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
November 2, 2010
Cons:
dry skin, peeling/flaking.. doesnt prevent new break outs.
ive been on this for over 4 months & has yet to do anytihyng.
August 1, 2010
Pros:
No more cystic acne
Fewer blackheads
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.
May 31, 2010
Pros:
Did clear up an existing acne breakout very fast. No chemical smell or sticky/oily residue.
Cons:
Extreamly drying. It's caused redness, peeling and minor swelling and moderate pain on my face. Don't use if your planning to attend any event where photos will be taken as for the first few weeks you skin may look way worse than previously.
After trying many pharmacy, department store and other prescription brand drugs for my acne my doctor gave me Differin. I've only been using it one week but so far it's been a nightmare. My face looks terrible and feels just as bad. I'm going to switch from daily use to every second day on doctors advice. I plan to persist with this drug though as i've read it takes time to work and the results are worth the discomfort in the end.
March 25, 2010
Pros:
None.
Cons:
-Extreme dryness even with moisturizer
-made acne 100x worse (w/ 5 months of use)
-not good for sensitive/combination skin
-acne scarring
-breakouts spread from initial area
I started using Differin 5 months ago.
At this time I had pretty mild acne; just a few uninflammed comedomes on the forehead, small blackheads on the nose and 2 or 3 pimples at a time. After the first week of using Differin my face looked like it exploded with pimples; not just on my forehead but everywhere.
I understood that this medication took time to work and stuck with it. Unfortunately it did not work well with my skin and I saw no improvement whatsoever. It not only made the breakouts worse but it cause my skin to be extremely sensitive and dry.
I hate it cause after a month of stopping my face is still extremely dry and my once perfect cheeks are now red and blotchy with small bumps all over even though I did not apply it there! It also made the skin around my eyes extremely sensitive and dry.
I cannot even apply my foundation anymore or my face just drys right up. Now I am starting to use Tretinoin to get rid of the hyperpigmentation from the old pimples and moisturizing with CeraVe (BEST MOISTURIZER EVER!) Since stopping the Differin my face is starting to heal and I've noticed a decrease amount in pimples. I'm not saying don't give it a try if you have terrible skin, but for those who have more mild acne, use a different treatment.
December 29, 2009
Pros:
skin feels softer, a very small "glow-ness" factor that you can tell it looks a slightly better, perhaps an even tone on the cheek areas that has improved
Cons:
takes a LONG time, break outs never seem to be under control, you don't really see any progress, I don't know if anybody really has that kind of real world time to wait for this stuff to work.
It's not worth it if its going to take this long. I've been using this for about 4 months on a consistent basis. The good news is that my skin feels softer, there is a slight clarity in my skin, a "glow" that is slightly detectable in comparison to my previous skin before. And I do see that around my cheeks, it's been beneficial. BUT overall, I would not recommend this. I broke out, on my forehead leaving scarring which defeats the whole purpose. And I've broken out around my nose, and chin. And I used to only get small zits here and there, now it's just so much more. And they have been painful acne bumps. Not horrible horrible skin as I've seen others with raised bumps and dents in their skin, but it's enough that is not particularly attractive and can't be covered up with makeup because the acne bumps are so large and big. But since I've been using it for about 4 months long and still have a whole tube to go, I'm going to continue with it. Basically, it's not been worth it for the length of time it's taken to get where I'm at. We will see how it looks several more months here on out. Wouldn't recommend it. Takes too long and the acne that comes out is painful. And no real progress in treatment. Can people really go around with painful zits popping everywhere for months on end? I'm giving it a 2 for the slight improvement on my cheeks and even tone around my nose area.
December 19, 2009
Pros:
Smells alright.
Cons:
Stopped working, like all topical treatments. Need to use stuff orally also to work.
I used it in conjunction with the Duac as the dermatologist had said. Still it helped, but sort of stopped, yeah.
December 3, 2009
Pros:
brings clogged pores to surface so you can easily wash away dirt
Cons:
reddness, flushing, rosacea, still broke out, sunburn-like face 24/7
I used differin from March 2009-June 2009. Every bad side effect, I had. The worst is the 24/7 sunburn look and the fact that my face was itching/burning all the time. When i'd put lotion on my face it would be very oily and shiny. I had no idea what lotion to buy.. i nearly bought all the lotions people told me to get.. spf 50 and one was spf 70+. And, when i'd put lotion on all it does is make me have a very white (ultra pale) skin. I have a fair complexion to begin with. I tried using it sporadically, but that did nothing. I still had the sunburn like effect. I was also very sensitive to the sun, indoor sunlight.. you name it! I stopped using Differin in June 09 and I still have reddness and of course acne and acne scars. I have no idea what to do.. I thought BP and Proactive would work but it hasnt done anything for me these past few months.
November 29, 2009
Pros:
it will clear up most acne
Cons:
it dried out my skin to the point of pain and made me extremely sensitive to the sun.
it will clear up most acne, but it will dry up your face painfully. you will become very sensitive to the sun. it's much too harsh for sensitive skin.
November 29, 2009
Pros:
makes swelling go down a little.
Cons:
drys out skin terribly.
its okay. doesn't sting.
November 26, 2009
Pros:
feels good on skin, doesnt smell terrible like other products, isnt overly drying,
Cons:
does cause mild dryness, differin being a topical retinoid it does cause an initial breakout but even then im not breaking out as much as normal
ive only been using differin for two weeks and it seems to be helping although i am stil in the initial breakout stage, ill continute to use this product for the recommended time frame of eight to twelve weeks..
Pros:
helped a little?