Topical Retinoid
Acne.org’s Real World Take
Works about the same as the other two topical retinoids, tazarotene and adapalene, and lands in the middle of those two when it comes to side effects. Should provide partial clearing, but comes with sensitivity when you first start using it. It probably won’t be a total game changer but it should help reduce acne.
Topical Retinoid
How to Get It
Have a dermatologist? Make an appointment to get this medication. Don't have a dermatologist? See The American Academy of Dermatology Physician Database to find one.
Used Tretinoin? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
May 3, 2011
Cons:
Very long IB.
Does not help.
Creates red marks.
Very oily skin.
Very drying also - peeling, etc.
Taken with Doxycline for a school term (10 weeks). Absolutely Pathetic. Turned light-moderate acne into moderate-severe acne. IB is horrible and lasts for many months. Now on Accutane.
May 2, 2011
Pros:
none
Cons:
Made my skin peel very badly.
Very irritating.
Did not clear skin.
Made skin break out.
This product was one of the worst acne products I have ever used. I have very severe acne, and this product made it even worse. So bad, that I had to swich dermatologists because the doctor that prescribed this denied that there was any relativity of the negitive effects and the Retina. The new Dermatologist that I saw was appalled that the previous doctor acted like that and did not take the severity of the reaction seriously. She put me on a steroid to help reverse the reaction. This was a very bad product for me, but everyone is different and there are many people that this product works wonders for.
April 29, 2011
Pros:
nothing for me
Cons:
serve break out
dry skin
depression from all the bumps
swollen face full of cysts
i used retin-a since jan. by march my face was unbearable to look at. before i started using it i used Differin which did nothing. My acne was mild but enough to get a rx from march until today my face is covered in cysts. i had cysts before but one at a time. i went to the derm today and got 12 cortisone shots in my face. i read everyone else's review and they said they had an IB but it didnt last 2 months like mine. now i'm going on accutane which i'm scared to do but i think i had a bad reaction to the retin-a. now i have to deal with all the scars left behind. yay me! :[
January 8, 2011
Pros:
For me, None honestly.
Cons:
Do not use this please unless you are emotional ready to go through the very horrible initial break out.
Within the first day of having applied the .05% cream, my face was covered with zits, my pores were enlarged, and I had blackheads I did not have before. It was hard to believe that the initial reaction started so abruptly. My acne was not terrible, and the ones I had on my face were exacerbated by the creme. I was already emotional and depressed about the old scars I had, so those coupled with the extreme redness and new severe acne covering my face I couldn't help but sob. I tried to give it time but it just became increasingly worse.Reading other reviews and seeing it could take up to six months for this subside, I wasn't ready to put myself through that. When reviewers say they initial breakout is bad, they mean it. If only I had seen the reviews before my dermatologist offered Retin-a I would have nicely declined and opted for something less harsh. Now the acne that retin-a gave me has scarred, remains obscenely red, and is showing no signs of fading. Harsh product and certainly not for sensitive skin or mild to moderate acne. Please bare this in mind before starting the regime.
January 3, 2011
Pros:
none!
Cons:
left skin rly red and dry. broke me out real bad!
i thought that this would help me but it didn't! i started using it and it broke me out where i didn't even have any acne at all! i used the 0.02% and i read all the reviews where it states that it starts out bad but then gets better... i never saw the better.. would not recommend.
December 15, 2010
Pros:
- lessened blackheads
Cons:
- made my face's color darken, not matching with the rest of my body.
- made my face more oily and produce a "shine" look.
- made an increase in marks left behind from pimples.
Overall, I don't think this has helped me at ALL. When I first started using this, I would only get a few pimples every now-and-then, then they would go away quickly and my skin looked lovely. Since my mother put me on Retin-a, I have seen a increase in blemishes (not particularly acne) with visible marks all over my face. I became so self-conscious from this product that I started to wear make-up to hide my insecurities.
December 10, 2010
Pros:
"apparently" clears acne
Cons:
from what i've read dryness, redness, breakouts
you dont know how freekin happy I am I came here before trying this stuff. i was at the doctors last week and she decided to perscribe this stuff (0.04) to me. I was this close to using it untill i figured reading a few reviews couldn't hurt. so i did, and boy am I glad that I didn't blindly listen to my doctor and just try it. at the time it was perscribed i had a few pimples hear and there, nothing major, and I have sensitive skin. from what Ive read it would have just made a mess out of my face. anyways, I stumbled onto the regiment, and although I dont use BP I have started being extrealy gentle when washing toning and moisturizing, and what do you know, not a single new pimple yet :D (knock on wood) anyways, just thought Id share that, and to people thinking about trying it from what Ive read it does more harm than good.
November 15, 2010
Pros:
Makes skin smooth
Made pores smaller
Cons:
Made face extremely red, itchy, flakey
Burned whenever I applied it
Initial Breakout never went away!
I was on this retin-a for over 9 months and it never fully cleared my acne. My initial breakout lasted about 5-6 months and I still broke out after that. It did however make my skin smoother. My skin went through cycles, it would be smooth for a week, then itchy, red, and flakey, and it would repeat. Also, my skin would become extremely dry halfway through the day and it was embarassing. Overall, I had high hopes because of the positive reviews but it didn't work for me. If your acne bugs you enough I would say try it, but your skin will never return to its original state :(
November 13, 2010
Pros:
works for some people
Cons:
makes skin extremely dry, red, painful, increases sensitivity
makes you break out
First of all, I know that this product is supposed to regenerate your skin so all of the acne under the surface comes out at once...but for me, using this product was one the WORST DECISIONS I've ever made. Before I started using tretinoin, I had mild acne (~4-5 pimples on an outbreak) but I had a handful of small under the surface pimples so I decided to try retin-a. The first week nothing happened. Second week: ~7-8 pimples. third week: >10. I broke out in places that I've never had acne....between my eyebrows, on my chin, and around my jawline. By the time the second month came around, almost every surface of my face had a bump on it. To top it off, they were extremely inflamed and irritated from the medicine. (Btw, I use less than a pea size at night...and use an SPF 70 lotion in the morning to prevent sun irritation.) Anyways, this medicine made me get really painful and itchy cystic acne, little under the surface ones, and juicy ones. I toughed it out waiting for the result for 4 MONTHS (not exaggerating). During that period, I became extremely self-conscious and semi-depressed...I just kept thinking, it'll be worth it. My face was sooo bad. The acne that appeared took forever (~3 weeks) to go away and it left huge indents in my skin. Oh and NOTE: huge indents and large cystic acne cannot be covered with makeup! I tried, but makeup cannot hide the mountains and valleys on your face. I've since stopped using tretinoin and my skin has gotten a lot better. I went back to using Benzaclin once a day. My face is no longer inflammed and some of the acne vanished. I'm still trying to recover from the damage though. I have a lot of scarring on my face and still a lot of pimples but much better than before. This may work for some people, but BEWARE. If you do not have bad acne to begin with, DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT. I hope this review saves some people from experiencing my horror story. I really regret my decision to
November 10, 2010
Pros:
I know this medicine works for some people, but it really did nothing for me. Even though I applied the product consistently and waited more than the typical 3 months before quitting, I saw no improvement and my skin was much worse than before.
Cons:
Acne worsened, at the rate my skin was deteriorating I was afraid it would become severe. I was even beginning to get cysts.
Skin started scarring towards month 4.
Skin had an oily, weird texture.
Hypersensitivity to the sun.
I know this medication works for some people, but I am only rating its effects on me. I feel that Tretinoin can be an effective acne treatment, but it's not for everyone and should only be considered as a last resort (or maybe second to last if you count accutane). I got a six-month supply for $50 and had very high hopes for the treatment but ended up quitting around the third week of month 4. Around the middle of month 3 I started getting at least one painful lesion a day, and my acne was the worst it had been in my life. At month 4 I realized that indented scars were forming and stopped using Tretinoin. I should have quit around month 3, but I pressed on in hopes of the magic clearing I kept hearing about in reviews. It never happened for me, Once I gave up, I got on birth control I ordered one of every product sold on acne.org. It was more expensive than the prescription medicine, but it helped in no time. In a little less than a month I'm down to <10 pimples (and they're tiny ones!), and Dan's AHA is fading my red marks fast. Birth control has never cleared me completely, but with Dan's regimen the results are astounding! I urge you to do yourself the favor and try less damaging products before attempting to endure the hell that is Tretinoin's initial breakout. I wish I had!
Pros:
None found in my experience.