Differin for Acne User Reviews

• JoJ...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 20, 2025

"I have now used Differin Gel for 7 weeks now, and I'm seeing change. You do have to give the gel time to work on your acne. This is a slow-working medication, and it does take time to show the full benefit. Your acne may get worse at first, but it will get better. Good things take time. My acne got better, worse, better, worse, etc., but it's trying to clear up. I did experience the purging phase where I got burning, peeling, and redness of my face, but it went away after almost 5 weeks for me. Everyone's experience is different, and my experience doesn't guarantee that yours will be the same. Make sure to use Differin Gel 1x a day in the evening or night before bed. Make sure to follow up with a good moisturizer 30 minutes after using the gel. My acne did increase some, but only small whiteheads appeared as a result of the purging phase because this means that acne from underneath your skin that's been there is being brought up and eliminated. I will definitely update my review."

• Mol...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 10, 2025

"Exactly on the 12-week mark, my skin changed dramatically and has been clear for about 2 months now. The purging phase is real though! My acne got way worse-I almost gave up on it so many times. If you have the patience and don't want to use something stronger like Epiduo, I recommend it. Just give yourself at least 12 weeks before you expect clear skin. I'm glad I persisted though-touch wood-but this is the clearest/softest my skin has been in a year!! I would give it 10/10 but giving it 9/10 because the purging phase was tough-but hey, it worked in the end."

• San...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 29, 2024

"Would not recommend! Used twice and had to go to urgent care with a chemical burn."

• Tob...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 12, 2024

"Compared to other acne medications, I think Differin should always be a first-line treatment. It is effective, not as effective as Accutane, but it comes with way fewer side effects."

• fla...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 30, 2024

"So I'm a teenager with mild/moderate acne, and I decided to give Differin a try since benzoyl peroxide and other treatments weren't helping anymore. I followed every step, watched numerous reviews, and started using it. Let me tell you, my skin immediately went berserk. On the second day, I had deep red burns, peeling, and my eyelids were crusting and hurt so much. Moisturizers didn't help and just burned (yes I used gentle ones). It got so bad I threw it away and put Vaseline all over my face. The next day my skin was healing, and the burns were getting better. Do not use this product unless you know what you're doing!"

• Pco...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 5, 2024

"I have PCOS. One of my main symptoms is hormonal acne. Not just once a month acne… all the time acne! My skin texture is also not the best. After trying many different diets, topicals, and woo-woo treatments, nothing worked! Then I decided to try Differin gel. Wow. I started seeing results in the first week! Seriously! My skin was brighter, and the texture improved so much. I haven't been using it that long, but I know I will be using it as long as I need to moving forward. Now, I will say that it doesn't come without side effects. When starting out, it says to use it once a week. I started out M W F and took S S off. Then the following week, I used it every other day. It does burn/sting when you put it on. My advice would be to use a very gentle cleanser, wait 10 mins, and then apply the Differin gel. Then wait 30 mins to apply a gentle moisturizer. I put a little Aquaphor around the corners of my eyes and mouth because those areas will dry out. WEAR SUNSCREEN."

• Gae...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 28, 2024

"This gel, applied once in the evening, has eliminated my usual weekly breakouts. My face is clear. I always get large, painful pimples after eating chocolate and, although I have eaten small amounts for several days in a row, I haven't had any acne."

• Rac...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 31, 2023

"Legit AMAZING for small bumps/congestion. I had them for years and I've tried Tretinoin in 3 different strengths but could never get through the months of purging. I thought it might be fungal acne so tried Nizoral which dried tf out of my face and ruined my skin barrier. With Differin, I had about a month of flaking/peeling but wasn't bad at all. Now my forehead has NO bumps and I use it every night. Highly highly recommend."

• Art...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 13, 2023

"I’m currently on week 14 - and not seeing much improvement. I used to have mild acne and that has changed to moderate. My skin feels dry with Differin, and it has severely harmed my self-esteem. I have periods where I think it is getting better, then I have another huge breakout, although I think the overall texture of my skin may have slightly improved. I will persist with this for another few weeks but am going to slow it down to once every other day to see if that makes a difference. At my wit's end, I just want clear skin."

• Sha...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 16, 2023

"Differin, wow, what a journey. I am just into my 4th month of this treatment. My skin still isn’t how I wish it to be, but it’s improved unbelievably. The first two months were hard. The acne does decline, and it’s really hard to persevere, however, if you do, your skin will benefit. I have minimal spots, and I still have scarring, but the texture of my skin is smooth and not bumpy. Please keep going. I will update in 2 months to let you know any more of my progress… keep going, guys."

• dap...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 16, 2023

"I've been on 0.1% Differin for a few years now, can't remember exactly. I read a lot of reviews before I started - I was so nervous about the 'purge' everyone talked about, but my skin never got worse before it got better. I didn't experience any change at first, but over the course of a few weeks (changes within a month, HUGE improvement within 10 weeks, but kept improving for around a year before reaching a new normal), my skin gradually cleared up. My life stopped revolving around my face. I rarely ever think about my skin anymore, which has been such a blessing. Sometimes if I'm very ill-rested, sick, or experiencing hormonal changes, I'll notice acne appear. But the way Differin helps me is I'll go to sleep with acne and wake up without. When a blemish appears, it's almost fully gone the next day. My skin has a much faster 'renewal' rate. It's also helped with cystic things, though those do last longer and hurt more than normal pimples still due to the nature of them. TL,DR: Recommend"

• Med...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 14, 2023

"I used this for over four months, and the purge never ended, so I called it quits. My skin was better before I used it, so that helped me make the decision to quit. I used it every night after cleansing and before moisturizing. My routine is very minimal, but I am no stranger to skin care, and so many products cause pimples on my face. I’m sad this didn’t work for me, and I don’t like that people say you just have to stick it out for long enough because for some people it just doesn’t work."

• 5 m...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 22, 2022

"I’ve had on-and-off bouts of acne for the past few years and was previously using retinol but decided to try Differin gel to clear up my skin. The purge was awful, but I decided to stick it out. After 5 and 1/2 months, my skin was still much worse than when I started, so I decided to go back to using retinol instead. It had improved slightly since the initial purging phase, but I was now dealing with lots of scarring and hyperpigmentation and acne that was much worse than when I started. Maybe if I continued to stick with it, it may have cleared, but I decided 5 1/2 months was long enough, given that it seemed to be making my skin much worse. Be careful. This product doesn’t work for everyone. It’s not always simply a matter of time."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 22, 2022

"Beware of Differin, it doesn't work for everyone - their website says around 80% of people had positive results, so there's still 20% that don't. Differin ruined my skin, it made it 100 times worse than it had ever been. I had mild/moderate hormonal acne, and I started using Differin every other night for the first two weeks, then increased to every night. I only used a pea-sized amount, as instructed. I used Differin for just over four months, and there was a purge for the whole of the first month, then it started to get a bit better, so I had hope. But for the last two months, it just got significantly worse until my whole face was covered in cystic acne, which I'd never had before. It made me feel awful. A lot of comments about Differin said to stick with it, so I kept going, but if you've reached the three-month mark and your skin is getting worse, you really should stop. I wish I had stopped earlier, it gave me bad scars, but my skin is finally recovering five months later."

• Rep...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 7, 2022

"Differin sucks! I suffered from moderate closed comedones around my forehead, so I started using it, but it only made my condition 100 times worse and even started having pustules, cystic acne, and closed comedones on my cheeks and chin! I tried to persist, but even after 6 weeks of use, it still continued getting worse, so I went to a facial to have them all extracted and discontinued it! Now my skin is much smoother, but Differin has left me with so much post-irritation redness/hyperpigmentation. Waste of money and affected my self-esteem for so long!"

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 3, 2022

"Differin works. When I began Differin, I began to purge immediately. As some others have mentioned, don't expect your purge to get better and better linearly. Towards the end of your purge, your skin will repeatedly clear up for one or two days and then have a sudden outbreak in places you never had pimples before, and it gets very emotionally draining after a few of these cycles. My one piece of advice, which I wish my derm had told me about before starting Differin, is that if your purge becomes very severe, ask for a topical antibiotic like clindamycin, which is very anti-inflammatory and kills acne-causing bacteria, and also buy lots of hydrocolloid patches so you don't have to break your skin popping your pimples and risk scarring. Did the six-week purge suck? Absolutely. Would I do it again for the clear skin I have now? Absolutely, 1,000 times over. Push through those tough few weeks, and it will pay off, I promise. Sending you all so much love, you've got this :)"

• Ama...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• February 25, 2022

"As a long-term individual with acne across my chin, temples, and cheeks, I have been using Differin for a very long time. Throughout the years of relentlessly battling acne, I've come to realize that it is both hereditary and hormonal-related, which could possibly not be treated at all, only minimized. I am using Differin as a topical cream to increase skin turnover. My experience of coming on and off Differin has led me to the conclusion that Differin WORKS to decrease the amount of acne (if I keep using it) but does not entirely prevent pimples from emerging every month. It is still better than not using it at all."

• ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 22, 2022

"Well, this acne cream is a roller coaster. I have been using Differin for about three months now, and I have been left so, so upset with the results. I started off using it every three nights and gradually upped how often I was using it until it was every night. I thought that this would reduce the purging, however, I could not have been more wrong. Every day I was waking up with a new cystic pimple, and for someone with mild acne, this was really alarming because I had never had to deal with these before. There were not just slightly sore cystic pimples, we are talking sore for weeks cystic pimples, and I am still left with the aftermath. This cream is shocking. It may work for some people, but it definitely didn’t work for me and has completely ruined my skin. Never again, do not use this unless you are willing to endure the lengthiest and most painful three months of your life. I would NOT recommend. Find ANY OTHER ALTERNATIVE!!!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 22, 2022

"Bad experience with Differin gel. Skin dried up horribly but also didn't help acne, but made it worse. Would never recommend use."

• Ben...
• January 22, 2022

"I've always had normal skin with a few blemishes, and I had two to three pimples every now and then. I was doing research on products for breakouts and found this and bought it the next day. On the first day, I got some burns, but read it was normal and kept going. I've been using this for only a week, and I just had a major breakdown in my bathroom crying because of it. I woke up with five cystic pimples, and I have never in my life had cystic pimples or had them in those places. They hurt so bad I immediately washed my face with water, and I am never ever going to use it again. Makes your skin look so bad. Definitely not worth it. Would give it minus one if possible. Please do know your skin type, mine is combination to oily and a little sensitive, and please do not ignore the red flags. If your skin does not tolerate it, throw it away! This product was awful for me!!"

• Mar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 2, 2022

"I started Differin on the 20th of October, so it’s been just over 10 weeks. I have consistent acne that just won’t go away no matter what I try, and even if it does go away, it will shortly come back. The acne is normally around my chin and cheeks, and I also have prominent post-inflammatory erythema (PIE) in those areas. Till now, my skin is really dry and flaky in some areas, but that’s my fault for either using too much or forgetting to put on moisturizer. My diet probably doesn’t help either. But I can say that I have seen some difference in the quality of my skin and a reduction in acne on my cheeks and chin. While I’m still getting whiteheads in the areas I would normally get them, I’m still considering that as purging, as I would normally break out in those spots, and I do think with continued use it will stop. It’s also helped with my PIE. I do think there are upsides and downsides to using this product, but I do think it’s worth a try if you have acne and it’s the last resort."

• 123...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 30, 2021

"Differin was definitely a huge mistake. I went into it thinking the product would help because of the reviews, so during the first few months I thought it was just the purge stage, but after that it never stopped. Fast forward 6 months, and I stopped using it, and my acne improved little by little, but my face is still terrible because of this."

• ra2...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 28, 2021

"I started Differin in April 2021. We're in December 2021, hoping for it to make my skin look better. I had a pimple here and there, but nothing really serious compared to after using Differin gel. It made my skin much worse. I was hoping a lot from this product after hearing a lot of good reviews on it. It caused me pimples in places where I never had acne. And I still have 2 tubes that I bought in advance because I was so confident about it. Now I’m on month 9, and I think I’m willing to stop using it. I don’t recommend it."

• Lan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 29, 2021

"I’ve struggled with acne for the better part of my teen/adult life (I’m 25) and had tried every product under the sun. My acne is mostly hormonal. Before I started, I had about 2/3 pimples a week around my chin and jaw area. I started applying Differin every other night, to ease my skin into it. After a month, I applied it every day. The purge was real and long. A month in, I already had so many pimples, despite easing my skin into it. Another month later and it hadn’t gotten better. When the 12-week mark hit, I expected to see at least a small difference, but there was none. I wanted to keep going until 5/6 months because some people seem to need that long, but by the 4th month my acne was so cystic and painful, it hurt to sleep on my face. So I stopped. My skin is very sensitive. I am now using only a gentle cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen in hopes to heal my skin. Maybe I should’ve persisted, I’ll never know since I won’t be trying this again."

• Vin...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 17, 2021

"Differin really works! I was very reluctant to start using it because of all the terrible reviews and horror stories, but my only regret is not starting it sooner. Yes, it does make your skin worse to begin with. It’s probably gonna get to a point where it’s the worst it’s ever been, but it’s only temporary, and here I am a year later with almost flawless skin. I get the odd pimple from time to time, but for the most part, my skin is completely clear, and all the hyperpigmentation has faded at this point as well."