and afters, while the afters aren't high def or anything, it's still obvious, especially in comparison to my normal skin.
You can go on my page. Under the post "Tazorac .05 destroyed my face".
I will probably be putting more up.
I have so many screen shots of others who were damaged (I'm still not wanting to even use this word as I'm hoping it all resolves!!) that I wish I could post somewhere as a big thread to warn others as I wish I had been warned.
So many people I've found..Its not even funny..all slightly varying types of the same symptoms.
Its so hard to contact people through medhelp type sites tho..other sites I've seen this talked about are essential day spa, skin care talk,lots of "ask a doctor" sites, makemeheal forums, RealSelf, and the IPL and laser damage forum I mentioned before.
13 hours ago, lucybus said:I was prescribed retinoids for my acne as well, and while they did get rid of a lot of the acne, they left my face full of red, raw spots. I went back to the derm and they gave me Tactupump (which I think is Canadian but they should have the same thing under a different name elsewhere). After a couple weeks of using it my skin healed like crazy and it also prevented new acne from forming.
Definitely give it a shot!
But isn't tactupump just benzoyl peroxide mixed with adapalene(another retinoid) ?
I heard a few cases of bp also causing orange peel texture and tone issues..so I would think having both in one product would be killer on the skin.
I think this is more than just raw red patches of skin also..i wish mine was just raw because then at least I'd know new skin was coming
same!! retin a is so harsh, made my skin so plastic and rough. the pores look big and damaged. i gave up using it, it made my face oily and rough. it is too harsh and NOT gentle enough for sensitive skin. i wish i knew before.
how are you guys doing after stopping? does skin return to normal??
p.s, i've been off it for almost 1 1/2-2 years now, and i think my skin is slowly getting better but i can't remember for sure how it was before. the oiliness has gone down, but it still looks a little plasticy and i'm not sure if the pores are getting smaller
all i did afterwas caveman/water only, and then i got prescribed a mild sulfur wash, and then i went back to water only with a gentle skin cleanser.
12 hours ago, rollercoaster said:same!! retin a is so harsh, made my skin so plastic and rough. the pores look big and damaged. i gave up using it, it made my face oily and rough. it is too harsh and NOT gentle enough for sensitive skin. i wish i knew before.
how are you guys doing after stopping? does skin return to normal??
p.s, i've been off it for almost 1 1/2-2 years now, and i think my skin is slowly getting better but i can't remember for sure how it was before. the oiliness has gone down, but it still looks a little plasticy and i'm not sure if the pores are getting smaller
all i did afterwas caveman/water only, and then i got prescribed a mild sulfur wash, and then i went back to water only with a gentle skin cleanser.
1.5. Years????!
ugh GOD
well that's depressing
no I have not found a remedy for mine..it's been 3 months and even that time has been a lot to handle
how Long did you use it for?
have you done anything else with your skin prior or since?
On 10/21/2016 at 0:07 AM, BrokenPorEcelain said:Yes, positive.
It was an overnight occurrence and unfortunately the more research I did , the more people I found with the same symptoms.
Im telling you, after reading about 500 posts online from various people, I've seen about 2, only TWO say they healed from it...it took them almost two years and I have yet to even get into email contact with them to see the healing pics for myself.
Im starving for hope right now.The damage is very similar with the usual variations of "orange peel"
Whetherit be from any topical derivative of vitamin a, laser, chemical peels, even over the counter strength retinol creams..
I don't know why this happens to some people and not others but it's devasting..feels like someone transplanted my skin with my 80 year old grandmother's overnight.
Now all i do is look at skin..I'm recognizing people with similar skin on tv and when I look at the rest of their face, I realize they are usually over 30 years older than me and look like they've smoked or sunbathed/have a disease,etc.I want to tear my skin off right now!
how a little cream can do this is unreal..i'd be just as well getting an abusive SO and having them throw acid on my face, I swear.
How did they heel it?? have you heeled it?
2 hours ago, Dahlia.r said:On 10/20/2016 at 7:07 PM, BrokenPorEcelain said:Yes, positive.
It was an overnight occurrence and unfortunately the more research I did , the more people I found with the same symptoms.
Im telling you, after reading about 500 posts online from various people, I've seen about 2, only TWO say they healed from it...it took them almost two years and I have yet to even get into email contact with them to see the healing pics for myself.
Im starving for hope right now.The damage is very similar with the usual variations of "orange peel"
Whetherit be from any topical derivative of vitamin a, laser, chemical peels, even over the counter strength retinol creams..
I don't know why this happens to some people and not others but it's devasting..feels like someone transplanted my skin with my 80 year old grandmother's overnight.
Now all i do is look at skin..I'm recognizing people with similar skin on tv and when I look at the rest of their face, I realize they are usually over 30 years older than me and look like they've smoked or sunbathed/have a disease,etc.I want to tear my skin off right now!
how a little cream can do this is unreal..i'd be just as well getting an abusive SO and having them throw acid on my face, I swear.How did they heel it?? have you heeled it?
No I have not healed it (not even remotely) and I am encroaching upon a year dealing with this Hell.
I think the two I was speaking of when writing this, basically used little to nothing and time was what eventually healed their skin. I think it was something between 7-18 months. Their usernames were electricboom and chase(some # at the end) on the IPLaser damage support forum...they didn't have laser damage tho, it was from retinol and retinoids and in a thread named "Retin a: toxic side effects they don't tell you" I believe. You can google it.
Honestly I'm skeptical of all of these threads, people may read these anecdotal "horror stories" and then not try treatments could be very effective for them. IPL is the gentlest of lasers as it can't penetrate deep into the skin as it is only in the 600 nm range so ipl laser damage could only occur from someone using the wrong settings, not the treatment itself being dangerousous.
One of you then says that retin ruined your face and then your doctor gave you another retinoid (tactupump) and this healed you???? (Makes no sense)
Yet no one ever posts before and after pictures so people can objectively judge their skin, we are most critical of our own appreance and most people over react. Retinoids are great for plumping up and making more youthful skin., they however do not stop you aging naturally.
9 hours ago, Jacob a said:Honestly I'm skeptical of all of these threads, people may read these anecdotal "horror stories" and then not try treatments could be very effective for them. IPL is the gentlest of lasers as it can't penetrate deep into the skin as it is only in the 600 nm range so ipl laser damage could only occur from someone using the wrong settings, not the treatment itself being dangerousous.
One of you then says that retin ruined your face and then your doctor gave you another retinoid (tactupump) and this healed you???? (Makes no sense)
Yet no one ever posts before and after pictures so people can objectively judge their skin, we are most critical of our own appreance and most people over react. Retinoids are great for plumping up and making more youthful skin., they however do not stop you aging naturally.
To be fair brokenPorcelain has posted before and afters in her thread.
It could be that the skin is a different for everyone. There are different skin types and tickness and health.
I did co2 laser and it really helped my scars but my scars come back in after some time.
.Also did tca, fractional, dermarolling and aha.
So they never destroyed my skin and they bring improvements.
But thats just personal story, i want to do co2 laser resurfacing again, but because al the horror stories I can understand people being held back.
AHA is supossed to be very mild to the skin, having said that with dermarolling and aha i had times it did wonders and times it looked like it was making it worse. Maybe it depends on the skins condition.
So overal I am going for a co2 laser again but only if i know it is a professional who knows what he is doing. I have lots of small scar, texture problems. A few deepisch ones. Mental problems where really bad too and treatment helped it up to a point everything was possible again.
My overal experience with scars is that new skin can make it look so much better, but after a few years it comes back slightly
13 hours ago, Jacob a said:Honestly I'm skeptical of all of these threads, people may read these anecdotal "horror stories" and then not try treatments could be very effective for them. IPL is the gentlest of lasers as it can't penetrate deep into the skin as it is only in the 600 nm range so ipl laser damage could only occur from someone using the wrong settings, not the treatment itself being dangerousous.
One of you then says that retin ruined your face and then your doctor gave you another retinoid (tactupump) and this healed you???? (Makes no sense)
Yet no one ever posts before and after pictures so people can objectively judge their skin, we are most critical of our own appreance and most people over react. Retinoids are great for plumping up and making more youthful skin., they however do not stop you aging naturally.
Well I probably wouldn't necessarily believe a lot of the stories either, until it happened to me. And that's always the way it goes, isn't it? We are oblivious to the negatives until we experience them ourselves, and then have to delve deeper down the rabbit hole in order to find answers and solutions.
No one thinks it's that bad until it's their face. And ANY PERMANENT damage, to any degree, especially from something as seemingly benign as a cream is unacceptable. Also..pictures can only show so much especially with everyone using their iPhone these days. It's not anyone else's right to judge how another person reacts to damage being done to their face, especially when the damage comes from topicals or procedures that are supposed to do the exact opposite.
Idk who the tactupump person is but I've been to 4 derms and also a gynecologist and an endocrinologist (incase there were underlying reasons I wasn't healing). And two of the derms suggested more retinoids, so obviously they think fighting fire with fire works for some people...maybe it does...I highly doubt it tho-as you do-and personally, I'm not risking it.( But everyone is different).
One derm even recommended microderm which I vehemently opposed. If my skin couldn't even handle a couple uses of a cream, it certainly won't be able to withstand in-office Microderm.
Im not going to fight damage with damage...I've seen people's Skin messed upwith microderm alone, nevermind having already been damaged by something else.
Even if there's not an overwhelming amount, I guess I've seen enough pictures of damaged skin from retinoids and read enough stories to realize it's a Lot more common than one might think. There's usually more "afters" than "befores"but since it happened to me, I'm inclined to believe others when they say their skin did not look like this or that, beforehand. I don't think people just wake up one day and decide they are gunna hate their skin.
And besides retinoid damage, There are plenty of pictures of laser damage, especially on Realself. All types of lasers, even non Ablative...people losing their minds over there...and rightfully so.
I think the thing is...a lot these people don't really need to be using creams or getting laser in the first place. (Myself included). They are usually not the kind of people who have deep scarring, but rather just have small little scars or acne, just want to "up their game" or prevent aging etc..and these procedures and topicals almost always make things a thousand times worse. Its almost like there's no way up, but Down.
Ithink people with more severe prior issues have more to gain from procedures and creams like these, risk vs reward.
That doesn't mean these others with less problematic skin deserve to be damaged tho. They STILL are always told things can "only get better". No matter where they start before they are prescribed retinoids or are suggested a procedure.
/
If technicians are the problem, not the laser...then there are a damn LOT of faulty technicians. How is anyone to know they are getting a good one until it's too late?
Almost every laser damage story I've seen, SOMEONE comes along and tells the victim that it was the technician's fault, not the laser. But you know what the doctors say? That it wasn't the technician's fault, nor the lasers, but rather, the patient's. Somehow...the patient is always to blame.
So even if the lasers were incapable of damage or making A mistake, until we have robots running the machines, nothing is guaranteed with such a powerful, fickle device...under human hands.
/
To be honest, Ive seen more "horror stories" than success stories at this point. A lot of the success stories don't have pictures either tho you know...or sometimes you can hardly notice the difference or the person's scars look shallower but their overall skin looks aged and textured so it's win some/lose some. Now I wasn't dealing with scarring before using a retinoid (besides one little scar on my Nose) so idk what people in that position are willing to trade or give up, or risk, to get the scars themselves to dissipate. If they are okay with possibly gaining new issues while ridding of some old ones...that's their prerogative, not mine. I'm not here to dissuade anyone from doing what they gotta do...and ofcourse there is the possibility that they will be one of the lucky ones where everything goes right and nothing goes wrong. But we have a tendency to always think we will be the invincible one...and that's just not the way it works. Usually that lesson is one that can learned from, moved on from...but if the damage is permanent, forget about it. Game over.
So I think it's good to be aware and to have all these stories out there...if we ignore them or Dismiss them, more will just crop up. Because their visibility is what warns others and keeps a certain percentage of people from making thesame mistake...especially when they really have more to lose, than gain.
(I only wish someone would have warned me!)
And just a note....I see a lot of people get laser for a scar on one area of their face, but the technician insists on doing their whole face. Turns out this is likely because they want everything to blend and they know full well that lasers change people's skin texture for the worse. If they do the whole face, it'd be harder for the client to compare, and thus, complain. (In the case of retin a, it tends to spread even where you don't use it, anyway).
Also...a lot these miraculous photos we see of people whose skin is made "perfect" by retin a or lasers/procedures could be photoshopped..or have changed lighting to make things look improved...and are even stolen from other sources...I can't tell you how many I times I have seen the same exact pictures used on multiple different sites, promoting multiple different things. Even sites like acne.org and the like, are not immune to undercover advertising...forums like these are a breeding ground for those preying on the desperate. Which we are.
And sometimes even real patients are payed to promote a product or a doctor.
So...just take that kind of thing with as much a grain of salt, as you do with the horror stories. Tho in comparison, there's not much room for a hidden agenda for those with strictly negative stories tell.
If all this miracle mumbo worked the way it should, for everyone, then everyone would be using it...and they are just not.
Well it's been my observation that A LOT of these people who post about retin-a "destroying" their skin exaggerate tremendously, but seem to actually believe it as well. So often, when they show pictures, there literally is no trace of damage that can be detected. And in the age of phones with more megapixels than most cameras, I'd say the pictures are pretty darn accurate. I can't tell you how often I've seen a post about over the counter RETINOL supposedly destroying someone's skin.
Some of the most click-baity threads on here come from people who go "help my skin is destroyed" or "my scars are severe and disfiguring" have either no discernible scars or a couple of inconsequential scars. These kinds of boards attract a certain personality type.
That said, I do agree with your point about lasers. I had one round of fractional co2 and I noticed the texture difference right away. The demarcation between treated and untreated areas was clear. I agree that is why a lot of doctors push people to do their whole faces, to eliminate the contrast.
Hey guys, i've just created an account because i came across this post. I know i'm late to the party but i have some experience with this.
I never had acne, i always had dry skin with Keratosis Pilaris. However, i had cyst on my nose and a problem with moisture (water-like substance) beading up on & around my nose particularly when moisturiser or make up was applied. (FYI additional - Cyst was there from childhood but i was refused removal due to scar risk. Also Also always looked after skin).
Unfortunately the doc were convinced it was oily skin on nose and prescribed isotrex/tretinoin gel even though i protested and argued that i did not have oily skin.
I applied it as directed (1st Big Mistake!).
It caused a big mess, i know its supposed to exfoliate but 2 applications resulted in angry bleeding and raw skin. Saw the doc who decided to give me the cream version and insisted this was not as harsh.
Again i applied it as directed (2nd Big Mistake!)
I persevered reluctantly for 2 weeks, keeping the doc regularly updated to skin changes and of my misery (waiting for a face to face appointment). By the end of week 2 i got an appointment (only after i showed up at the doctors surgery in tears). The doc took one look at me and sent me to a surgeon the next day to make sure there was no cartilage damage. The medication had caused my cyst to rupture, Stripped my skin from my nose, my nose appeared deformed, and left my face raw and bleeding and to top it of infection had set in. Skin then started to scab and crust over, my nose was one giant scab. No cartalage damage was noted, but surgeon advised i come of this medication. My Doc argued it was necessary. I refused it and demanded a derm appointment (Wish i had done this from day 1).
Went through many derm's, they prescribed more meds which didn't help & some made it a lot worse. They didn't no where to start as they were fixing my docs mistakes.
Since then i have been plagued with skin infections, wounds, alopecia, a destroyed skin barrier, eye infections.
I eventually refused all retinoid, steroid etc...or greasy emollients and other topical skin meds. Each new med just made it worse. I do used some eye meds from my ophthalmologist still.
I started using la roche posay for my skin care, and have seem improvement, but its taken a long time. I don't have wounds and sores all over my face now and some of my hair has regrowth. However, i have been left with huge pores, still have beading water on my nose, un-even doughy skin tone in places and thin paper skin in others , blepharitis and issues with meibomian glands, risk of infection, re-occuring fluid build up with deposits under skin.
I had a good complexion prior to retinoids.
I have a ophthalmologist as the retinoids stripped all the mucus membrains resulting in dry eyes and ocular surface disease and eye ezcema . I am awaiting a another eye specialist to deal with the ezcema and eyelash loss. And am still under a derm.
All this happened in 2014 and i am still struggling to get it under control now.
It has been a depressing few years, i didnt socialise and hid behind huge sunglasses. Cried and cried some more. I still dont dare put make up on and i was a make up girl before.
Please dont doubt people when they blame retinoids for ruining their skin. They are likely telling the truth. This group of meds are great for some but are terrible for others. My partner and daughter are both on oral Accutane for Psoriasis and have tolerated it very well, but such retinoids were a form of torture for me, they caused my skin horrendous agony, ruined my confidence & caused depression. I am still suffering the effects.
All i would say is, make sure you need them, they should not be your first or only option. If you do use them, then try them on a low dose first and monitor the reaction. Dont go into it thinking they are a magic cure, and get more than one opinion from a qualified dermatologist.
My Dermatologist now say i should never have been prescribed them. But its too late now, the damage is already done.
Thanks,
Sorry it was a long read.
I hope others have found something that has helped their skin.... I was having issues with getting pimples on my chin, and asked my doctor if there was anything that could help with that, he prescribed tactupump, which the first 2 weeks really improved my skin, I had no new pimples and the ones I had were drying up, then after about 3 weeks of use I got a weird "V" shaped rash on my neck and two spots about 1.5" diameter on each side of my chin started bubbling up and the skin basically melted off..... I stopped using the cream, but for the last 14 months I still have wounds there that get better and worse again over and over.... With the pandemic I haven't been in for another appointment, but am going to request a referral to a dermatologist, I am so miserable and depressed. Just wanted anyone else to know it is not just them. The first photo is what I have going on now, the middle photo is from when my skin first peeled off At the end of April 2020, and the last photo is what the pimples that would come and go on my chin looked like before trying the tactupump.
