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. 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
Adapalene is available in strengths up to 0.3% by prescription. Have a dermatologist? Make an appointment to get this medication. Don't have a dermatologist? See The American Academy of Dermatology Physician Database to find one. Adapalene is also available over-the-counter in 0.1% strength. Here are some places you can find it online.
Used Adapalene? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
February 3, 2012
Cons:
Price
Application time
This product has to be used at night. If used during the day it will worsen your acne. Sunlight, sweating etc. is a really horrible combination with this product.
Believe that this product is going to work for you and it will. Don't stress. Acne is hormonal and cause due to overly active oil production in the skin. Stress causes and increase in the production of androgens. Androgens cause the oil glands in your skin to raise the amount of sebum/natural oil in your skin causing your acne to get worse. It's a good product, try it. Depending on your country it can be very pricey. I paid a god awful lot for mine.
January 30, 2012
Pros:
-Gets rid of under the skin tiny little pimples (closed comedones?)
-Stops the nasty pus/red pimples from forming!
Cons:
-Could possibly cause massive breakout, scarring...
-Drying on sensitive skin
I have a strange combo oil/dry skin.
Differin HELPED so much with the tiny little pimples on my forehead (I had about 20-30 tiny little ones -__- so annoying!)
My forehead broke out when I first started using it (i got 4-5 cysts..I've never had painful cysts before in my life). I'm now almost at 2 months & my forehead is SOO smooth and clear! Except for a lot of PI marks.. but they are easily covered with makeup and are fading!!! *BIGGEST MISTAKE: I really do not recommend this if you have dry skin. My forehead is extremely oily, so putting differin on it got rid of the oil, cleared my skin up, and prevented new pimples.
BUT I made a HUGE mistake that I have regretted very much. One day I noticed about 5-7 tiny little pimples (barely noticeable) on my cheek. I never get pimples on my cheek, so this really freaked me out. I put differin on that area and it dried that area up SOOO BAD. That area on my cheek broke out LIKE CRAZY! Now I'm left with 4-5 huge scars...just because I wanted to get rid of tiny little bumps that would probably have gone away by themselves. My right cheek will REALLY never be the same. Now it's constantly breaking out... ....but Acne.org regimen is working :D
January 26, 2012
Pros:
cleared up most of my acne
Cons:
none
has worked great for me, no side effects, fabulous results.
January 21, 2012
Pros:
Got rid of recent "scars" within a week
Cons:
initial breakout
dryness (eye lids)
I started this while on winter break. Since i had 5 weeks off and my acne isnt as bad, I thought I had enough time to get clear, boy was I wrong. It really did help with hyperpigmentation and got rid of a few pimples, but then all of a sudden I broke out like there was no tomorrow (even after I stopped using it, a week later I was sitll breaking out). Btw, I know there has to be an initial breakout. Im going back to school on Sunday and got off differin around 2 weeks ago. My skin IS significantly better from all the breakouts i had but its bc ive been consistent with my skin care routine these past two weeks. Im now back on BP and ill stay on this for a while. In the future id like to give differin a full try bc i do have hope in it but not while im in school.
January 18, 2012
I would not recommend this for anybody. I would be really mad if I would have paid more than 35 dollars for it. I have really bad acne on my chin and it has not gotten any better. I have been on this for almost 6 months and the only thing it has done is dried out my skin. My skin peels and flakes and the acne has not gotten any better. I'm actually going back to the doctor to find something else.
January 6, 2012
Pros:
Really stops whiteheads from getting any bigger
Stops infection
Cons:
Dont apply too much: this will result in large patches of flaky/dry/sensitive/irritated skin
Dries out skin a bit (use moisturizer!!)
Differin gel really helps to keep the whiteheads under controll. I've used it for over 6 months now and I don't get any whiteheads anymore, if I do, I immediately apply some differin and they are gone the next day. It's cheap, it works, but dont use too much and only use it on whiteheads! This was my experience, thanks for reading!
January 5, 2012
Cons:
Bad Initial Breakout
Initial Dryness was Horrible
I have currently been on Differin .3 Gel for a little over 15 weeks (that's a little over 3 months). I use it once a day, at night after washing my face with a gentle cleanser (I find Philosophy's Purity Made Simple Cleanser to work best).
Here's a little background on my skin: I've struggled with acne ever since I was 14. I've been on Bezaclin, the Pill, Doxycycline, and Epiduo, all to no avail. I had an adverse reaction to Doxycycline and after using it for 6 months, broke out in the most severe acne I've ever had in my entire life, so I refuse to take antibiotics for my skin.
When I went to the dermatologist in late September of 2011, I had a few problem areas on my chin and cheeks, but that was basically it. After learning about my history, my derm decided to put me on Differin thinking my face was sensitive to benzoyl peroxide.
At first, Differin made my skin scaly, flaky, and just downright DRY. I'm used to this though--being on topical acne treatments for years leaves no surprises.
Fast forward two months and while the dryness had gone (for the most part), the breakouts were still coming. I am a little past month three and am still having major breakouts all over my face, with a concentration of cystic acne around my temples and forehead.
I am giving Differin the benefit of the doubt. I know it takes a while for acne meds to work...but three months later and my acne is worse than when I first started. I'm disappointed, but I still have hope. I can't bear to start all over with a new med and have to face another initial breakout...again.
Sigh.
I wrote this review because I was sick of seeing "Within 2 weeks my acne was gone, HOORAY!" reviews.
If you suffer from REAL acne, two weeks won't do squat. Two months might not even cut it.
But I'm sticking it out.
Anybody with me?
January 3, 2012
Pros:
Takes at least 3 months to work
Cons:
Initial Breakout and sun sensitivity
I hav been using differin for about 3 months. when I started using it it did cause an inital breakout, but not as severe of a breakout when I first tried Retin-A. I first started with the lotion (sample), being that its the most sensitive. My insurance reimburses me so I have to make the initial purchase up front. Which is super hard! Being that the most cost effective way was Walmart which is still 142 dollars. I am 25 and never I mean had a single pimple or breakout on my face, I took plan B once and Bam I broke out with little tiny Closed Comedones all over my forehead. Horrible! I tried a lot of otc products, proactiv, dermalogica, etc. The constant changing of products caused acne I mean the big white kind all over my cheeks. This was horrible going from having healthy glowing skin to this was a life changer, suddenly I didnt want to go out was gaining weight my marriage was going down hill. I seeked out a Dermatologist which took 2 months to get in, but it was the best thing I ever did. I started on differin (2nd medication after a royal fail from retin-a) and Beyaz BC. I just recently started to use the dermalogica daily exfoliant every other day. which is super sensitive to get rid of the all the dry flakes and bare minerals for makeup which I only use every Friday saturday only when we have dinner or go out. I now use differin at night on chin cheeks and forehead and on my forehead during day. It has actually helped. The only down point is the scar and hypigmentation I have from the IB, Dont pick people its so Hard I know get your self some good make up and let it ride out. usually the differin will take care of it with in about 2 days. I hope I help someone like me because I searched this site everyday and nothing really helps. Good luck do not quit!
January 1, 2012
Pros:
None, really
Cons:
Didn't clear up acne
I've been using this for 4.5 months, with no real noticeable results. Unlike many, I didn't really experience a noticeable IB - however it hasn't reallly worked either. I may give it a little more time, but at 5-6 months will be quitting. You get a lot of medicine per tube, though, so I don't view it as being prohibitively expensive. I'm on my first (and only) tube so far.
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.
Pros:
Works fast
If you have combination skin it doesn't dry your skin out too much.