Tretinoin

So I've been using this for a few months and I understand there is an initial break out period, but it just hasn't stopped. I've been using it for three months and all it does is dry my skin out and give me like seven new pimples for every one it eliminates.

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snowpea

February 1, 2012

Pros:

none

Cons:

one use could screw up your skin for a long, long, long time

In August I used 0.025% tretinoin gel on my face a grand total of two times. The second time I put it on, the left side of my face started burning like crazy after 20 minutes and I washed it off immediately. Since then, the left side of my face hasn't been the same. It becomes irritated just from washing with gentle cleanser. It becomes irritated at random. It's all pimply now because I can no longer put BP on it. The derm gave me clindamycin which I can tolerate but it's nowhere near as effective as BP. I was a moron for trying this stuff. had I stuck to BP I would have been fine. Instead I've suffered for 5 months because I decided to try Retin-a ONCE. Even though I put the retin-a on my whole face, it's just the left side that has suffered. I look at the right side of my face and know that I could have clear and healthy skin if it weren't for retin-a. Before you try retin-a, try something else or you could end up like me.

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Emma Johnson64

January 28, 2012

Pros:

smooths skin
clears acne

Cons:

makes your T-zone oily
thins your skin way too much thus causing your skin to scar more easily EVEN FROM PILLOW MARKS or scratching your cheeks from an itch!
The initial breakout and flaking of the skin the first 2 weeks is pretty bad too.

I've been on Tretinoin for about 8 weeks now and have noticed a significant difference in my skin. All my cystic acne is completely gone and I've had no new breakouts. The first 5 weeks were tough though and I wanted to give up so bad. I started reading the reviews for this product here on this site and was motivated to stick it out. I'm so happy I did because the results are really good. Not AMAZING as others say but it does drastically reduce acne. I still am struggling with the discoloration my acne has left but hopefully by 12 weeks I should be 100% clear. I do have a 2 inch scar on my right cheek from either scratching my face while on the product or it could've been from sleeping on my face and getting a deep pillow mark that has not gone away in the last 2 weeks. I'm pretty upset about that. However, if you DO NOT touch your face and sleep on your back you should be okay.

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Christina

January 27, 2012

Pros:

Smoother skin
Removes scars

Cons:

Leaves skin sensitive when using
Dry flaky skin

I was prescribed this medication for pilaris keratosis. It left my skin really red and very irritated. I rubbed a layer on my arms. It disappears very easily so I kept applying. When your doctor says just a pea size, Listen! I was anxious to remove the bumps on my arms. Kept applying and in combination, wore an unwashed shirt. My arms broke out in a horrible rash. I avoided the cream for a week and it cleared up. Now, I'm starting the treatment again using only a pea-size.

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leopard1

January 23, 2012

Pros:

cleared acne on cheeks
cleared small brown marks

Cons:

OILY skin, i know its drying so therefore increases oil production but i kept up w/ moisturizing and it still didn't help. even after stopping for a while my face is still oily by 4-5H after washing

did not help w/ deep dermal hyperpigmentation which is main reason went on it but idk if anything will really

Mild-Moderate persistent acne on cheeks began last dec 2010, went to derm gave me tretinoin cream 0.5 used every other night to using every day at night, dry at first but not as bad as BP i think. maybe a slight initial breakout but nothing terrible that i can remember. acne calmed waayyy down and only got 1 big pimple on my cheek during use, except then i started getting big red consistent lumps around mouth and chin (where i wasn't using this b/c didn't have acne there before), forehead was never a problem. i asked derm to up me to 1% d/t these 4-5 dark dermal hyper pigmentation which didn't really help those and i kept getting several pimples here and there, idk if they healed faster w/ tret or not. d/t intense OILINESS from what derm said wast tretinoin cream, i am now on differin and have been for 1 month, severe initial breakout from differin still going on that is VERY frustrating! differin has even given me MANY small flesh colored lumps on forehead which i never had before, sticking it out b/c oil seems less but also on spironolactone 100mg every day so that must be helping too, will review both but want to give it more time.

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ktbuffinet

January 22, 2012

Pros:

It works!
less pimples
smooth feeling skin

Cons:

a little dry

I have tried everything in the past! I did a 6 month course of accutane 2 years ago and it worked great. Unfortunately my acne is coming back. When I first started using retina I was using too much b/c I could not make a pea size work on my whole face. My face was burning and peeling because of it. I started putting a pea size in the palm of my hand and mixing a good bit of moisturizer in with it to make it enough to spread easily on my whole face. Best idea ever!! With what is left in my hand I usually just rub on my shoulders and chest to get rid of the few pimples i have there. Hope this helps you!! :)

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Honest Guy

January 22, 2012

Pros:

It works. lol

Cons:

Peeling
Redness/Irritation (without a good moisturizer)
Increased sensitivity of skin

I am currently using .05 level of generic tretinoin cream and it's awesome. I believe it is offered in a gel (not sure though) but I wouldn't recommend that to anyone because the cream is good enough(for me). Texture is Very light, smooth and creamy. Spreads incredibly well, BUT you have to make sure you cover the intended area fast because it does sink in/dry quite quickly. Smells like crayons. sortof chalky? For me personally, there was no "initial breakout" or purge simply because I had already been priorly using other acne treating skincare, such as benzoyl peroxide and aha, that had already handled a majority of my acne. In regards to the peeling.. it sucks. Especially in the beginning when you're trying to get used to it all. And sorry to say it, but it actually does not get better, UNTIL you find a very good moisturizer CeraVe is my personal fave at the moment. The thing with applying moisturizer is this; some say it will lessen the effects of the tretinoin if applied together, however after MUCH peeling and irritation, I couldn't hold it any longer and gave using it with moisturizer a shot. I have had ZERO issues. It still works incredibly well, except the result is better now because my skin stays calm, hydrated & supple while also getting treated with an incredible exfoliant. I personally apply moisturizer first and then follow with tretinoin around 10 minutes after, but I have also tried the other way and it works fine, but if you are experiencing more extreme dehydration or dryness/peeling/etc., moisturizer first will help replenish your skin better. ** My skin has cleared up, but most importantly for me, my hyper pigmentation and scars have faded tremendously. Cons: Peeling, but with a good moisturizer can be reduced. Skin is more sensitive. I cant use any physical scrubs at all, they hurt. But thats fine cause I dont need them anyway. I also now seem to have a SLIGHT more red-ish skintone

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Jackie

January 20, 2012

Pros:

- clears up whiteheads
- clears up acne spots quicker
- healthy glowing skin

Cons:

- use to much and burns really bad
- dry skin can get bad and hard to manage
- redness
- hard to cover bigger pimples with makeup after using product

Im hooked. I started using this product on 4/5/2011 and its currently 1/19/2012. Ive been through the highs and lows and must say the initial purging stage lasted for 5 months for me. I barely wanted to leave the house and i was mortified every time i looked in the mirror. To make matters worse i had started a brand new relationship and my face had pimples that could have their own zip codes and my whole face was pretty much falling off. Now its a whole different story..my skin looks WAY better than it has ever. I still get a random breakout here and there but nothing terrible. I still get dry skin around my nose and chin but once again nothing terrible. I have to say the only pro and con and the same time is when you get a big pimple "pastule" the medicine is a love/hate. I end up panicking putting too much on and the pimple goes from red to pealing and horribly SHINY. Its kinda scary and mortifying but my own fault for putting to much on. Makeup will not stay on, it seems to slide right off and cake on the dry skin at the edges of the pimple. I know my review seems harsh and scary but honestly it has done wonders for my skin. At the age of 26 i finally feel like i have enough control over my acne to be happy. My biggest issue with the medicine is that insurance will fight you to cover it. They say its only for 19 and under but my doctor fought and i got it for $50 not the retail price of $364.

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Abbey Autry

January 19, 2012

Pros:

Brightens skin
Clears some acne, mostly blackheads and whiteheads

Cons:

Flaking

Not good for deep acne, but still good for the skin. Doesn't reach to deep levels to clear most acne, that requires something entirely different. I would still recommend this product for the lighter acne and for your blackheads and whiteheads. If you alternate at night between moisturizer and Retin-A, you will notice a much better quality of your skin, but will still have your deeper cystic and nodular acne.

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Gio

January 18, 2012

Pros:

Clears up acne and prevents future breakouts
Smooths skin
Lightens skin

Cons:

Extremely bad irritation, peeling, burning the first and second weeks of use.

The first time I used tretinoin was in 2009. I had severe flaking, peeling, and burning when I started using it. It was the .05%. It later cleared up and lightened my face. In the eleventh grade 2010-2011 I was stressed and kept breaking out. I didn't do anything about it until the summer when I learned about alpha hydroxy acid and d what it could do for your acne. So I stopped using tretinoin and used only AHA. A week later my face was as others would say purging and my face was breaking out bad. I went online to see if I could do anything to make it better and found out that tretinoin and AHA work great together. So after a month of applying tretinoin and AHA at night, my skin cleared up, my scars went away and was left with literally perfect skin that I actually bragged about. When school started I had decided to play tennis again and stopped using the AHA because of the effect of making your skin highly sensitive to the sun. My skin soon started to break out the tretinoin .05% wouldn't help. It wasn't until november that I had decided to go to the dermatologist and by then my skin was bad. It had never gotten that bad before. The dermatologist prescribed me tretinoin 0.1% and mynocycline. That first week I was once again in pain because of having to get used to the tretinoin. My skin peeled bad and hurt. I use neutrogena sensitive moisturizer but it would still sting pretty bad. The mynocycline cleaned up my chest acne in a week. But by the second week I started experiencing terrible headaches and stiffness of the neck so I discontinued it. As of today in january two months after starting my new treatment of tretinoin 0.1%, my skin has no acne but the scars remain from my bad outbreak that I know will go away in another two-three months using tretinoin. It is a great product for acne.

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