My doctor suggested this to me for me to unclog my pores and lighten post acne hyperpigmentation. At first I was hesitant to use this because of the intial breakout I read about, I was already breaking out 1000x's worse than usual and couldn't deal with more acne. However, much to my suprise I didn't notice much of an I.B. at all. Yes, I still got new pimples, but nothing crazy like I thought. It made my current zits less red, imflammed, and smaller. I was so excited! Make sure you wait 20 minutes after washing your face to apply this. It is a little drying but not too bad. I notice it after a while, but doesn't 'flake off'. My scars are lightening, finally! And overall my skin looks healthier. I've only been using this for about two weeks, so I'm excited for the future!

This in combination with Clindoxyl (antibiotic infused Benzoyl Peroxide - great for the "surface" pimples), and a red/blue light therapy lamp, has fully cured my once severe acne. Retin-A is necessary because it is the only part of my routine which addresses the painful deep pimples I get. Now people compliment me on my skin! Try it! I use the high concentration 0.1% cream (as opposed to the 0.05%) and dilute it with some vitamin-k cream to reduce irritation.

The bottom line is that I really have high hopes for this and hope that this is the answer to my prayers, because its been hard lately to have so much acne!

Did not totally cure my presistant adult acne, but much reduced it, enough so that it doesn't bother me when I wear a little makeup. The acne is smaller and easier to address. My skin is glowing and smooth. It is the best exfoliator out there plus it has anti-aging benefits. It is the backbone of any mulitple regimen acne plan because it helps other products penetrate the skin better.

I started using the 0.05% early in December. I used it for around two months and it didn't help me very much. It cleared the pimples in my nostril creases, but essentially made my forehead break out much more. I went back to the doctor, and she gave me a higher dosage, 0.1%. I have been using that for around a week or so, and I haven't noticed a difference. I use it at night, and the morning after my skin does look less red. I do experience some minor peeling around my nose, on my chin, and a bit on my forehead. To combat this I use Aveno Clear Complexion Moisterizer, more than I did before I started this treatment. Even though my first two months of the lowest dosage didn't do anything, I am hoping that if I stick with this dosage my skin will clear up.

Im SICK of people giving retin a one star because they dont know how to use it. Use a pea sized amount every night after cleanser your face with a gentle cleanser. IT TAKES TIME YOU SKIN WILL GET WORSE FIRST. It is worth it, stop being impatient people, just stick with it.

I've had acne for about ten years, and it was bad during high school but has cooled off a lot. I still wanted to see what could be done about the oily skin and few whiteheads that would pop up around the mouth and nose area, so I went to a dermatologist who gave me this and doxycycline. She started me off on the 0.025% which made be break out a little but worked well. It smoothed out any scars and pretty much solved the oil problem. After a few months she put me on 0.05%. This made me break out more and chapped my nose area. It went away after about week 4 and I'm now in week six and things are much better. Not many whiteheads or any of the pigmentation, and it's working better for the oil. If you're struggling through the so called "purge" just know that I did as well, but it will get better. It did for me, and I'm an oily Italian to begin with! Good luck!

The first time I used Retin-A was over a year ago, and I remember using it for about 2 weeks and wondering why nothing was improving. However, my doctor told me to give it another shot, but to wait it out this time. I had moderate acne, mainly just the small red pumps down my T-Zone but especially on my forehead. I started Retin-A around mid October (2015) and began peeling terribly and getting really bad acne (a sign that it is working; it has to get worse first) that peaked around early December. It was really a terrible time for me--I tried so hard to hide my acne and and didn't want to go outside or face people directly because it got so bad. But I stuck with Retin-A and by January, most of the pimples had disappeared, and I just had some darker marks left over from the acne. Now, it's almost April, and the scars have been gradually fading away. TL;DR: Retin-A really works, but you have to be consistent with it even when the acne is getting worse.

I've had mild to moderate acne since I was 14. I'm now 26 and still suffering. I've tried everything under the sun!! I'm on week 8 of Tretinoin .5 cream and let me tell you that you definitely need patience when it comes to this medication. I am red, broken out and dry. I've been using FAB Ultra Repair Cream for dryness and it's pretty helpful. Otherwise I've been super depressed because as we all know living with acne is embarrassing and terrible. Reading your positive reviews is extremely helpful and I'm trying to be patient. Hopefully I'll get some good results soon because I haven't been wanting to leave my house or look at anyone for the past month and a half. I'm just looking forward to the day when I can feel good about myself again.

I am currently in my mid twenties and have been struggling with moderate acne on and off since puberty (mostly around my mouth and sometimes between my eyebrows, always deep and painful and always leaving red scars that fade after a few months). I have never had amazingly clear skin, but have had times when I was okay with my skin. Unfortunately the past few years have not been showing any signs of getting better, despite my age. I was hoping it would clear up as I got older. I was finally fed up with it and was prescribed retin a micro 0.1% after a recent chain of breakouts. I have been following the instructions of the doctor, pharmacist, and the insert with the bottle. Once a day, at night, 20-30 minutes after I wash my face I use a cotton pad to apply the cream to my entire face. I have the pump form of the cream and I use two pumps per application as directed. FIRST 3 WEEKS: The first three weeks of using this cream have been a struggle, to say the least. I have not noticed much improvement yet. I am most definitely experiencing the purging breakouts that many other people have experienced. As soon as I started using the cream, and until the end of week 3, I have had non stop painful breakouts. This cream is not fun. It is potent and it works quickly. For the past 3 weeks I have had at least 2-3 painful pimples somewhere on my face at any given time. The kind that you are reminded of every time you smile or talk (gah!). Fortunately, I am not experiencing any of the severe dryness, redress, or overall peeling that others have. In fact, my face is much much oilier than usual. I have slightly oily skin normally. Since I've been using this cream, I wake up to my face feeling like butter. I wash with dove sensitive skin soap in the morning and at night, and sometimes I shower (after gym) and rinse my face half way through the day. Most days my skin (face only) is so oily that I need to use an oil absorbing pad early afternoon to make myself feel clean. What I have noticed is that this cream makes my pimples come and go in about half the time they normally would. For example, I have woken up in the morning and felt no pain and no lumps building under the skin. By 5pm a big deep pimple will have appeared and not only be visible but be painful. I have gone to bed with no pain and woken up in the middle of the night with a massive throbbing lump on my chin preventing me from falling back asleep. With the bad, there is also a good. Pimples tend to clear up faster. They peak in about 12-24 hours on average, and settle down and dry up in about that amount of time as well. So a pimple can come and go in about 1-2 days, which is less than half the time than normal for me. You know when you have some dead skin from a dyeing pimple on your face and you just want to pick it off so your makeup doesn't clump around it? Well this cream makes your skin thin enough (or irritated enough or whatever it is) that it will usually bleed if you pick. And I'm not talking about picking something that isn't ready and needing to use force, I'm talking about dead skin just sitting on top of your face. So you are suck between leaving a chunk of dead skin on your face or picking at it and having the spot bleed. Both look equally as bad when trying to cover up with makeup. And even if you do manage to successfully pick it off without leaving a scab, a new layer of dead skin somehow manages to appear insanely fast.. like before your next bathroom break/face check fast. I have become accustomed to checking my face every hour in an effort to keep it looking alright. It seems that every time I look in the mirror something has changed. That being said, I am only experiencing dryness on the pimples themselves, the rest of my clear skin (cheeks, jaw, nose, and most of forehead) feels great. It actually feels much nicer than before, very soft and smooth. WEEK 4 I am now onto my fourth week and I am trying my best to stay positive and motivated to continue. I know that it can take 8-12 weeks to see results. These past 3 weeks have felt more like 3 months. The breakouts are happening so fast that the previous areas do not have time to heal, leaving my face a nice combination of red irritated lumps and red scars that haven't had time to heal yet. My face looks like an absolute mess without makeup, and it is the first time in a long long time (and there hasn't been many of these times) that I am even embarrassed to face my family without makeup. Above all else, its been tolling on my emotions. It hasn't been fun to constantly feel self conscious about my face, but to also have to feel the pressure of pimples at all times. WEEK 5 & 6 In week five and six I have experienced what I thought was the beginning of better skin... twice. Both times bounced back with painful breakouts. I started using Thyers Rose Petal Witch Hazel (alcohol free and organic) toner at morning and night to try to reduce inflammation. I am noticing that the pimples aren't coming and going as fast. I am also noticing that my forehead, and upper lip/nose area is breakout free, but my chin is still a raging mess. At the moment, my chin is worse than it has ever been. Everywhere else on my face, except my chin, I am only getting tiny little white heads that aren't painful or deep. Still experiencing lots of oiliness. What I have learned so far? I wouldn't take this cream lightly. If you are going to begin using it, make sure you are willing to commit to the full 12 weeks, otherwise you are probably going to go through purging and not see the potential result. If you think your skin can't get any worse, this cream will probably surprise you. If I quit now, I feel that I will never truly know if this cream works or not, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will see improvement within the next month or two because it truly is miserable. I will continue to update as the weeks go on. Good luck to everyone trying this cream, hang in there!!