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
November 8, 2006
Cons:
nothing
don't quit after 2 weeks....differin is working if your skin gets worse! after that you will be amazed at what it does.
December 24, 2017
Useless product
Been using every night for 3 months and have seen NO improvements at all. My skin in used to the product and now has no reaction to it and never irritated my skin.
October 21, 2016
Violently purges and creates 'acne' in normal skin
I suppose if you have terrible acne, you have nothing to lose with trying this. But if you have mild acne and sensitive skin, this is absolute garbage and will likely create acne where you never had any to start. Sadly, Differin ended up working out just as terribly as Retin A-Micro did for me. After Retin A-Micro [cream] gave me chemical burns and cysts that formed over them as a result of the trauma, my derm suggested Differin because it was "weaker" and would "gently" push closed comedones out. I thought extraction could work just as well (since I don't have many cc's) but he assured me that Differin was better. I used a very thin layer, as directed, over my problem areas every other night for a week, then every night. By the end of week 2, I had no redness and peeling...but my pores were purging VIOLENTLY, namely in the most sensitive areas of my face. Several large, painful papules appeared in place of the closed comedones around my nasal folds that were stinging and burning. The skin of my right nostril was red, itchy and inflamed. One or two cc's around my mouth became huge and problematic, while the rest remained stubbornly under the surface and were only removed with extraction. Having painful papules anywhere is completely unlike me...Differin caused acne I never had, and I refuse to believe that these papules would have eventually come to the surface and Differin was helping because I DON'T GET PAPULES. How does this make any sense? It's an absolute joke that doctors tell you it's bringing trapped acne to the surface when there was never an acne issue to begin with! More like 'acne' appears when you're having a reaction to the chemical formula and all its lovely PARABENS [which damage the endocrine system and can cause cancer].
October 26, 2016
1. I have cc's too 2.5 months ago, It's cleared up quite a bit and theres 5-6 active pimples on my face
2. I never had acne my whole life so purging was seen as horrendous even though in retrospect it wasn't that bad and fairly normal.
3. It could be that you had an allergic reaction? Chemical burns & cysts (if you are not prone to them getting it is probably a bad sign...) or ur skin could just be dried out/dehydrated thus using retin-A/differin dries them out even more causing pimples (irritation-breakouts)
Okay i lost count but yeah maybe ur just purging? I got papules too..a lot of them and tons of redness and my skin is doing well now...its still purging (purge clears purge clears purge clears) though the initial breakout/purge was THE worst and now its just 4-6 of them.
Parabens dont cause cancer.....its just a myth[link removed]
Usually an allergic reaction is itchy and painful and u break out HORRIBLY in cysts!
October 31, 2016
I think I am simply unable to tolerate retinoids of any kind. I am still getting the occasional residual bump from the Differin and it feels like a wasp is stinging my face when a cc comes to a head in a huge, itchy, red lump. This isn't normal to me. It's so upsetting and painful when it happens I have to hold ice on the spot and if this had been all over my entire face I probably would have had a mental breakdown since it's hurt so badly, and itches so horribly. I highly discourage everyone I know now from trying this because even patch testing is a waste of time. I did a patch test on my neck and because my neck doesn't have cc's I didn't get the same stinging huge bumps it caused on my nasal folds. Also, parabens are quite bad for you and have been scientifically proven to cause disruptions in the body, mainly in the endocrine/reproductive systems. It builds up and causes imbalances over time.
September 24, 2015
Moving Along
I've recently had a spurt of acne on my chin and forehead. My dermatologist said differin should clear it right up. I'm on my third week of using it right now and it definitely made my acne worse right when I began using it. I can gradually see a change beginning already which is really exciting! Hopefully the progress continues! The only problem I've had with it other than the initial flare up is that it has made my skin so dry that it is just peeling off on my chin. It looks like I got a sunburn! I've just been moisturizing like crazy! Will update later. Good luck to anyone else on this!
October 1, 2015
did you use it all over your face or just on the acne spots alone? just wondering because if i only use it on the the actual pimples, maybe i wont flare up?
November 26, 2015
This is not to reduce current breakouts but to reduce the amount of sebum your skin is producing & therefore cause you to have less breakouts in future. At night you should apply a very thin coat to any area you are affected by acne, avoiding the eyes & lips. You will need to gently exfoliate & cover up to not get sunburnt.
March 17, 2015
Great for mild to moderate acne
this has worked magic for me for the last 6 months. from day 1 it worked, i used it with cetaphil oily skin cleanser. however it has sadly lost its effectiveness and now i'm on Isotrex Gel which i'm dreading
January 13, 2015
Didn't make it worse, but didn't really improve it
I have used Adapalene for about 5 months and never saw much of a difference. My skin started to peel a little bit, nothing really bothersome. Acne in some areas lessened slightly, and other areas worsened slightly. No horrifying purging, redness, or peeling, but overall, no significant improvement. My doctor is going to have me try Tazorac next.
August 24, 2014
Pointless
I honestly do not know why I was prescribed this medication; it literally did nothing for my acne; made my acne worse. Caused more blackheads/clogged pores.
January 7, 2014
Ineffective
Pros:
Didn't make acne worse
Cons:
Ineffective
Kind of harsh on the skin
I have moderate-severe cystic acne on my cheeks, I used this product persistently for three and a half month, nothing really happened. Made my skin dry so I had to use a moisturizer, but the acne didn't go away. When I stopped using it and only used tap water instead, my acne didn't change at all, so it was a waste of money.
January 5, 2014
Did not do anything for my skin, but is very gentle
Pros:
no negative side effects (like peeling, burning, dryness)
Cons:
my acne did not improve
I have had mild to moderate acne for three years when I was prescribed Differin. After having applied it every evening for about 5 months, my acne has not disappered or decreased. But Differin also did not dry out my skin or made it burn, it basically had no effect on my skin at all.
I give it two stars because even though it was not strong enough for me, it was very gentle and my skin did not suffer from any side effects like peeling or burning. That's why I would still recommend trying it because IF it helps you, you probably won't have any problems with dryness etc. which makes it a good option to treat mild acne.
December 15, 2013
worked wonders
Pros:
clears skin
helps with scaring
acne goes away quickly
Cons:
initial breakout
red dry skin
isn't a cure, only minimizes acne
I started this 6 months ago, along with minocycline. my initial breakout came about three weeks into the treatment and it was horrid. I had moderate acne, and it really messed with my self esteem. my skin started clearing about 3 months in and looks great. I still get 3-4 zits every month but they go away quickly and are mostly hormonal. this is my last month on minocycline but I am going to continue using adapalene for another 6 months.
Pros:
for those of you who say it makes your skin worse, it makes it worse for a week because it's working on acne that is below the skins surface...meaning it is working!! after the initial few weeks...it is AMAZING and clears up your skin by 6 weeks.