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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:
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June 1, 2012
Cons:
dry skin (sometimes)
Sunburns ):
Sooo I've been using it for a couple months now & let me just tell you it is a LIFESAVER. I used to cry over my acne & I thought I tried everything. Differen, Epiduo, Clindimacyn ( I think that's how you spell it) antibiotics, birth control & I seriously love retin a. Let's be honest here, if you have pretty bad acne, nothing is going to fully CLEAR it (except maybe accutane) but with a little bit of make up your skin looks flawless. It has made my skin soooo much clearer. The best advice is to get a good routine & STICK WITH IT! YOU WILL SEE RESULTS I promise!!! Your skin will get dry/ flakey sometimes, but usually it's only if you use too much. Make sure you are only using a PEA SIZE amount. As for the sun, that's probably the biggest con. your face will burn VERY easily, but if you wear sunscreen you should be fine. IT'S SOOO WORTH IT! GOOD LUCK.
P.S. my acne used to be moderate to severe, but now it's VERY light. (:
December 19, 2011
Pros:
clears face :)
Cons:
you get flakes
redness
takes time
it does take time your face doesn't clear over night . there is days when you just want to give up but DON'T . it took 9 weeks for my face to fully clear now i just have acne scars :/ blah ! so my doctor prescribed me retin a &' minocycline . i didn't know what to expect but i trust my dr because he never lets me down &' he didn't this time :) my routine for my face was .. Morning:take pill
wash face with ivory soap
aveeno daily moisturizing lotion
sunscreen Night:
take second pill
wash face with soap again
then mix a pea size amount with a pump of aveeno and put it on my face . (make sure you use the pea size amount because you will burn your face !!) thats all i have to say, GOOD LUCK !
August 15, 2011
Pros:
dries out zits fast
reduces fine lines
shrinks pores
prevents new zits
Cons:
initial breakout
waxing ripped off skin
im a 19 year old female who has been struggling with acne since i was 13 years old.
so far, very good from usuing this product. a couple of days before i started using this i started using aldactone ( an oral supplement for hormonal acne in women) and that initial breakout was as bad as my tretinoin ib. the night after i applied the trentinoin all my zits started to emurge which i popped on the second day cause they were gross! the third day after using it they all dried out and no new zits were forming, which is what im used to happening. right now im only on my 4th day of the tretinoin and 6th on aldactone but im initial breakout is gone and my skin is smooth and only a couple little guys which are drying out remain. i have pretty oily skin so the dryness and flakeness a lot of people have been talking about hasnt affected me. but i also have only been using a half of a pea size amount of the .05 tretinoin mixed with an oilfree night moisturizing cream. and in the morning i mix 4 drops of jojoba oil in an oil free spf 30 cream.(USE ONLY THE TRETINOIN AT NIGHT) i read a lot of reviews on the tretinoin before i started it and they freaked me out, but everyones skin is different so dont be discouraged by the bad ones. i was extremely depressed about how much i was breaking out a week ago and now i couldnt be happier. these two products together are worth a shot if youve tried everything else like i have.
July 5, 2011
Pros:
Works!! Smooths Skin; Easy Regimen Addition;
So many compliments on my improved skin appearance'
Cons:
1 Month IB Period; Must use with other products for full effects; Worried about loss of effectiveness??
My regimen for past 2 months: 1. Wash with 10% Oxy Benz/alternated with Benzoyl 5% wash (morning and night) 2.Clindamycin 1% 3. Moisturized with PCA daily moisturizer w/sunscreen 4. Afternoon wash if skin is oily with 5% Benzoyl cleanser 5. Apply Tretinoin nightly/alternate with 5% over-the-counter benzoyl acne medicine This regimen has been making my skin really smooth and I hope that my alternating between other products every other day will keep my skin from building a resistance and the meds from losing effectiveness!
May 23, 2011
Pros:
Prevented breakouts. At least I hope it prevented my breakouts.
Cons:
Didn't do much at all for my spots.
Worked ridiculously slowly.
Initial Breakout, although it wasn't that much for me.
Made my face very red.
I've been using Retin-A for almost 9 months now, and I haven't seen much improvement at all. I was very consistent with it, and only missed one night out of 9 months, and didn't apply too much or too little. The pea sized amount rule was followed. It didn't fade any of my red marks considering I've used it for so long. I think I'll start over and use Differin gel because that seemed to work for me last year.
May 2, 2011
Pros:
none
Cons:
Made my skin peel very badly.
Very irritating.
Did not clear skin.
Made skin break out.
This product was one of the worst acne products I have ever used. I have very severe acne, and this product made it even worse. So bad, that I had to swich dermatologists because the doctor that prescribed this denied that there was any relativity of the negitive effects and the Retina. The new Dermatologist that I saw was appalled that the previous doctor acted like that and did not take the severity of the reaction seriously. She put me on a steroid to help reverse the reaction. This was a very bad product for me, but everyone is different and there are many people that this product works wonders for.
December 26, 2010
Pros:
Easy to use
Also prevents wrinkles
In expensive (with co-pay)
IT REALLY WORKS!
Cons:
Can be expensive (without insurance)
Can only be applied at nighttime
6-8 weeks before results
My doctor prescribed me generic tretinoin (brand-name Retin-A) for my severe acne. It took 6-8 weeks to see real results, but now my skin is 100% acne-free (something I haven't had since I was 13). It's very easy to use and works wonders if you're consistent. Just be sure to wash it off in the morning!
November 13, 2010
Pros:
works for some people
Cons:
makes skin extremely dry, red, painful, increases sensitivity
makes you break out
First of all, I know that this product is supposed to regenerate your skin so all of the acne under the surface comes out at once...but for me, using this product was one the WORST DECISIONS I've ever made. Before I started using tretinoin, I had mild acne (~4-5 pimples on an outbreak) but I had a handful of small under the surface pimples so I decided to try retin-a. The first week nothing happened. Second week: ~7-8 pimples. third week: >10. I broke out in places that I've never had acne....between my eyebrows, on my chin, and around my jawline. By the time the second month came around, almost every surface of my face had a bump on it. To top it off, they were extremely inflamed and irritated from the medicine. (Btw, I use less than a pea size at night...and use an SPF 70 lotion in the morning to prevent sun irritation.) Anyways, this medicine made me get really painful and itchy cystic acne, little under the surface ones, and juicy ones. I toughed it out waiting for the result for 4 MONTHS (not exaggerating). During that period, I became extremely self-conscious and semi-depressed...I just kept thinking, it'll be worth it. My face was sooo bad. The acne that appeared took forever (~3 weeks) to go away and it left huge indents in my skin. Oh and NOTE: huge indents and large cystic acne cannot be covered with makeup! I tried, but makeup cannot hide the mountains and valleys on your face. I've since stopped using tretinoin and my skin has gotten a lot better. I went back to using Benzaclin once a day. My face is no longer inflammed and some of the acne vanished. I'm still trying to recover from the damage though. I have a lot of scarring on my face and still a lot of pimples but much better than before. This may work for some people, but BEWARE. If you do not have bad acne to begin with, DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT. I hope this review saves some people from experiencing my horror story. I really regret my decision to
September 30, 2010
Pros:
- promotes cell turnover, leading to smoother skin overall
- really purges out your pores
- clears skin over time
- breakouts that form take less time to heal
Cons:
- dries out skin + makes it extremely oily
- I experienced all the side effects! (itching, redness, flaking, stinging, etc.)
- takes a long time (in the meantime, you have tons of breakouts and raised bumps)
- initial breakout phase
I used tretinoin cream 0.05% for four and a half months before calling it quits. It took about four months for my skin to even begin getting used to the medication - my skin is extremely sensitive and this is a harsh medication. I never quite got to the point of applying it every night because my skin simply couldn't handle it. For the first two months or so, my skin was the worst it had ever been, but after four months, I started to see some improvements. I've had consistent breakouts for a few years (never a clear day), and while I was using this medication, I had a few, which was enough to keep me going. One thing it DID do was clear up all the flesh-colored bumps on my forehead. It was never really something I minded since there was no discoloration, and I could cover it up with my hair, but it cleared up within a month or so and my forehead was soooo smooth compared to before! (Unfortunately, my problem area became my jawline/cheeks, which had lots of underlying plugged comedones). In the end, I did have lots of hyperpigmentation from previous breakouts, but my skin was somehow more manageable, since any big pimples always went away within a day or two without my touching it or popping it. Plus, I no longer got cystic acne (just the wide/red/painful ones, which don't scar as easily). Eventually, my dermatologist and I decided to change to a different retinoid (Differin) - simply because it's a less harsh form. I do plan on going back to the tretinoin in the future because I believe it will be more effective. However, when I do end up trying it again, I'm going to use the gel form because although it's more drying, it doesn't have the comedogenic ingredient found in the tretinoin cream. (I don't know how much this factored into my breakouts, but I'd rather err on the side of safety)
July 22, 2010
Pros:
Seems to work
Cons:
takes a few months
I have only been on Tretinoin 0.1 for a few months (the dermatologist said to use it for about 6 months then see how it is going) it seems to work I will probably write another review later on
Pros:
CLEARS ACNE
eventually fades scars
nice texture