BartLamble

Not at all. It made my skin appear more smooth, if anything.

I have very sensitive skin, but I left it on all night and did not wash my face until morning. It's a little strange to me that your dermatologist would reccommend that you leave it on for only a few hours. I don't really feel like there's a way around the side effects like the minor stinging sensation (after using it for a while), the dry skin and flaking. It was annoying to deal with, but when the medicine started working, those side effects went away - you just have to give it time. Honestly, I'm not a professional but I would think that leaving it on overnight will give you better results, or at least allow the results to come faster. I have heard of people adding a little bit of moisturizer to the tretinoin when they apply it, but I never did that. As far as glossiness goes, my skin did appear to go from oily-looking to dry and flaky every day. I never had oily skin before and I think maybe the glossy appearance was just a side effect of the tretinoin. It went away eventually. I didn't notice any thinning of my skin.

Also, toners do help! They even out your skin tone and can provide hydration. I highly reccommend any of the LUSH toners. Any dermatologist will tell you that it wouldn't hurt to use toner. Eau Roma is my favorite, but I also love the Tea Tree. It does not irritate your skin and it helps calm problem areas.

I use Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser. It's not foam but more of a creamy face wash. It never irritates my skin, so I love it. [link removed]

Note: I have seen a few reviews on here stating that there is no cure for hormonal acne. This is untrue. The cause of my adult acne was purely hormonal. Tretinoin is designed to change your skin in many different ways, even its response to stress and hormonal imbalance. As someone who has been patient and dedicated to tretinoin, I urge you to try it for at least four months. Don't let other people deter you from a cure because they became impatient or used it incorrectly. If tretinoin truly has done nothing for you and you have severe acne, I would recommend talking to your dermatologist about Accutane. It's not as scary as it seems. In fact, I was told by my dermatologist that I was a perfect candidate for it if tretinoin didn't work, and I was prepared to look into the drug. Anyways, I want you all to know that acne can be cured. Don't let some of these reviews discourage you. Not everyone who has reviewed this drug has used it correctly or for the amount of time necessary to see results. Keep your head up!

The progress was gradual and I did notice some improvement over time, however, I didn't recognize how far I had come until one day I woke up and my skin felt smooth. I noticed other physical characteristics in the mirror other than my skin / acne. My purging stage lasted 2 1/2 - 3 months and it was truly miserable. The beginning of the second month was the worst. You will notice at some point that you're breaking out less but it won't stop overnight. Each problem area has to break open and heal itself until there is finally nothing left. When I saw that I was coming to the end of my acne, I helped it along more quickly by using a blackhead remover tool to get those stubborn blackheads / whiteheads out -- but I only reccommend doing that once you feel you're coming to the end of your acne. It's a long and challenging process but you'll thank yourself in the long run if you stick with it.

I did have quite a bit of acne scarring and dark spots. I've noticed that while the tretinoin was peeling back layers of my skin, older acne scars actually appeared darker. However, by now a lot of the scars have faded, and they are supposed to because tretinoin is also used for treating wrinkles, dark spots, etc. So give it some time. At first, scars appear darker and then gradually fade away.

I'm still taking the antibiotic but since my skin has cleared up, I will probably stop taking it within the next month or two. My dermatologist told me I shouldn't worry about the antibiotics having long term effects. Generally the only worry is building up a resistance to the antibiotics. But several patients take this drug for long periods of time with no health problems developing. I would recommend trying it while you're also on a topical treatment because it certainly helps and then if you feel uncomfortable continuing or no longer need it you can stop the drug.