Tretinoin

- cleared about 95% of my acne,no more cystic acne, blackheads, very few whiteheads.
-reduced the size of my pores
-slowly but does get rid of scars
-it feels really soft!
-my skin finally looks health!

Cons:

-takes time to work (6 months for me)
-peeling, burning, redness
-makes skin sensitive

So after everything else failed for me (differin, proactive, etc) even the pills my doctor prescribed which gave me lupus and got me extremely sick, this was my last resource! Bottom line is that you have to be extremely patient to use this medication because it does take time to work and makes your face look like hell the first few months, but since I had no other options I decided to be patient and wait and after 6 months of using it Im GLAD I DID!!! It cleared my face for about 95%, the other 5% it didnt work is due to my hormonal acne which I have to deal with once a month but after I started taking fish oil it has controlled it! My skin looks great though! One bad thing about it is that it made my skin super sensitive but if you are like me that everything else has failed and you are patient I recommend sticking to it because in the long run it will make your skin look and feel great =) Good Luck!

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Sophie H.19

June 17, 2011

Pros:

Clears away breakouts (with time)
Lightens scars
Cleared about 80% percent of my acne

Cons:

Flaking
Peeling
Redness
Loses its effectiveness after about a month

So I went to the dermatologist about 2 months ago, and he prescribed me a combination of antibiotics and Retin-A Micro. After the first week of treatment, my skin started to flake and peel especially around my mouth, nose, chin, and the area in between my eyebrows. No big deal, but after peeling, the area would turn bright red and wouldn't subside until about a week later. Now the second week, I definitely saw an improvement in my acne, the large bumps on my face got smaller and the scars from previous breakouts lightened slightly. As the third week came around, my face was 80% clear, primarily made up of scars and a minor breakout on my right cheek. Now the fourth week was disappointing, because it appeared that it lost it's effectiveness and I started breakout out badly on my chin, forehead, and cheeks. Would I recommend this product? For people with light or moderate acne, yes. For people with severe acne, no.

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j.ree.p.

June 15, 2011

Pros:

I've seen nothing but improvement.
No initial breakout
Months-old red spots have faded remarkably in 2.5 weeks.

Cons:

Spendy

The price is seriously the only con I could come up with. I'm 21 and have only had acne for the last year and a half. Each doctor has told me that it's the climate that I moved to that has caused my skin to freak out. I was in dry Central Oregon all my life, now I live in Portland. I feel like I've tried everything. Proactiv, glycolic peels, microdermabrasion, antibiotics, birth control, all with no luck. It's only been 2.5 weeks that I've been using tretinoin, but I have had no adverse reaction to the cream .025% I credit that to having taken two months of doxycycline immediately prior to starting. I stopped the doxy because the bloating was out of control :/ Anyhow, I wish I could be on both tretinoin and doxy to speed the results, but just the tretinoin alone has already faded my very, very red marks, and with the great foundation I use, they are virtually invisible. My texture is improving and I have had no peeling, no redness, no dryness, no discomfort. None. I've read some awful things about peoples reactions to this but my results have been stellar so far.

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Carly

June 14, 2011

Pros:

Told it will help clear and prevent future break outs.
Killer on cystic acne.
Said to help with scaring, I think I believe this, maybe a little.
I wear it only at night before bed

Cons:

Dryness around affected area
Redness
Scabbing over healing areas
The scabbing makes me want to pick at it

I had an Implanon which is a form of birth control and had it in about 1.5 or a little longer and over that time I got mild break outs around the back of my jawline which over time turned into sever cystic acne along my jawline and on my neck and then moved into the left side of my face, very painful. I also always had little white ones that were never white heads but were under the surface and would pop easily they were everywhere..... Once taken out was put on Yaz and given Retin-A which I used religiously and then also incorporated emu oil into that equation every other night to help with the healing process. I still have a lot of scaring but the cystic acne is gone and I still get a few of those other ones around my mouth but really very unnoticeable. I like this stuff because it tingles so I feel like its killing the acne lol, as far as scaring goes I don't reallly notice a difference as to that when I use the emu oil which I always wake up and my face is smooth and the redness is significantly reduced in my face. I will stick with this as well as with the emu oil

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jessica

June 14, 2011

Pros:

-promotes skin cell turnover and healthy cell development
-is the ONLY product proven in clinical trials to reduce fine lines and wrinkles
-highly effective in "fixing" acne
-helps speed up the healing process

Cons:

-makes skin super sensitive
-will cause redness and peeling on most people
-horrible initial breakout
-not a final solution; you probably will always have to use a low-dosage on and off if you want your skin to stay clear forever

so....i waited a super long time to post my review so i could be sure i saw the full cycle of effects...and trust me....some parts of the process were not pretty. it started out with the worst IBO of my life. I had thought my acne was bad before, but in the initial break out, which happened about 2 weeks in and lasted about 5 weeks, i didn't even want to leave my room. i didn't want my family to see me, let alone anyone else. makeup didn't help, because my red, peely skin would just flake and make the makeup look even worse. my social life suffered, my friends got pissed at me, guys thought i wasn't interested and moved on, etc. through this time, the only thing that kept me sane and willing to continue the treatment was coming on this website, and reading the multitude of reviews where others said they went through the same thing and came out of it after about 8 or 9 weeks. well the same thing happened for me. week 10 starts tomorrow and as of the past few days, my skin is completely clear with no active pimples. the only thing i have to deal with now is some residual superficial scarring and some hyperpigmentation, but i'm simultaneously using the Obagi NuDerm system, which has worked well for me in the past. i'm not worried about the scars as they are already starting to fade and heal; and besides, after going through such a horrible breakout, i feel like almost nothing can faze me now. please take my word and if you are using this treatment, don't give up until at least after week 12 or until the tube is gone--even the packaging states it may take up to 12-15 weeks for it to work. dermatologists are not retarded--there's a reason why they prescribe this medicine; it works! you just have to be patient and let it do it's job and use as directed. it will be very unpleasant for a while, but afterwards, your skin will be fresher than before! *ladies, if you need a good non-comedogenic makeup in

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devan from WY

June 13, 2011

Pros:

-In the long run, got rid of 50% of my most severe pimples.

Cons:

-Side effects
-Burning
-Made me even more sensitive to the sun
-Redness
-Peeling
-Expensive

This medication took a long time to make any positive on my skin. I've been useing it for 10 months and only got good results after 6 months. The side effects were horrible, and painful (both physicaly and emotionaly). After almost a year of treatment I still have acne. People would ask me if I had a sunburn, then give me advice on sunburns AND acne.

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alm

June 13, 2011

Pros:

prevented breakouts
cleared zits fast
lightened scars
made face smooth and glowing

Cons:

redness
flaking

This product has really worked great for me. I was SO nervous about the initial breakout but it actually never happened. The medicine started working instantly and cleared my existing zits. I had scars from a previous breakout and although they are still there, I've only been using the product 3.5 weeks, they are fading more and more each day. I started using less than a pea-size every other night because I was scared of the IB. Then I moved onto a pea size each night (30 mins after washing) and now my face can handle a bit more than that each night. I wake up with great skin but after washing and applying lotion it gets a little irritated and has a red tinge. Nothing that makeup won't cover. Also sometimes my skin will be flakey but I just wash with a facecloth to exfoliate and apply spf face lotion right after. Everyone has seen an improvement in my skin and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon! I hope this helps!

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HEALANATOR

June 12, 2011

Pros:

cleared skin 100%
Scars disappeared
Smoother, supple skin

Cons:

ABSOLUTELY NONE

It worked for me 100%. I Used retrieve cream (tretinoin) and noticed a remarkable change in my skin within 3 months. I suffered with severe adult acne on my face for over 10 years. I am now 30 years old and enjoying my skin for the 1st time in 10 years! People have even commented on my skin. Smoother, clearer, and young looking. I have not had a pimple for months. I use the cream every night without fail. had absolutely no negative side effects and I just cant believe how well this cream works without any pain/side effects. I am SO SO SO HAPPY! I hope you have as much luck as me with this!!!! I do want to have children soon though so am afraid what will happen when i stop using the cream!!

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maew

June 11, 2011

Pros:

-clears acne
-makes skin feel soft
-makes skin look younger

Cons:

-some people have adverse reactions
-makes skin sensitive to sunlight

EXCELLENT! I noticed results within a month. It never dried out my skin because i have really oily skin, and my skin stayed really oily but my acne cleared up pretty fast anyways. I would still get cysts but instead of lasting for a month or longer it cleared up in a few days, less than a week. The cysts are hormonal, I am using Spironolactone to clear them and together with retin A my skin is 99% clear. If your skin can tolerate retin A definitely try it!

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wendy

June 3, 2011

Pros:

helped with scaring
slowed down acne
skin tone more even

Cons:

dries skin out, turns skin red

started getting my skin under control with Bp(acne free sport, the other products from the acne free line didnt work but this one is amazing!!!) started off very slow with the retin-a using it only once a week for a month and then slowly adding it in more(didnt get the HUGE breakout that everyone else has talked about) if my skin was too dry i skipped that day or a few days until my skin was more normal. i also started out with the lowest dose. i am still on the lowest dose(7 months so far and still one the first tube) and do it at night as often as i can without wreaking my skin, also usually after i use retin-a the next night i use glycolic acid on my face( some derm doctor on you tube said to do it lol) I use one from makeup artists choice "gly luronic serum" seems to work well with it. and am loving the results. doing it this way is very slow and results may take longer but my skin is very sensitive and i think if i used it too often it wouldn't help me stay clear but the opposite. Honestly i think it all balance with helping your skin get clear. if you skin gets to dry you'll break out if its too oily u'll break out so i think just listening to your skin and watching it closely is really the key(whether your using this product or anything else)....too much of anything is often times a bad things...so dont just slap anything on your face just because your doctor told you that you had to use it 4 days a week or the package said so...it is okay to give your skin a break(just wash it and tone it)(aka think of cancer or drinking) use aloe vera to moisturize and avoid the sun as much as possible

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