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Side Effects
Tretinoin is a vitamin A derivative called a topical retinoid. It helps clear acne by promoting skin cell turnover.
Tretinoin is usually applied once a day around bedtime.
Used Tretinoin? Rate It:
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July 24, 2012
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
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 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.
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!
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
July 9, 2011
Pros:
Not too expensive
Lightens scars a bit (over time)
Dries out pimples fast
Cons:
Initial Breakout
May make scars more noticeable
Skin peeling
Must use Sun Screen
I started out with moderate acne and my doctor prescribed me this in conjunction with doxycycline pill for a month. For the first 2-3 weeks, I broke out and I was on the urge to quit using this but I knew I had to keep using it in order to benefit. After about a month and a half, I stopped breaking out, I have little to no pimples but I am left with many acne scars. (I stopped pills) Now I am just applying this every night hopefully it will lighten my PIH and scars. I'm still unsure about this product though... Hopefully I will see better results in a month or two!
March 17, 2011
Pros:
Clears up acne (so far for me just a little bit)
Reduces pore size
Easy to apply
Cons:
Initial breakout is absolutely HORRIBLE!
I have been using this for about 7 weeks now, and my skin has only just started to turn a corner. I have obsessively checked this website over the past couple of months, and took everyones advice to be patient. I think (hope) that patience if finally starting to pay off slightly. At 7 weeks, my face still isn't clear, but I am not getting the constant angry red pimples that I have been getting since starting this product.
I think and hope this product works, but you really have to have a TON of patience, and expect your acne to get a lot worse before it gets better.
I am still waiting for that miracle day that everyone describes where I wake up to beautiful skin, but I hope it's coming soon since it really is starting to improve.
TIP - Wait the 20 mins to apply the product.
I hadn't been waiting the 20 mins to for the first 6 weeks, and my acne was awful. Way worse than ever before. I noticed when I finally started waiting the 20 mins, it began to improve. It used to sting when I put it on, and it doesn't now that I am waiting awhile. So I think this step is very important. It also stopped the red, scaly patch I had on my chin when I waited a while to apply it.
My doc prescribed me Minocyclene, Retin A Micro & Benzoyl Peroxide. I ditched the Minocyclene after 3 weeks. Wasn't seeing any improvement and had concerns about being on an antibiotic long term due to side effects. I have a prescription for Yaz, but I am holding off another month just to see if my skin will clear up with just the Retin A & BP. I hope this helps you!!
November 26, 2010
This is my first review i've ever written. I'm doing it to help people. I struggled with acne since age 12. Im now 20. Nothing has worked. Except tretinoin. Oh, and the pills worked too, the doxycilin or wat ever u call them. But they had bad sideaffects. Tretinoin leaves my face looking amazing. The scars fade and i have alot! Im on benzoyl peroxide 10% face wash, tretinoin cream 0.1%, and clindamycin phosphate topical lotion 1%. This is my second day on this regimen and acne is healing, you can see flexibility in my skin again. Almost as if i never had acne. This worked where proactive, murad, duac, benzoyl peroxide, acne free, did not. Im sorry but u cant compare other products to this. This stuff is amazing.
August 16, 2010
Pros:
Cleared my acne the first 5 months
Reduced red marks and scarring (though they were caused by the severe breakouts from tretinoin)
Simple to use- only used neutrogena fresh foaming cleanser 2x daily and tretinoin at night
Cream lasted about 2-3 months
Cons:
After 5 months of use, moderate acne again
Price
I reviewed this 5 months ago (same name- Jen from PBG) and was so pleased at the time because of my absolutely clear skin (save for the red marks). My hyperpigmentation/scarring has gone down greatly, however at around month 5 of use (it's now been 10 months) I started getting pimples again. Not small ones, inflamed pustules...moderate acne again. I did switch to a higher %, from .05% to .1% to make my red marks disappear faster, but I don't see how upping the dose would cause pimples...my conclusion is that the effects aren't lasting. I ran out of the cream and will now try to change my diet again (ate a lot of grains and fiber, apples and nuts back during my clear skin period), and I'm also trying baking soda. Tretinoin is a good short term solution, but I'm just displeased that my clear skin didn't last. I might start using it again, but if it didn't clear my skin the last 5 months...maybe it's time for something new.
March 15, 2010
Pros:
None..?
Cons:
My cheeks and face were peeling a lot. I turned BRIGHT RED and even when I stopped using it for awhile, my face remained red. My skin got so sensitive and burned when I put anything on it.
I guess my skin can't handle it. I look 100x's worse now because I am so red and pimply. Maybe I need to wait it out to see the results, but I don't think it's worth suffering through this if you have really sensitive skin like I do.
Pros:
Clears up MY FACE COMPLETELY
Made my skin smooth
Smaller pores