I have just been prescribed this product (in .05%) by my dermatologist and today was my day 1 with it. I'm only a middle schooler, and the reviews from adults using this product say that they're skin was pretty irritated and flakey after about 2-4 weeks (which my doctor warned may happen to me). School starts in 3 weeks, and I'm nervous as to how bad I'll be broken out by that time. any advice how to control it? I'd hate to get discouraged when all the reviews say to be patient for the great results.

Only cream that will actually work but may take a few months but will be worth it. I used tretinoin a few times and quit because I thought it was aggravating my acne but I now know that it gets all the bad gunk out first and brings the next skin cells up to the surface. I used this for about a month before taking accutane and haven't experienced an initial breakout so far( on day 9) .... Be patient

I'm 46 and have had acne since i was 14. I've tried everything out there and nothing has worked or lasted. this includes Accutane, antibiotics, sulpha lotion, benzoyl peroxide, laser, peels, and tons more. accutane worked for a few years but after the birth of my son, acne came back in a fury. i went on accutane again, but lasted a few months. This product with a combination of other products has helped resolve my problem. In the morning I wash my face with physoderm ph reducer. Then i apply a thin layer of reversa 8% glycolic cream (wait 15 minutes after washing to apply). Then i apply a second layer of Eucerin 5% urea face cream. Since glycolic can be irritating to the skin and also dries it out, this is the best cream that i have found to give me intense moisture without break outs. in the evening, i wash my face with sebcur 4% glycolic acid. Yes, this product is meant for dandruff, but the 2% face wash that are available on the market simply was not working. i needed something stronger. once my skin is completely dry, i apply .5 retinol cream to my entire face and add a second layer of eucerin 5% night cream (very very hydrating). Note that at the beginning, i had to apply the glycolic and retin a every 3rd day to give my face a chance to adjust. eventually it was every day without any irritation. By the 3rd week into this treatment, all pimples on my chin, cheek and nose disappeared. I had a few break outs and by week 6 nothing. I'm now on week 10 and still nothing. It is so nice now to get up in the morning, touch my face and no pimple can be found! its a miracle and i'm crossing my fingers that it will continue to last. the main benefit of this regime is that your skin will shed quite a bit bit without any irritation. however, it is important to manually exfoliate your skin every second day. The best exfoliating glove on the market is Renaissance. it costs more, but it can last several years (make sure to clean it on a weekly basis). i also purchased a small microdermabrasion machine and use it once a week for more intense exfoliation. This really helps with removing a lot of dead skin. Today, my skin is amazing. Many of my acne scars are barely noticeable. They are slowly disappearing and if you are in your forties, fine lines are also considerably reduced. My colleagues cannot believe how good my face looks, they indicated that i look so much younger and healthier. I wanted to share this regime as i have tried pretty much everything that exists out there.

I'm 19 years old and I've always had bumps/clogged pores/blackheads on my forehead and nose for as long as I can remember. It was the worst, because no matter how much make-up I'd use, it would be impossible to cover up (especially in certain lighting). It was bothering me so much that I asked my doctor to put me on birth control pills, solely for the purpose of acne. She did, and I stuck to the pills for about 10 months until I realized that my skin was getting much worse (huge painful cyst like acne on my jaw line/neck/chin/cheeks/around my mouth STILL ALSO had the bumpy skin) it was so awful and embarrassing. I just recently went to the dermatologist and was prescribed Minocycline 200mg per day and 0.025% Tretinoid cream to be applied every night. Literally, after 2 nights of using this cream my face was 99.7% clear! I put my make-up on and you couldn't even see a blemish. Now, I have been using it for almost 2 weeks, all of my dark spots from acne are fading very quickly, a couple of new zits have popped up but I'm not even mad because it's cleared up so much of what was already existing. I'm aware that there is supposed to be a "purging" period, but I am 2 weeks in and haven't experienced that yet. Very minimal flakes around my nose area. I did make the mistake of using this cream too close to my under eyes and it did burn very much when I used make-up remover in the same area. Overall my face always has a warm sensation now, not painful though. I don't remember the last time my skin has been so smooth, I could not be happier. I can't wait to see more results with this product!

I'm a 20 year old male, and I've had mild acne since I was 13. After going on antibiotics (pill and cream) in high school, my acne got somewhat better. After not being on anything for the past 2 years, in the last several months my acne flared up again, and I was getting surface spots and painful cysts. A dermatologist put me on Doryx, Benzclyn and tretinoin 0.5 cream. I saw initial improvement with the antibiotics as I was getting less inflammation. However, my skin problem has always been more about an inability to shed dead skin Let me tell you, 6 weeks after using tretinoin, my skin has never looked better and it is continually improving. I still am getting an occasional spot or two, but the texture of my skin is so much softer and spots heal much faster. This cream has cured my cystic acne. The antibiotics help with smaller spots, but tretinoin has really, really made the difference. Non-inflamed spots I've always had are going away too. I'm religious about putting this stuff on every night, applying a thin layer to my entire face. I'm looking forward to seeing continual improvement in the next few months. I also did not have any side effects besides the cream making my skin greasy after applying (went away after a week or two). Acne has always affected my self-esteem/ image, and this stuff has really helped me out. I would strongly recommend anyone with acne to use this product - it is awesome!

It was nearing the ending of summer and I was desperate to rid myself of my pimples & blackeads before school started. I came by Retin-A coincidentally from my sister, before then I had never heard of it. And, being an ignorant loaf, decided on the first night to load it on like spot treatment... That was singularly one of the most horrible skin care decision I ever made. The next day, I litterally woke up to my whole face shedding like crazy! I was also red and irritated like hell. Of course I stopped using it immediately. It took my face 2 days to heal from all the burning, flaking, and irritation it wrought upon my poor face. My pimples were still there, however it did make my face a little brighter, something Dan's BP didn't do. That's when I decided to smart up and actually read(I don't know what I was thinking before... Geez) about what I put on my face. So yes, it turns out retin-A is amazing an does all these cool things to your skin by pushing out all those dead cells(which causes the flaking) and can be used as an anti-aging cream. But I also read about the horrible purging period, and all the irritation, flakiness, and general depression people went through before their faces got better. Was I really going to go through all of that torture? But I wanted my face to improve forever, right?? I live in Southern Cali, what if my face burns like crazy??? Well, I absolutely did not want to go through any of that "purging" period at all, I had school and I can honestly say I'd rather not bask in the humiliation it wrought me. But I still wanted to try Retin-A, since I had a lot of hyperpigmentation, which it had proven to lighten, and due to all of its rave reviews. So the only solution was to go SLOW. Now I know many of the reviewers have used this about 10+ months before anything got better, but I can say that that my skin positively improved with retin-A cream 0.04% within 2 months. I am also on tetracycline(hormones) and spironolactone(oil control), but retin-A had been the defining factor to having almost cleared 99% of my acne and scar/hyperpigmentation. My hypothesis is that what causes the purging period is how irritated and flaky your skin is, which causes more pimples and horror. It is also because retinoids HIGHLY POTENT, so your skin is definitely not used to it. The trick, I found, is to go slow, and to heavily moisturize. I used to have incredibly oily skin, but I brought that under control with spironolactone. Some of you might have problems with really oily skin if you don't moisturize properly when using this!! So my regimen to avoiding the purging period was: 1. Wash face(I use some generic liquid lather) 2. Wait 10-20 mins 3. Every other day ONLY AT NIGHT: Heavy moisturizer 2-3 drops jojoba oil Pea-sized amount of retin-A cream 0.04% I mix all of those on before putting it on my face gently. In the mornings I use a moisturizer with at least 30 SPF and 1 drop of jojoba oil(too much makes me shiny) before putting on my make up if I'm gojng out. I also moisturize daily with either a heavy moisturizer or jojoba oil or a mixture of the two. Now I've read that retin-A is less effective if not put directly on your dry skin, but take into consideration that this stuff is SUPER STRONG, and you will notice the difference either way! Also always use it at night, because sunlight decays its effectiveness. I initally thought using this while goin to school everyday would suck, but my skin is flake-free, irritation-free, and brighter than ever! My pores have also gotten subtly smaller, and my blackheads have greatly lessened out. I do get some dry spots and redness when I'm careless with moisturizing/sunblock, but this stuff really, really works. If you find the right way to use it that suits your needs, it WILL improve your acne. Acne: moderate to sever

I started using Atralin last October after using Epiduo for 6 months (which did nothing for me except make my skin incredibly greasy). The first 3 months with this were TERRIBLE - my face broke out more than ever and I had the worst flaky skin. I barely wanted to look at myself in the mirror. I stuck it out, because the next step was Accutane...and I only wanted to take that if I absolutely had to. After toughing it through those 3 months, my skin gradually began to improve. I have now reached a point where my skin barely ever breaks out. I no longer have large breakouts or any of the tiny bumps that were once all over my face. I don't have to wear makeup. It hasn't even been a year and my skin is completely different in the very best way. Full disclosure: I use Atralin at night and Aczone in the morning combined with Ortho Tri Cyclen and Spironolactone 100mg. I didn't start breaking out until I was 22 (until then my skin was pretty much perfect). I tried a number of things before I found a combination that worked for me - patience is a must!

i had horrible acne all over my cheeks and neck and i finally asked about retin a. i put a little on every night and my face started to look really dry with skin peeling but my doc said that was normal. it was more normal after a month and my horrible cyst like acnes was gone. one time i carelessly used to much and it burned sooooo bad. i was iceing my face for releif. so use a tiny amount. barely any. i used retina for a year or less and quit using it and the acne never came back. its weired because ive been plagued with it since 13 and didnt start using it till 23. your face will be sore and embarrassing for the first part but acne is embarrassing anyway. i say go for it. what do u have to llose.

I've been on Retin-A micro for over 4 months now. I've always had acne and unfortunately it runs in my family...in high school I would get the occasional zit and I never really followed a skin care routine. When I was about 19, I started getting horrible cysts and other types of acne all over my face....which then led to scarring for the first time. I went and saw a dermatologist once, but my hopes were too high and gave up after the creams she gave me didn't work. I would just cover my face in makeup since I thought there was nothing I could do since everyone in my family has had acne at some point in their lives and grew out of it...tanning seemed to be the only thing that helped, yet I gave that up over a year ago as well. I'm now 24 and I finally decided to find a dermatologist who would be determined to help. She saw my skin and immediately put me on Retin-A micro .1% to use at night and Acanya gel for the morning. Now I have heard horror stories about retin-A and let me tell you...they're 100% right. The first month was awful. I got huge zits that I don't even think there's a category for and I had to ice my face every night. I know I immediately started on the highest strength but I asked for it and I was aware of the pain I was about to endure...I was desperate! I felt insecure caking on makeup everyday (I only wear Clarins and MAC) and acne was the ONLY thing that made me feel this way. After the 2nd month, I started Photodynamic therapy which only led to more pain and icing my face....I waited a whole week to put my retin-A on again but I didn't give up and stuck it out. The second photodynamic therapy session wasn't as bad and I even applied my retin-A the night after the procedure. I started taking spironolactone since I was still oily and that helped IMMENSLY. I'm going in this week for my third photodynamic therapy session and my skin is better than its ever been since my teenage years. I only apply a little bit of powder for makeup now instead of caking on liquid foundation, concealer, powder, etc...I don't need all of that crap to hide my face anymore. I'll still get a small pimple here and there and I'm only 4 months in and I still have a long way to go. But it's true that it takes awhile to notice results and they're minimal at first. People are finally complimenting me on my skin and telling me how gorgeous I am....and it makes me want to cry since I'm FINALLY not hiding behind layers of makeup to make myself look good. BE PATIENT and yes, you are going to feel uglier and nastier during the first month or two....but stick it out b/c you WILL see fantastic results. Retin-A is always making magic and working underneath your skin so that's why you won't notice anything (positive) at first....but give the medication time to push out all of your impurities . We are all beautiful people on the inside.....give the retin-a some time so you can feel beautiful on the outside as well!!

It has been one year since I began retin a; 3 mo of .025% followed by 9 mo of .05%. With the exception of a small monthly breakout related to my menstrual cycle, I am CLEAR. I have tried: benzoyl peroxode, salicylic acid, glycolic and lactic acid peels, topical antibiotics, oral antibiotics, birth control, food elimination diets, lifestyle changes, vitamins (fish oil, zinc, vitamin c). The purging period lasted 8 months for me. My clogged pores turned into horrible acne of all varieties within a month of beginning retin a. I didn't think I would survive the first 6 months. I cried, my self esteem reached an all time low, and I was completely humbled. It was a blessing in disguise. My skin completely cleared around month 9, when I began drinking 1 qt of fresh carrot juice (5lbs juiced) daily. I had the same results as a course of Accutane, and now my hyper pigmentation is finally fading. It has been a long road and retin a requires COURAGE. The best thing I have found for my skin is to treat a breakout like a cold sore. Any manipulation of my skin spreads it, and even if I have a gross whitehead, if I leave it alone it will dry up and quickly fade without consequent breakouts. I wash my face with African black soap now, with a spray rose water-glycerine as my moisturizer. I apply hydrogen peroxide on a cotton ball to any breakouts then LEAVE IT BE. It will pass!! Just survive the transition (easier said than done) and draw on your inner strength. I know how difficult it is and I pray for relief for all of you.