Does tretinoin cream make you break out before it clears? and does it take the redness away?

23 Apr 2010

Hi! Yes, the tretinoin cream may make your acne worse before it gets better. It can also dry out and irritate your skin at first, but be patient, in 3-6 weeks you'll probably see a nice improvement. Oh, and be sure to wear sunblock with this medication, because it can make you more sensitive to the sun.

Tretinoin cream works a bit differently than some of the other topical face creams. It actually works by irritating the skin and causing the cells of the skin to grow (divide) and die more rapidly. In patients with acne, new cells replace the cells of existing pimples, and the rapid turnover of cells prevents new pimples from forming. In the same way, tretinoin can reduce some wrinkles, areas of darkened skin, and rough areas of skin.

I think if you stick with the cream for a few months, you'll have a reduction in pimples and probably lose those red marks as well.

Good luck!

23 Apr 2010

I know how you feel,i also use tretinoin cream .025% and when i first started it made me break out too,but when i ask about that my doc said that was normal and then i read about it and he was right,but it went away after 2 weeks and now my face looks great,and the red marks went away i use it for some small wrinkles and the cream works great just keep applying it like your doc ordered,hope this helps