I started using Tretinoin 0.01% gel 16 days ago (i know not long), but my active pimples on my cheeks are so smooth now! There is still scarring/discoloration, but i am very impressed. I read a lot of reviews saying that your skin will purge, but mine has done nothing but improve everyday. Makeup applies so much smoother and evenly now! I am obsessed and pray that this continues to clear up my face. I would recommend to anyone! PS: I was putting rubbing alcohol on my face as a spot treatment prior to using this prescription, that may be why i didn't have the initial "purge". Also, I read that the gel is better for acne because the cream may clog pores (just FYI).

This review for people who have really sensitive skin. I used to have this product on my entire face for almost year and it not only cleared my ance, it repaired the damages left by the ance. However, one day my dermatologist told me that Stevia A stopped the production of the cream and i was literally out of it. Next, my ance started breaking again. I was so desperate, i went for isolaz thinking that it will solve everything. It did help my skin kickstart the purging phase. Here's the nightmare, i did let my skin rest after isolaz. I jumped right right straight back to using tretinoin, AHA and differin. When i felt the dryness, i didn't care, i literally continued. Please don't do any of what i did. If you do any laser, chemical peel or any treatment, let your skin rest for that day and then resume back the pimple cream and glycolic acid the following day. The reason i say this is because by the time i couldn't stand the dryness and wanted my skin to go back to normal, it was too late. My skin was already so so dry. I literally took almost a year to get my skin back to normal. In fact, my dermatologist told me that it is harder to treat dry skin with ance and it is true. I went through this myself and i know it's awful. Back to Retin A, since it is back in production with Stevia A, i am using it now. My routine now: Dalacin lotion 0.1% (whole face) (morning and night) Differin 0.1% (morning) (whole face) Tretinoin 0.05% (nightly) (whole face) Retin A 0.1% (nightly) (over the bumpy areas) So one year later, i have decided to go back for isolaz. I have since gone for 2 sessions of isolaz and will be going for my 3rd session in 2 weeks time. It has been two weeks from the time i started my first isolaz and topical treatment as stated above. My skin have jump from feeling the many crazy bumps under my skin to whiteheads all over my skin and now to the disappearance of whiteheads day after day. I must say the purging came really fast with the isolaz. It was really scary but i told to just hang in there. The earlier the purging ends, the earlier my skin can start healing. Btw, i highly recommend you to try out isolaz if you want to speed up the purging process. It works far better than a chemical peel since this is for active ance. Also, my dermatologist said that sebum glands will slow down after the 4th session. I will update you guys on my progress after my next isolaz. Week 3 My dermatologist added an oral antibiotics and topical antibiotics to help reduce the severity of purging. I definitely do see a lot of the whiteheads and papules going away. However, new ones are still surfacing from the bumps under my skin Week 4 I can now confidently use retin a on the sides of my cheeks and top of my entire forehead without feeling dryness. I guess my skin has gotten used to it. On the side note, i noticed that more of the under skin bumps are appearing to the surface as well. Nothing huge or anything scary. Also, i am now on topical and oral antibiotics. That is certainly helping as well. Week 5 I went for my 3rd isolaz session. This time round, i saw a significant reduction in my ance. My skin felt smoother and glowly. There lesser bumps and pimples after the isolaz session. My advice to all of you out there if you are intending to go for isolaz. Please make sure that your isolaz sessions apart are no longer than 2 weeks. Also, make sure you go for at least 4 sessions. That way you will reap the maximum effect of the isolaz treatment. If not you will just be wasting your money. Two weeks from now is my 4th isolaz session, i will update you guys then. Week 6 The under skin bumps all appeared as whiteheads. They are all over my chin, side of my cheeks and forehead. This all started to happen when i used retin a over my entire face. Therefore, i think the purging from the cream has just started for me. On the side note, i am no longer feeling any form of dryness on my skin. Week 7 I just got my 4th isolaz treatment. This time it took away all the under skin bumps with it. All i am left with is whiteheads. My dermatologist told me that enthromycin is gonna take care of that. I have noticed that my skin feels a lot less cluttered. I am have whiteheads here and there of my face. Overall, my skin has definitely made a lot of progress since my 1st isolaz. To everyone out there struggling with acne, try to hang in there. Moreover, know that since you started retin a, you are already making progress day by day. Soon enough, you will be at the finishing line. In the meanwhile, just try and focus on something else. Your friends ain't gonna abandon just because you have acne. True friends will embrace you. week 8 All the whiteheads have somehow subsided overnight. They were still really huge the night before. I am just left with a couple of pimples. When i touched my face this morning, the bumps were seriously almost all gone. I am now really sure that the creams are definitely taking effect. 3 days from now will be my next isolaz session. I believe that is going to take care of the remaining acne.

Acne sucks we all know that, you feel ashamed of yourself, you can't look at people's eyes and ugh it's hard, I know. This product WILL cure you. In two weeks, three, or even months, but it will trust me. It just depends on your skin. Well my skin is 40% cured in the last two days in the FIRST WEEK! the first five days my face peeled alot, it was red i mean, too red. but it's not as bad as it sounds, i handled it fine, and you will too! yes, i broke out, but so what? we always break out, but this time you will break out for a reason, to clear your skin, consider it as process, believe me i was too afraid to use it, but i'm so gad i did! just take it easy and go for it! PLEASE! IT WILL WORK!

I've only done one round of Retin A. Fortunately I did it when the only thing I had to do was stay home and hide for a week and a half. Yes, you will peel like you have never peeled before. If you're someone who doesn't have the luxury of getting to stay home and hide, I would recommend something else. BUT, I have also found that If i put a tiny bit in with my nightly moisturizer it works pretty well in maintaining clear skin once the "uglies" are over. If you really want clear skin, just bite the bullet for a week or two, and make sure you DON'T OVERDO IT. It's worth it in the end.

I've battled with non-inflammatory acne since I was about 21 (am now 25). I have always had oily skin and always get hormonal spots around my chin but various forms of hormone and non-hormone contraceptions disrupted my skin even further, giving me more and more blocked pores and some aggressive cystic acne. Clean and clear, clearasil, neutrogena - nothing was working so I decided to get retin a a try. I heard it was great for anti ageing purposes as well. I followed all of the instructions and waited at least fifteen minutes after washing my face before app,ting a pea sized amount gently to met face. I avoided any face washes containing salycilic acid or peroxide. I started off using it three nights a week and then started using it every other night and then to every night over a period of about two months. I didn't really notice any improvement to my acne at all. The skin by the sides of my mouth became immediately flaky and dry and always looked quite sore so I avoided this area and then I noticed the overal flaky stage. At no point did my spots disappear or even improve - certainly not any faster than they would have just if I had just left them. My skin was always slightly red looking and became so sensitive to pretty much everything: pillowcases, mild face creams, aqueous cream and even cetaphil. I lowered the dosage back down to three times a week but it still didn't do anything other than make my face sore. I stopped using the retin a about five months ago and now my face still reacts to EVERYTHING. The products that I used before trying retin a no longer work at all, most of them feel too harsh and abrasive. I have developed MORE blocked pores and MORE cystic acne, this time not just on my chin but also on my forehead. My acne is worse than it has ever been. Whilst retin a May not be the cause, it certainly did not help me at all. This is just my personal experience with retin a, I have heard that many people absolutely swear by it. I did some research before using it and there are hundreds of YouTube videos singing its praises so it seems that I a, unfortunately one of the few that it really just didn't agree with!!

I really wish I would have never gone to the dermatologist office. In all honesty my acne was not even that bad. I feel like it became severe once I started using Atralin, the brand I was prescribed. I trusted my derm, and I asked her if I would break out while using this. She told me no.. Wrong. I understand that this takes 3 months to see results, but I am only on month 2 and I do not think I can continue using this. My breakouts haven't been whiteheads, but cysts. So many cysts. A new one every day. I have become so self conscious about them, I refuse to leave my house because I do not want people to see me. Dryness has been an issue as well, which is also making me feel self conscious with everyone pointing it out. But I do not mean to discourage anyone. This product simply did not work for me, that doesn't mean it will be the same for everyone. It could work beautifully for some people, and may not for others. I do hope anyone going through what I am going through makes it with beautiful skin. Best of wishes.

I'm a 20 year old male, and I've had mild acne since I was 13. After going on antibiotics (pill and cream) in high school, my acne got somewhat better. After not being on anything for the past 2 years, in the last several months my acne flared up again, and I was getting surface spots and painful cysts. A dermatologist put me on Doryx, Benzclyn and tretinoin 0.5 cream. I saw initial improvement with the antibiotics as I was getting less inflammation. However, my skin problem has always been more about an inability to shed dead skin Let me tell you, 6 weeks after using tretinoin, my skin has never looked better and it is continually improving. I still am getting an occasional spot or two, but the texture of my skin is so much softer and spots heal much faster. This cream has cured my cystic acne. The antibiotics help with smaller spots, but tretinoin has really, really made the difference. Non-inflamed spots I've always had are going away too. I'm religious about putting this stuff on every night, applying a thin layer to my entire face. I'm looking forward to seeing continual improvement in the next few months. I also did not have any side effects besides the cream making my skin greasy after applying (went away after a week or two). Acne has always affected my self-esteem/ image, and this stuff has really helped me out. I would strongly recommend anyone with acne to use this product - it is awesome!

I can't say that this is the best option for those with persistent inflamed acne, but if you have large pores and severe comedonal acne like I do, this is a good thing to try. I use a .25 solution before bed on my t-zone only and have noticed that my blackheads are easier to wash away and I'm not getting bad whiteheads on the sides of my nose anymore. I also like that it has positive effects on aging skin.

my acne was the worst of the worst. wasnt that bad wen i was a teen but im 23 now and my skin was gettin very teenagerish on me. cystic acne everywhere no matter what i did it wouldnt go away. i was embarassed to even leave my house. was on proactiv but it just made it worse. so i finally went to my dermatoloigist. nd he prescribed me the minocin pills, clindamycin lotion during the day and apply tretinion .0.025% at night. i got such such low dose because my skin was dry and peeling from the proactiv so my doctor thought it would be best if i started with the 0.025%. i guess theres a 1% nd a 5%. idk maybe my next appointment ill go up in concentration because my skin has gotten back to normal. no more peeling or dryness thank god. so no more acne but of course all of the craziness that was on my face left dented scars, scars, hyperpigmentation w.e you want to call it. brown nd red spots. which the tretinoin is slowly but surely suppose to treat also. fingers crossed i just want my face back. will update once the scars go away.

Don't let the idea of the initial breakout scare you. Yes, I had one between 2 weeks up until about 10 weeks, but it wasn't THAT much worse than my acne was prior to the medicine. Around 10 weeks I turned a corner and BAM! Other than red marks, which will fade with time, my skin is looking smooth and lovely. Highly recommended, but only if you have the patience to tough it out through the IB.