I've had sever acne for years now and have tried everything. I finally went to an anti-aging center where the doctor put me on a mix of Retin-A and an antibacterial topical. Retin-A speeds up cell division and brings everything to the surface. I was warned of all the side-effects and the process, which had never been explained to me before by any doctors, so I felt at ease and a glimpse of hope. For the first few weeks, as my skin adjusted, I was broken out, dry, flaky, and red. A friend of mine pointed out that she could see where I applied the medicine because there was a perfect line where my medicine didn't cross. I was determined to go on though because I realized my skin had to purge itself. Within the next month my skin transformed. I no longer had any cysts, no more redness, and I really felt confident. I got off the medicine and my skin returned to it's normal nastiness, so I immediately returned. The process is slow, so you won't see a lot of change, but looking back it's done wonders. I find myself worrying about a spot on my face, but also remembering a time when I would die for just ONE spot. Give this stuff a chance. Give it time. You WILL see a difference.

So ive been using 0.1 tretinoin for just over two years and my skin, my confidence, as well as my relationship with my skin (and myself) has changed so much. Now instead of getting panic attacks near mirrors and obsessively checking my skin, I love staring at my smooth complexion and admiring just how much better it gets every day. This was not the case when i first began my treatment as many of you know the purging stage happens at around the first few weeks/months of daily use and I was still very emotionally vulnerable and sensitive about my skin problem so it was a difficult time seeing my skin go from problematic to lots of clogged pores unplugging themselves all at once all whilst going to school and interacting with people. There was no hiding my skin problem anymore as concealers only made my dry bumpy and healing skin look worse and redness persisted as my skin tried to adjust to this new irritant routine. At that point I knew there was no going back and i continued to use retin a daily slowly incorporating a non irritating moisturizer into my night time routine as my skin needed it and it didnt slow the process but helped my skin heal quicker. I find paraffin/petrolatum based creams for very dry and sensitive skin are best as they deeply moisturize, arent irritating and help remove flakes. Retin a has taught be to be patient with my skin as before I would scrub and squeeze the hell out of it and for what? Temporary feeling of gratification which resulted in superficial scarring. With retin a i learned to give my skin time to heal and clear itself naturally and I havent gotten a scar since. I am much MUCH less compulsive about my appearance now than i was and I have also grown to be OKAY with whenever i do get acne, because i know it wont harm me. its normal, its only temporary and most of all doesnt define me as a person. <--This was not how i felt before i began my treatment, it took about 7 months for me to adjust to the routine and develop the patience and discipline required to have and maintain the baby soft baby smooth skin i have now.

I have been using Retin-A for about a year now, and the results have been truly amazing. I am a 15 year old female who struggled with acne as all teens do, and my derm prescribed me with Retin-A, Clindamycin lotion, and gave me a list of lotions and facial washes be recommended. I will tell you my routine, but if you don't care, scroll down to see the actual review. I use Retin-A .025 every other day because I'm a red head with sensitive skin at high altitude. Every morning, I wash my face with cetaphil, and apply my moisturel face lotion immediately after. Note that the lotion and face wash neither have acne fighting ingredients in them. I then apply sunscreen, and after either my makeup or the Clindamycin if I'm not wearing makeup. At night, I take my make up off If I wear any, and wash my face and use the moisturizer again. I then apply Clindamycin lotion. If I apply Retin-A that night, I wait 30 minutes after moisturizing to apply Retin-A. My derm told me this step is extremely crucial!! And then go to bed. When I first started using this product, my acne never got extremely severe, but my face peeled pretty seriously for about 5 months. I was embarrassed to be in public with my flakey skin, and no matter how much moisturizer I used, it wouldn't go away. No matter how much I exfoliated lightly, the flaking wouldn't go away until about 2 months ago. But truly for me, this was the only con. I had acne and I was ashamed and extremely insecure. But retin-a has changed my life. My skin is completely clear now, and on the way to recovery from my old scars. I would completely recommend this product to a VERY patient person, who follows their dermatologists orders. And remember everyone's skin is unique and may not be as pleasant ad mine was during the process. Many people's acne gets extremely worse before it gets better with Retin-A. But if you use the product properly and adjust it properly to your skins needs, then this product will work similar as it did for me and for you. Disclamer: just because I had much success doesn't mean everyone will. Some people's initial break out lasted 6 months before it got better. But whatever you do, if your derm prescribed this, DO NOT discontinue use! This is an extremely Long process, please do not give up! :)

I tried this product a few years ago and the irritation was so bad I had to stop. After trying almost everything else on the market I decided to give tretinoin a second shot. It cleared my skin. This is what I did: -Put a pea sized amount of .025 tretinoin cream in your hand -Put about twice that amount of cerave pm facial moisturizer on top of the tretinoin and mix it thoroughly to form a paste -Apply paste to affected area at night -Moisturize with cerave again in the morning My skin was almost completely clear in a week. I think the lotion helped my skin absorb the tretinoin better. Regardless, it really helped and the moisturizer helped reduce the facial redness I had experienced before! I sugest people give this a shot for a few weeks.

THIS PRODUCT WORKS! I have been wanting to write on this blog for over 2 months because I've used this site as a way to monitor my progress and also see how the product worked for others. It was comforting to know that other people were dealing with the same things as me and that IT WOULD GET BETTER with time! I suffered with acne in middle school (mostly on my forehead b/c I play hockey), but it cleared up during high school and into college. I had been using Proactiv since age 15 and I am 20 now. I enjoyed smooth, glowing, healthy skin with minor breakouts from time to time until August of 2010 when my eyebrow waxer told me to try an Aveda line of products to fully clear my skin. That was the biggest mistake I have ever made. In less than a month my skin had done a 180 and I had never had that much acne in my entire life (on my forehead, hairline, jawline, chin, around my mouth). It was a sad thing to look in the mirror and see that my skin was no longer smooth and clear, but covered in red bumps, blackheads, and white pimples. My self-confidence took a dive, hovering on the edge of depression. I didn't want to go to the store or class b/c I knew that people only saw the acne and didn't see me. I felt as though people were looking at me and wondering how my skin had gotten so bad in such a short time. I went to my doctor in December and he prescribed antibiotics (Tetracycline), birth control (Ortho-tri-cyclen lo), and topical medication (tretinoin/retin-a 0.05%). I have been using this combination for at least 2 months now and things have gotten much better. The initial breakout was hard to handle physically and emotionally b/c my acne got worse than I ever thought possible. My skin is almost back to it was before I had all this acne. (I would say 85% clearer). The hyperpigmentation is mainly the only thing I'm dealing with now, which will pass with time. PLEASE STICK WITH IT BECAUSE IT DOES GET BETTER! YOUR SKIN WILL CLEAR UP WITH TIME! BE PATI

If you actually stick to this, it can really make your skin gorgeous in the long term. It's cell regenerating properties make this an ideal cream for so many skin conditions. Though, I would not recommend this to someone with light acne; only someone with moderate or higher, and maybe not severe.

I love Retin-A. I use 0.05% with Clindamycin 1%, and it has cured my acne. My skin is the clearest it's been since puberty, and the scars are always getting better.

It IS possible to use this product without having your face get all red & peeling!! A few things: 1.) Do not use any other products with benzoyl peroxide or with any type of acid-- salicylic acid, glycolic acid, alpha hydroxy acid, etc. Take a look the ingredient lists on all your washes, moisturizers, pimple creams. GET RID of any product that contains these things. Your skin will freak out if you use the retin-a with one of these acid-containing products. You will break out, get red, start peeling. Just use a very gentle cleanser morning and night. I use Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cleanser. 2.) Moisturize like crazy. I know those of us with oily, pimply skin are sometimes hesitant to use a lot of moisturizer, but it is a MUST. I use a good amount (maybe 4-5 pumps) of Clinique Definitely Different moisturizing gel at night & Aveeno Smart Essentials with SPF 30 in the AM. 3.) Use the retin-a once per day before bed. Use just a pea-size amount. Put a 1/4 of that amount on each cheek, 1/4 on your forehead, 1/4 on your chin and then spread it around. This way you will be able to more easily spread the pea-sized amount over your whole face. More is not better!! It will just make your face burn & peel. 4.) The concentration matters! The weakest concentration is 0.01%, then 0.025%, and the strongest is 0.05%-- which is way too strong for anyone starting out. Ask you doctor for the weakest concentration first and work your way up only if you need to. If you start with the 0.05% you are asking for a red, burning, peeling face with reactionary breakouts. Stronger is not necessarily better!!! 5.) Protect yourself from the sun. Seriously. You will get a sunburn if you don't. I use an SPF 30 daily, and reapply if I'm spending longer than 20-30 minutes outside, plus I wear a big sunhat. Good luck!! This stuff can work miracles but you have to be careful and use it properly. I hope this helps.

It took about 7 months to see real results using this product. I got hormonal acne in High School. It was never really bad, but moderate acne. I went to the Derm and he put me on tretinoin cream. I have combination skin but this dries up my skin pretty badly. I have learned ways around it for my skin though, which I will share with you if you are having the same problem. Now when I first started using this in August my skin dried out a lot but didn't notice a difference in acne. About October is when my acne got really bad! I wanted to stop using the cream because why would I want to use something that wasn't working? My derm told me to stick with it so I did. I'm glad I did too! Around January is when my skin cleared and I officially have no acne. I get acne around "that time of the month" but besides then I don't. Now for how I get around the dry skin. Here is my everyday skin routine. Night time. -I wash my face with cetaphil for dry skin -I apply Olive oil, yes olive oil (Don't knock it till you try it!!! It has done wonders!) -Then I apply my tretinoin cream -Then on my nose because it gets very very flakey I apply Vaseline. Morning Time. -I wash my face again with cetaphil -And just apply a lighter moisturizer so my face doesn't look shiny throughout the day! I use the neutrogena oil free moisture for sensitive skin. I also take fish oil pills which help not only with your health but your dry skin as well!!

This is a must for anyone with acne. This is a harsh product, but do your research, follow instructions precisely, and be very VERY patient. I did not see a bit of results until the three month mark and then the cystic acne was gone and (knock on wood) has not returned. It's been about eight months now. The scars are fading. I do still get the odd pimple, but they're very surface and they go away in a day or two and don't leave marks behind. I was prescribed the .1% cream off-brand tretinoin. I was also prescribed an oral antibiotic and told to continue use of Benzyl Peroxide. I actually followed neither of those suggestions. I wanted to use antibiotics as a last resort. Instead of the BP, I use diluted Apple Cider Vinegar as a toner to kill the bacteria on the skin. I had some of the initial breakout reaction and lots of redness and peeling. At one point when I made the mistake of using a salicylic acid wash, I ended up with horrible sandpaper skin and more breakouts. So less is more with this product. Keep your routine simple. I am 27 and I have some fine lines under my eyes and at my smile lines. I haven't noticed any anti-aging qualities, but it's pretty well-proven. I'm not sure what has caused this. My routine is as follows: AM Cleanse with L'Oreal Go360 cleanser for sensitive skin (white bottle, blue lid) ACV on damp cotton pad all over cheeks, jawline and neck Eucerin Spf 30 day lotion for sensitive skin (highly recommended) PM Cleanse with (again)Go360 cleanser for sensitive skin ACV on damp cotton pad all over cheeks, jawline and neck Wait at least 30 min... Dot chocolate chip amount of Retin A all over face, especially on jawline/cheeks, and even under eyes Wait an hour or so.... apply Cerave Moisturizing Cream (in the tub) When I need it... Exfoliate flaky patches with damp washcloth Spot moisturize with Jojoba Oil