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.

So I have been struggling with mild acne since I was a sophomore in high school (I am now a senior about to graduate in a few months) and have had it pretty under control with the occasional break out. I had been using proactiv for about a year now and have only seen very mild improvement. In November 2016 I had a bad break out and finally decided to go to the dermatologist. I wasn't able to get an appointment anytime soon so I went to my family doctor to see if he could schedule me an appointment which he did for late December. In the mean time he prescribed me Retin-a gel .01% and doxycycline pills to take once a day. Before taking these drugs I read reviews online and saw YouTube videos about the results and they looked pretty good so I decided to try it out. A lot of these reviews have talked about an initial breakout or "purging stage" when using tretinoin or retin-a but I had no idea how bad t would be for me. My face went from having a few pimples to my entire face being covered in acne for about a month and a half to two months. I'm late December I finally saw the dermatologist and she told me to use less of the retin-a (I was only supposed to use a pea sized amount but wasn't, hoping to see faster results... bad idea.) She also bumped my retin-a to a .025% cream and prescribed me clindamyacin phosphate at 2%. I have been using these products for about two months now and have definitely seen my face clear up. I now longer have any active acne, only the occasional pimple which I get about once every week and a half to ever two weeks which is a lot better than what I would get while using proactiv as I would get a new pimple every other day or so. I have stopped using the doxycycline now and only have scarring left from my purging stage. My dermatologist has now recommended me to use a dermaroller at 1.0mm to help with the scarring. I hope to be free from acne by the time of my graduation in 2 months. Retin-a has completely changed my face for the better as I am now acne free :)))

So I'm not typically someone who writes reviews on products, but Retin-A was hands down the best thing to happen to my skin so I felt this review could really help some people who are currently struggling with the "purge phase" to push through. I have now been on Retin-A for about 9 weeks. So for a quick backstory on my skin, I first started breaking out pretty badly in high school, which is when I went on Accutane. That did wonders for my skin until about my sophomore year of college (I'm now about to be a senior) when my skin started to have random breakouts again, with my forehead being my biggest problem area. Overall, I would have pretty mild breakouts, but nothing too terrible. At the beginning of the summer I was prescribed the .05% cream and had a slightly different experience than most people, so here's a recap of my experience thus far: Upon my first night of using Retin-A, I immediately began the dreaded "purge phase" and my skin began breaking out into a bunch of little bumps where I applied the cream. It wasn't my typical breakout where I had varying size pimples, but rather more consistent small white head type bumps, which unfortunately is completely normal and shows the product is doing its job. Although this really sucked with my skin being my biggest insecurity, I pushed through and tried to be as positive as possible. In addition to breaking out, the texture of my skin also began to change a lot, but this is where my experience really differs from a lot of other reviewers. So instead of the typical super drying effect most people experience, my skin got a lot oiler. This was something I was actually something I was pleasantly surprised with though because my skin texture has always been super dry and never smooth (which has always annoyed me when applying makeup). I went through this consistent breaking out phase for about 6-8 weeks, which some days looking a little better than others. Although, yes, this is a lot time and I know this purge phase differs with everyone, I am now happier with my skin than I've ever been. I just began my 9th week on the cream and my skin is literally flawless. Not only am I not breaking out at all, but my skin texture is what I'm almost even more excited about. It feels like I have a completely brand new layer of baby soft skin (which basically is what the product does), which I literally haven't experience since pre-puberty. I am seriously in love and couldn't recommend this product more. So with all of this being said and taking into consideration that everyone has a different experience, I promise the purge phase is so so worth it, so stick it out! As I mentioned earlier, I began Retin-A this summer, which I am really happy I did since I didn't have any big plans going on that overlapped with my purging phase. Being as insecure about my skin as I am, having a time period where I didn't have many social obligations/ school going on made this time a lot less hard to get through. I know not everyone's schedule allows for something like this, but if you do I guess that would be my only recommendation for starting this product. I hope my review will help some people struggling with this phase now because I know other people's reviews really helped me power through it. You got this and I promise the end results will make the weeks of bad skin beyond worth it!

Retino-A 0.025% Tretinoin Cream for acne scars is best medication, i use it from last 3 years

This is the best thing that has ever happened to my skin. To avoid the purging stage, you really have to be patient and start slow along with following the instructions that come with the product. I started with 0.5% and I applied it three times a week, and then every other night until I could apply it every night. Just see how your skin reacts the day after you used retin-a. If it's red, itchy, and aggravated then wait until it's back to it's normal state. Once your skin is free from any kind of discomfort, then apply it again. This is what I did and my skin got accustomed to it without being irritated anymore and I am on my fifth month. Some extra tips: Use a very gentle cleanser that doesn't really dry out your skin. I use spectro cleanser as it doesn't have any sulfates or fragrances. Wait 20 minutes then apply retin-a, let it dry, and wait 20 minutes again before putting on moisturizer. Again, use something that's really gentle and extremly hydrating like the first aid beauty ultra repair cream or the cerave moisturizing cream. Hope this helps!

The best thing I ever did was go to the Dr and get prescribed tretinoin!! Don't spend money on bogus cleansers and acne treatments that don't work, go straight to your Dr or dermatologist and get help!! This stuff has almost completely cleared me up, I'm 24 years old and had hundreds of blackheads and closed comedones and as a result was constantly getting inflamed pimples. I was put on tretinoin 0.05% (Stieva-A brand, not retin-a) and within 3 months I could see a huge improvement. The only thing is that my purging stage on this treatment was terrible, I broke out so badly. I did also peel quite a bit but with a good moisturiser it wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting. In the end I would do it all again if I had to. I've been using it for 4 months now and am about to go up a dose to the 0.1% just because I can. Get this stuff asap, you won't regret it!!

I started retinA the first time round in October last year, it cleared me up completely by December/January and by feb most my hyperpigmenation was gone!! I was so confident and happy with my clear skin... STUPIDLY after I finished that first tube, my skin was so good i just assumed i didn't need to carry on with the retinA.. BIG MISTAKE. About 6 weeks ago I noticed my skin was breaking out bad... covered in tiny white bumps all over my cheeks, and some even got badly inflamed and larger. So I went to doctors and got back on my original retinaA. I started this 4 weeks ago, first week did nothing just peeled and was looking like a tomato.. week 2-4 bad initial break out- cheeks were covered in medium sized pimples :( guessing this was and is the initial purging stage. But I'm so determined to stick it through as I know this worked before, my advice to anyone is don't pick spots, stick with it even when u feel super depressed and low, I had 2/3 weeks of this :(,In the long run it will be worth it. Defiantly recommend!!! Btw I had tried so many products before this and this is the only one thats ever helped my skin. Good luck my angels x

This stuff really did help reduce the size and overall redness of my spots. With that being said, cystic acne is not really affected by this stuff, and made my cystic spots worse. I only used this to spot treat. I would continue usage but I started Accutane and it is too strong for my currently thin skin. I use 0.05% or 0.10%.

My acne was so bad and this stuff healed it after 6 weeks. No bull, like this stuff is amazing and reliable, just have to be patient.

After years of being on various topicals and antibiotics, I've finally found the right combo of medications for my acne. I have cystic & nodular acne, but it has always just been a couple of active cysts at a time. My acne is pretty much limited to just my t-zone, which is super oily. The rest of my face is normal/dry skin. I currently use Retin-A at night, Finacea in the morning, and wash my face with over-the-counter salicylic acid face wash. I've been on this combo for about a year and a half and my face is 90-95% clear. Any pimples I do get these days go away quickly. They never turns into those massive cystic pimples I used to get. I am in my early 30s and am really glad that Retin-A helps prevent wrinkles. I don't have to worry about adding any other products to my routine. With Retin-A, less is more. Too much product will cause dryness, redness, and peeling. I (gently) use a rotating facial brush every morning to help slough off some of the flakiness. I also use a moisturizer every morning before applying makeup.