As a doctor with a special interest in dermatology, I thought I'd have all the answers for treating male adult-onset acne, which only struck me in my early twenties after a relatively blemish-free puberty. Unfortunately I found treating my mild-moderate facial acne very stubborn and resistant to treatment, and difficult to swallow when I was attempting to treat my patients for acne! I'm now in my early thirties and have spent years trying a range of treatments, from standard western medical treatments, to experimenting with naturopathy, cleansing diets, etc. After failing to see results with all of these (unfortunately including Dan's regimen), I eventually saw a dermatologist colleague of mine who put me on Accutane for about 8 months. It took about 6 months to work, I was only clear for about 3 months, then symptoms returned about ceasing treatment. I had tried Differin before, albeit only for about 3 months before getting fed up with it. I went to a derm talk just over a year ago where an international expert said it takes about 10-12 months for Differin to take full effect (about 10% improvement in acne per month he quoted). Unfortuantely most patients give up long before this. After this, I re-commenced treatment and persisted through the dry skin and flare-ups, determined to get results. After 6-7 months, things finally started to improve. I am now over a year into treatment, and things have only got better. It is working brilliantly for me, and even the dryness is only mild and easily treated with a good moisturiser. I will definitely be persisting with Differin, and am now telling my patients to do the same. I concede its possible many treatments may actually take that long, and I've quitted on others too soon, but I urge all Differin users that persistence is the key, at least it was for me. If your experiences are anything like mine, you won't be disappointed. Hope this helps.

Started 13/8 and its been 8 weeksish (2 MONTHS) now. I'll write a detailed n thorough review + tips. Differin 0.1 gel is amazing! History : normal/dry and clear healthy glowing beautiful skin until cue worst stress ever (college)+wrong products (i used two simultaneously and did not patch test ;_;) I got a clusterf**k of closed comedones (flesh coloured bumps) littered allll over my forehead. Worst sh*t ever then. I didnt even bother with ahas/bhas as they were hardly accessible+extortionate where im from. Differin is available otc&dirt cheap here. About $12/30g tube. Usage : i started out with applying once every 3rd day for 2 weeks (12 days), then every other day for 10 days then every day at night. Application : I put it on after my toner+moisturizer (wait 30 mins) then differin. Its called buffering. Im nt a f**king med pro but a lot of people myself included buffer and it still works. Use after t+m for about 3 weeks and then use it after toner for another 3 weeks and see if ur bare skin cn tolerate it, if nt, dial down to applying after toner. Just give it like at least 20-30 minutes for each product to absorb. I use big globs (about 4) for my whole face but you should start out with only 1 big dollop/pea-sized for ur entire face (i built my usage up only after 1 month) just dot on ur face n smear evenly on entire skin & not just affected areas. Differin works by increasing cell turnover rate for ur acne on affected areas & as a preventative measure for the clear parts of ur skin. "As close to bare skin as possible" my f**king ass. A lot of people dont even have a basic QUALITY skincare routine on lock-down. Accounting that fact + harsh, drying cleansers and you'd be lucky if you get away with just a slight stinging sensation. (Trans:most ppl burn their faces off and experience gruesome peeling,flaking,stinging,burning and sensitivity if they apply on bare skin when just starting off.) I experienced very minimal if none irritation. Honestly most of the douchebags that gave bad reviews just didnt stick with it long enough. Hear me out Week 1: broke out in a few tiny red pimples, maybe 3-4 on forehead. I freaked out at first bt that just means that differin is working and its pushing all the gunk in ur pores unto the surface, thus causing pimples to rear their ugly heads. Its called purging. Ur fine. Dont freak out. Btw differin worked right off the bat for me but you should experience purge/break out/worsening of acne within the first 8 weeks. It varies frm one person to the other how long ur purge would be. Some people purge for 2-3 months. Sone experience cycles of purge. Week 2: more tiny red pimples on forehead. 5 more.Ur still fine dont freak out. Right cheek appeared 2 tiny red pimples. Week 3-5: got a papule, its sooo red and inflamed and it hurtss to touch it. 7 tiny red inflamed pimples, whiteheads, blackheads. Later that night 2 more papules popped up. 1 on forehead and another on on right cheek (my forehead & right cheek had ccs and were congested) thiz is where it got the absolute f**king worse. My forehead was sooooo inflamed and ANGRY and RED. It HURTS to touch my forehead and it wasnt just bumpy it HURTS coz of active acne. I remember thinking "id rather live with the fleshy bumps bcuz this is so much worse than when I started" Needless to say my self esteem took a huge toll, everyone used to comment and praise me on how beautiful my skin is on a daily basis and now I get comments + snides like "what happened?" "Your skin used to be sooo clear and pretty!" Or just the plain STAREEEEEEEE. F**k. I had school and it was EXCRUCIATING. I wanted to hide until i got my clear skin back. Im proud of myself for powering through. Because... Week 6: (FIRST HALF) breakouts stopped. Pimples got smaller. Tiny red ones r still appearing but theyre gone real quick. A lot are disappearing. A patch on my forehead is smooth and bump-free. I had a healthy glow on. Things improved by leaps and bounds. I am so happy. I see light at the end of the tunnel. (SECOND HALF) I swear some pimples just appeared outta nowhere like within a few days.... Week 7 - Okay so I still have leftover cc's and some active tiny pimpz and they're purging (the fleshy bumps called closed comedones are turning into red pimples that have whiteheads on them!) I feel like Differin takes a lot of patience because it the mildest retinoid product (in comparison to tretinoin and tarozatene{ ¿} ) so it takes a lot longer to work but pose the least irritation compared to tretinoin! Its improving and the right side of my forehead is clearing up nicely. Left with lots of PIH on skin! :) tldr skin is improving bt still purging bt fear not its nt nearly as bad as the first purge this is really really mild and nothing to worry about! :) Week 8 - My skin has A SH*TTON OF PIH (Dark marks) and active acne and still some closed comedones...I can them using 2 hands, isn't that nice? lol ahhaha...I can see that things are steadily improving...Remember it won't work overnight, be realistic about this :) I can actually go out and feel confident about it..just avoid mirrors guys..exp when ur washing ur face other than that plz avoid it , it wud just make u feel like sh*t, but remember that u r not sh*t, u r a GEM and that people are vain and they care more about themselves (we are our own worst critic, i keep saying this but its true so dont worry about it and just be patient and LOOK FOR THE SILVER LINING!) Week 9 - im purging a bit bt its nt that bad, the cc's turned into red pimples... but sokay cause Its never as worst as the initial purge!!! Also clean ur glasses (i got pimples coz of greasy glasses TT) all is well! The dark marks n red marks r fading Week 9 (end) - huhuhuhu I felt sore bumps on my right cheek and then the next day a hugeeee cyst appeared and little pimples cropped up around the cyst....GOD its terrifying Im STILL purging and its almost 2 months 2 weeks TT ughhh POSITIVE! IT'LL ALL BE WORTH IT!! Tips: 1) give it 3 months. At least. Im 6 weeks in and i see significant improvements! Its improving slowly but surely! 2) pick up a gentle products:cerave hydrating cleanser, cerave am+pm cream with ceramides, garnier micellar water in pink r good drugstore options. Avoid alcohol in products. 3) cleanse ur face morning or night but i only splash with water during mornings coz dry skin. You can cleanse twice if you are oily-skinned. Use garnier micellar water(pink) to remove ur sunscreen or makeup at night. Pour adequate amount on cotton pad and do GENTLE, CIRCULAR MOTIONS to evenly distribute on skin. Then cleanse with cerave hydrating cleanser (do not for the love of God use cetaphil's oily cleanser. those sh*ts are very very stripping and they will f**k ur skin up) 4) for the love of God (or whatever the f**k u believe in) WEAR F**KING SUN PROTECTION. La roche posay n elta md uv clear 46 are options bcz i knw the americanas have gross goeey sunscreens (majority). Apply 1/4tsp or APPLY a lot, two layers, 15 minutes wait time in between. 5) reapply sunscreen every 40 minutes if ur sweating vigorously and avoid going out in the sun during peak hours (10-4pm) 6) wear wide brimmed hats and sunglasses. 7) differin strips the outermost layer of ur skin so plz wear sunscreen unless u want to get a sunburn and have ur dark spots/hyperpigmentation/acne scars darken and take 2 eternities to fade. 8) no waxing threading no aha no bha no harsh scrubs/exfoliation for the 1st month, slowly incorportate afterwards. Btr safe than sorry. 9) apply around eyes n below eyes but not on the browbone or eyelids or creases of ur nose unless u wanna burn ur skin off. Around the lips where pimples r are fine but not on the lips (duh) and dont get too close to it it will burn. Laugh lines are fine 10) ur skin will look bad one week and then btr/good the next this is normal & cn continue well into 3 months, if u

I have currently been on Differin .3 Gel for a little over 15 weeks (that's a little over 3 months). I use it once a day, at night after washing my face with a gentle cleanser (I find Philosophy's Purity Made Simple Cleanser to work best). Here's a little background on my skin: I've struggled with acne ever since I was 14. I've been on Bezaclin, the Pill, Doxycycline, and Epiduo, all to no avail. I had an adverse reaction to Doxycycline and after using it for 6 months, broke out in the most severe acne I've ever had in my entire life, so I refuse to take antibiotics for my skin. When I went to the dermatologist in late September of 2011, I had a few problem areas on my chin and cheeks, but that was basically it. After learning about my history, my derm decided to put me on Differin thinking my face was sensitive to benzoyl peroxide. At first, Differin made my skin scaly, flaky, and just downright DRY. I'm used to this though--being on topical acne treatments for years leaves no surprises. Fast forward two months and while the dryness had gone (for the most part), the breakouts were still coming. I am a little past month three and am still having major breakouts all over my face, with a concentration of cystic acne around my temples and forehead. I am giving Differin the benefit of the doubt. I know it takes a while for acne meds to work...but three months later and my acne is worse than when I first started. I'm disappointed, but I still have hope. I can't bear to start all over with a new med and have to face another initial breakout...again. Sigh. I wrote this review because I was sick of seeing "Within 2 weeks my acne was gone, HOORAY!" reviews. If you suffer from REAL acne, two weeks won't do squat. Two months might not even cut it. But I'm sticking it out. Anybody with me?

BEFORE i started using Differin 0.3% i had moderate acne and complete low self-esteem! hated going out, even to school! Once i STARTED using this treatment, the first two months without a doubt were the worst!! my skin was never as bad as it was during these months! In fact, i encountered people, including my boyfriend tell me how worse my skin got. One major element that i noticed was that most of my whiteheads grew out and that's what made it worse!! however, once i entered the 3rd and 4th month, my skin started to look SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER! and my self- esteem started to booost! i just felt MUCH better than i did when i first started. It has now been 6 months since i've been on Differin, and it is a miracle worker, HONESTLY! you must give it a try esp. if you have moderate acne. THIS REALLY WORKS!! my skin hasn't looked THIS CLEAN ever!!!! i completely recomend itt. One thing though, it will only work this well if you use it every night and when you first go on it, do not be scared to see yr skin looking worse because that is just the first step in the healing process! also, it does take some time so be patient but it is REALLY REALLY WORTH ITT! i wanted to share my experience with you, b/c i was scared as well before i started, but it is really worth the fear! DO TRY IT! =D

When i first started using this cream i was also put on roacutane for my acne, so even though my skin did clear up, i wasn't sure if it was the cream that worked or not. But now i'm off roacutane but still using this cream. I can definitely say that this cream works, for me at least. Remember that everyone is different and will therefore have different reactions to this product. I've been using just the cream (without the roacutane pills) for over a year now and i have not had any breakouts. In fact, it has actually reduced marks and blemishes left over from when i had acne and every morning, my skin is practically glowing and i can really see an improvement. Yes it can get dry and my skin is often left very sensitive but as long as you use a mild soap, soothing cream and use sunscreen everyday, then you should be fine. I'd like to just point out that, like every medical/beauty product, this does have side effects that can occur and it might not work for everyone - but it definitely worked for me, so just try it out.

I've been using differin for about 6 months now. This is my second trial of differin because I quit the a year before after about 2 months. Differin is literally a skin renewal product. Your skin will flake and it will burn a little and you might break out for the first month or so while getting used to it. BUT IT WORKS! The problem that most people have is dealing with the flaky skin, so they compensate with lotion or terrible choice of moisturizers after. Or for some people nothing after. Differin sucks the oil and kills a small layer of skin, so your skin compensates and produces too much oil but if you moisturize then it is more regulated. I found that differin has the best results when coupled with a oil free moisturizer in the morning. What I did was wash my face with Noexema at night, put a THIN film of differin on the problem areas, let it dry then went to bed. In the morning, I woke up washed my face again, then put UP and Up Dual Moisturizer Oil free, and went about my day. Repeat everyday. but only use differen every 2 days, switching to a moisturizer at night to give your face a break. Another important thing is that since your skin is flaking dead skin, you need to EXFOLIATE each week, with a gentle face sponge. However, if you have severe bumps DO NOT scrub them raw this will only make things worse. If you have white heads, use a sterile needle puncture a hole then gentle nudge some of the pus out and then put differin on it. It will crust the acne up and be gone in a few days. Hope this helps. I went from cluster bumps on my cheeks and forhead to fading brown scars and smoother skin. It is just a balancing act so don't give up so easily and MOISTURIZE for goodness sakes!

If you like what you're about to read, please vote up to help others. Trial & Error: This stuff is strong. VERY STRONG! I am guessing that people who say that it doesn't work immediately for them are using a milder formula (0.05% or 0.025%). 0.1% Differin works very well. You only apply a tiiiiiny amount on the acne locations at night time (rub it in). Do this every other night and do it only twice initially. And then stop. You'll see that within a week of stopping, your skin will start to peel like none other. Now you need to leave your skin alone and let it work its magic over the next few weeks. Stay out of the sun (especially during the times of 10am and 2pm when the sun is strongest) and apply the following moisturizers as necessary (basically whenever you feel that your skin is really dry): non-clogging facial moisturizer, eye cream, and non-clogging facial sunscreen (Neutrogena makes products for all these situations). You must apply FACIAL moisturizers b/c your face's skin is so different from the rest of your body (and your eyes have a different type of skin than the rest of your face). Apply these whenever you feel your skin is dry. As your skin is peeling, your skin is becoming more sensitive and you will inevitably feel a STRONG BURN when you apply moisturizers to your face. To reduce the burn but still moisturize, you can purchase Neutrogena's alcohol-free/oil-free facial moisturizer (if you see the ingredients of lotions, almost ALL of them include some type of alcohol which is what causes the burning sensation)! You also want to use a facial wash twice a day; YOU MUST WASH YOUR FACE GENTLY TWICE A DAY! Why? B/c as your skin sheds, it releases oils associated with the acne that may get into pores on other parts of your face (this happened to me. I had acne on my forehead and even though my forehead cleared up, my nose got acne b/c I didn't wash my face twice daily). Avoid excessive sweating, too as this can wreak havoc for your acne, too during the shedding process. If you do sweat, please please please wash your face immediately after you workout (otherwise the nose problem will happen here, too b/c your pores open up when you sweat and bacteria can get in). If your eyelids flare up (mine did) then take 2 Ibuprofen to help the swelling go down. You shouldn't take Advil consistently for more than three consecutive days b/c it's not good for your liver. Wear Sunglasses. After your skin has rehealed and stopped shedding, evaluate your acne again and see whether you need to go through another cycle of Differin. One cycle for me takes 4-5 weeks. I was also taking Minocycline (100 mg twice a day) in conjunction with my Adapalene treatment.

Best acne medication ever. Got prescription last year from Dr but didn't getit because it was too expensive. A new doctor prescribed ot last month and now I regret not doing it earlier because it is AMAZING! I was worried at first because I didn't notice much of an improvement but thanks to other reviewers, I decided to stick it out and be patient at least for 5-8 weeks, because apparently that's how long it should take to work. I am now in the middle of week 3 and I woke up today with beautiful clear skin. It worked like magic and even my flakes are gone. Even my acne scars on my cheeks are disappearing. I have some bombs on my forhead but now I am confident these will disappear! As everyone who's suffered from acne knows, it's an amazing feeling to recognise your own skin and know it looks beautiul again! Here's my doctor's advice - might work for you: - first she approves my use of Boscia clear complexion cleanser and Korres White tea cleanser. Both are as natural as could be and work perfectly. -next, she told me to use Differin at night (small amount around area. I use it on all my trouble areas: cheeks, forhead and chin) - moisturizers: my doctor recommended SkinMedica Ultra Sheer mositurizer (one she uses herself) and for daytime she recommended Aveeno positively radiant with SPF30. both hve worked perfectly. I used to be very sensitive to all low- and high-end moisturizers and especially those with SPF but Aveeno works well and so far there is no trouble. This system worked for me. Everyone is different but I hope this will work for at least one more person. Good luck!

I'm a 37 year old African-American woman. I have struggled with adult hormone-induced acne for nearly 15 years. Over the years, I have watched large areas of my flawless chocolate skin become overcome by dark stubborn scars around my jawline and on my cheeks. I have tried bleaching, exfoliants, proactiv, etc. But, nothing worked to remove them. Nothing. I saw a differin gel .1 commercial on BET. I immediately picked up a tube at Walmart. And I tell you, I saw results after only 2 days. No lie! Now, I'm 3 weeks in and my jawline (which had a dark spot about 5 inches wide), is 50% clear! My family and co-workers noticed without me saying anything. I feel like I'm alive again. I don't have to cover up as much. I highly recommend this product. Don't hesitate. Go get it!

This stuff is amazing. It has completely saved my life. I had a sudden, horrendous breakout that caused me to go from perfect skin to almost 100 pustules on my face in the course of a week. By the time I got to a derm a month later, I was also developing cystic acne. I started using Differin. Here's a time-line of my experience (which I wish somebody would have given me when I first started, so I knew what I could expect!): Weeks 1-3: No real improvement. My skin actually looked worse because it was red and irritated and dry and flaky. Weeks 4-8: Noticeable improvement. Went from 2-3 new pustules every day to maybe 5-6 pustules a week. Cystic acne got worse and more consistent. 3-4 cystic spots a week. Skin still flaky and dry. Weeks 8-12: More improvement! Now only 3-4 pustules a week, with 1-2 cystic spots. But skin is EXTREMELY dry and painful at this point. It looked like crocodile skin. Weeks 12-16: TONS of improvement!! Now almost completely clear (*knock on wood*) No cystic spots, and maybe 1 pustule a week (and sometimes NONE!) Started using a moisturizer (Neutrogena Oil-Free Combination Skin), which fixed my dryness! Except for a TON of PIH marks (which I hope will fade in time!) my skin looks amazing. I am so, so, so grateful for Differin. My acne was so bad, I didn't know how I could go on living for a while... Differin saved my life.