We have tried Tretinoin, Doxycyline, Onexton, and Epi-Duo. None have made a significant difference, thus the dermatologist prescribing all these products. During these trials, we cut out dairy and reduced sugar. Still no difference. Was told to use Cetaphyl and also CeraVe. I believe, if you have hormonal acne which my kid has... no external product is going to cure acne. It really didn't reduce it that much either.

I am currently in my mid twenties and have been struggling with moderate acne on and off since puberty (mostly around my mouth and sometimes between my eyebrows, always deep and painful and always leaving red scars that fade after a few months). I have never had amazingly clear skin, but have had times when I was okay with my skin. Unfortunately the past few years have not been showing any signs of getting better, despite my age. I was hoping it would clear up as I got older. I was finally fed up with it and was prescribed retin a micro 0.1% after a recent chain of breakouts. I have been following the instructions of the doctor, pharmacist, and the insert with the bottle. Once a day, at night, 20-30 minutes after I wash my face I use a cotton pad to apply the cream to my entire face. I have the pump form of the cream and I use two pumps per application as directed. FIRST 3 WEEKS: The first three weeks of using this cream have been a struggle, to say the least. I have not noticed much improvement yet. I am most definitely experiencing the purging breakouts that many other people have experienced. As soon as I started using the cream, and until the end of week 3, I have had non stop painful breakouts. This cream is not fun. It is potent and it works quickly. For the past 3 weeks I have had at least 2-3 painful pimples somewhere on my face at any given time. The kind that you are reminded of every time you smile or talk (gah!). Fortunately, I am not experiencing any of the severe dryness, redress, or overall peeling that others have. In fact, my face is much much oilier than usual. I have slightly oily skin normally. Since I've been using this cream, I wake up to my face feeling like butter. I wash with dove sensitive skin soap in the morning and at night, and sometimes I shower (after gym) and rinse my face half way through the day. Most days my skin (face only) is so oily that I need to use an oil absorbing pad early afternoon to make myself feel clean. What I have noticed is that this cream makes my pimples come and go in about half the time they normally would. For example, I have woken up in the morning and felt no pain and no lumps building under the skin. By 5pm a big deep pimple will have appeared and not only be visible but be painful. I have gone to bed with no pain and woken up in the middle of the night with a massive throbbing lump on my chin preventing me from falling back asleep. With the bad, there is also a good. Pimples tend to clear up faster. They peak in about 12-24 hours on average, and settle down and dry up in about that amount of time as well. So a pimple can come and go in about 1-2 days, which is less than half the time than normal for me. You know when you have some dead skin from a dyeing pimple on your face and you just want to pick it off so your makeup doesn't clump around it? Well this cream makes your skin thin enough (or irritated enough or whatever it is) that it will usually bleed if you pick. And I'm not talking about picking something that isn't ready and needing to use force, I'm talking about dead skin just sitting on top of your face. So you are suck between leaving a chunk of dead skin on your face or picking at it and having the spot bleed. Both look equally as bad when trying to cover up with makeup. And even if you do manage to successfully pick it off without leaving a scab, a new layer of dead skin somehow manages to appear insanely fast.. like before your next bathroom break/face check fast. I have become accustomed to checking my face every hour in an effort to keep it looking alright. It seems that every time I look in the mirror something has changed. That being said, I am only experiencing dryness on the pimples themselves, the rest of my clear skin (cheeks, jaw, nose, and most of forehead) feels great. It actually feels much nicer than before, very soft and smooth. WEEK 4 I am now onto my fourth week and I am trying my best to stay positive and motivated to continue. I know that it can take 8-12 weeks to see results. These past 3 weeks have felt more like 3 months. The breakouts are happening so fast that the previous areas do not have time to heal, leaving my face a nice combination of red irritated lumps and red scars that haven't had time to heal yet. My face looks like an absolute mess without makeup, and it is the first time in a long long time (and there hasn't been many of these times) that I am even embarrassed to face my family without makeup. Above all else, its been tolling on my emotions. It hasn't been fun to constantly feel self conscious about my face, but to also have to feel the pressure of pimples at all times. WEEK 5 & 6 In week five and six I have experienced what I thought was the beginning of better skin... twice. Both times bounced back with painful breakouts. I started using Thyers Rose Petal Witch Hazel (alcohol free and organic) toner at morning and night to try to reduce inflammation. I am noticing that the pimples aren't coming and going as fast. I am also noticing that my forehead, and upper lip/nose area is breakout free, but my chin is still a raging mess. At the moment, my chin is worse than it has ever been. Everywhere else on my face, except my chin, I am only getting tiny little white heads that aren't painful or deep. Still experiencing lots of oiliness. What I have learned so far? I wouldn't take this cream lightly. If you are going to begin using it, make sure you are willing to commit to the full 12 weeks, otherwise you are probably going to go through purging and not see the potential result. If you think your skin can't get any worse, this cream will probably surprise you. If I quit now, I feel that I will never truly know if this cream works or not, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will see improvement within the next month or two because it truly is miserable. I will continue to update as the weeks go on. Good luck to everyone trying this cream, hang in there!!

I am a 22 year-old female who started Retin-A Micro gel (tretinoin) in September 2015 for moderate acne. It is now mid December and my skin is nearly perfect aside from hyperpigmentation (which will go away over time). No more acne, no more under-the-skin bumps. This medication works if you use it correctly and religiously. When I started Retin-A, I applied it twice a week for three weeks, then three times a week for another three weeks, etc., allowing my skin to adjust to the medication. This is important to do because this medicine can cause a lot of peeling, redness and irritation for the first month or two. You can reduce those problems by starting yourself on the medication slowly. Application of this medicine is also important. Follow the exact instructions in the provided pamphlet and apply a pea-sized amount to your forehead, cheeks and chin. A little goes a long way. Only apply this before bedtime. It can make your skin very sensitive to the sun so always apply sunscreen in the morning before going about your day. I recommend Cera Vae AM Facial Lotion with SPF 30. Tretinoin is the only acne treatment that targets all causes of acne and it is commonly used with antibiotics which can be prescribed by your dermatologist. I have been taking doxycyline since August 2015 and it helped reduce inflammation when I experienced bad breakouts. I believe it was beneficial for me to decide to start the antibiotic one month before I began tretinoin because it allowed the medicine to build up in my system first. Side effects of the antibiotic were minimal. I only experienced a slight upset stomach if I took the pill without food and water. To get the amazing results you want, you must be dedicated. This is a very challenging process and it will test your patience. For the first two and a half months on tretinoin I experienced terrible breakouts because my skin was purging. There was a lot of acne that I didn't even know was there that needed to be brought to the surface. It was incredibly difficult to deal with this mentally and emotionally, however, had I not decided to go through with the treatment plan I would still be dealing with acne. It is best to push through and tell yourself that you are taking a step in the right direction and being proactive about your skin condition. A lot of people stop treatment in the first month or two because they are not seeing quick results or they are unhappy with the side effects they are experiencing such as extreme dryness / peeling, sensitive, red skin and worsening acne. If you are on this treatment plan and see that your acne is getting so much worse, this is a good sign. It means the medicine is working and your skin is purging. It's a long waiting game and depending on your acne / skin-type and it could take anywhere between 3-7 months to see results. I was fortunate enough to be cleared in 12 weeks. I would encourage anyone who is genuinely interested in this treatment plan to also ask your dermatologist for an antibiotic to help fight the instant breakouts. Since Day 1 I have religiously followed this routine: Morning - Wash skin with Cetaphil, apply LUSH Tea Tree toner, follow up with Cera Vae AM lotion with SPF, apply another layer of regular Cera Vae moisturizer for extra hydration. Night - Wash skin with Cetaphil, apply LUSH Tea Tree toner, follow up with Cera Vae PM lotion, apply another layer of regular Cera Vae moisturizer for extra hydration, set timer for 30 minutes, then apply tretinoin. It is important to always wait at least 20-30 minutes to apply tretinoin. Your skin needs to be dry for the medication to absorb. The products I have listed above are the best options to use for this treatment because your skin is already going to be sensitive on this medicine. It would be too irritating for the skin to use any acne washes such as Neutrogena, Clean & Clear, etc. Quit them all together - it helps more than you realize. I found LUSH's Tea Tree toner and fell in love with it because it's so hydrating. It helps even out your skin tone and the tea tree is beneficial for fighting redness and excess oil. This product is 100% natural and vegan. I wanted to write a genuine, real review on Acne.org because throughout my acne struggles I have visited this website many times reading endless reviews and looking for the best solution, hoping I was on the right treatment plan. I hope this medication works for anyone who is truly dedicated to clearing their skin. It brought back my confidence and self-esteem and made me a much happier person. If you find that tretinoin was a solution for you, never stop using it. Quitting the medicine could allow your acne to return so stick to a routine! - Effy

Acne sucks we all know that, you feel ashamed of yourself, you can't look at people's eyes and ugh it's hard, I know. This product WILL cure you. In two weeks, three, or even months, but it will trust me. It just depends on your skin. Well my skin is 40% cured in the last two days in the FIRST WEEK! the first five days my face peeled alot, it was red i mean, too red. but it's not as bad as it sounds, i handled it fine, and you will too! yes, i broke out, but so what? we always break out, but this time you will break out for a reason, to clear your skin, consider it as process, believe me i was too afraid to use it, but i'm so gad i did! just take it easy and go for it! PLEASE! IT WILL WORK!

I have struggled with acne as an adult for years. At first I thought I could treat it myself however it quickly became evident I was loosing the battle. My dermatologist initially prescribed me onexton, which helped at first but then seemed to stop. When she prescribed me retin A I was nervous because I had read about the "purge" that users experienced. Retin A has been a miracle! I did not experience a purge and although it makes my skin dry, it has cleared my acne completely!!!

So ive been using 0.1 tretinoin for just over two years and my skin, my confidence, as well as my relationship with my skin (and myself) has changed so much. Now instead of getting panic attacks near mirrors and obsessively checking my skin, I love staring at my smooth complexion and admiring just how much better it gets every day. This was not the case when i first began my treatment as many of you know the purging stage happens at around the first few weeks/months of daily use and I was still very emotionally vulnerable and sensitive about my skin problem so it was a difficult time seeing my skin go from problematic to lots of clogged pores unplugging themselves all at once all whilst going to school and interacting with people. There was no hiding my skin problem anymore as concealers only made my dry bumpy and healing skin look worse and redness persisted as my skin tried to adjust to this new irritant routine. At that point I knew there was no going back and i continued to use retin a daily slowly incorporating a non irritating moisturizer into my night time routine as my skin needed it and it didnt slow the process but helped my skin heal quicker. I find paraffin/petrolatum based creams for very dry and sensitive skin are best as they deeply moisturize, arent irritating and help remove flakes. Retin a has taught be to be patient with my skin as before I would scrub and squeeze the hell out of it and for what? Temporary feeling of gratification which resulted in superficial scarring. With retin a i learned to give my skin time to heal and clear itself naturally and I havent gotten a scar since. I am much MUCH less compulsive about my appearance now than i was and I have also grown to be OKAY with whenever i do get acne, because i know it wont harm me. its normal, its only temporary and most of all doesnt define me as a person. <--This was not how i felt before i began my treatment, it took about 7 months for me to adjust to the routine and develop the patience and discipline required to have and maintain the baby soft baby smooth skin i have now.

Review: I had acne in highschool and it cleared my sophomore year of college, via differn gel (accutane helped to clear me in hs). After the accutane i was pretty clear and really didnt do much to fight the acne. It eventually went away 100 percent with differin. when i was 25 I noticed i was developing a few pimple here and there which blew up into full blown acne. I tried over the counter BP gel and this absolutely made my skin worse. I think my skin is too sensitive for bp. After this i tried doxycycline and ziana for my face. the ziana definitely gave me an initial breakout pretty bad, it was very hard to get through. After a month of that i swithched to bactrim and retin a micro .08. Immediately i noticed a difference in my skin (2 days). the bactrim made my skin look almost tan and it definitely helped dry out pimples. I retin a was much better on my skin than ziana which gave me a sticky feel. Retin a micro made my face feel smooth the next day, although there was some sensitivity the next day it was nothing compared to 10 percent BP. After 2 months on this regimen i can say that i am 100 percent clear. i give it 4 stars bc the initial breakout is vey difficult. My thoughts on acne: Acne is a seriously challenging monster to battle, don't let anyone convince you that just because it is common that it isn't serious. I dont know if I will ever go through anything as traumatic as acne. I've told a friend before that i would trade a hand or foot to have clear skin and i'm sure some of you out there would do the same. Acne is on your face everyday and in the way of every face to face interaction you have. A friend of mine from high school just got in a car wreck and is having facial reconstructing surgery and i'm sure she will be dealing with a similar challenge as an acne sufferer goes through. The reclusiveness, the tears and anger at her situation. She will atleast have one thing an acne suffer doesn't have, she will have the full compassion and understanding of all of her friends and family. Because acne is so common, acne, even server forms often get down played and or ignored by our friends and family. Also people will even blame our acne on us being unsanitary or not properly washing our face like 'they' do. as acne sufferers we are traped in this tug of war between being a victim and being at fault. We are told it is normal and nothing to worry about, but we see the scars forming and we see the picture of those with more serious acne. I can say i understand how confusing it is to be in this living hell. Just know you aren't alone, and you can get 100 percent better. And for now know that people will love you,and jesus will love all the same. Maybe we go through these events in our lives and can create positive outcomes from them. Maybe we will be that inspiration for someone who is on the verge of suicide and they see your positive outlook despite having acne and decide not to take their lives. just know we live and a broken world with car wrecks and acne and evil all around us but we can have peace and love and satisfaction with jesus in our hearts. And ironically our struggles are our best tool to spread the love we find to others.

i tried 5 month long period before, it worked for my back and chest acne (not completely gone, really more better than before), but it was partly good on my face. especially around my chin and nose area it did nothing. so i ended for my face. then two weeks ago, i decided to use it again (now with vaseline for moisturising and imex soap for cleaning). today i have two deep and persistent ones and a couple of smaller. everybody knows that tretinoin can develope plenty of them at the first weeks of the treatment (i experienced before). i think if this treatment is working for my body, it can work on my face as well. maybe it needs longer time. i hope. WEEK 3: i decided to use tretinoin with clindoxyl for only initial breakouts because it helps to heal persistent and deep acne faster. 2 more huge and deeper breakouts in this week and so far the total number is 5 huge/deeper (3 gone), lots of (8-10 maybe more) smaller (all of them around my chin area and left side of my nose -right side no problem). the smallers are ok, they don't disturb me, nobody notices. the initial breakouts started with the second week. a little bit peeling and no redness so far because of vaselin. i use tretinoin (%0.1) every other night. i will try to write the stiuation every week. WEEK 4: this week i have no more huge and deep acne. they have been nearly cured, some dark areas remained. three medium size (papules) around my chin and nose and a couple of smaller acnes recently. i hope initial breakouts have just started to calm down. within next weeks i will see the first result i hope. i'm still using clindoxyl gel but not everyday. there have been lots of minor, non-infectious white spots which come to surface since the treatment began. WEEK 5: i had 3 medium-size and 5-6 small-size acnes in this 5th week of tretinoin treatment with vaselin and clindoxyl gel. as i said before, i'm using clindoxyl for only breakouts for quick results. no more deep and huge breakouts in this week as well. but my skin remains uneven after breakouts. a little bit peeling no redness. note: when i edit, helpful votes disappear ;) WEEK 6: only one medium size pimple and lots of fast-growing small white heads around my bottom lip and nose (maybe 12-14 totally). sizes are decreasing which is good but breakouts are increasing so far. at the same time there are lots of non-infectious white spots around my chin, the most problematic part. uneven skin appearance is not good at all, some darker spots, pimples... WEEK 7: medium size pimples (5-6) around chin and more small size white heads. nothing better. WEEK 8: last week i was in holiday and i discovered that it is better to use bepanthen plus cream with tretinoin and vaseline. it is good for redness and also pimples themselves. the pimples become less visible. so this week it was a bit more better than last week. less medium size pimples and white heads, but not a big difference. WEEK 9: only one middle-size and a deep cystic one in the right side of face, close to my ear but it is hardly noticable because it is really deep. i think this is not related to tretinoin because i didn't use it in this area regularly. except this, this week was relatively better. WEEK 10: best week ever! no new huge or medium-size acnes, just some tiny whiteheads. i hope this is not temporary. WEEK 11: better than last week! just a few whiteheads... WEEK 12: a few whiteheads, one bigger (not too big) deep but hardly noticeable acne around my chin. WEEK 13-14: no new bigger acne, just a few whiteheads and i completly quited using vaseline. BEPANTHEN PLUS is the best for acne problem and also good for moistrizing.

However.... does work, to a certain extent. I find the 3 month rule bullsh*t. The retin-a 0.05 only started to show signs of improvement at the end of june (i started in february, 5.5 months ish) and that was only after a HORRENDOUS belated purging phase. I had a lottos under the skin bumps prior to retin-a, thus why i got it, and since then i only have a few on my face and nothing else, I'm not 100% clear but around 80%. The under the skin bumps only went away around month 5 though, so be patient. Use sunscreen.

I've only done one round of Retin A. Fortunately I did it when the only thing I had to do was stay home and hide for a week and a half. Yes, you will peel like you have never peeled before. If you're someone who doesn't have the luxury of getting to stay home and hide, I would recommend something else. BUT, I have also found that If i put a tiny bit in with my nightly moisturizer it works pretty well in maintaining clear skin once the "uglies" are over. If you really want clear skin, just bite the bullet for a week or two, and make sure you DON'T OVERDO IT. It's worth it in the end.