Tretinoin

I had an initial breakout with this that lasted a few months, it was awful. Afterwards my acne returned to how it was before as if I wasn't using anything on my skin at all. My skin was really soft to the touch after the initial breakout, the old marks I had were faded a bit and overall my skin was less oily... BUT I was still breaking out regularly. My skin was also really tender, it always felt like I had a really hard scrub and I barely had skin left. I burned very quickly the one time I spent some time in the sun with no sunscreen. I kept using it because my doctor told me it would take some time to kick in but it didn't after almost a year my acne was just as severe as it was before I started, I was just less oily. The fact that it faded marks didn't matter in the end because I had so many new ones that formed while I was using it. I only recommend because I've seen it work on someone with mild acne, so maybe it's good if the acne is mild.

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January 16, 2013

Pros:

Smoother skin
Fades scars
Bye bye black heads
Fades lines

Cons:

Flaky skin

I'm on 8 weeks, I wrote a review in December. I'm so ecstatic to say I just about have CLEAR skin! My confidence is up, I had 3 dates last weekend, I'm more upbeat to start my day! Some things that worked for me. I mix 1 pea drop of retin a with 3 pumps of cerave pm face lotion every night after letting my skin relax from washing (good old ponds cold cream, massage onto dry skin for a min and then gently remove with warm water And wash cloth). When applying the retin a/lotion mix I work from my neck up and keep it away from mouth, corners of nose, and eyes/eyebrows. Once every day in the am I will use my clarisonic to help lift away dead skin. I do the believe this treatment has lifted all the clogged pores and dead skin and now I'm just in the process of watching my scars disappear. Good luck everyone, don't give up on retin a and be VERY gentle to your skin! I also began using smashbox BB cream which my healing skin loves!

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Anonymous

October 22, 2012

Pros:

Pimples gone
Improved skin texture
Confidence

Cons:

Patience is required
The first 6-7 weeks were extremely difficult, i was breaking out like crazy and was about to consider accutane.

It WILL get better, it took about three months to see great improvement. Ive had acne for 6 years so i still have red marks but no more breakouts :-D

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ivs504

September 26, 2012

Pros:

Clears up skin
Skin looks smooth
Does wonders for my skin

Cons:

LONG initial break out
Increased oiliness
Cystic acne
Dries out skin
Long process
Requires patience

I've always had clear skin, but this past summer, my acne started flaring up really bad. It was terrible and I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror. People also said hurtful comments about my skin. I've literally tried everything on my skin, but nothing would consistently keep my acne at bay. So I decided to give tretinoin a try. I started using tretinoin cream 0.05% about two months ago and I'm currently on my 8th week. -In the mornings: I wash my face with Clean & Clear Advantage 3-in-1 Exfoliating Cleanser and apply Cetaphil Dermacontrol Oil Control Moisturizer SPF 30. -At night: I wash my face with Cetaphil DermaControl Oil Control Foam Wash. Then I wait 20-30 min, and take the same moisturizer and mix it with a pea sized amount of tretinoin cream, then apply it to my face. During the first couple of weeks, EVERYTHING GOT WORSE. I developed multiple cysts on my face daily. One time, I counted up to 25 pimples on my face. My acne went from moderate to severe. My face would get flaky and peel, no matter how much moisturizer I applied. Somehow, at the end of the day, my face was super oily, and I always had like at least 3 pimples that turned into whiteheads. It was painful to wash my face and I could no longer make eye contact with people because I was so insecure about my skin. I had to cake on my makeup every morning because I didn't want anyone to see my acne.This took an even bigger toll on my self esteem. But I kept telling myself that it would get better and everything will pay off, and it has..kind of so far. The major breakouts stopped around week 5-6 for me. From then on, all my pimples started to flatten out and it got less and less painful to wash my face. I am currently on week 8, and I have about 3 small pimples and the rest are scars. The scars are fading slowly, but the texture of my skin is generally really smooth. I am really excited for the final results!!! I can't wait to have clear skin again! The wait will be worth

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Tay

August 20, 2012

Pros:

-makes skin smoother

Cons:

-HORRIBLE initial breakout
-drying
-sunburn easily
-face constantly red

I really tried to have high hopes for this product. After reading all these reviews, I was skeptic to use it. I decided to try it...it was the WORST decision i have ever made in my ENTIRE life. Seriously. I used it for 3 months and just stopped it last week because I couldn't handle the emotional and physical pain. It made me breakout, and the breakout never stoppped. For three months straight. I am left with acne in areas I never had before and deep purple marks all over my cheeks and chin. Every time I look in the mirror I want to cry. I'm trying the holistic approach now, and it's doinf much more then retin a micro has done in the past wasted months of my life. I don't know if I'll ever be able to heal mentally or physically from this. On some people this product might work, but for me and some others, it doesn't. Acne should be treated from the inside, not the outside. These chemicals are way too harsh. I wish i could reverse time :(

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Jane

July 24, 2012

Pros:

Clears up MY FACE COMPLETELY
Made my skin smooth
Smaller pores

Cons:

Takes time
patience required

I've been using Retin a for about 9-10 months now. For the first to 4 months, your skin will be a mess, flaking everywhere, redness and everything. But if you're patient enough till you get to 6 months, your skin will be wonderful. No acne, smaller pores, and smooth skin. Trust me, it works, so just keep using it, you must not give up. Up until i discover retin-a, I've gone to many doctors and try many cosmetics. But it doesn't give much result and nothing work like retin-a. Now I use many home remedies with retin-a. After shower (sometimes i use baking soda), i just put fresh aloe vera gel until it dries, and i wash it with water, then i put lemon juice as a toner, then use moisturizer and sunblock (i use clinique). At night, after shower i use the same routine with aloe vera and lemon juice, then i use retin-a every other night, the night i don't put retin-a, i just use serum and night cream overall i think this is the best treatment that i ever used, and people should try it instead of those expensive treatment and cosmetics

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Gio

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.

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me1241lol

January 2, 2012

Pros:

Clears a little acne
Red marks fade slightly

Cons:

In the long term, didn't do much
Peeling

It is good for a while, spots get less big and red. However, it did sting a little and it hasn't really helped my acne.

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MissKylieTomato

September 4, 2011

Pros:

Soaks up oil
Depletes/erases whiteheads
Tightens skin
Smooth!

Cons:

Takes a long time!

I've been using this with for atleast 3 years, along with another topical (duac, etc). This is the only topical, along with Aczone (my current regimen) that I actually like putting on! Both are sheer and don't smell like bleach or other blahh stenches! But seriously, it's taken me a bit less than three years on this to find other products that accentuate it (currently Aczone, baking soda, Clean & Clear Oil-Free Facial Wash, and Doxycycline are doing the trick!) but of course, if you don't like being on an oral medication, I'd still recommend this because I swear it fights acne off- while you sleep, especially!

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Anonymous

July 24, 2011

I went to my doctor a few months ago and she offered to write me a prescription for my mild acne. I'm prone to acne on my back and a little on my face, so I thought it couldn't hurt to try something. I couldn't have been more wrong!!! She told me that after 10 weeks I should start to see some improvement. I went from mild acne to severe in a matter of weeks. My skin had never been worse! It was red, peeling, scabby, and a mess of bumps. I also had the problem like so many have that pimples popped up where I never put the medicine. I had only ever had a pimple on my chest maybe 5 times ever, and all of a sudden it was a red, blistered mess. Every time I scratched my back I would bleed and my face hurt just to move it. It got to the point where it was just better not to wear makeup because it just made my face look like it was flaking off. I seriously looked like one of those tacky Halloween masks on. It's been a few months and my skin still isn't back to normal. My face is scarred and still doesn't look great, but I can now at least cover it up a bit with some make up. My skin is more sensitive than I realized. So, if you're skin's really sensitive STAY AWAY FROM RETIN-A

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