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
May 31, 2012
Cons:
- if you have dry skin, this just dries it out to a new level
- red, flaky skin - halfway through the day my skin starts to peel even under tonnes of moisturizer
- if Retinol/Retinol A was too strong for you and your dermatologist thinks this will be more gentle, it probably won't
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If you have dry and sensitive skin, this is probably not your best bet. I'm sorry! I really wanted this to work for me - I'll still give it a couple more weeks and - if any noticeable changes, improvement or absolute horror - I will do a second review. Applying it exactly as my derm suggested - once only at night, no other cosmetics (i.e. toner, cream...) - was not best for me. I ended up washing my face, applying toner, then cream, and then Differin. Slight improvement. The dots are less frequent - at least this week - but overall, my complexion is a mess. Not because I have more acne!! It's just you want clear, healthy, skin. Not less acne different skin disorder ... skin. Basically, without makeup my skin is dry and flaky and red because it's so dry - not because of the initial burning irritation. OH! Something I have read is that you should apply benzyl peroxide in the morning alongside this product - I don't have that, but I have been using Salicylic acid and that is also what has been helping with the very minor improvement. - NEITHER ON THEIR OWN WORKED, COMBO HAS BEEN OK.
May 23, 2012
Pros:
Gets rid of oil on face
Cons:
Creates flakes of skin all over your face, doesn't work.
I have used differin .3 for 3 years. It never did anything for me except dry my face out to the point where it was constantly red, itchy, and flaky. I was too afraid to stop using it because I thought I would break out more severely if I gave it up. Once I did my skin thankfully went back to a normal non-red shade and my acne stayed the same as it had been for the past 3 years. All in all, differin does NOTHING to help your skin except dry it out to the point where you have no moisture left on your face.
March 30, 2012
Pros:
Somewhat clearer skin
Cons:
Skin seems oily
Expensive
Initial breakout was terrible
I've been using Differin for 6 months now and I hardly see an improvement. The initial breakout was horrible. My forehead had a ton of little bumps, which I had never had before and now my forehead has a darker pigmentation. It is also really expensive since my insurance doesn't cover it.
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 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.
October 5, 2011
Pros:
- slightly improved cystic acne for a little while
- made skin smooth
- didn't experience flaking/dryness/irritation etc.
Cons:
- did not completely clear acne
- slight redness
- took about 3 months to see results
- bad initial break out
- stopped working after a few months of slightly helping
- not worth the expensive price
i used this for just over a year in combination with Minocycline. there was a bad initial break out with it, and it took about 3 months to see any results at all. in terms of the results i did see: my skin was slightly improved for several months, meaning that my pimples were less inflamed and painful. the Differin did also help my pimples go away more quickly. key point here is that i WAS still breaking out. after a few months of this slight improvement, however, it stopped working at all. i continued using it with the Mino for several months afterwards, and my cystic acne went back to being just as bad as it was before beginning this treatment. eventually i gave up and stopped using both, switched to something else. bottom line, don't waste your time with Differin; it doesn't clear acne, and you only get a slight improvement that doesn't even continue for the entire period of time you're using it.
September 20, 2011
Pros:
Cleared skin up instantly
Cons:
Made my hair fall out and thin
Make sure you check the side affects! There was nothing mentinoned about hair loss untill I looked it up online. Many people experience hair loss or thining when using. I almost cried after handfuls of hair started falling out and thin spots occured. I have been off of it for almost a month and my hair is starting to grow back and my acne is coming back. Just be careful, it's not for everyone. I think I might have a reaction to retinoids which this is in a cream base.
September 20, 2011
Pros:
Seems to work a little bit, but not very effective.
Easy to apply, doesn't hurt or burn
comes in enormous bottle that'll last you AGES
Cons:
Didn't help my acne
I started using this stuff 4 1/2 months ago. The initial breakout (IB) came a week after using it, which was pretty bad.
I have light to moderate acne. I waited this long because the review said it would likely take at least 3 months to work. I patiently waited but ultimately it didn't work for me. There have been occasional patches of clearness recently but I always end up breaking out again. Try Dan's regimen first, or find something more reliable/ that takes less time before it works.
September 16, 2011
Pros:
cheap, because we have health subsidy.
cleared up my skin a LITTLE.
Cons:
-dried my skin out
-flaked my skin
-skin still looked oily
-burning feeling all the time, like sunburn. painful
-doesn't reduce redness
I have light acne and the doctor prescribed me this.
The burning is really, really, sore, especially if you go in the sun.
I stopped using it.
August 12, 2011
Pros:
none
Cons:
it may seem like its working but it actually caused more scarring and ive never had that before. It just makes my buttons scab up, they heal n the button is still there under the skin and forms again. this stuff stucks. ive tried it for 5 months to no avail and ended up with way more acne than i ever had. all i wanted was to get rid of a few blackheads, n now im pock marked like never before
beware. if it seems to not work after 4 weeks, please do not persist, your skin isn' puging, it's just being irritated. for those that it worked for, congrats...but seriously, dont lie to yourself n try to get through the "initial breakout". An initial breakout doesn't last 5 months... just sayin'. Plus this crap cost alot of money...and my insurance does not cover. vunda-ba
Pros:
- still waiting for pros, maybe spots are less frequent
- no initial breakout, although I was on Retinol A before this, so maybe that is why