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Side Effects
Tretinoin is a vitamin A derivative called a topical retinoid. It helps clear acne by promoting skin cell turnover.
Tretinoin is usually applied once a day around bedtime.
Used Tretinoin? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
February 6, 2010
Cons:
Did absolutely nothing to help with my acne, only my blackheads cleared up the rest of my face looked like a war zone.
It did not work.
December 13, 2009
Pros:
Made me stop breaking out, no dryness
Cons:
Made my previously very dry skin very oily! Also enlarged pores all over my face, a problem I'd never had-makes my skin look bumpy. It gave me noninflammatory bumps on my forehead, where I never had such problems before. It also made my cheeks redder
I started using Retin-A because I was getting pimples that caused scars on my right cheek due to stress. Although it stopped my skin from breaking out (after a very, very mild initial purge that caused some scarring), Retin-A made my skin look much worse. I know that people have had very different reactions to it and I'm probably one of the few who didn't experience any dryness (even though my skin had always been very dry), but I thought I'd share my experience. I wish I had never used Retin-A. My skin would look so much better if I hadn't used it, but there's really no way you can know that before using it. I also never saw any effects (positive or negative) on the wrinkles on my forehead. I recommend praying. That's the only way I can deal with the negative thoughts and feelings I have about my acne.
May 8, 2009
Pros:
Helped acne somewhat
Cons:
Made my face so red I looked worse than I did with the acne.
People don't generally comment on your acne. But when your face gets this red, people always ask "Why do you wear so much blush?" or "Why do you put blush all over your face?". I would always snarl through my teeth "I'm not wearing blush!!!!"
Not worth it to me.
July 25, 2008
Pros:
So far none :(
Cons:
Dryness of the skin and worse ance
I have only been using retin-a for a 2 weeks. So far it has only made my skin dry and my ance worse. From what I hear it takes a long time for this stuff to work, not quite sure if I will be able to rough it out. The pimples come in alot bigger now and I hate to look at myself. I'm really praying that the end results will be well worth the wait like everyone says it will. But so far this stuff SUX! I didn't have to pay for it tho, my tri-care insurance paid for it so it was free for me.
June 24, 2008
Pros:
zero
Cons:
doesn't work for acne, SMELLS AWFUL!!!
I've been using this f**king sh*t for two months and I look like a f**king pizza! F**K RETIN-A!!! F**K IT!
May 6, 2012
Pros:
Inexpensive
Cons:
Didn't work
My acne got worse and never got better
I believe it worsened my scarring and never made it better
I was red and peeling the entire time I used it with no improvement with my PIH
Not for me
January 11, 2012
Pros:
It helped a lot with acne in a short amount of time.
Cons:
It REALLY dried out my skin. I got to the point where my acne was getting so bad right underneath my nose and down to my upper lip, that I put a ton of this stuff on every night. The acne went away days ago, but my skin is terribly chapped. It appears dry, it looks disgusting, and it burns extremely bad. It hurts to move my mouth anymore. This alone makes the medicine not worth it. I would rather have acne than have this.
It's not worth it because of how dry it makes your skin. It is especially not worth the money.
October 17, 2011
Pros:
None for me.
Cons:
-Reddens Face A LOTTTT
-Did not do much to help my acne...
I used this all of last year before I went to bed. Now, Ive started using other things and none of this. I don't remember what % my tretinoin cream was but I believe it was a lot. Now when I see pictures of myself from last year my face looks like a red balloon. I DO NOT reccomend this. When I would go to pool parties I had to bring moisturizer for after getting out of the pool. I have naturally dry skin though, so, that may be why it hurt my face so much. It took me about a month and a half to recover after a year use of it. Now my face isn't red. But, if you do use it, and its hurting, dont think it will get better if its been a month... it wont.
September 21, 2011
Pros:
Fewer Blackheads
Cons:
Makes Skin Peely
Doesn't get rid of all whiteheads/cysts, so you're left with peely zits.
Prescription
Expensive
I've had lifelong acne. I took Accutane at the age of 16 in '97 and at the age of 28 in '09. Accutane worked better for me the first time...I attribute this to the fact that the second time I took it, I took the generic (which studies show is less effective). Anyhoo, I had leftover problems after my second round of Tane, and was put on Retin-A as soon as I got off. I didn't have an IB b/c I'd already had it with the Tane (Tane is the internal form...Isotretinoin). However, my acne came back, and the Retin-A didn't seem to be doing much except reducing blackheads. The Retin-A Micro did seem to work better than the generic Tretinoin, but it still didn't do me much good. I stopped using it about a month ago, and began using an over-the counter Retinol product. My skin is MUCH better...I think for me, maybe, the Retin-A was too harsh and caused more acne, whereas the Retinol is not as strong, and doesn't irritate my skin causing more acne.
September 3, 2010
Pros:
Softens skin
Cons:
Eventually caused acne as well as skin changes
Initially, this was the only thing that worked on the comedonal acne (blackhead, whiteheads coming in for no reason) on my forehead. Eventually however, after decreasing my usage, I noticed that anytime I would use it again on my forehead, acne would flare up. Additionally, the morning after using it on my cheeks, there was inflamed comedonal acne everywhere.
Pros:
Smoother skin