Really work but it's strong medication so listen to your skin, start in a progressive way and don't be scared to skip a day or two even if you used it for a long time, if your skin is too dry. I found out that the cetaphil cleanser and mosturizer really helped combined with retin-a, even thou the mosturizer make my skin look really oily, it's not clogging my pores and I don't break out anymore because I'm less dry! That's cool! I've been using retin-a for 7 weeks. I still get a few pimples but my general complexion looks waaaaaaay better than before. I encourage people with a lot of comedones to try this and it's supposed to be good for almost all kind of acne. It's very strong so it can heal and completely transform your face or completely destroy your face wether you use it smartly of stupidly. By stupidly I mean by applying to often in the beginning, not mosturizing, tanning without sunscrean or anything else irritating for your face. I wish everyone could get the result I got, I used to go on this site and cry a lot and read every review I could to give me courage to go through this and now I'm feeling confident again and I wish I could help you guys, if you need advice on retin-a, please feel free to talk to me. Don't give up on retin-a guys!

I was so depressed about a year ago with my acne, it was horrible! I would cancel plans with friends because i just didnt feel like going out. I've been on Tretinoin(.025%) for roughly 7 months and my skin is seriously AMAZING!! Smooth and I get a occasional pimple, but who doesnt? I don't get deep ones, i actually have NO pimples right now which is something i couldn't say 7 months ago. Stick through the initial break out, put it on every night. Also, start with a low concentration, irritation doesn't mean it's improving any better. There was a research that actually said that the .1% vs. .025% had the same results just varied in irritation. I love my skin now =)

so....i waited a super long time to post my review so i could be sure i saw the full cycle of effects...and trust me....some parts of the process were not pretty. it started out with the worst IBO of my life. I had thought my acne was bad before, but in the initial break out, which happened about 2 weeks in and lasted about 5 weeks, i didn't even want to leave my room. i didn't want my family to see me, let alone anyone else. makeup didn't help, because my red, peely skin would just flake and make the makeup look even worse. my social life suffered, my friends got pissed at me, guys thought i wasn't interested and moved on, etc. through this time, the only thing that kept me sane and willing to continue the treatment was coming on this website, and reading the multitude of reviews where others said they went through the same thing and came out of it after about 8 or 9 weeks. well the same thing happened for me. week 10 starts tomorrow and as of the past few days, my skin is completely clear with no active pimples. the only thing i have to deal with now is some residual superficial scarring and some hyperpigmentation, but i'm simultaneously using the Obagi NuDerm system, which has worked well for me in the past. i'm not worried about the scars as they are already starting to fade and heal; and besides, after going through such a horrible breakout, i feel like almost nothing can faze me now. please take my word and if you are using this treatment, don't give up until at least after week 12 or until the tube is gone--even the packaging states it may take up to 12-15 weeks for it to work. dermatologists are not retarded--there's a reason why they prescribe this medicine; it works! you just have to be patient and let it do it's job and use as directed. it will be very unpleasant for a while, but afterwards, your skin will be fresher than before! *ladies, if you need a good non-comedogenic makeup in

When my doc first prescribed tretinoin, I did my due diligence and researched on the Internet. I got terrified 'the purge' would happen to me, as I had a bad experience with clindamycin in high school and I broke out pretty badly. I put off using T for weeks. But my boyfriend said to me one day, "You'll never know if you don't try it out - why would else this treatment be so popular if it didn't work?" Here's some background: I am a 23 y/o Asian female with moderate acne since middle school, mostly painful and swollen papules/pustules that come up around my menstrual cycle. I'd have 2-3 big pimples on my face at a given time (mostly around my T zone), and some other random zits would pop up here and there. But the worst were the red marks that got left behind - I'd pop my zits (bad habit, I know) and then the marks would just not go away! My skin is naturally pretty oily, with some dry patches here and there bc of my eczema, but my complexion was always reddish and when I drank alcohol I'd always get Asian glow and my face would look splotchy. I had bad hyperpigmentation and the only way to improve my complexion was to first stop the acne. I was sick of having to rely on makeup and foundation daily to hide the zits, it was especially hard because I love to exercise and hated working out because I had to remove my makeup. When I started T, I started VERY slowly. I used it twice a week for 3 weeks. The first three weeks my face flaked a bit, especially around the chin/mouth area. But I'd exfoliate every now and then and it'd take care of the flakiness. It never got to the point where I had patchy or broken skin, I found that moisturizing multiple times a day helped to control the dryness. I didn't experience a purge. The worst it ever got with the T was a few small whiteheads around my chin/mouth. But since T speeds up the rate of skin cell production, the zits went away and faded pretty quickly - a trend that would happen in the months to come, which was awesome. I didn't experience any 'purge' at any point in time. My skin started getting better, and by week 5-6 you could start to see some results. I stopped getting those painful hormonal zits that I usually get a few times a month, and it felt great. I was also taking minocycline for the first month I was on T, but I stopped after a while as I didn't think it was really making any impact. After 3 weeks of 2x/week, I upped the T to 3x/week for another 3 weeks. Then I upped to 4x/week for 3 weeks. Now I'm at 4-5x a week, and my skin has adjusted pretty well. I'm 13 weeks in now. There's no flaking at all now and my complexion has improved so much. I stopped getting painful, swollen zits. I have virtually no acne anymore. At times there's a small whitehead or two, but those almost always fade after 2-3 days. My hyperpigmentation has improved as well, though that takes a bit longer to see big improvements for complexion. I've also started buffering now, as I'm getting a little lazy with having to wait every time I use T, so I'll mix moisturizer and T together and apply right after I wash. The other day, I went to work without using foundation! That was definitely a first for me, and it felt great. I highly recommend using this product for acne, but you MUST be diligent about using it the correct way. I always see people say things like "I started T 2 weeks ago and I have been using it 3x week, my skin broke out!" Well, of course it would break out - you're not using it correctly. The key is to start slowly to make sure your skin adjusts, and to use it in a regimented scheduled way, making sure to wait at least 25 min between applications of T and moisturizer. Here's my skin regimen, if that's of interest: MORNING - Cerave or Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Creamy Cleanser - Moisturize with CeraVe Lotion - makeup EVENING Nights with T: - Cerave or Neutrogena Cleanser ----Wait at least 25min - pea-sized amount of T ----Wait at least 25min but I like it give it up to an hour if I have time - Cerave Lotion and 3 drops jojoba oil (I use Now Foods Organic Jojoba Oil, it's actually great for oily skin. I would highly recommend this product to hydrate skin, it makes your complexion incredibly supple the morning after) Other products - Panoxyl 4% benzoyl peroxide face wash, on days I do not use T (bp and T counteract each other so do not use on days you use T) - Philosophy Microdelivery Vitamin C Peel: for hyperpigmentation, this stuff is expensive but does wonders. I would only recommend this after your skin has adjusted to T (at least 3 months into treatment). I only use this every 1-2 weeks or so. Good luck!

Retin-a has given me a face clear of break outs and scars. Best acne product for serious users only who would stick with it until the end.

I was breaking out horribly for 3 months before improvement was seen. It was really hard to stick with tretinoin when I wasn't seeing any results. YOU MUST BE PATIENT with this product. You WILL see improvement if you stick with it. Also used Bactrim for two months, and Aviane since then. I used .05% every other day b/c my acne and skin was so bad, and then moved to every day when the redness and inflammation stopped. Use a cleanser without salicylic acid to prevent redness and over-drying. I use Neutrogena foaming cleanser and it works very well. Bottom line: Tretinoin cleared my skin, but it took about 2 1/2 months. If I would've stuck with tretinoin the first time I took it, it would've saved me an extra 9 weeks of acne hell. Be patient and don't give up. The weeks waiting will be worth the clear skin later.

I am on my sixth month of using Tretinoin, and it has completely cleared my skin. I have not had a single pimple for 2 months. My skin is absolutely glowing. It has changed my life. Just be patient and give the product 4 months because the initial breakout/drying/redness can be frustrating, but I am telling you the end result is fantastic.

I waited a full 3 months before reviewing. I read everyone elses reviews and knew the initial breakout would be bad and it was. I took time off work, cried almost daily, hated the way I looked and wouldn't go out for about 8 weeks. My skin was never great but never bad until this year. I'm 34 and my hormones went nuts and made me break out in moderate acne, hormonal, the worst I've EVER had. I saw a derm and was prescribed Retin A 0.05 After 8 and up to 12 weeks my skin became better and better. I now get the tiniest little pimples here and there, nothing to even worry about, they aren't even red. I am taking minomycin antibiotics and am on estelle contraceptive pill as prescribed by my derm. All I have now are left over red marks but I'm sure they must be fading because it's getting easier and easier to cover them with makeup. Most people who don't know wouldn't have a clue I had moderate acne just 2 months ago. I bought Da Vinci mineral makeup and wear it daily and it has been fantastic, doesn't clog my pores so I swear by it! I saw 2 dermatologists after the first 10 weeks for the red marks and both were insisting I had to go on Roaccutane but I refused. Why go on Roaccutane when my skin was steadily improving??? I'm so glad I went against everyone's advice and stuck with the cream because I'm now clear and have better skin than before. My advice is be ready for the initial break out and persevere with it like everyone recommends. Don't give up just because you start breaking out, it WILL pass. You have to be very patient and very strong. All I'm reading tells me it will also work on getting rid of my wrinkles between 6-12 mths so I'm looking forward to that now!

Everyone, seriously. Stop using: -Tea tree oil (guess what? It's an irritant, regardless of it's anti-bacterial properties. Stop buying into all the marketing, and applying full-strength tea tree oil to your skin is a big no-no) -Toners (ANY kind, you don't need this anyway- Retin-A is going to take care of all that) -Foaming cleansers -scrubs of ANY KIND (INCLUDING WASHCLOTHS) -Salicylic/Glycolic Acid (because NO, these are not antibacterial, they are exfoliants. DON'T USE THEM AT ALL WITH RETIN-A) Start slow with Retin-A, every 3 nights at first. Ramp up slowly, and avoid applying directly near your eyes and around your mouth. These areas get the most irritated, and once the rest of your skin adjusts you can start applying it there. Those areas slowly start to adjust via cell communication, so wait for the cells to communicate and adjust before you start applying it directly to those areas. Retin-A is a miracle for deep, painful cysts. If you don't want to use Retin-A religiously all over, keep some on hand for the painful ones. It's a more effective spot treatment for those. However, if you are a female with deep cysts, talk to your dermatologist to see if these are more hormonal; birth control (or spironolactone) might be really effective for you. I've been on both Accutane and Retin-A, which if you are informed know they work in a similar fashion (but Accutane works systematically from the inside out). Your skin does not actually "thin", but it gets delicate on either drug. And as much as people talk about initial "purging" you can avoid most of it by just moisturizing your skin- BUT REMEMBER- IT'S BETTER TO MAINTAIN YOUR MOISTURE BARRIER THAN TRY TO REPLENISH IT. THE OIL ON YOUR FACE IS NOT THAT BARRIER. Any time you rub/exfoliate/dry out your skin, it takes a lot of time to get back to where you need to be. That's the "purging" you're experiencing- when your skin is delicate, dry, and irritated, guess what? That gives you acne and rashes. I prepped to take Accutane by keeping my skin moisturized and not being aggressive with it. And guess what? No "purging", no irritatedness. Flakiness only happened when I didn't use moisturizer. My skin was nearly perfect in 2 weeks and remained that way for the 6 months I was on it (and after). I wish I had listened to my dermatologist instead of buying into the fear people perpetuate on these threads about side effects. I shouldn't have waited until I was 30 to do it. DRY SKIN WILL HAPPEN, DONT WAIT FOR IT TO HAPPEN. BE PREPARED AND SAVE YOURSELF THE TROUBLE. Products you SHOULD use: -Vaseline (won't clog your pores, do your research) -Products with mineral oil (it doesn't clog your pores; that was a marketing trick in the cosmetic industry to get people to buy their products by creating fear over using mineral oil; but it's bull. Do your research, mineral oil is actually one of the best moisturizers for dry (and damaged or irritated) skin. -I would avoid Cetaphil gentle cleanser. Why? It has sulfates. Yeah. Read the ingredients, people. You can, however, use a micellar water (I really recommend Sensibio H2O, its non-irritating and you can wipe your skin without force, no need to rinse. Cetaphil requires that you wipe it off (or rinse it off, which frankly leaves a bit of residue) It's all I use to clean my skin. Bam. Thank you, France. You gotta treat your skin like you're a burn victim. Oiliness or not, okay? Are you guys listening? Please stop with the crap products (even the "natural" ones, which are frequently so poorly formulated I can't believe they're on the market) EVERYONE should educate themselves regarding ingredients- Go to [link removed] and go through the ingredient dictionary. LISTEN TO SCIENCE, NOT HYPE, and certainly not teenagers on this thread. Sorry for all the shouting; I'm worried you guys aren't listening to your dermatologists, or your dermatologists aren't informing you at all. TRUST SCIENCE NOT HYPE I can't stress that enough. //end rant/review

I started using Retin A about 6 weeks ago and it has made a HUGE difference. It got rid of my acne in about 2 weeks(the 1st week it made them a little worse). It has already begun to fade older scars and my skin looks much better than I imagined it could so quickly. My skin is dry so youll need a good mosturizer! Other than that I have no complaints. It has honestly changed my life so much not having to wake up to new pimples everyday. Instead I wake up with none and glowing skin! Keep with it the first few weeks because after that it is TOTALLY WORTH IT!! FYI - I used this with Clean&Clear Sensitive foaming face wash, Aveeno daily brightning scrub(every other morning to help peeling), Cetaphil moisturizer and Aveeno Clear Complexion moisturizer. hope this helps!