Acne.org Products
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
December 30, 2006
Cons:
Makes your skin look worse than if you weren't using anything at all. Will most likely take forever to see results. Dries out your skin and makes it itchy, red, and irritated. Will cause you to break out like crazy.
Does not work people! If your derm wants to give you this stuff, protest and say you want something else.
December 7, 2006
Pros:
Got rid of acne very effectively
Cons:
Somewhat dried out my skin and it made my skin red on my cheeks.
Also it made me look washed out except for the redness.
I would use this product if you want to get rid of your acne effectivley. It definetely works. But it is not the greatest on your skin. It will discolor it and make ir red and washed out.
October 4, 2006
This product does work very well if used properly. I'm a 20 yr old male with mild acne but am very self-conscious. I've been using it every other night for about 2 weeks and already see a slight improvement. Ive used it before for about 4 months and it worked well, but my skin became immune so I stopped for a while. Ive learned it seems to clear up scarring from the past very well. Remember: Small amounts and dont use it every night. Use on the whole face, DO NOT spot treat. Peeling will occurr, but dryness is beter than being super oily. I have alot of experience with this medicine so take it from me.
May 23, 2020
8 WEEKS going strong
Dealt with acne for 12+ years, on and off. Some years are worse than others. Last two years acne has really settled in lower cheeks and jawline so probably hormonal. Went on spiro around the time I started retin A, however I cut that about 3 weeks ago because it just left me with absolutely no energy and constant headaches- i know my progress is from retin a though because spiro usually takes 3-6 months to work. Anyways, Retin A. I started with every second day but that was making my skin oily and irritated so now I do a | o | o o | pattern ( | is retin A usage nights). The first two weeks are not pretty. I don't know about anyone else but I hated how shiny my skin looked/ weird texture and look but it passes once you get into 3/4th week. Alright, the purge is a thing if you have acne under the skin, and don't let this freak you out because retin A literally exfoliates and declogs the skin at a rapid pace. Thus, a lot of people will notice the purge side effect because everything that would normally come up over the next few months is coming up all at once. Yes it sucks but keep your head on the end goal. Bigger breakouts happened around week 3 and lasted until week 7 for me. Now, I am just nearing week 8 and my skin is very very smooth. Right now I'm down to 2 pimples and some hyperpigmentation but a whole lot better than it was when I started. I will absolutely keep this going, love the feeling of this stuff you can literally exfoliate dead skin off in the shower with your fingers. One negative side effect is the peeling with this because I do find peeling hard to cover. However, it's not everyday... I only notice that every time I started increasing my usage (like from 2x a week to 3x a week) your skin peels and goes through an adjustment period. I am told this will all pass. It's certainly not the same as how peely it was in the first two weeks of use. Honestly, I've been lucky to be on this during the pandemic during work from home cause I havn't had to be seen in public too much. Everything is worth it though, even the purge I got, I am happy with the results now as I can see that it declogged a whole whack of under the skin bumps I had. Love that this also prevents pre mature wrinkles and aging BUT you absolutely must wear sunscreen or you'll end up doing more damage than if you weren't using this cream. I used to find sunscreens broke me out, but I feel fine using them now that I know the retin A is declogging my pores. I'll do an update again when I've hit 4 months.
**** UPDATE 7 MONTHS ****
DO I recommend this? Definitely. I have been using this almost every second or third night for 7 months now. I feel like the first three months my skin one through a lot of transition. 7 months in, my skin never peels anymore, and has a very youthful glow. I think the frequent peeling ended around month 4. It certainly works incredible for preventing whiteheads (and healing them up rapidly), and well as keeping skin smooth. I usually use this every third day or so because my skin cannot tolerate this every day- it'll look dry, irritated and overall not attractive so I try to listen to my skin. I'm on the highest strength. Every 2-3 days seems to due the trick. I want to make a statement here though. Has this eradicated my acne? it has NOT when it comes to cystic acne. Hormonal acne will not be treated with this medication in my opinion because it works from outside in. Hormones are an issue from inside- We have to remember, each type of acne is related to different reasons. Hormonal tends to be larger red, inflamed itchy or painful lumps under the skin. This is great for everything I mentioned above though, I never get whiteheads anymore and blackheads non existent. Skin smooth and glowy. Good for anti-aging. However, it has not helped me recently when I had a hormonal outbreak. I am now on spiro and will see how that works. I will continue to use this though because it has made skin feel excellent and it has greatly diminished hyperpigmentation, as well as improving the look and deepness of some more serious deeper scarring.
February 5, 2019
Product used: Stieva-A (Tretinoin (0.025%) Cream)
Wish I'd used it sooner
Until I started using tetinoin creams my face was horrible, and I wonder why no doctor recommended to me sooner. I've been on antibiotics and I've used so many over the counter treatments but tretinoin really did it for me. I still have acne, but it took it from severe to moderate and now I can chip away at it with other tools. I used this brand and it was great, however they have stopped making it and went I needed a refill I got given a differently branded one, which I mean really it acts in the same way just doesn't feel as nice.
January 13, 2019
NOT BETTER THAN B.P
i'm sure this is not better than b.p for sensitive skin
it's so irritating and it makes skin more sensitive
August 23, 2018
Totally cleared up my acne
I'm a 21 year old female and I've had moderate acne on my face, chest and back and have been struggling with it ever since I was 12/13, there aren't any huge cysts but a lot of white heads and under the surface red bumps. I have used almost every acne treatment accept for roaccutane but for some reason never tried a retinoid. Going on the pill did help a little bit with keeping the acne under control but it didn't clear my skin up completely. I started used a 0,05% tretinoin cream on my back half a year ago before summer (as you can't go into the sun with it) and it worked like a miracle. It did make my skin peal a lot in the beginning but cleared it up super fast and also got rid of the scarring which is always a big problem for me. I stopped using it when it was cleared up (after 1,5 month even maybe) and summer started and it hasn't really come back again! I also tried it on my face but stopped really soon as it made my skin peal like crazy and I was really dependent on make up at that time which made my skin look flaky. I have now learned to not wear make up as much and I thought it might be time to try the tretinoin on my face now. When using it on my back I used quite a lot of the cream because the skin on my back is a lot less sensitive, it pealed but didn't get irritated. I also didn't really mind that it looked bad at that time because I could just hide my back with clothes, which I already did anyway because of the acne. With my face I am taking it a bit slower with the dosage and have been using a pea size every other night. In the beginning my skin did peal a little bit but it didn't look too bad if I just applied a lot of moisturizer (I use an aloe vera gel myself) and not wore make up (as this made the dry flakes more obvious). After doing this for three weeks my skin is slowly becoming less flaky and I am able to wear make up again without it looking dry. I am very perfectionistic with my skin but people in my surroundings have commented on how much better my skin looks and I have noticed a difference in the acne (even though it's not gone yet), I definitely have less pimples and I feel like my scars are fading. I do have high hopes for it though as it did clear up by back completely! I would really recommend using this but to be careful and patient.
May 23, 2018
Great treatment
I (a ginger, pale skinned Irish man) have found both Tretinoin and Isotretinoin excellent at both reducing breakouts and smoothing over the surface of my skin. Being very pale I always found that red marks stood out on me and these drugs have been excellent at improving the appearance of these marks. I found both of these drugs less aggressive on my skin than other retinoids that I've tried (Adapalene) - Tretinoin was less corrosive than Isotretinoin but neither caused any problem that wasn't manageable. I highly recommend these to anybody who is wasting their time with tetracyclines.
May 22, 2018
on week 3
i just wanted to post something here at the moment in order to track my progress and help others just in case it helps. I have had acne since I was about 14, and it's always been mild. I used differin when I was a teenager, however I do feel like it didn't clear my acne completely but rather made me dependant on it. I have tried almost everything, from becoming vegetarian to every kind of cream etc. I get facials every month so my acne was never out of control, but it was getting tiresome and didn't seem like a long term solution. My mom then said something to me, my brother's acne had gone away after using retin-a. So when i was on vacation in vietnam i picked some up OTC at the pharmacy. $10. Week 1 - I bought my locacid cream which is 0.05% Started using it with paula's choice salicylic acid 2% toner. Morning toner, Night cream. I started purging out this small white heads, so i got a facial and and had A LOT of them taken out rather painlessly. I have maybe like 3 normal pimples on my face. Week 2 - I have started to get dry skin. I use a sheet mask every other day now to boost the water content in skin. Have noticed that the mask helps to bring the heads to the surface, and yes, I do pop them. I do notice it helps the pimple heal faster, but yes, there will be a mark. If I don't pop the pimple it does not seem to go away. My skin at this point in time is still reasonably clear maybe, 2-3 pimples. Key take away - Use sheet masks every other day. Will help comedones come out. Week 3 - My skin is now starting to get a little bit more dry than tolerable. If i open my mouth wide the sides are cracking a bit. Tried to let my skin peel to get the full effect, but it seems like the retin-a works better with moisturised skin. I am starting to get this weird under the skin pimples, some come out some do not. If you moisturise, they're more like to come out. My skin looks blotchy and raw. Alot of the pimples that are coming out, are coming out from the old acne pigmentation, but as soon as they're out, the pigmentation seems to lighten and peel off. I'm assuming this means that theres stuff inside of the hyper-pigmentation that is getting pushed out. Is this the purge? The beginning of the week and brutal. Looked terrible. But, on the bright side, everything seems to be flattening out at the end of this week. I have been getting some pimples on my chin which, but very small ones here and there. Still tolerable.I am starting to moisturise my skin daily, and my skin is reacting well to serums, but not coconut oil. Will try almond oil with vitamin e next week. Skin is starting to look better, but I'm not 100% sure the purging is done. Key take aways this week - DO exfoiliate, it will help get rid of the small bumps and loosen plugs. I use the salicylic 1% pads in the morning before moisturising with argan oil. That's all for now, going away to india for a yoga retreat for 3 weeks. Will update on week 7. Fingers crossed!
July 1, 2019
Just wanted to do an update, the locacid cream didn't work. it caused my skin to get worse.
however about a year later i tried a different brand of trentinoin, same strength, and it works with no purging.
My personal opinion is if there's purging and you can't tell whether it's purging or just irritation it is irritation. maybe try a different brand on trentinoin. another generic brand of trentinoin did the trick for me! I also took anti parasite medicine.
May 11, 2018
Went from mild to severe
I wish I did my research before putting it on my face! My derm prescribed me this and didn't really tell me much about it other than to use sunscreen. I have never had acne this bad before, I'm eating all the right things... I cut out everything like (dairy, meat, gluten, anything you can think of that causes acne) all I eat is vegetables and fruits with salads and salmon w beans. Still wonder why I get really bad cysts, and pimples in places I never had before such as my neck and forehead. My skin is so sensitive to the sun now! And it's super red. With summer around the corner I decided to stop using it. Hope this diet calms my active acne. Good luck to those who are using this. Not for me.
Pros:
None that I can think of.