Hey guys! This is my first time posting, but I know that when I first started treatment I was hungry for accounts of other people's progress. I am now 6 weeks in to using Tretinoin cream 0.025% every night before bed, and am starting to notice significant progress. I did experience an initial breakout starting around week 3, and I knew that it was the purge phase not a bad reaction because the breakout was confined to the area I already broke out in (my cheeks and chin) and the skin around the new breakouts was looking better than before. Now, I only have 3 newish spots, and they are all drying and on their way out. The pesky dark marks acne leaves behind are starting to clear up! My skin looks airbrushed like it hasn't in so long, and the end is in sight! I am in no way all the way clear yet, but I feel like give it another two months, and my skin will have done a major turn around. If you're in the initial breakout phase or just starting out, have patience, and if you are worried about a reaction you're having to the cream, call your doctor-- they'll be able to tell you if it's a bad reaction or just the purge. I also wanted to say that to deal with the initial breakout I've been using Lush brand masks, in particular cosmetic warrior (smells bad but so worth it), and catastrophe cosmetic. They both really helped me to get through the rough patch. Good luck guys! I hope this helps.

Hi everyone! I am writing on behalf of my 16 year old daughter who would never in a million years write a review herself! But I have to say that this product has been the bane of my existence for the last year+. But I have a very head strong daughter who somehow has it in her head that she should keep using it. The background is that like most teens, around 13, my beautiful fair skinned (blue eyes, blond hair) daughter started breaking out. We immediately started trying everything, first Proactive for a while but there was literally no change at all with that stuff. After about 2 months on Proactive, she stopped altogether and just started using bar soap. One day she asked me to go to the dermatologist - I think she had been talking to someone at school about it. So we went and they prescribed Retin A. I was 100% against a prescription of any type but I was better with a topical prescription than an oral antibiotic. she started with Tretinoin 0.025%. Again, there was no visible change in her acne but there was a visible change in her face. Her pores all over her face got much larger, so that I could see them from 5+ feet away and I started noticing scarring which, as a mom, I absolutely hate to see. Around that same time, my younger daughter, who was now 13, began to get acne as well but had heard of another product at her school called Ninja Skincare. As kids do, she wanted to do what her friends were doing so we bought it. It was very affordable and had incredible customer service so I was pretty impressed. Her acne went away in a heartbeat. Literally within a month it was entirely gone. Obviously, I was pressing my older daughter to try it too but she wasn't having it. She blindly believed that the doctors should know the best and wanted to go the route of the dermatologist. Sorry - long story short, we continued with Retin-A because that is what the dr told her to do. But the doctor didn't tell us about the side effects even after we asked about the pores and the scarring. I should have done more of my homework. The breaking point was when we went on a family trip to Mexico over Thanksgiving and even with sunscreen, her face turned BEET red to the point where strangers on the beach came up to me and pointed it out and suggested I get her out of the sun. I had no idea what was happening. We went home and iced her face, put aloe vera on it and her face remained burnt for over a week, sensitive to the touch. I felt so bad for her. Needless to say, the beach trip was completely ruined for her which sucked but at least she finally agreed that Retin-A was a bad choice for her. Now after about 4 months on Ninja, she is entirely clear and her scars from that period are starting to face with the help of Salicylic acid every day. I have read all of the reviews here and am happy that some people got relief from this product but I honestly don't understand why it worked for some people without these horrific side effects while for others it doesn't? I guess everyone has their own sky types. I am just glad we are finished with the prescriptions and dermatologists!

Ok so short history of my acne struggle: Started off as some minor spots when I was twelve, by the time I was fourteen my skin went haywire and I developed severe acne, mainly on my forehead and chin. My back was also covered in acne. I started using Diane 35 (heavy duty birth control) which cleared up my acne and gave me a few years of acne free skin. Eventually I stopped using the BC because of side effects and my acne came back. (Luckily for me the acne on my back never returned) Actual review: The first three months were, well...not that great. The first week my skin started burning like hell when I would apply the cream. My skin started to flake like crazy, making it hard to apply foundation over my face because the scabs were always visible, no matter what I did. It was around the three week mark when my skin started to break out like crazy. I developed zits on my entire face, even in places where I didn't have acne before. This made me want to stop using Retin A, but I kept going. After three months, my acne finally calmed down and scars started to fade due to the rapid skin cell turnover Retin A gives you. I am now using Retin A for almost three years now. Although it hasn't spared me from hormonal breakouts, it has made a huge difference to my skin and it would be much worse without it. Pro's - Helps with the reduction of acne - Fades scars over time Con's - Flaking during the first couple months of use + dry skin (so make sure you get yourself some heavy duty moisturiser) - Initial breakout Final verdict: I recommend using Retin A. Don't get discouraged when you experience an initial breakout. It sucks (trust me I know) but chances are if you give it enough time it will work.

i had horrible acne all over my cheeks and neck and i finally asked about retin a. i put a little on every night and my face started to look really dry with skin peeling but my doc said that was normal. it was more normal after a month and my horrible cyst like acnes was gone. one time i carelessly used to much and it burned sooooo bad. i was iceing my face for releif. so use a tiny amount. barely any. i used retina for a year or less and quit using it and the acne never came back. its weired because ive been plagued with it since 13 and didnt start using it till 23. your face will be sore and embarrassing for the first part but acne is embarrassing anyway. i say go for it. what do u have to llose.

I've had spots since I was about 15. As I turned 18 they got worse and worse up to now (I'm 20). My derm recommended this cream and I was unsure at first. It brought out hundreds of little bumps that covered every area of my face. Each bump was a small pimple that the cream had brought up due to clogged pores. My problem is hormonal but the pill hasn't done much for me. Six weeks in and I was still spot ridden and scouring this website for some success stories. By week 8 I had a few less spots, week 9 less again, until finally I gradually noticed I was getting less and less until there were none! It was a miracle to me and I'm so happy I stuck it out. Now 7 months on and I get the occasional spot but that's fine with me! Please give it a proper go. I've never tried any topical as effective as this and I couldn't bare to part with it now.

This is a review for Retin-A MICRO .1% Only the brand name version of this prescription worked for me. The generic did not. Since its brand name it was pretty expensive, $77 with insurance and a coupon. I didnt start seeing results until around month 1 or 2. If your face starts peeling, IT'S WORKING! retin a micro is designed to help promote skin cell turnover, that it why it makes your face peel. My face peeled pretty bad around my chin. So bad to the point where I would carry a travel sized Vaseline with me so I could hide the peeling throughout the day. Your face will become very sensitive. The ONLY lotion that didn't cause my face to burn was CerVe in the blue bottle. But this is the ONLY medicine that helped clear up my stubborn acne. My only major con is the fact that this medicine only works with continuous use. Even when your face is cleared up and you think you don't need it anymore, KEEP USING IT! I had to learn the hard way. It has a few side effects and it's kind of expensive but it's definitely worth the clean, smooth, brightened skin I was left with!

I'm surprised that this product doesn't have any reviews. This is really a great product. I've used tretinoin in the form of Retin-A and some generic brands as well. Tretinoin is good stuff for keeping your pores clear, and if you're going to use it ATRALIN is the best. It's in an emollient base that feels like vaseline on the skin. Because of this, I've never experienced any dryness or redness; it doesn't take any moisture out of the skin and still does its job. Props to the people who formulated this stuff

I started using this because i had about 5-6 pimples on my face at the time, but after 2 and a half months of treatment my skin has gone from mild acne to severe and i have soo much scarring now that my confidence has dropped dramatically!! i hate going out and seeing people because i know there staring at my skin when they talk to me and my skin just looks so horrible right now. My IB started a week into the treatment and hasn't stopped!! I went on this to get better skin but my skin is 10 times worse now and i would do anything to get the skin that i had before i started using this!!!

Made my skin peel and break out from the first few uses, but the spots was relatively fast to disappear. The tube is biggg! so it will last a long time. But remember to use a oil free moisturiser. I got it prescribed from my doctor so it was free.

It was great at fading marks by gently peeling off the old, damaged skin. However, the peeling and flaking process is really difficult to manage (almost as bad as dealing with the acne itself). I couldn't apply makeup without my skin peeling off underneath. I couldn't even brush my fingers against my face without a bunch of flakes coming off. The new skin underneath was perfect though. It did nothing for preventing new pimples, just helped peel them off quicker. I would much rather use adapalene gel- it is a synthetic retinoid and FAR less intense as tretinoin. If your acne is under control and you just want to get rid of marks then this is your best bet. However, be prepared to deal with intense flakiness.