I (a ginger, pale skinned Irish man) have found both Tretinoin and Isotretinoin excellent at both reducing breakouts and smoothing over the surface of my skin. Being very pale I always found that red marks stood out on me and these drugs have been excellent at improving the appearance of these marks. I found both of these drugs less aggressive on my skin than other retinoids that I've tried (Adapalene) - Tretinoin was less corrosive than Isotretinoin but neither caused any problem that wasn't manageable. I highly recommend these to anybody who is wasting their time with tetracyclines.

i just wanted to post something here at the moment in order to track my progress and help others just in case it helps. I have had acne since I was about 14, and it's always been mild. I used differin when I was a teenager, however I do feel like it didn't clear my acne completely but rather made me dependant on it. I have tried almost everything, from becoming vegetarian to every kind of cream etc. I get facials every month so my acne was never out of control, but it was getting tiresome and didn't seem like a long term solution. My mom then said something to me, my brother's acne had gone away after using retin-a. So when i was on vacation in vietnam i picked some up OTC at the pharmacy. $10. Week 1 - I bought my locacid cream which is 0.05% Started using it with paula's choice salicylic acid 2% toner. Morning toner, Night cream. I started purging out this small white heads, so i got a facial and and had A LOT of them taken out rather painlessly. I have maybe like 3 normal pimples on my face. Week 2 - I have started to get dry skin. I use a sheet mask every other day now to boost the water content in skin. Have noticed that the mask helps to bring the heads to the surface, and yes, I do pop them. I do notice it helps the pimple heal faster, but yes, there will be a mark. If I don't pop the pimple it does not seem to go away. My skin at this point in time is still reasonably clear maybe, 2-3 pimples. Key take away - Use sheet masks every other day. Will help comedones come out. Week 3 - My skin is now starting to get a little bit more dry than tolerable. If i open my mouth wide the sides are cracking a bit. Tried to let my skin peel to get the full effect, but it seems like the retin-a works better with moisturised skin. I am starting to get this weird under the skin pimples, some come out some do not. If you moisturise, they're more like to come out. My skin looks blotchy and raw. Alot of the pimples that are coming out, are coming out from the old acne pigmentation, but as soon as they're out, the pigmentation seems to lighten and peel off. I'm assuming this means that theres stuff inside of the hyper-pigmentation that is getting pushed out. Is this the purge? The beginning of the week and brutal. Looked terrible. But, on the bright side, everything seems to be flattening out at the end of this week. I have been getting some pimples on my chin which, but very small ones here and there. Still tolerable.I am starting to moisturise my skin daily, and my skin is reacting well to serums, but not coconut oil. Will try almond oil with vitamin e next week. Skin is starting to look better, but I'm not 100% sure the purging is done. Key take aways this week - DO exfoiliate, it will help get rid of the small bumps and loosen plugs. I use the salicylic 1% pads in the morning before moisturising with argan oil. That's all for now, going away to india for a yoga retreat for 3 weeks. Will update on week 7. Fingers crossed!

I wish I did my research before putting it on my face! My derm prescribed me this and didn't really tell me much about it other than to use sunscreen. I have never had acne this bad before, I'm eating all the right things... I cut out everything like (dairy, meat, gluten, anything you can think of that causes acne) all I eat is vegetables and fruits with salads and salmon w beans. Still wonder why I get really bad cysts, and pimples in places I never had before such as my neck and forehead. My skin is so sensitive to the sun now! And it's super red. With summer around the corner I decided to stop using it. Hope this diet calms my active acne. Good luck to those who are using this. Not for me.

I got an IUD a year ago, and my skin went from completely clear to horrible in a matter of 6 months. The acne I had was hormonal and cystic, and deep beneath my skin. I started Tretinoin 0.025% paired with Spironolactone about two months ago. The first month was HORRIBLE. I felt like things were getting worse instead of better, my skin was so dry and itchy, and I was basically molting every morning, makeup and moisturizer burned to put on (Plain old Cetaphil face/body moisturizer did wonders to help this - it's super gentle but also very rich moisture that is long lasting). During my period, things got to the point where my skin hurt to touch. At a month and a half though, I turned a corner. Things began to calm down, my skin was less dried out, I didn't break out on my period. At two months in, my skin is completely clear. No bumps, nothing beneath the surface, no tiny bumps. I actually think it's clearer than it was before I got my IUD. Just when I thought I couldn't take another day of burning, bumpy skin, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Keep going!

I had suffered from comedones since I was about 16, and it just kept getting worse; nothing could fix it. My derm prescribed tretinion as a topical, and she warned me about the side effects (which all came true). At first, it's really bad. Not only will your skin be itching you constantly (because it's 'shedding', if you have blackheads/whiteheads like me they will probably turn into pimples and you HAVE TO WAIT FOR THEM TO ALL POP. That horrible phase lasted me about 3-4 months. But it's completely worth it. Looking back, I'm so grateful I didn't stop it (even though it got really realllyyy bad) because I finally got rid of something that was really bothering me. Just hang in there, it will get better and you'll be so happy you didnt stop midway

I tried Epiduo Forte gel and it left lot of hyperpigmentation and devloped a cystic acne from it. My derm prescribed tretinoin and it works wonders with scarring and getting rid of acne. The biggest change i made in my skin care routine was NOT PUTTING anything besides tretinoin, moisturizer and sunscreen (it is difficult to find one that wont break you out). I know from desperation we tend to buy cleansers, face wash and all those kind of anti-acne products, but tretinoin is already strong so do not put anything harsh on your skin otherwise acne will just worsen from skin irritation (happened to me with epiduo). How to start? At the beggining i put tretinoin during the night for only 10-15 min, next day 30 min, then 1 hour and after that i started putting it maybe three times a week until i built up to every night, the reason why your skin may react bad to it, it`s because you dont let your skin get used to the product. IMPORTANT: I only wash my face with water (as recommended by my derm) and if i am wearing makeup or sunscreen i just put it off with Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Water as it is superrr gentle to the skin and then wash with water to put away more impurities. So in the first place you should try to use only tretinoin and whatever helps your skin recover from the strong effect of the medication. If your skin ever feels tight after a product, skip it! The moisture of your skin is the most important thing when in anti acne regimen.

I used generic tret for about a year and a half, did 3 months on .025%, 9 months on .05% and 4 months on .1%. Initially it really cleared me up, not 100% but I was comfortable leaving the house without makeup for the first time in nearly 10 years. However, after my last period all my acne came back, even using the ,1% every night. I haven't had my levels tested yet but I have a strong suspicion that I have a hormonal imbalance causing my acne that topical treatments are only going to be marginally useful in fighting.

I've been using Tretinoin .025 for about 3-4 months now. I haven't been consistently using it every night. Maybe 3 nights a week and other nights as a spot treatment. But I must say, this cream is a little wonder cream isn't it. Although I still get pimples on my face, this cream helps them dissolve into nothing after 1 or 2 days and nothing is left behind. The size of my pimples have been substantially smaller. And my scarring has cleared up a lot. Over all my complexion just looks a whole lots clearer and smoother. The reason I'm only giving this 3 stars is because is doesn't actually stop acne from coming - so far. So let's see what happens. I'll still continue to use it. Would anybody recommend I go to .05? Is that stronger? Peace and love to all my beautiful little acne angels xxxxxx

I do not usually take the time to write reviews but I felt compelled to as I heavily relied on reviews to make a decision for my skin. I am 27 and although not constant, I would frequently get deep, very swollen, under the skin blemishes that would result in weeks of redness/marks and they would often never come to the surface. Id say this has been going on for about 7 years. I have tried everything but nothing has made this problem better. I, like many of you was worried about the horrible "purge" on tretinoin however, I am in my 3rd week and My skin is more beautiful than ever. I cant say I am even experiencing any dryness or redness. (I am using CeraVe Am moisturizer with sunscreen) I am very happy with the results so far. I will add that I began taking generic Yasmin for birth control at the same time. My doctor said it has an aldactone derivative so, one may experience spiro benefits without having to take spiro alone. I hope this helps someone, I know having bad skin can send you into a very low place. There is hope. :)

This works but its a spot treatment, doesn't get the source of the acne