Tretinoin

The medication does what it says it does - it increases cell turnover, which, over time, gives the complextion a soft, even tone. A side effect of this process leads to a reduction.elimination of acne **IF** the lack of cell turnover is the primary factor contributing to ones acne. With that said, I do beleive that this medication will "help" (i.e. a little or a lot) the condition of "most" acne sufferers, assuming one adheres to the treatment consistently for 3 months.

Cons:

The initial break out is horrendous and can last for weeks, even into the 2nd, possibly third month. It lasted a long time for me. It almost always gets WORSE before it gets better.
Irritation, redness and increased skin sensitivity lasted almost as long as the initial break out.
It was very expensive for me because I have an ugly deductable quota.

I've been using this product for 3 months exactly. It is key to use a mild cleanser and moisturizer, such as Cetaphil, while on this product. My main problem is raised, flesh-colored pimples on my lower cheeks and jawline. Retin A helps with my old PIH and heals new red marks within 3-5 days. The non-problematic skin areas (forehead, upper cheeks, temples, chin) look amazing. My lower cheeks and jawline, however, still present with those dang flesh colored bumps. There is probably a 75% reduction in those bumps, however. I must point out, though, that my acne appears to be hormonal, and Retin A just can't keep up with those particular bumps. I am on the weakest strength and plan to move to .10 next month. I really feel that a stronger strength will work. Also, I am now on Spironolactone to help combat the hormonal acne. Retin A appears to work as intended (promote cell turnover) which should lead to a reduction is pimples (minimally or extremely). Its effects can take longer to notice in some people, which is why I'm not giving up at the 3 month mark even though I'm not completely clear. As long as you're seeing continual improvement at the 3 month mark, I would suggest giving it another 3 months and possible increasing the strength of your dose at that time if you're improved, but not completely clear.

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vicnz2010

September 13, 2010

Pros:

It works! Yes it does! I can vouch for that
Skin looks brighter and more vibrant.
Acne is a thing of the past.
Scars are fading
Hyperpigmentation fading

Cons:

Takes time to work (not really a con)
Dries the skin out

Bottom line is that retin-a cream is a breakthrough in skincare. The stuff has helped me so much. I got prescribed it by my derm as a means to helping with my moderate acne scarring since I am a person of indian decent and basically lasers and peels are a no no for me. After 3 years on Accutane, the stuff also now controls my acne too. My shallow scars and sever hyperpigmentation has also imporved drastically since I started using it 7 months ago so keep at it people! You will see results!

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Kia

September 3, 2010

Pros:

-Under the surface acne dried up
-Clear soft skin
-Hyperpigmentation going away

Cons:

-Dries out dry areas even more
-Does make for some pustules
-Skin gets very fragile

I have a good base of very fair skin marred by large cystic pustules, scabs and scarring. I have done a combination of laser therapy, chem peels, and use Tretinoin every night. So my review is based on the combination of these elements, but I LOVE the stuff. My skin looks AMAZING! It keeps pustules from remaining hot and flared and quickly brings them to a head, and promotes rapid healing. However, it doesn't "clean" your pores...I feel like there is still gunk in there and the tretinoin just makes it kind of dead gunk instead of active, pimple-causing gunk. Also, it does dry out your face, so I use hydrocortisone cream or ointment on the dry patches. I wouldn't be caught dead without this stuff though. It stops a breakout in its tracks!

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Skinny1013

September 3, 2010

Pros:

Softens skin

Cons:

Eventually caused acne as well as skin changes

Initially, this was the only thing that worked on the comedonal acne (blackhead, whiteheads coming in for no reason) on my forehead. Eventually however, after decreasing my usage, I noticed that anytime I would use it again on my forehead, acne would flare up. Additionally, the morning after using it on my cheeks, there was inflamed comedonal acne everywhere.

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Bryan Thomas

September 2, 2010

Pros:

-Faded My Hyperpigmentation
-Made My Skin Smoother
-Improved Skin Texture
-Got Rid of Excess Skin Oil

Cons:

-Made Me Break Out Everytime I Used It For The First 2-3 Months
-After 3-4 Months, Skin Is Amazing! :)

This is a great product, I used it at night and I used BenzaClin in the morning. This product will make you go through a long phase of breaking out everytime you use it but in essence, it drags all the dirt,oil, and ance to the surface so it can be released by your body. After about 3 months of breaking out from the product, your skin just spontaneously becomes amazing! There's no other way I could word that. Your skin becomes smooth, clear, and all the ance scars vanish and you'll be glad you went through heck because it won't matter anymore.

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George

September 1, 2010

Pros:

Having used Retin-A 0.01% Gel for a week now, I have been startled at the speed of my recovery. Other than a couple of new pimples, my skin tone has improved, existing pimples have dried out and my skin is generally improved. I have experienced no redness, however dryness around my mouth/chin area is present, but this is alleviated with moisturiser.

Cons:

Slight dryness, possibility of bad IB (but not for me)

Overall, I'd say that if this product is used correctly, with the minimal amount being put onto skin, then results are bound to come sooner rather than later. My skin has many small pimples and I've never had cysts, so perhaps this explains the difference in my experience with others'.

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logmein

August 30, 2010

Pros:

Finally, something that works! Retin-A Micro Gel 0.04% pump. Makes skin so bright/glow, smooth and Acne free!

Cons:

Skin can get a little flaky but a gentle scrub eliviates that. Initial breakout but after 2 1/2 - 3 months skin is sooooo much better!

I know the feeling of having Acne that is why I'm writing this review. Retin-A Micro Gel 0.04% pump is a God send. It has completely changed my life. I have been using it for 3 years now so trust me, it works! What I do during application is get a small pump on my finger and apply on my face into 4 sqaures, each "squared" area gets a small pump. So, for example, on my cheek I apply a small pump into each "square" of my cheek which amounts to four squares/four pumps. I don't literally put squares makrs on my face but parition it by appling the gel on each "square". I use this method all over my face, nose, forehead. I know how it feels, trust me! Get on Retin-A Micro Gel, notice I put gel because the gel version of Retin-A micro helps stop by face from getting oily. You will love it as much as I do. I think the initial breakout happens because it seems that Retin-A Micro gel first works on tightening the pore, helps stop oil production and also helps skin renewal. So, in the begining when it starts to tighten the pore all the oil that's trapped in the pore is the initial break out. When you get over the initial break out you will have smaller pores, acne free and brighter skin because of the tighter pores and skin renewal that this med helps with.

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August 28, 2010

Pros:

Smoother looking skin. Dries pimples and brings them & tiny bumps to surface right away.

Cons:

Dented scars! Yes, ur not imagining, I got them too! I don't have space below, so will share this here: please look into the blue light which has a thread on acne.org [www.acne.org/messageboard/here-415nm-Enlux-LED-t156864.html]; very surprising promising fast results by all who bought it after one person reported excellent results. He has his own home light which is the strong one supported by research & the cost is cheap rather than the expensv lower level ones at spa [I'm thinking of buying

I just submitted a review but didnt have space so I want to add this info--my husband used this tretenoin cream too [Acretin] & now I am connecting the dots & remember there was a time I was getting frustrated, telling him I am seeing new pitted scars & stretch mark-like scars appearing on his face every day! Not exagerating; he has worse acne than me & I'm always looking at his face & noticed scars popping up and once I was telling him about it and the next day I see a new one! Unlike me, he was using other prescriptions at the same time. And, the idea that this was happening from his creams did not even cross my mind, but i was puzzled b/c unlike me he duznt touch his face & never pops anything & doesnt use a facial cloth which could be scratching him yet there's these scars actively happening on his cheecks. Only thing I could think of then was that b/c his pimples have been on his face for so long [same exact ones] that they were eating away at his flesh. But that didn't explain the ones that look like a stretch mark, just the dented round ones. Now, given the fact that I've gotten scars from tretenoin [Acretain] I can see that that's what could have happened to him too. I don't understand what is happening here; they say this is supposed to help scars so how is it causing scars for some people. I do have thin skin; maybe people w/ thin skin are more likely to get this, or maybe it's something else! All I know is it's a big thing; I can put up w/ anything else to get nice skin [the peeling, redness, initial flare up], but these permanent looking dented scars & stretch marks is unacceptable. I wrote this b/c I dont want anyone to get permanent scars when many of us r trying to get rid of the temporary red acne spots. I will continue to do home remedies, like honey [it's antibacterial] & especially the yogurt which fades redness & brightens, gives dewy skin. And as much as can afford, will get blue light @ spa [had 2 which helped] & thinking of buying my

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Ella83

August 27, 2010

Pros:

Cleared up face alot, really worth it in the end

Cons:

takes along time to work, IB is terrible

When I first started using retin A gel .025%, I was horrified by all the reviews on this sight of the terrible initial breakout. As expected, for the first like 6 weeks I used it my acne got worse and worse. Then suddenly, over the coarse of maybe 2 days, my acne almost vanished. The best thing I can reccoment to you is to KEEP WITH IT!! I was so close to quitting it because I couldnt see how something that made me break out so bad could work but then out of the blue my face became almost completely clear. i strongly reccomend this product to anyone with a little patience, don't just use it till your face is at its worst and then give up.

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cubsfreak9988

August 26, 2010

Pros:

clears up most acne
makes skin softer
lasts a long time

Cons:

makes face red
takes a long time to work
doesnt help with oilyness

i have moderate acne and was prescribed retin-a micro .04% about 3 months ago. it made me peel the first 2 weeks or so and then my face was just oily. it took 2 months to start seeing results. it helped clear up most of my acne, but i still broke out every once in a while. i would recommend this for people that dont have sensitive skin, because it will just make your face red. also, use the highest concentration available, because im sure i wouldve cleared up completely if i upped the concentration to .1%. but it made my face too red and didnt help with the oilyness, so i switched to the regimen yesterday. just stick it out for 3 months and it will work for you, but it may make your face red

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