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
June 29, 2012
Cons:
Makes face sensitive
Takes a long time to work requires a lot of patience
It works, just give it time...some days you may feel like its not working but it actually is you just can see it YET ...Then one day you'll wake up and VOILA ...the skin is there and anew but that's obviously after weeeks and weeks and weeeks...but you will get the usual 1 or 2 or 4 pimples but it's better than having FULL BLOWN ACNE...
May 28, 2012
Pros:
Easy to apply
Soaks into skin fast
Great for pustular acne
Works fairly fast
Cons:
Intial breakout
Initial redness
Dries out skin
I was on Accutane for 6 months 40 mg/day. Accutane worked really well, but after 3 months my acne started to come back. Thankfully it only came back in a moderate form, because before I had severe acne. I've now been using Adapelene twice a day (once in the morning and once at night) because I didn't want to go back on Accutane. I've been using it now for 2 weeks and I've already noticed that I'm getting less and less breakouts and my initial acne/redness is starting to fade. Acne does suck, but I think this is my solution to control and hopefully get rid of it.
May 15, 2012
Pros:
It work!!
Cons:
Dry out your skin
Use as directed use moisterizer as need and important use sun screen which also help minimize scars
April 27, 2012
Pros:
Clears skin
Gets rid of red scaring
Smooths skin
Cons:
Slight initial break out
My regime is
Oxytetracyclin 2 tablets twice daily
Primrose eve oil capsule 1 daily
Vitiman d capsule 1 daily
Differin 1% applied at nyt
Panoxyl 2.5% applied in morning
Simple clear skin face wash with zinc morning and night
No 7 mouse make up I have stuck to this for 5 weeks and I've gone from having small acne bumps all over face and forhead, along with red raised acne and white heads on my cheeks to now I have no white heads old scars have faded and the bumps are very slowly dissappearing. But I feel great I even went to town today with no make up n didn't feel hidious or try hiding my face I'm really pleased I've had acne since age 11 and I'm now 26 this is finally helping and I know there will be UPS n downs n I will prob get break outs here n there but I'm happy its helping so anyone out there considering differing and benoxyl go for it keep to the low strength tho as I have found I've had no side effects which makes it easier to stick to going to high strength doesn't always increase effectiveness but just increases irritation, good luck will repost in few weeks if any changes x
April 22, 2012
Pros:
Makes my skin softer
Gives my skin more clarity
So far has gotton rid of 90% of acne
Cons:
Takes time to work & a while to see any results
Initial breakout & more acne
redness
dryness & flakeness
May have to change products in your routine to deal with the redness & dryness etc
This product requires alot of patience
I have had acne since i was 13 and over the years it has gotton better. However at 22 I was getting spots. Ive tried so many product such as clean& clear, Pany Oxyl etc etc and nothings has really worked. I was abit resistant to try differin due to the bad reviews. But then i thought what do I have to lose. In the first 3 weeks my skin got so bad & I had 6 huge spots which is not normal for me and alot of red/flakeness. It was hard to leave the house in the morning. But i wanted to give this product at least 3 months to work, as from the reviews it seems if differin works it really works. I'm not at week 4 and my skin has improved so much. Ive not had any big spots and theres just few small ones left over from the inital breakout which are healing. One negative is that on my skin differin doesnt seem to work as well on small spots that never form a white head. Although
for me differin has been worth it and I hope my skin continues to improve. This product does require patience & it is not a miracle worker overnight. Be prepared for your skin to get worse before it gets better. In the UK the price is okay for this product and because you only need a pea size amount each time it will last a while.
Its also important to let your skin adjust to the differin so the first few weeks your skin will be irritable. But the redness will disappear and so will be flaking. But that adjustment requires time too.Only use a pea size amount as with this product more is less and using more wont make it work any faster.
April 3, 2012
Pros:
Works better for me than Retin A
Covered by insurance, ask for a coupon
Cons:
Some drying (not as bad as Retin A)
Some Initial Breakout
I used this when I was 18 and had acne. It helped clear me up, and I stopped using it. My acne had gone away. Fast forward 6 years later, I have acne again. I tried sulfur washes, Retin A, BP, etc. I was on this treadmill of topicals for 5 years. After this last time my derm saw me, he said "we need to try something different". He suggested Differin and Aczone. It seems to be working better than what I have been doing the past few years. It's not a miracle cure, but my skin is getting better.
March 8, 2012
Pros:
-Reduced acne by at least 70%
-Less breakouts
-Has generally cleared and clarified my skin
Cons:
-Experienced some mild burning at first
- Caused my face to become red and inflamed for the first 10 days of use
-My skin was more sensitive to sunlight
-Skin has become more sensitive
I was skeptical of using this product, as i had tried Benzoyl peroxide, which really damaged my skin. I used the Differin gel, not the cream as i have oily skin I also got prescribed with 1000mg of Oxytetracycline as well. I used it after cleansing my face morning and evening. Moisturizing afterwards will help keep the area from drying out. At first the gel made my face sting and burn, after 3 or 4 days my face looked very red, i also had dry flaky skin. Also i noticed this was made worse by the sunlight. So i would advise an SPF. After 10 days my skin calmed down and sticking to the routine started to work, my acne has really cleared up and so has the redness that came with it. I would advise gentle exfoliation to remove any dry skin. i'm glad i decided to stick out this medication and continue to use it, although the majority of my acne, but it has increased the sensitivity of my skin, so i am constantly wearing an SPF. overall really happy to have gotten rid of most of my acne and redness. Be careful not to get any of the differin cream/gel near the eye area because it seriously burns, oops :/ 4/5
March 7, 2012
Pros:
Cleared up acne after a month and a half.
Cons:
I'm giving it time, but my acne scars still show. Bad breakout when I started.
I started using Differin at the end of last December because my dermatologist recommended it and I was sick and tired of having moderately severe breakouts. When I first started, I had bad breakouts for about the first three to four weeks. It also created a stinging feeling on my skin when I washed my face. However, those are only temporary side effects and they eventually die down. The most important thing about this product is DON'T GIVE UP and BE PATIENT. It takes around two months before any real results start showing, so just give it time. If by three months there is no improvement, then you could inquire about it. For me, luckily, my acne has made such a drastic clearing that I only get a few new pimples every week (compared to when I used to get a few breakouts everyday). The only thing I'm still waiting for is for the Differin to fade my acne scars, because they still show on my face. Nonetheless, I have faith that it will do the job eventually.
February 23, 2012
Pros:
Smooths out skin
Either clears or prevents (not sure which) spots
Gives you a sort of "glow"
Not as harsh as some prescription topicals
Cons:
Drying and peeling of skin
Red face
I have been prescribed this by my derm as a last resort before going on to Roaccutane. I have been using this as well as taking anti-biotics (although I don't think they have helped any as my back is still moderately pimpled) for 3-4 weeks, 3 or 4 nights a week. Works for me, but dries out my already sensitive skin. I am going to keep using it though as I can deal with the dryness and after all I am getting it for free and it is helping to smooth out my face.
February 18, 2012
Pros:
- lightweight
- doesn't dry out skin
- takes away excess oil
Cons:
- takes a while for it to work
- makes my skin itchy
So I've been looking at the reviews and I've noticed that people have been paying outrageous prices for it! So the price honestly depends on your country. Anyways, my doctor recommended I used this at night and then use Clindoxyl in the morning. Because of this regimen my skin is now clear! I've been using Differin for over a year now and I'm very happy with my results. I normally don't get pimples but when I do it takes a while for my pimples to go away. I would honestly recommend this product to anyone!
Pros:
Decreases the life of the pimple (dries it up)
Fades hyper-pigemntation quickly (4 weeks) after 12 weeks
Makes skin glow
Makes skin baby soft smooth