Tretinoin

My doctor suggested this to me for me to unclog my pores and lighten post acne hyperpigmentation. At first I was hesitant to use this because of the intial breakout I read about, I was already breaking out 1000x's worse than usual and couldn't deal with more acne. However, much to my suprise I didn't notice much of an I.B. at all. Yes, I still got new pimples, but nothing crazy like I thought. It made my current zits less red, imflammed, and smaller. I was so excited! Make sure you wait 20 minutes after washing your face to apply this. It is a little drying but not too bad. I notice it after a while, but doesn't 'flake off'. My scars are lightening, finally! And overall my skin looks healthier. I've only been using this for about two weeks, so I'm excited for the future!

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Jack Young1

April 3, 2011

Pros:

*clears up acne
*fades hyperpigmentation

Cons:

*initially, very drying (expect flaking)
*takes weeks, if not months, to work

I'm not sure if it was a new med I started or the tremendous stress I was under, but I started breaking out with bad acne last fall. This shocked me since I'm 40. I finally went to the dermatologist in November; he prescribed Tretinoin Cream .025. In the beginning, I had tremendous drying with flaking so I only used it every other night. My skin eventually adjusted. Still, I continued to have bad breakouts which was incredibly discouraging. I read reviews of the product - they all said to be patient. I also read to wash your face and then wait 20 -30 minutes before applying the cream. I started doing that 2 weeks ago. It's made a significant difference. My skin is now clear and has been for over a week. IIn addition to acne I also have melasma (skin discoloration on my cheeks and forehead). I'm starting to see a slight improvement with it but think it will take more time. My skin gets CRAZY shiney from the cream. I've been using blotting papers from Boscia (you can purchase at Sephora for $10) to keep it under control.

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Coconut Pie

March 28, 2011

Pros:

-Exfoliates skin well
-Helps with acne
-Works great to fade old marks
-Is also anti-aging

Cons:

-Can be drying if you have sensative skin or too high a dose

Retinol is amazing. I first went on it a few years ago in combination with a few other things to help my acne and it really helped. It works by exfoliating the skin and getting deep down into pores so they dont get clogeged up. Also, I was going to get lazer skin resurfacing for my acne scars that I had all over my cheeks, but I don't have them anymore!! When my skin is going good and my acne is gone, my skin is beautiful with no scars and I owe it all to retinol. I started with the lowest dose and went up to the middle one, in the cream form, which is actually moisturizing for me. To get rid of acne you might have to go to the highest dose, but after you are just maintaning, stick with a lower dose and you won't get dry, irritated skin. I had a skin scan done, where they look at the under layers of your skin, and the dermatologist told me my skin is in the best condition she had ever seen. Other than the pimples, my skin glows, and I owe it to retinol and sunscreen. I'm not sure how well retinol alone works on acne (I used mine in combination with an antibiotic), but it sure helps a lot, and works wonders on those post acne red marks. Ive had bad acne all my life but you'd never know it after retinol. No scarring.

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BeautyInTheFilth

March 28, 2011

Pros:

*lightens marks from acne
* speeds skin turnover
*gets rid of dead skin to reveal new nice skin

Cons:

*burns if you apply to much (first degree)

i love retin a but had a bad experience when it burned an area in which i applied to much but healed with aloe neoporin and vitamin e :) and i think it works by burning layers of skin. but anyways it has smoothed and lightened my skin & redmarks and i'm very happy love it

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aforapple

March 26, 2011

Pros:

-IT Works .
- very easy to use
- insurance covers it
- it would also do a little for scars. and smooths out complexion.

Cons:

-expensive without insurance but one tube last about 3 months
- works slowly
-dryness
-not 100 percent effective
- Got initial breakout the first month but it subsided with time.

-

It didn't work for cysts that well but i was about 80 to 90 percent clear all year and there were even instances where i was clear all the way. but my graduation is this year so i insisted my doctor to prescribe me antibiotics along with retina to clear me up totally. btw if u dont get cysts then this alone would be the best thing.

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Rachel321

March 24, 2011

Pros:

Shrinks zits overnight
Effective

Cons:

Extremely drying
Makes skin peel
Harsh

Good for spot treatment, but is too harsh to use all over so it doesn't really help to prevent acne from forming, but really useful on trouble zits

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Ethan B.83

March 23, 2011

Pros:

- rapid turnover of skin cells makes new pimples disappear fast and reduces hyperpigmentation

Cons:

- sun sensitivity
- scaly, red patches
- patience needed (which I'm sorely lacking!)
- doesn't help with hormonal breakouts

I've battled with hormonal acne for about 15 years since the birth of my son. For several years I was on Diane 35 which was great for my skin but bad for weight gain, plus I just didn't want to be on the pill forever. For the past eight years since off the pill, I've tried various over-the-counter products, but still battled breakouts before my period and ever-increasing pore size and blackheads. It seemed like every pore on my nose and chin was a blackhead! So, I've been trying retin A .025% for the past seven weeks, being very careful to wait 20 minutes after washing and using the right amount. Initially, I had the expected burning, peeling, redness but was impressed with how quickly new acne dried out and how quickly my old scars were healing, and it seemed my pore size was getting smaller. Now at 7 weeks my skin has seemed to have "gotten used to it" - my acne and pore size are just like before, my skin is just as oily as before (a complete slick by 11 in the morning) plus it's still peeling and dry. So I've been thinking about ditching it, but after reading all these reviews will try to stick it out for a few more months. Just sucks that summer is coming and I can't get a tan...that was usually one sure way to clear up my skin!

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Matt

March 22, 2011

Pros:

-AMAZING, significantly better for severe acne than non-prescription treatments.
-Cleared up all of my cystic acne.

Cons:

-Results take 6-8 weeks
-Should be used sparingly to avoid redness
-Expensive without insurance

This stuff is amazing. I had very severe acne and tried virtually every over-the-counter treatment system out there including Proactiv, Exposed, and Neutrogena. All delivered absolutely no results. I then saw a dermatologist and had only wish I had seen one sooner. After being prescribed Retin-A micro .1% and duac I saw my acne vanish in about 8 weeks. Truly amazing.Be patient...this stuff works. Make sure you take this and other products as prescribed by the dermatologist. My prescription included an extremely small nightly dose (pea-size) using a cleanser before and moisturized after.

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beachbum91

March 22, 2011

Pros:

BEST ACNE PRODUCT EVER!
-CLEARED 99% of acne scars
-FRESH and CLEAN look of skin
-NO odor
-NO more zits

I am a 20 year old female who has dealt with acne for as long as I can remember. I have never found a product that completely cleared not only my skin but my scars too. I have always picked my skin and left very dark nasty scars. Retin-a has cleared practically all of them in just 12 weeks. Yes, it is rough in the begining but it is SOOO worth it to stick out the 12 weeks! B

Cons:

-First few weeks took a toll on my skin, leaving it very dry BUT there is a solution to that people! Its called...USE A FACIAL SCRUB IN THE MORNING AND IT WILL GET RID OF THE DRY SKIN!
-I still get pimples here and there but its because I endure alot of stress in my life so I guess I cant really blame the medicine !

Retin-a has given me a face clear of break outs and scars. Best acne product for serious users only who would stick with it until the end.

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Brandi

March 19, 2011

Pros:

Reducing pores, fading sun spots, and treating and preventing fine lines

Cons:

Does make your skin look worse before it gets better.

My story... I had a couple of sun spots show up right on the apple of my right cheek. I have others, but the location of these really bothered me. So I went to my Derm who performed Erbium Yag laser treatment just to the 3 spots on my cheek on 2/7/11. I'm happy to report the spots are gone! Still pink from the laser though. So anyway... My derm also prescribed .025% Retin A to help fade other spots and prevent new ones from forming. I started using it on 2/28/11 every 3rd night to begin, last week I bumped up to every other night. I was getting some flaking mainly on the cheek that was treated with the laser and had an initial breakout (been acne free for years) but this is all improving now. My routine... Wash my face with Cerave Hydrating cleanser, apply Cerave PM lotion immediately after washing, wait 30 mins and apply the retin A. I am already starting to see some improvement in the pores on the sides of my nose that were noticeably large. In the morning I wash again with my cleanser and put on the Cerave AM lotion with SPF 30. I have also tried Cetaphil cleanser, nutragena extra gentle and purpose. I find the Cerave really helps to reduce the side effects of the Retin A. So far I am still having some flaking, but I'm starting to see improvement in my skin already, so I will continue to use the Retin A :) Don't give up!! You have to push through the initial weeks of your skin looking worse and then it will get better.

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