Acne.org Products
Topical Retinoid
Efficacy
54%
Based on All Available Studies
Strength of Evidence
Note: Prescription and over-the-counter adapalene share the same efficacy percentage due to non-specific research, but prescription strength likely performs better.
Topical Retinoid
Acne.org’s Real World Take
This topical retinoid medication provides partial relief at higher prescription dosages, but don’t look for complete clearing, especially at over-the-counter strength. Relatively affordable and comes with less side effects than tretinoin, the other affordable topical retinoid. As a bonus, it improves the look of skin and reduces fine lines and wrinkles a bit too.
Topical Retinoid
How to Get It
This is an over-the-counter treatment. Here are some places you can find it online.
Used Adapalene (Non-prescription)? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
June 24, 2011
Cons:
nothing to serious
I put on differin at night and benzaclin in the morning, at first your skin will look worse and it will dry out very very much but when used lotions such as eucerin everyday protection for the face it keeps your skin from drying out. These products do keep my acne very well under control and im happy i use them
October 22, 2010
Pros:
Does reduce acne, if you use it right and for long enough.
Cons:
Dries and irritates skin around eyes and nose at the beginning.
Doesn't clear blackheads.
When you get spots they are worse, take longer to heal and seem to scar a bit more.
You probably wouldn't want someone to kiss you when you've put it on - if you accidentally taste it, it's pretty bitter.
I used Differin for 2 months & it was just terrible - same amount of acne as before, but the spots were bigger and took longer to heal.
So I had another look at the reviews here & made a few changes. What I do now:
- After cleansing, apply a pea-sized amount of Differin only to the areas that have acne, every night. Rub the Differin in gently but well.
- In the morning, cleanse and use a small amount of Cetaphil DailyAdvance Ultra Hydrating Lotion. Rub in gently but well. I also happened to reduce my caffeine and alcohol intake at the same time, and I had been using Differin for 2 months, so all this probably helped too. Still, I think using the Cetaphil moisturiser and making sure that anything I put on my face is well rubbed in is the key. I'm in my early 30s and have always had mild acne. I finally got sick of it so the doctor prescribed Differin. I'm quite happy with it now and will keep on using it. It cost $50 for 30 g, which lasts me about 3 months. Good luck!
September 8, 2010
Pros:
if you have oily skin it makes your skin dry
you start to see improvements over time
Cons:
makes your skin really flakey especially around your eyes and around your mouth
itchy skin
I've had acne since i was really young (end of primary school) and it got worse when i started high school. I started with all those over the counter/proactive type solutions, they did not help at all, then i saw my local GP and she prescribed me with antibiotics, that didn't work either. I went back to my GP and she sent me to a dermatologist and she prescribed me with roaccutane. Roaccutane helped when i was on it but after a few months i stopped the course my acne came back. I went back to my dermatologist and they put me on it again but the same thing happened and my acne came back. I went to my dermatologist and they wanted to give it a third go, but 2 months after my third course my acne came back. They then wanted to try differin, and i got prescribed a gel solution which is 0.1%. I've only been on it for about 2 weeks and i can already see an improvement to my skin. The first few days were the worst because of all the breakouts i had and the peeling of the skin. But now i can see improvements to previous scars and hopefully i'll be seeing more improvements over time. Even though im only 16, i've been through a lot of sh*t because of my acne and now hopefully this will solve the problem. My dermatologist recommended this plan
MORNING:
- wash face with Benzac AC wash (5%)
- moisturise with neutrogina or cetaphil cream NIGHT:
- wash face with neutogina or cetaphil cleansers
- apply a thin layer of differin over affected areas
December 28, 2009
Pros:
There weren't any
Cons:
Severe itchying. if put anywhere near nose or mouth the itching turns into SEVERE BURNING ( so bad made me and my sister cry!!) face turns inflamed and it smells to high heaven, the burning doesn't go away for a while even after continued use
Didn't work for me.. but all skin is different!
October 5, 2016
PLEASE READ IF YOU'VE BEEN PRESCRIBED DIFFERIN
Okay guys hi!! So I am writing this regarding my experience to try and help anyone suffering with acne who has been prescribed differin by a doctor or derm. So, little background, I have tried almost everything under the sun, I have closed commodones, pustules, blackheads and bumps typically under the skin. Sometimes cystic acne as well, not just your usual whitehead above the skin due to oiliness or menstrual cycle what have you. I was prescribed differin by my dermatologist along with a oral medication at the time, it seemed that differin worked for a couple days and then old issues just came back and it really didn't do anything for me whatsoever. Really bummed considering I had JUST purchased the medication ( wasn't too expensive because most insurance covers a majority of the cost) but I had a full bottle left still. So, my boyfriend struggles with acne as well, nothing serious, he just has extremely oily skin which if he would just wash and moisturize regularly ( doesn't really care to, go figure) he would probably have perfect skin. One night, seeing me do all my 30 min skin care regimen he asked me to put something on his face to make his acne go away, I figured well sh*t I still have this full bottle of prescription acne medication ( I KNOW IT WASNT PRESCRIBED TO HIM AND THIS ISNT RECOMMENDED) but I wanted to do an experiment to see if this stuff actually works on any acne at all ( remember his isn't under the skin, not cystic) Just above the skin white heads easily extracted, I used this on him every night for a few days and his skin looks AMAZING!!! It really does work but IN MY OPINION only on the above the skin pimples, not people who suffer from cystic or a lot of bumps and blackheads. I really hope this helps someone as when I was prescribed I was looking for any info on whether or not this would work for me, thank you for reading!!!
February 12, 2016
gave up
i used this product about 7weeks as my doc recommended me this but i didnt see any result at all
January 8, 2016
3 months nothing happened
I started using differin on the first of October, so the first two months were so bad! I was breaking out like crazy all over my face. But after i saw some reviews i decided to continue using it. Which didnt work at all. And i want to know should i continue using it or no?
P.S I've used bp retin A and many more.
December 31, 2011
Pros:
DOES work well with consistency
Cons:
Dry skin
Irritating
Worsens if you forget it one day
sensitive to sun
Alright, I just got off this stuff. This is not the review where I worship it or say it was a failure and blame it for all my problems, but it is my honest opinion. Does it work? Yes, it does work. It just wasn't for me. I tried Differin, using it once every night. After a few weeks of acne increasing, everything got much better. After usage, skin was dry and sometimes itchy. Also when using it with other medicines such as benzoyl peroxide, it burned. It would have worked fine other than the fact I was inconsistent. Each time you stop it, even for a night, you repeat the cycle of your acne getting worse, then better. My skin also became more sensitive to the sun. (Gosh do I hate the sun).
Final summation: Use it if you have a good moisturizer and sunblock. Cetaphil makes a two in one. You MUST be consistent. It works, but it is no huge miracle worker.
April 30, 2011
Pros:
Easy to apply
Cons:
Expensive
Caused my acne to get worse
Made skin more sensitive to the sun/scaring
I was prescribed this product by my dermatologist due to my mild/moderate acne. At that time, I had been using benzol peroxide and my face was fairly clear, but I wanted to to be 100% clear. My doctor told me this was the answer and I stared using it the next day. I followed the instructions carefully and put on plenty of moisturizer daily. MY skin began to get worse after the first week and became gradually worse over the course of 12 weeks. I stayed positive, as my derm. said it takes 3 months for it to work. Well, after 3 months my face was MUCH worse than it was when I started. I wasted 3 months of my life feeling self-conscious and will face another few months trying to get my face back to normal using benzol peroxide (again). STAY AWAY!!!! Waste of time and money.
March 19, 2011
Pros:
soothing, easy to apply, simple dispensing design
Cons:
...heard it works really slow and that my acne will get much more worse before it can better... umm how is that?!
So I've only been on this gel for about 5 days now. I'm an adult and was sick of seeing my face look so ugly. As a teen, I used Proactiv and had great results. So autumn last year, I decided to go back to it. Well it was horrible! the regular stuff didnt help, so cust. svc advised me to use their "extra strength" version, which I did. It dried my face so bad I stopped using it. and 6 weeks after I stopped using it, my face was just peeling worse! It is so bad I would rather live with the Acne then this flaking, which also made my face very red and sore. Not to mention the scarring that I'm seeing :( Ok anyway, my doctor has now prescribed me the Gel Diffiren. So she warned that it will get worse before it gets better. So far it feels warm when I put it on. but in a way, it soothes my dry & sore skin. Then I just put a moisterizer on top. I have noticed that the white heads increased. but when I researched online about the medicine, it confirms that this will do exactly that. It will bring all the nasty stuff up to the surface of the skin... and that's why the process will take so long. So I will try this and so we'll see what I see in 8 weeks (my next dr. follow-up is in 8 weeks) ;)
Pros:
effective