Tretinoin

I wasn't sure at first but I've been really happy with it so far. I've tried, benzoil,clindamycin,epiduo,egg mask,tea tree oil, Tretinoin is the first thing to actually dry out my acne and it's slowly starting to smooth out my insane bumpy pimple face! I'm getting an at home blue light in a couple days will use them together, tretinoin exfoliates and encourages cell turnover where the blue light kills bacteria, wish me luck!! Oh and by the way, I read it's good to switch off every other night between Retin A and a light glycolic gel, and I've been really happy with the results, didn't see results until after the first week

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aphroditewannabe

April 3, 2010

Pros:

smoother skin after a few weeks, if u pop a pimple it starts to heal in like 3 seconds and is gone. Scars start to looks better and skin is a bit more even cuz of the peeling.

Cons:

Dry skin, tight uncomfortable feeling, flaking, initial breakout

I have horrible cystic and comedonal acne everywhere on my face, especially in the cheeks chin area and its impossible to cover up. My mom finally got me a derm.appt. who put me on the oral antibiotic of bactrim, the morning bp of clindamycin and at night 0.1% trentinoin. After a week my skin felt softer, I still have red pimples spread throughout my cheeks. My skin is tough from all the horrible products I have used on it in the past, to burn the crap out of my acne in frustration. I have faith that this will work, if i do it CORRECTLY like everyone else should be doing. I'm trusting my dermatologist. My best advice is don't give a crap about what people say on the internet, I listened for years and all it had me end up doing was goin on crazy fruit diets and trying all this weak natural crap. If your acne is pretty bad, then LISTEN TO YOUR DOCTOR!!!!!!!!

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Jane_Eyre

March 29, 2010

Pros:

It really does clear up your acne and makes your skin super smooth. I went from having about 30 zits on my face before (yes, I counted) to now, where I have 3. But....

Cons:

When you first start using it, your skin feels so dry and itchy, but you can't touch it. Even the smallest touch makes your face hurt. The IB was horrible, with pimples constantly coming up and popping on their own. I also have lots of red marks now.

I have been using tretinoin .05% cream for 10 weeks. My initial breakout started the first week and didn't clear up until about week 8. During that time, I had huge painful cysts and could not even wash my face without having pimples "spontaneously" popping. I used a washcloth to get rid of all the dead skin and there would be blood and pus all over it (sorry to be graphic). Sometimes I would come home and look in the mirror to find dried blood on my face from pimples that just popped on their own. SO yeah, I was super depressed during that time and I would cry alot and pretty much isolated myself from the world as much as possible. So here's my advice: -use a gentle cleanser. I used cetaphil. -don't pick at your skin. If a pimple pops on its own, just clean it up and leave it be. -Stick with it! I know it is hard, but it will get better. My skin is still not perfect, but once you get over the hump of the IB, you start to see positive changes in your skin almost daily. I am at the point now where I feel like I don't have to worry about breakouts and can move on to worrying about the red marks. : Hurray! Also, I think the most important thing is to know that no matter what you look like, God loves you and He wants you to persevere. At times when I was super depressed and crying myself to sleep, I would ask God why why why?! I still don't know why, but trust me, you are going to feel very sad and alone, so just remember that man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.

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Inkling

March 27, 2010

Pros:

Cleared up my acne, smoothed my skin, continues to fade scars, reminds me to put on sunscreen before I go out.

Cons:

I have a bit of peeling which is supposed to go away soon.

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.

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Avonlea

March 26, 2010

Pros:

Fading red marks
Softening skin
Promoting new skin growth
Heals existing acne quickly
Easy regimen

Cons:

Peeling
Dry Skin
Initial Breakout

I got this prescribed (.025%) awhile ago, but always was afraid to start it because of the horrible IB I heard about. Finally, I read the reviews about "stick with it, it sucks at first- but you'll get great skin." So, I sucked it up and tried it. I'm going into week 3. And RIGHT ON- I have an initial breakout. Chin, jaw, neck. Blagh. Fortunately, I've never broken out on my checks, nose, forehead, temples, etc. And even with this product, I'm still not breaking out there. It brings ALL the junk to the top of your skin and manifests itself in glorious pimples. Awesome, huh? Well yea....cause once this initial breakout clears your skin, you're in the home stretch to clear skin. Week 1- peeling, drying, breakouts Week 2- less drying, still peeling, still breaking out. Week 3- barely drying, peeling, breakouts are healing and subsiding. I promise to re-update in another 3 weeks or so. But it's getting better. Use a GOOD MOISTURIZER. I can't emphasize that enough. Find one that works for your skin and slather it. Stick with this stuff- endure the intial breakout in all it's glorified suckiness. It'll get better and you'll be glad. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to get up. My acne went from moderate to moderately severe and is now clearing up. You CAN do it. My Routine Morning: Wash face with Carlye's facewash. Wash with Aveeno's Calming face wash Moisturize with Olay Age Defying with ABH and SPF 15 (I'm 20...but never to early to start anti-aging prevention) Night: Wash with Aveeno's calming face wash Wait 30 minutes Put on Retin-A I promise you can do this and you can be on your way to clear skin. Give it a chance.

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Alissa

March 26, 2010

Pros:

Clears the skin of breakouts

Cons:

Makes my skin flake a lot unless I moisturize daily

This stuff is dangerous but if you keep using it, it works! I broke out like CRAZY for many months and to tell you the truth it was a bit of torture. It hurt for awhile because my skin was so irritated. BUT once I figured out to exfoliate twice a day with a scrub wash (the skin needs to keep renewing or it's going to get worse), it started getting better. It took about 6 months before I saw any improvement at all, and over a year before it got to how it's like today. Now my skin is great. I get maybe one pimple every couple of weeks that quickly goes away. Still have some blackheads, but all the comodones (tiny little bumps below the skin) are gone. I must say I do use a salicylic acid toner and benzoyl peroxide in the morning--I find that it just controls things a little better.

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lulusta

March 23, 2010

Pros:

Let me tell you that this product will help you in the long run. Of course you must not purchase this and think that this is some sort of miracle cream, because it isn't. My dermatologist prescribed this to me and even warned me that my first weeks of using this won't clear me up, and he was right. I broke out everywhere; almost gave up on it actually but i still continued. I've been on this product from more than a month now and let me tell you, it's getting better and better everyday.

Cons:

It does dry the skin, so make sure you don't overdose on it. Make sure you put on a lotion after putting on Retin-a.

It won't clear you up completely and not right away, but i promise you will see improvement! I cannot stress the word TIME! Give it time! I know acne is a struggle we all face, but this product will bring you a step closer to a clearer face! :)

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Katie Smith15

March 17, 2010

Pros:

Clears up acne, bumps under the skin
Fades pigmentation in the long run

Cons:

Initial breakout
Dry, flaky skin initially

I have now used Retin-A 0.025% for 4 months already. The first one week was hell.. I broke out a lot, and because I was desperate, I put a bit too much of it on my face - hence came the peeling, burning of my face - so bad it made me cry. So I took a rest for a week to let my face cools down, and started the retin-A again. I wait for 30mins-1hr after I last washed my face to put it on - a pea-sized amount for my whole face. I used to flake a lot initially, but with time I guess my face adjusted to it, and the flaking stops. Retin-A takes it time, but it's worth it. I am now 100% clear of cystic acne, pustules and macules that I used to have on my forehead and cheeks. It exfoliates my skin, and now my pigmentation is fading very well. Just a few marks left, which I'm quite certain that they'll be gone in 1 month or so. Now I only need to put a little bit of concealer on my face, and it looks flawless. For mosturizer, I used Neutrogena Moisture with SPF-15. Bottom line: I'm happy to have found Retin-A, but it is a product you have to be very patient with. Stick to it even if it gets bad initially, because the end result is worth it :)

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bittersweet88

March 14, 2010

Pros:

Breaks up all the plugged dirt to the surface
Leaves skin really smooth
Easy to apply on skin

Cons:

Pigmentations/scars
Horrible IB
Drying/flaking

In the beginning I was very skeptical about using this because of the IB. Majority of people said their IB lasted around 6 weeks and then their skin started to clear up. For me, I'm usually really unlucky with every medicine I try for my acne. Every medicine I've tried so far has worked well for everyone else but me based on reviews. So I was pretty pessimistic about using tretinoin, especially if i had to go through the IB. But I was wrong. It's been week 3. The first two weeks were horrendous. I broke out with white heads and tiny bumps everywhere, especially my chin area. However, I have noticed a significant difference in my chin area. Most of the tiny bumps are gone. I still have white heads, but I know that I'm still going through the IB so I'm patient with that. The amazing thing that I realized today was that my blackheads on my nose are disappearing! I have never had any medicine that was able to do that. Overall, I'm really glad that I stuck to this. I'll update my review if I see any significant difference in the weeks to come.

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girl28toronto

March 6, 2010

Pros:

This product works. I had moderate acne and I have been using it for a little over a month and my biggest breakouts have dissappeared or are dried out. Skin is much smooth now with a nice texture. New breakouts have been minimized as well.

Cons:

After using it for 1 week, my skin broke out very badly for the 2nd and third weeks. This was very depressing. My acne went from moderate to moderately severe. My skin around my mouth started flaking a lot and dry. Was a little painful to smile.

This product works but you have to keep using it past the bad breakout part. I am just waiting for it to fade my PIH marks now. Hopefully this will happen after 2 months...I have seen a little improvement in the PIH marks but not that much. However, they are smooth now...but they haven't gotten that much lighter in color. I recommend this product to people with moderate to moderately severe acne.

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