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I am new to Retin-A Micro and have read a lot of reviews about it and understand that it takes time to see results and that your skin will often look worse before it looks better. I am at my 3 week mark, and did experience purging (not too bad though) and am waiting for the great results that many see at 6 weeks. For those using Retin-A, when did you notice a great improvement?
For those that use it every other night, what do you use on your off nights? I know my skincare regimen has changed dramatically as I am no longer using any harsh products (with the exception of the aqua glycolic facial moisturizer on my off nights mixed with la roche posay's toleraine moisturizer). Any input would be greatly appreciated. For note, I am only 21 years old and am on it for breakout purposes (although before I never broke out horribly to begin with, just when I happen to have had an appt with my derm). ***one last thing...everywhere I read it says "only a pea size amount should be necessary" but there is NO WAY that a "pea size" covers my whole face....
Megan
Submitted by Megan on April 17, 2008 - 7:35am. Viewed 1270 times
6/28/08
I completely understand where you're coming from. I had a similar experience (it was years ago, but I can still relate) with Retin-A. Out of the blue when I was around your age I started breaking out. I was one of those teenagers that never really did, so this was a surprise. I went to the dermatologist and was prescribed Retin-A. I used it faithfully as prescribed--heeding the warnings about its potential to dry out my skin and to, as you note, only use a pea-size. I used it daily, but I did not have success with Retin A. And it seemed an eternity before I finally said, "this isn't working". For me, one thing that ultimately balanced my skin out a bit and cleared things up was daily use of a 10%-12% alpha-hydroxy face cream (mine was a glycolic acid formula). I'd continue with the regimen for the fully-prescribed amount of time because that is a commonly heard aspect of Retin-A, that it takes time, sometimes up to that milestone "6 weeks". But if you are not seeing results, please get back to your dermatologist to discuss alternatives.