Tretinoin

So, I'm a 14 year old teenage girl. I got acne when I was in the 5th grade, and I had it--badly. I was washing my face, using proactiv, and nothing really seemed to work for me. I didn't really bother going to the doctor about it or anything because a lot of people get acne around that age, so I had no worries. My acne just never got better. I had these huge juicy big ones first all over my forehead, and eventually as my forehead got better, my cheeks got worse. So within the first week of high school, my self esteem was at an all time low. My acne was EVERYWHERE, and it was huge red and inflamed and I felt awful. So my dad took me to the determo. She gave me Retin A cream and told me that it worked with a lot of her clients. What she told me was that I should apply a small amount to my face every night before I went to bed, and washed it off first thing when I woke up int he morning. **If you don't wash your face off in the morning and go outside, your acne will get worse** She told me that the cream reacts to sunlight. She also mentioned to me that my acne would get worse before it got better, so I shouldn't stop taking the medicine. A week after I was taking the medicine, all of my acne turned from huge red inflamed, to hundreds of small white heads. Within week 2-4, it was like I had a BEARD of acne that went from my left cheek, down to my chin, to my right. But KEEP TAKING THE CREAM! I'm around week 7, and all my acne is GONE. From having it for 4 years, and the severity of mine, my acne is all gone. I have nothing but scars left, but I'm going to continue taking the medicine. Listen guys, I understand that acne lowers your self esteem. It also makes your acne worse, but do not stop taking this medicine. Patience is the key to a beautiful face. And also, more is NOT better. Do not apply excessive amounts of cream to your face each night. It will NOT help. just do a dab to your face to cover your spots.

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aggie19

October 1, 2011

Pros:

smoother skin, fades scars, gets rid of acne!

At first the retin-a made my face extremely oily(which I thought was odd) and gave me a small IB, but after about three weeks I started noticing a drastic change in my skin. My skin started smoothing out, and it dried up any active acne. IT IS WONDERFUL! Make sure to apply it 20-30 minutes after you wash your face and if you want it to work in it's full effect, it will also help with the redness and peeling. Also the sun will make in inactive, so be sure to apply it only at night and then wash your face right after you wake up in the morning. I've only noticed a little bit of peeling from retin-a and it usually just happens in cycles it seems(like once every three weeks), so it's really no big deal. I've been using retin-a every night for the past three months and it's really starting to fade my scars, can't wait to see what another 3 months of it will bring!

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Britt

September 30, 2011

Pros:

gets rid of acne
apply once a day
dries quickly

Cons:

Dries out skin

I love retin-a micro! At first I found that this product dries out the skin, but my dermatologist prescribed me a cream called nutraderm with clindamycin mixed in with it to compat the drying effects. The gel application is very light, smells kinda funky but it works like a charm! highly recommend! Just stick with it and power through the initial drying effects!

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Hayley

September 24, 2011

Pros:

*Cleared a lot of of my acne
*Easily applied
*Works if you give it time

Cons:

*Redness and some peeling
*Your skin gets used to the product, so if you don't use it one night, you break out

I've been using Retin A for almost two months now and almost all of my acne is gone. Sure my skin was irritated at times, but the results are worth it. Only use Retin A once, right before you go to bed. My skin care routine was use Logona Mint Cleansing Foam twice a day, use Retin A once at night, and after I applied Retina A to use Dermalogica's Active Moist. Make sure you drink 8-10 glasses of water a day and taking multi-vitamins help. Once I didn't use Retin A one night, and my skin did break out around my forehead. I do know that once I stop Retin A that I will break out and have to find something new, but at the moment this product works for me.

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Annonymous

September 11, 2011

Pros:

*Applies on Smoothly
*Dries Quick
*Only once before bedtime
*Works if you give it time

Cons:

*Smell is like rubbing alcohol
*Takes a while to see major results
*Have to wait 20-30 min after washing face to apply
*Bad Initial Breakout

My doctor prescribed this for me. I have been on this stuff for 1 month, 22 days. I have the gel form, 0.025%. I wash my face with Anti-Bacterial Cetaphil Soap (Bar form works better because it makes a better lather) Anyways after i read all of the reviews on here I have told myself it will take a while to work. Let me tell you, the first few weeks were hell. Heres a little Timeline of what happened * 1st Week- Nothing really. The first couple mornings after the night i applied this stuff my face looked shiny and some skin was peeling but it didn't hurt a bit, a little redness and that's about it. *2nd, 3rd, 4th Week- Start of the Initial breakout. Your face will become itchy, red, some peeling will occur, and your acne will come back stronger than ever. Dont worry tho. All you need to do is wash your face the morning of and use a light moisturizer. This is the hardest part about sticking to Retin-A (Tretinoin) Keep with it, after the Initial breakout is over your skin will go smooth sailing from there. 5th Week- By this time some/most of my acne has gone and cleared up, especially on my cheeks and temple area and forehead. By now your skin may or may not be used to or adjusted to Retin-A. Keep going!!!! 6th Week- More acne has cleared up, acne scars have faded BIG time. My face doesnt seem as red. about 70% of my acne has been erased and all that is left is some scaring. But Retin-A is known for treating scars as well. (At least thats what I heard) The "Bottom Line" is I have given up on many products. The Initial Breakout is the worst and will make you want to give up, but fighting through that is a HUGE achievement. Once you get through that you will start to notice major changes...Give this stuff time. It even says on the directions that results will start to be seen 6-12 weeks of using Tretinoin. So Stick with it. Another thing I have been doing is drinking a lot of water. A liter a day. My skin is clearing up big time. Be gen

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August 24, 2011

Pros:

Clears Acne
Red acne bumps are gone
Skin is smoother
I am beginning to look AMAZING, LOL.

Cons:

Dried my skin a little bit. Use a moisturizer if you have issues.

I have had acne since I was 13 years old. I have started cyclines for antibiotics since April (It is now August '11) Began with doxycycline, now on minocycline. Acne was on face, shoulders, chest sometimes. Antib's did work to an extent, less whiteheads as they were every day. WELL TRETINOIN is a miracle cream. I have NEVER seen my skin so clear and I am now 24 years old. Incredible. I have been using the cream for one month. Results are approx 80%. I am waiting longer to see if everything heals. I feel like this was literally a miracle for me. 10$ with insurance, lasts a long time. Put it on at night time on days you will not be in the sun. As tolerated.

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wannadisc0

August 15, 2011

Pros:

dries out zits fast
reduces fine lines
shrinks pores
prevents new zits

Cons:

initial breakout
waxing ripped off skin

im a 19 year old female who has been struggling with acne since i was 13 years old. so far, very good from usuing this product. a couple of days before i started using this i started using aldactone ( an oral supplement for hormonal acne in women) and that initial breakout was as bad as my tretinoin ib. the night after i applied the trentinoin all my zits started to emurge which i popped on the second day cause they were gross! the third day after using it they all dried out and no new zits were forming, which is what im used to happening. right now im only on my 4th day of the tretinoin and 6th on aldactone but im initial breakout is gone and my skin is smooth and only a couple little guys which are drying out remain. i have pretty oily skin so the dryness and flakeness a lot of people have been talking about hasnt affected me. but i also have only been using a half of a pea size amount of the .05 tretinoin mixed with an oilfree night moisturizing cream. and in the morning i mix 4 drops of jojoba oil in an oil free spf 30 cream.(USE ONLY THE TRETINOIN AT NIGHT) i read a lot of reviews on the tretinoin before i started it and they freaked me out, but everyones skin is different so dont be discouraged by the bad ones. i was extremely depressed about how much i was breaking out a week ago and now i couldnt be happier. these two products together are worth a shot if youve tried everything else like i have.

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itscherry

August 11, 2011

Pros:

SKIN TONE GREATLY IMPROVED
SKIN TEXTURE FEELS AMAZING
WORKED QUICKLY FOR MY COMODONEAL ACNE

Cons:

FLAKEING AND BURNING
WAS WORTH THE PAIN

EXTREAM COMODONAL ACNE ON ALL MY FACE CHEST AND SHOULDERS...NOTHING WAS WORKING...TRIED RETIN A MICRO WITHIN FRIST 5 DAYS I SAW VAST IPROVEMENT...I WAS FEELING BETTER ABOUT MYSELF ALREADY. SO FAR SO GOOD. I DIDNT HAVE INSURANCE SO I HAD TO PAY THE RETAIL PRICE FOR IT..I ABIT EXPENSIVE...BUT WORTH IT

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aprilmay

August 5, 2011

Pros:

+ treated all acne
+ soft skin
+treated PIH

Cons:

- initial breakout
- 3 months to see results
- redness/drying/flaking

IT WORKS. I saw initial results at 3 months and full results at 9 months (ie no more acne no more marks, just normal skin), so it takes a loooonnng time to work. It's hard to be patient but its worth it. I had combination normal/dry skin with tons of non inflamed, under the skin whiteheads which would turn into forever pimples and sometimes cysts. Nothing super super serious but definitely annoying and confidence killings. I think if you are patient and use retin a correctly you will see results!! So, use a tiny amount, wait 20 minutes before applying and use a good lotion on the dry spots and DON'T PICK. Around weeks 3-10 brace yourself for the IB and wait it out, its worth it!!! My best to you all!

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ilivelaughlove

August 1, 2011

Pros:

consisitenly deals with acne
got rid on indented/rolling scars

Cons:

could be irritating or make your face red
wont completly treat hormonal acne

i have used this as a night treatment for years and then in the morning i would use clindamycin. i recently stopped using clindamycin on a hunch that it was making my acne marks darker and as soon as i stopped it and only used tretinotin i have noticed a HUGE diffrence in the texure of my skin(iv always been afraid of my acne leaving indented scars and now its like there disapering!) and how fast my acne is healing without leaving those dreaded purpleish red marks. its like i got the full effect of using this cream once i stopped using the clindamycin

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