Tretinoin topical and Acne: What Users Say (Page 3)

• dan...
• February 10, 2017

Tretinoin topical for Acne "I've read so many reviews about Retin-A being amazing and working almost immediately, but I have been using this gel for about 7 weeks, and my skin is still so much worse than before I started using it! I broke out in deep, painful acne almost immediately, and it still hasn't gone away. Breakouts all over my face, and my skin is red and very, very noticeably dry and peeling. Hoping it will start to work soon, I'm getting pretty discouraged that it's taking so long! :("

• Mon...
• September 21, 2015

For Acne "This stuff is magic. I was prescribed Tretinoin 0.05 over a year ago, and after months of skin torture and super low self-confidence, almost everyone said I had amazing skin once my face cleared up. This medication will teach you patience, but please, whatever you do, bear with it. It's so worth it, I promise. There are severe breakouts in the first 3 months, but it's totally normal - it means it's working. The medication gets deep in your pores and cleans out all the acne deep in your skin, which is why you break out severely in the beginning of this medication. Stay on this cream too, never stop using it or you'll regret it. Once your face is used to it and clears out, use it every other day."

• Anonymous
• November 4, 2015

For Acne "I just hit my three-month point on tretinoin .05%, and I'm so happy. I was really depressed about my skin during the first two months because I've never had bad acne, and the cream made me have horrible acne. But I knew that was the worst part of it, and after that was over, I would be fine. I've only had two zits since then, and I'm only left with scars, which is fine. Try it out even if you're scared because I was too, and I'm so glad I did. It's worth it!"

• 36y...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 23, 2016

For Acne "I used the full Obagi package for four months and gradually stopped using their sunblock and skin correction lotions because the breakouts were 100x worse than before I started the treatment for mild acne. I did keep telling myself that my skin would have more breakouts and then improve, but four months was a long time to wait. Now I only use the tretinoin cream, and it has been great. I only have one or two spots max, but overall my skin is clear. I use the oil-free moisturizer by Murad to protect my skin against UV light, and I'm really pleased with the results."

• Roy...
• September 1, 2016

Tretinoin topical for Acne "Absolutely amazing product! My face looked like a 14-year-old boy's does when he is going through puberty. I began putting Atralin on nightly along with taking a probiotic (instead of taking an antibiotic, which is so bad for your gut), and my face did appear to be worse during the first week and a half, but then all of a sudden it began clearing up so quickly! I've been using it a little less than a month and still get a few pimples, but it is so much better. Can't wait to see how it works within the next 3 months! I already see fine lines and acne scars improving! Amazing!"

• jus...
• August 13, 2015

For Acne "I have super sensitive skin, and I'm very fair, and this cream is the only thing that ever worked. At first, you get worse acne, but within two weeks or so, it's gone, and they didn't come back. Love this stuff. Also, helps with wrinkles a lot, it's very noticeable."

• Dhr...
• July 4, 2016

For Acne "I have been using tretinoin for almost 3 weeks now. The first week was alright, but after that, my face broke out quite badly. I had quite a few new pimples on my face. Ugh, those two weeks tested my patience, but I knew that it has to get worse before getting better, so I kept that positive attitude and moved forward. Now I think my face is getting used to the cream, and I am not seeing any new pimples anymore. Hopefully, now the 'clearing up phase' will start. Fingers crossed."

• Anonymous
• June 24, 2011

Tretinoin topical for Acne "I am 21, and I had bumps on my chin every day since I was 16. I had tried EVERYTHING, including a Clarisonic, expensive face washes, creams, etc. Thankfully, my dermatologist prescribed me Atralin, and my skin is practically perfect. I had an initial breakout for about a week and a half, then suddenly my skin was perfect. No bumps and so smooth! It does make my face rather shiny, which I am not used to since I have dry skin. I am so happy with this product! It is so nice to wake up every morning with great skin. This is worth the price tag. I wash my face nightly with Bobbi Brown 'extra balm rinse,' use this gel, then apply a heavy moisturizer. Get Atralin! It will change your life!"

• Ano...
• October 23, 2015

For Acne "This is my review so far :) So I started tretinoin 0.025 13 weeks ago. At first, my face broke out so bad and was peeling so much I couldn't even cover it with makeup. This happened around the first and second week. My acne then fluctuated from somewhat decent skin to having breakouts for the next 8 weeks. It was somewhat discouraging to see my face break out worse from how I originally started, but thankfully, this past week and a half I've had consistently clear skin with only a few blackheads on my chin area. My skin is very soft now, and I can go to school (senior in high school) and feel comfortable wearing no makeup. I only have a few scars that are noticeably fading each day."

• Anonymous
• March 6, 2010

Tretinoin topical for Acne "I have been using Atralin for about a month and a half now. I started out with very moderate acne, a few pimples but nothing substantial. I have been struggling with acne for five years, and I just wanted something to totally zap my acne. Well, Atralin is NOT that. I have very sensitive skin, and I am still peeling after all this time. When I started using it, it made me break out, and now my acne and red spots are worse."

• Anonymous
• January 20, 2012

For Acne "I'm 30 and have always had bad acne. I've tried many things, and this is my second time using Retin-A. I wasn't patient enough the first time, but this time I wanted to see if it would work. The initial breakout was horrible, and I developed a rash on my arms. I've been using it for 7 months, and my skin is super smooth. I still get pimples, but they do not stick out, and there are only 2-3 at a time instead of my whole face breaking out. I have terrible blemishes, and this medication is slowly fading the marks. I feel a little better about myself and don't wake up every morning in fear of what the mirror shows me."

• Bri...
• January 31, 2011

For Acne "I will admit, I was worried about using this product. I use Tretinoin Cream 0.025%. At first, you will experience some dryness in your skin, however, if you skip a day and use an oil-free lotion, it does help. I've been using it for close to a year, and the results are amazing. Yes, I do get a few breakouts here and there, but it is to be expected. Wonderful product, though."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 18, 2022

For Acne "Could not recommend tretinoin less. Terrible decision to use it. Had a very mild acne issue where I had maybe 4 pimples in total. I was given tretinoin, and it literally just gave me a huge breakout in the first month, and now I've got an acne issue I didn't have before, nor had I ever had in my life. I saw my dermatologist. Just from my personal experience, I would warn anyone with moderate to mild acne to not use this medication. I can see how this would work for someone with severe acne where the 'purge' stage wouldn't be too noticeable, but for me, it was a total disaster, and my acne still isn't fixed after 2.5 months."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 16, 2012

Tretinoin topical for Acne "Okay, I just switched from using Differin, which helped my skin but didn't completely cure it. I have always had mild to moderate acne. I went to my dermatologist, and I started using Retin-A every other night for the past weeks and few days. I'M BREAKING OUT LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW. This is awful, and I have to go to school during this. I really hope this is just the initial breakout, and I'm not one of the people who ends up saying this left my skin worse than when I started. I'm going to give it another month or two."

• The...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 31, 2016

For Acne "My teen is on the tenth week of this medicine. It has ruined his skin. He went from a few zits to a face full of very large zits that cover his whole face. He looks horrible. I can't get him to the dermatologist for another three weeks. He is very distraught and now has scars. I don't know why this type of product is on the market. I keep telling him to wait, wait, wait because that's what I keep reading, but it seems like every day there are more zits. I'm starting to wonder if the wait, wait wonderful results stories are written by paid reviewers from the company that makes the drug. I don't know if he should push through or abandon this product at this point."

• Dan...
• February 9, 2017

For Acne "Honestly, I've used this, and it's the 0.05% one, I believe, and I've been using it daily. It's really cleared up my acne, like a lot. At first, I had a big breakout, and then I used this. Once I started it, the first few weeks it got worse, and until two months later of using this, it's gotten so much better. But the only thing is that my acne scars 'post-hyperpigmentation' are taking forever to go away."

• Sam...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 27, 2018

For Acne "I was prescribed this for my acne, which is moderate but can get really bad at times. They told me it would get worse for about a month and then get better. After using it for 8 weeks, I can tell you it only made it worse. My skin has never been that bad before. On top of the cystic acne, it caused my sensitive skin to be excessively red and dry. They gave me a pill to take with it (Minocycline), though, and it works wonders. 5 days ago I stopped using the tretinoin gel and only take the pill, and now my skin is almost completely free of breakouts. Don’t use this gel if you have the choice."

• Hon...
• January 19, 2020

For Acne "I recently talked to my derm about my acne and got tretinoin, clindamycin, and benzoyl peroxide cream, and I'm currently a little over two weeks in. And my face is mad! The first week I had huge cystic pimples on my face and super dry, red, and flaking skin that was so embarrassing, and now the big ones are gone, but I still have a lot of breakouts and a little dryness in some areas. I'm sure my skin is purging, and I just need to stick with it. My acne was pretty bad anyway, so I can deal with it getting worse before it gets better. I'm using tretinoin 0.025 at night, topical clindamycin, and benzoyl peroxide in the mornings, witch hazel toner, and CeraVe face moisturizer. It's only been two weeks, and I do see some slight changes. Even though the breakouts are really bad right now, I used to have little bumps all over my cheeks and chin. Those have gone, and my skin is a lot smoother, and now I just have the spread-out pimples that keep appearing all over my face. I'm hoping I start to see real results soon."

• Hon...
• January 19, 2020

For Acne "I recently talked to my derm about my acne and got tretinoin, clindamycin, and benzoyl peroxide cream, and I'm currently a little over two weeks in. And my face is mad! The first week I had huge cystic pimples on my face and super dry, red, and flaking skin that was so embarrassing, and now the big ones are gone, but I still have a lot of breakouts and a little dryness in some areas. I'm sure my skin is purging, and I just need to stick with it. My acne was pretty bad anyway, so I can deal with it getting worse before it gets better. I'm using tretinoin 0.025 at night, topical clindamycin, and benzoyl peroxide in the mornings, witch hazel toner, and CeraVe face moisturizer. It's only been two weeks, and I do see some slight changes. Even though the breakouts are really bad right now, I used to have little bumps all over my cheeks and chin. Those have gone, and my skin is a lot smoother, and now I just have the spread-out pimples that keep appearing all over my face. I'm hoping I start to see real results soon."

• for...
• June 27, 2011

Tretinoin topical for Acne "I have been using Atralin for a month now. Though most users have seen significant improvement within 12 months, I've seen my face improved within the first week. I've always had mild to moderate acne since I was 12 for the past 20 years and had never thought of going to the dermatologist until a month ago when my esthetician tried to introduce Retin-A/Treninoid to me during a facial. My face did not have the initial breakout like most people and only a little peeling that lasted for a week, but of course, that was resolved with exfoliating my face. Though I still have some acne, my dermatologist saw me today and said that they will go away with time and not leave a scar. Since the first week, I have noticed the smoothness of my skin."

• Glo...
• October 25, 2014

For Acne "I have been on tretinoin since the end of September. I almost immediately saw improvement in my skin. However, around last week (week 4), my skin broke out. Almost every part of my cheek to above my eyebrow was covered in small little pimples. Can anyone tell me if this is normal or if there is a solution? The doctor also prescribed my bleaching cream (hydroquinone) for my dark spots, as well as a BP wash and doxycycline oral antibiotics."

• Glo...
• October 25, 2014

For Acne "I have been on tretinoin since the end of September. I almost immediately saw improvement in my skin. However, around last week (week 4), my skin broke out. Almost every part of my cheek to above my eyebrow was covered in small little pimples. Can anyone tell me if this is normal or if there is a solution? The doctor also prescribed my bleaching cream (hydroquinone) for my dark spots, as well as a BP wash and doxycycline oral antibiotics."

• Hal...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 5, 2016

Tretinoin topical for Acne "I had clear skin up until about age 18 when I went on birth control, and my skin got pretty out of control. I'm 20 now and finally went to the doctor. They gave me Atralin and 14 days of 100 mg doxycycline once daily. I've been using Atralin for about 2-3 weeks now, I started seeing results immediately. My skin did get a little dry and flaky, but finding a good moisturizer really helped that. I quit using Atralin for about a week after getting really sick, and I did break out with some whiteheads once I started applying it again. Those went away pretty quickly, though. This stuff is AMAZING. I look forward to using it every night, and I don't get upset when I look in the mirror anymore! Definitely recommend this! I love it!!"

• GEE...
• December 3, 2015

Tretinoin topical for Acne "For me, it got worse before it got better. And it got a lot better! I was prescribed Retin-A by my dermatologist back in July, and have been using it as directed for 4 months already. I'll say, it was very difficult to believe in this product since the first couple of weeks because my skin would just not catch a break. It got really bad, and I was miserable. However, I now attest to the true wonders this stuff can do for you if you're patient."

• Sev...
• June 14, 2016

For Acne "I had mild acne, which I now know was not that bad. When I first started this medication, my skin became discolored, sensitive, and it broke out. My relatives told me to stop using it, but I read reviews and figured it would get better. I have now been using it for about two and a half months—nothing has changed. It just made my even brown skin patchy and gave me pimples in formerly clear places. I forgot to use it last night, and I am debating on whether or not I should continue. I miss my old skin more than ever. I wish I had never gotten this medication. I am now more insecure than ever before. What should I do?"