Topical Retinoid
Acne.org’s Real World Take
Works about the same as the other two topical retinoids, tazarotene and adapalene, and lands in the middle of those two when it comes to side effects. Should provide partial clearing, but comes with sensitivity when you first start using it. It probably won’t be a total game changer but it should help reduce acne.
Topical Retinoid
How to Get It
Have a dermatologist? Make an appointment to get this medication. Don't have a dermatologist? See The American Academy of Dermatology Physician Database to find one.
Used Tretinoin? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
January 23, 2012
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.
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!! :)
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
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.
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.
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.
January 17, 2012
Pros:
Dry skin
Cons:
Clear skin
Smooth skin
No more breakouts
I have always struggled with acne and recently started breaking out in giant cystic acne. I went to the dermatologist and he put me on Tretinoin cream along with oral Doxycycline. This product has worked great for me. I didn't have a bad inital breakout like others stated that they experienced. I had maybe 1 or 2 new zits within the first few days and then my skin cleared up completely. I haven't had a breakout since. This product does cause your skin the be dry and flaky. I'd recommend scrubbing your face with St. Ives Apricot Scrub each morning to exfoliate and removed the dead skin and then apply a moisturizer...this has really worked for me. All-in-all a great product and I'd recommend it for mild to moderate acne.
January 12, 2012
Pros:
Nothing
Cons:
Need a prescription
Makes you sensitive to the sun
Didn't help my acne
Burns
Retin-A didn't work at all for me. It just burned my skin and made me sensitive to the sun.
January 12, 2012
Pros:
Chemical exfoliant, meaning healthier looking skin after a certain time period
Helps to fade scars
Proven to be one of the only true anti aging products (scientifically, at least)
Boosts collagen production which helps wrinkles, and very faint pit scars.
Cons:
It takes a while for your skin to adjust to it
Peely Skin
Some redness
You HAVE to keep using it for a long time to get any permanent results (at least a year)
Makes you sensitive to the sun
Extremely expensive (Atralin)
I had fairly severe cystic acne that resulted in scarring over my entire face; chin, forehead and cheeks. This drastically improved the appearance of my skin as far as discoloration as well as texture, too.
January 12, 2012
Pros:
Clears Acne
Smooths Skin
Easy to Use
Speads up turn over of surface skin cells
Cons:
Temporary Stinging while getting used to medication
Temporary worsening breakouts as medication works to push acne causing particles to the surface
Personally a wonderful product. After having undergone having my children my skin started to go haywire after I turned 40. Then got crazy after my hysterectomy in March of 2011! Acne on my face, back, chest and top of my arms. Not what you expect or desire at my age. As I'm on other very strong medications for a chronic condition, the dermatologist couldn't put me on Accutane type meds. He did try a bunch of other things until we got to a dead end and this was the only option. At first my skin dried out and I looked like a lizard, I broke out as it pushed the acne causing garbage to the surface and my face stung. I was also advised (and complied) that I should start out slowly. Applying the gel once every couple of days, waiting an hour and then applying a quality mosturizer. Then after a couple of weeks start applying every other day w/mosturizer after the gel has been on my face an hour. I pushed through the discomfort and acne though as I'd already been warned that I would experience these things and that given a few weeks, I would see the benefits. My doc was so right! Now after 4 months of use, my skin looks amazing. It's actually also taken a few years off my looks...yippee! I'd be crazy not to be thrilled about looking at least 7 years younger right? LOL So I'm happy to take that bonus! I suggest following a moderate application timetable for a few weeks before going to applying it every night and hopefully you'll enjoy the same results. I'm just so thankful I finally found some relief. Mine is covered, at least temporarily, by insurance. Normal cost is $300 w/out insurance. My copay is $40. That's a bargain for something that really works.
Pros:
cleared acne on cheeks
cleared small brown marks