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
August 1, 2010
Cons:
Tons of small whiteheads on my chin and cheeks, when I never had them before.
I used Proactiv for nearly three years. It helped a little, but I wasn't satisfied, so I went on Differin. It's been five months. Things were good for the first few months - I had clearer skin in the second and third month and was hoping it would get even better. Around my fourth month, things started to go downhill. I started getting all these little bumps all over my chin and cheeks, where I'd never had them before. Also, my skin became oily to the point where my makeup would melt off several times a day. Differin got rid of my cystic zits, but I have about fifty tiny little whiteheads all over my face now. I'm still using it, hoping they'll go away.
November 16, 2009
Pros:
Works on mild to medium acne, improves overall skin quality
Cons:
Initial breakouts and mild redness (not too bad though)
This stuff cleared my acne mostly in a few weeks, completely by about 2 or 3 months. It also makes your skin smoother and younger looking because it is a prescription retinoid, without being as harsh as retin-a micro.
November 6, 2009
Pros:
Cheap
Cons:
Not useful for big, red, spotty pimples
I usually get HUGE red ones on my T-zone area (3-4 at a time) and it did NOTHING to clear it up. Cheap over the counter Benzyol Peroxide cleared it up better.
November 5, 2009
Pros:
Really works. It's amazing
Cons:
Hard to afford without insurance . Initial breakout is horrendous, so bad that it could be used as a form of torture in foreign countries.
Worth every penny and torturous second of intial breakout. Really changes your skin and reduces redness and pores. Yes, it dried me out for the first three weeks and I had so many pimples that it hurt. But it's been two months and I don't hide behind my hair or makeup anymore. I've even noticed lessening of spots left over from previous acne and cysts . I recommend this to everyone who has bad acne. This is not for anyone with a pimple here or there. It's also important to wash with light cleanser and moisturize all the time, I use aveeno because it's gentle. I hope this helps. Best advice I can give is to endure the initial breakout, which lasts about 2 to 3 weeks
August 6, 2009
Pros:
-WORKS FAST
-reduces pores
-reduces scarring
Cons:
None.
I am sorry that this product didn't work for some people, but Differin was a mircale for me. I had had acne for over a decade. I am 22 and while I had managed to control my acne for short stretches I had never been totally clear. I was ready to take Accutane, but I was about to start a new job and didn't want to wait around for the moronic iPledge program. As a last ditch effort, my dermotologist prescribe .03% Differin gel and Duac. I used the Duac in the morning and the Differin at night, just a very thin layer followed by Cetaphil moisturizer once it dried and my skin began to feel a bit tight. Within 3 days my skin was clearer than it had been in 10 years. I feel better than I ever have. Use this product AS DIRECTED (sparingly, at night, wear sunscreen, wash your face when you wake up) and hopefully it will work for you like it did for me.
July 20, 2009
Pros:
Cleared up my skin perfectly
No visable side effects (dry skin, peeling, etc)
Cons:
Expensive
Takes awhile to work
Cannot wax eyebrows
After using Differin every night for a month, I called my doctor upset. I had paid $150 and it was not working. I suffered not so much from acne, but from a lot of bumps and bumpy skin. The doctor told me to give it another month, as it takes awhile to work. I was skeptical, but truly, after 2 months my skin was perfect! Didn't have any side effects. No peeling, dry skin, etc. Only side effects was a little burning.
July 9, 2009
Pros:
Made my face soft, and smooth. Cleared up most of my acne fast!
Cons:
When you first use it you break out more than normal, but that's because it's a retinoid. Didn't get all my acne. If you forget to put it on one day, the next day your face is covered in horrible break-outs.
I started using this February 2009, and my most of my acne is gone. But the dosage is weird. My dermatologist gave me a 0.1 doseage and I used it for about 2 months and it worked great... On my forehead. Then in May I went for a check-up and the doctor gave me a 0.3 dose. My acne was worse on my cheeks and chin and light on my forehead,nose, and upperlip. So the derm. told me to apply the 0.3 dosage on my cheeks and the 0.1 everywhere else. My body is immune to the 0.1 now. I have to use the 0.3 dose all the time, everywhere. Also, when I forget to put Differin on I break out horribly. Worse that I did when I wasn't using the product.
June 20, 2009
Pros:
I can't think of any other than that you feel safer using it, so you know you are doing something about your acne.
Cons:
I usually apply to my whole face, but I find if I put it in a spot where I have no pimples.. I'll get them. It takes a long time to work, if it does at all.
I'll be changing from it very soon because I've been using for quite a few months now thinking I should wait a little longer, but it is just not working.
June 16, 2009
Pros:
Helps skin look more even and your pores appear smaller. It is doing it's job - clearing acne
Cons:
initial breakout.
it takes awhile to completely clear acne
I have been using this for almost three weeks now and, i must say, i am fairly impressed with the results that i am having with this medication. In the first week, i got about 5-6 new, pretty large pimples all over my face, but they quickly disappeared within the next week. However, during the second week, i got a new set of pimples, about 4-6 both large and small, on another side of my face; however, these are quickly disappearing at the moment. Currently, in my third week, i have many red spot (former pimples that have become flattened) on my face. I am hoping that i won't get anymore breakouts and the red spots will continue to flatten and eventually fade... I am also using clindamycin liquid solution in the morning along with the differin gel 01.
For some reason, that i am not complaining about, i am not having the negative side effects from this medicine that others are pointing out, such as dry skin and other irritations. In conclusion, this medication seems to be working for
May 17, 2009
Pros:
It sometimes works. Once, I popped a pimple and right after, I put the Differin on and the next morning the pimple was flat.
Cons:
Sometimes it doesn't work.
Its just a matter of luck...
Pros:
No more cystic acne
Fewer blackheads