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
January 27, 2013
Cons:
Horrible initial breakouts after a week or two of using this product.
I have been using adapalene for about a year now, and my skin is basically clear with a few pimples occasionally. My dermatologist did perscribe me Minocycline 100mg with adapalene 0.1% so it did help a little more than just using adapalene by itself. After a week or two of using adapalene with mynocycline I had HORRIBLE break outs for about a month. These were the worst break outs of my life, but I persisted. Now I'm very happy with my skin and swear by this product!
January 14, 2013
Pros:
cleared up skin
improved skin texture/quality
Cons:
dryness
flakiness
red areas in the beginning
stinging
initial breakout
I never write reviews... but the reviews through this website helped me stick with differin. I have fairly light to moderate acne -- basically I had a ton of small pimples under the skin around my chin. You couldn't always see them, but in the daylight I felt like they really shined through.
I have been on differin for 6 weeks now, and I have definitely seen an improvement. I had a terrible initial purge, but it was obvious these were pimples that needed to surface because I could see them under the skin prior to differin use. Now, my skin is much better. Fingers crossed it continues to get better as time goes on.
December 17, 2012
Pros:
Finally cleared my acne
Stops breakouts
Cheap w/ insurance
Improve texture of the skin
Cons:
Takes forever to work
Does not work on acne marks
Makes your face itchy
Must use it forever
To all the acne sufferers , please stick with it for at least 6 months.It takes forever to work and it will break you out crazy during the process but 100% worth it. WEEK 1-4:Little whiteheads keep showing on my face
WEEK 5-6:Worst break-outs of my life!
WEEK 7:Feel clear for the first time on this thing!
WEEK 8-10:Break-outs again
WEEK 11:Face is clear
WEEK 12-14:First cysts of my life
WEEK 15:Cysts are healing
WEEK 16-.....:Clear and happy
December 12, 2012
Pros:
--Clears Skin
--Reduces Redness
--Works Quickly
--Fades PIH
Cons:
--0.1% does nothing
--Takes some time
I took accutane before this. Before accutane, I had severe acne; after accutane, I had marks. Unfortunately, my skin hasn't ever been "perfectly" clear -- I've always had marks and a few pimples. I asked my doctor for some Differin. He gave me 0.1%, and it didn't do too much for my skin. In fact, it seemed like my skin was in a constant purging phase which wasn't cool. 0.3% is much better in the fact that your skin isn't stuck in the "purging phase," your PIH fades faster and it is more effective all around. Please request the 0.3% :)
December 12, 2012
Pros:
Clears moderate to severe acne
Prevents future acne
Promotes collagen
Fills in shallow scars/wrinkles (Long period of time before noticable results)
Improves Hyper Pigmentation over time
Cons:
Initial breakout is horrifying. Worst acne nightmares come true. (If you have severe acne)
Skin sensitivity
May cause mild peeling during the first several weeks.
PATIENCE is key with this product. The initial break out doesn't just come and go. It is a continuous process of clearing out all the impurites from under your skin. The prescription states it may take from 8-12 weeks. If you have moderately severe acne, I recommend using Differin with an oral antibotic such as Solodyn. May help clear up the initial breakout a bit quicker, and may help lessen the severity of the breakout. It's been about a year for me using this product, and it's been a LONG ride. But, I am glad to say that the Differin Gel has greatly helped clear up the acne I had. (Cystic, Vulgaris, Postules) I rarely use the antibotic, but continue to use Differin nightly. My face has cleared up dramatically, other than the scars left behind. =(
October 23, 2012
Pros:
-Helps reduce pimples
-Overall appearance of skin
-Reduces severity of acne
-Helps with both whiteheads and blackheads
-IMMEDIATE results
-Not really irritating like Retin-A
Cons:
-Don't know yet if it helps with discoloration and acne scars
-Can be pretty drying at first
-First couple outbreaks can be bad, but my skin was so bad before that the initial breakout was nothing
I really like this product so far! I have been using it for a month and it has helped my skin so much! First off, I previously used Retin-A about a year ago, and it irritated my face so much that I had dry patches all over my face and constant redness. Someone actually ask me if I was wearing makeup (im a guy) because the redness was so apparent :/ Though now I use differin along with clindamycin phosphate gel, and it has helped reduce my acne greatly. I consider my skin to be moderately severe, though now it is getting closer to moderate. The thing is, I have ALOT more discoloration than any acne, so hopefully this helps it. Overall, it is a great product IF YOU STICK WITH IT. I tried it about a year ago, and i quit after a couple weeks because it did nothing. Please people, just stick with it, you won't regret it.
October 15, 2012
Pros:
Clears acne
Prevents future acne
Clears PIH
Cons:
Takes time to work
Can cause peeling initially
Can only be used at night
May be expensive (varies from country to country)
Differin has been a savior for my skin! I went to the dermatologist with really inflamed and angry acne and he prescribed this along with a course of doxycycline which I have since stopped using. There was an initial breakout at around week 2 but it was nothing major and cleared up pretty quick :) I began to notice clearer and less angry looking skin about 1.5 months in. After 3 months, my skin cleared up :) Since stopping the doxycycline, I have been using Differin to maintain my skin and no major breakouts just a few teeny weeny pimples here and there :) Differin also faded my PIH amazingly well and after about 6 months of usage my skin was a uniform colour FOR THE FIRST TIME.
I know Differin is insanely expensive in the US so I would recommend you obtain generic adapalene if you can to save some moolah :)
September 5, 2012
Pros:
it got my hyperpigmentation and red spots a bit lighter within a week.. no other pros so far
Cons:
initial breakout... i was 80% clear besides the red spots and now its almost as bad as when i had inflammed acne...
... i always use benzoyl perozide creame which always worked for me.. but i got inflammed acne a month ago and it left hyperpigmentation ..i start school in another week and i was clear before summer.. only now i broke out.. so im gonna use benzoyl peroxide in mornin and differin at night to see if it helps...i will leave another review after a few weeks of use
July 24, 2012
Pros:
Cleared my skin
Cons:
Initial breakout
Expensive
Terribly drying to skin
Makes skin a little shiny
Takes about 2 months before u she results
This product worked/is working for me. I am an African-American female late twenties who suffers from moderate acne on my forehead, cheeks and nose, mostly blackheads and a pimple or two around my period. I have been using DIFFERIN .3% for about 3 months now and the change in my skin has been wonderful! 85% of acne has cleared and the hyper pigmentation from old acne is dissipating... Slowly.
Recommendation: BUFFER THIS MEDICATION. (30% moisturizer 70% Differin and only a pea size amount total)
I made the mistake of applying differin to my bare skin after cleansing and experienced horrible dryness and sensitivity on my eyelids and corners of my nose. Then I read other posts and begin mixing the differin w olay sensitive skin moisturizer and applying it after cleansing at night and my skin did not have that same reaction to the differin. Dryness and sensitivity went away but my skin broke out like crazy within the first month!!! So I started to apply clindamycin 1% gel in the morning underneath a moisturizer and that helped w that. I can now apply differin without buffering to my skin because it has gotten used to it. overall, differin works but u have to figure out the routine that works best for you skin.
July 15, 2012
Pros:
Dries out spots.
Clears overnight after the initial breakout.
Works well alongside tablets.
Cons:
Flaky skin 4 months in.
Initial breakout was awful.
Still get the odd pimple.
I was prescribed this with lymecycline and they've actually worked quite well. I've been on them for 4 months now and I'm actually really happy with the result. I still get horrendous pimples around my mouth, but they clear up with duac almost overnight (so ask for that). My forehead is clear for the first time since I was 11. I'm 18 now and its so nice that my cheeks are clear. I still have a lot of spots on my neck which really hurt, but overall, the product works really well if you just bare with it. I've been told that 6 months is around the time when I'll get perfect angelic skin, so fingers crossed.
Pros:
Great results if you stick to it.
No side effects for me at all.
Easy to use.
Cleared up moderately fast (for me).