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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
December 12, 2011
Cons:
Some peeling, but not really dramatic (just rinse your face with warm water)
Noticeable redness on some days
Have to avoid daytime(although I already did so)
Doesn't get rid of occasional breakouts
Im a 20 year old male college student. I finally decided to stick with this because I had absolutely nowhere else to go. My insecurity was turning me into someone I didn't like. I dont have insurance or money for peels and treatments. I bought this online for about $80, 0.5% then increased to .1% and now I'm at .025%. I went to my university clinic where I got a free consultation. I started using it in June. So, about 6 months. It took a while to work but I have seen noticeable improvement. My skin is more radiant and less worked up and pale. It has lessened breakouts on my cheeks dramatically, which is great because my cheeks are my worst are by far. Very scarry and red. My skin feels great when I slide my hands over them. Which brings me to my only dislike. Many of my red marks and PIH are still there. They feels smooth when I touch them. But theyre still very noticeable. This product has had a hard time getting rid of my marks. I use st.ives apricot scrub and then apply the gel at night. I also use a tinted moisturizer with spf30 which really helps my skin look better. I am European white so it's a tough thing to deal with.I feel like I'm cheating the process but it's honestly something you should look into. I'm thinking of buying glycolic peels online and hoping this will take care of it. But I'm going to keep using this gel for a couple more months until the summer, and hopefully combining this regimen with peels. Thank you to everyone that posted positive reviews and helping me stick with it!
November 21, 2011
Pros:
Clears Skin Deep Down
Skin Looks fantastic
No more spots
Smooth, clear, blemish free skin !
Cons:
Extreme drying
Flaking
Can be painful to apply in the first month
Takes time to work
Retin A is a fantastic product for clearing skin deep down, I was prescribed 0.01% gel and at first it sounds weak, however it really does work to clear skin deep down, although in the first 4 weeks be prepared for your skin to really break out, this is due to all the dirt and deep spots being lifted out and the new colligen being formed, skin will also be very dry and red with flaking ! All this is normal so dont worry ! Stick with it and youll see amazing results ! ive been using retin a with my daily dose of 1000mg oxytetracycline ! results are breath taking ! anyone Whos just started using retin A this product will change your life !!
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!
August 4, 2011
Pros:
Seemingly effective for my case (I also have psoriasis. I was once also developing discoid Lupus in which i was treated oral steroids which weakened my immune system thus causing moderately severe Acne.
Cons:
Initial Breakout is scary.
Never in my life have I had acne until recently(i'm 19). Acne does not run in my family. My Psoriasis(hyperactive immune system) fought effectively against everything. However, my eating habits of Human Growth Hormone amino acids caused my already strong immune system to start attacking itself. This is when I was then prescribed to take oral steroids to weaken my immune system. Then I became pizza face. My confidence dropped. I avoided going out. I avoided making eye contact when I did go out. Invisibility felt lonely, but at least it was less embarrassing. I was then put on a long term plan. I took only Solodyn for 4 months and skin was beautifully smooth. When I stopped the Solodyn, I then took Tretinoin. Within 5 days, hell broke loose again on my face. I had 50 white heads all over, black heads on my nose, and cysts here and there. I was terrified. WTH happened?! But I kept at it. Doctor said apply once every night...I did it 3-4 times a day. Too many white heads everywhere to just let sit and spread. I read abrasive washes are good for predominately whitehead acne(pores too tight for sebum/dead skin to escape). And the abrasive wash is good to open pores and clear flaking skin. First 8 days face felt scaly. Day 9 was first Peel. SKIN flaking EVERYWHERE and face red. Day 10(today) I notice recommendation to wait 30 mins after face wash to apply Tretinoin. So I do...face 60% better. Yes my skin is tight, miscolored, and hurts. But, it's smooth and I smile when I look at myself now. Note* Drink LOTS of water. The rapid cell turnover of Tretinoin tolls on the body's hydration system. Drinking water will give the new cells healthier membranes and healthier defense systems from infection. I hope this helps, goodluck.
May 17, 2011
Pros:
-Works better than anything else I've used on fine lines
-Skin has a great texture (once cleared); very fresh and young looking
Cons:
-Initial break-out lasted three and a half months.
I started using this at the age of 29 after going to a dermatologist to ask for a product that combatted the whiteheads on my forehead and my emerging fine lines :) I was warned about the initial breakout, and it did last as long as I was warned, if not slightly longer (like other posters, I checked this board frequently to compare my progress to others). I just reached the 3 1/2 month point, and the final bumps are just going away. The initial breakout was not horrible, but definitely worse than any other breakouts I'd had (my skin had fairly clear throughout my life with just a few blemishes here and there). Makeup seemed to cover it up mostly but it was more bumpy than usual (my mom, ever tactful, did ask me if I had a rash on my forehead). So, it feels like forever, but once the IB is over, it does seem to be worth it. The texture of my skin is much improved, and once the redmarks from the IB fade, I'm sure it will look even better. Also, I noticed an improvement on the areas that didn't break out (mostly my cheeks and under my eyes) fairly quickly, and the texture is smoother than I've seen in a long time. One thing that I'm REALLY impressed with with this product is the way it worked on my fine lines around my eyes. I'd just started using a few over the counter products in the last year or so as I'd begun to see some lines around my eyes, and they worked moderately well, but the lines are definitely much reduced now, and I think I now look younger than my 29 years. I feel like this will be a great product to use through my 30s and later. Overall, I think it's worth the pain, and hopefully I'll look even better in the next few months! (Oh, and one tube lasts forever. I'm still on my first tube, and probably have at least a month left before it runs out.)
February 8, 2011
Pros:
+ The stuff's amazing. I barely break out any more, and get very few, if any, cysts.
Cons:
- It made me flake, though not in a big way. This isn't a huge con... in fact, it's sort of a sign that the Retin-A is doing its job. That said, if you get too dry, move to a lower concentration or buffer with a moisturizer.
- It took a long while to work. Stick with it. Look at these reviews. A majority of the people who have used Retin-A for an extended period of time report favorable results. The disappointed ones seem to be the impatient ones. Coincidence?
I use really strong Retin-A gel (0.1%), and it is the only topical that has had a considerable effect on my skin. My skin, in addition to being clear, is soft to the touch! The doctor initial gave me a low concentration cream. Wrong wrong wrong! The cream version makes me break out terribly. I eventually found that only gel did the trick, and only the 0.1% concentration worked on my uber-oily skin. ***However, I should note that the cream worked really nicely on my chest, where I had some really nasty hyper-pigmentation from previous cysts (and also some active cysts). The get proved to be too harsh for this area. Give this a try for a few months. If you really need to speed up the process, try an antibiotic at the same time (I'm on minocycline).
December 23, 2010
Pros:
It works (I use it at night); a little dab is all you need so tube lasts awhile; side benefit is it seems to improve fine lines and wrinkles
Cons:
Can be drying/irritating in the beginning, so apply with a light hand; Can be expensive if you don't have insurance that covers it.
I am using this for my acne at nighttime only. Has cleared up my skin in an amazing way. I had first tried the Micro .04% and it didn't work at all...once the doctor bumped me up to .1% it begin working. I use the Benzaclin in the am, so I assume between that and the Retin-A at night something is working. I pay $9.00 a tube and my insurance covers the rest (I think it runs well over $100 a tube).
November 21, 2010
Pros:
Cleared cysts
Cleared overall acne
Cleared redness
Acne control
Cons:
Itchy
Very drying
Takes time to clear
You need to continue using it
It was horrible when I first started since the initial breakout was the worst thing imaginable.. BUT! I stuck it out and I'm currently at 3 months and 4 days and I've never had such AMAZING skin in over 8 years! I can't believe how much of a miracle this has been for me.
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.
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.
Pros:
Extremely smooth skin
Lessened breakouts dramatically
Easy and cheap, its very easy to remember putting it on every night
Helped smooth out scars
Great texture, evens out complexion
A little boost in confidence :]