Retin A for Acne and Age Spots

October 24, 2012

Thanks for giving us an overview of how your first month went. I do hope that your skin adjusts quickly and you start to see the benefits of it soon!

I am curious, why did you switch from the gel to the cream?

October 25, 2012

I can only find the gel at strenght 0.025 and only the cream at 0.05 !! (that is what my insurance covers anyway ) c

UPDATED FROM cricricri11

Update, fourth week: super dry skin but no more...

cricricri11October 28, 2012

Update, fourth week: super dry skin but no more visible spots / pimples!
I am thinking about wearing a cream with the Retin A at night.
Anyone at all did it too?

Replies (8)

November 4, 2012

do u wear any makeup in the daytime?..do you consider your acne hormonal? im on day 11 and iI think im going through a purging phase:/

July 15, 2017

OMG, i completely did miss this message. My acne is surely hormonal . There is no way to wear make up during the first phase. Did you keep on going? How are you keeping now?

Kimme_o3

October 16, 2017

Hi I have been using retina for almost a month , my face is so sensitive and anything I put on it make it red and itchy. I was using differin gel first and loved the results and so I thought I would purchase RetinA and alternate the two . It’s helped my my hormonal acne a lot and dried white headed that I had for years and couldn’t get Rid of. I started using the 0.5% and it works ok with using it 1-2 times a week , and would like to up the dose but afraid because of all the horror stories on this website . One lady stated to have large pors , and anther stated she lost some fat on her face . I was wondering have anyone expected this ? I love the way my skin has been looking but I credit it to the differin gel you can get over the counter . But won’t give up on the retinA because I have high hopes that it will work .

October 16, 2017

Kimme, i am trying to give it a go again. I am using it already almost every night. It went much much better than years ago but i got a couple of really super irritated eczema like spots. Not sure what to do .

queenie131

February 9, 2018

Hi, was wondering if you can give us an update, I think I’m having the same thing- irritated eczema like spots and every side effects of retin a. What did you use to help with the eczema?

Kimme_o3

February 9, 2018

hi 5 months using the RetinA and what has helped is after I clean my face ,tone I add aloe vera to my face and then add a little bit of coconut oil , and let it sit on my face for 30-45 minutes . and then add the RetinA gel. that has help with the irritation on my face.

queenie131

February 10, 2018

What brand of toner and aloe Vera do you use. My just so desperate coz I have eczema like spots now all over my face :-(

Kimme_o3

February 9, 2018

so once I’m finished with bottle I plan to move up on RX

UPDATED FROM cricricri11

5th week : finally my skin gets better. What i am...

cricricri11November 4, 2012

5th week : finally my skin gets better.
What i am left with is just lots and lots and lots od dead skin, which (surely wrongly) I remove with tweezers every morning and evening.
Trouble is that i did notice more spider veins. I went searching the net and it says all over that the cream can cause this in people prone to spider veins anyway.
I am pretty scared and not sure what to do.
I am thinking about only using it twice a week and wonder if i will see any results that way.
Feeling a bit disappointed.

Replies (15)

November 4, 2012

Oh, i maybe could when i was in the purging stage (which i did not to be honest cos i am not good at wearing heavy foundation), but just cannot now. My skin is so flaky, i would end up looking like a cake ! Yes, second week was terrible, hang on there :).

November 5, 2012

iI just noticed u use the gel, iI use the cream:/ lets hope theres not too much of a difference!

November 5, 2012

I did read somewhere that the cream is comedogenic, which is absurd , but i decided to use the gel, also since less strong. I guess that for oily skins , the gel should work better, C

November 5, 2012

iI read that too. however, my skin has never really been that oily, only in my t zone

November 5, 2012

yes, same mine, but i rather use the gel! I would not want any eventual pimple to come out because of the formulation of the cream itself, C

November 5, 2012

yeah iI know what you mean. i already have two tubes of the cream though so im just going to use them both first. if my skin does not improve by the time iI finish them, ill switch to the gel. by that time, it might already be summer anyways!:)..well, iI look forward to hearing your progress!:)

Why Does Retin-A Cream Contain Isopropyl Myristate? Isn't that considered highly comedogenic?

November 7, 2012

You guys piqued my interest with the conversation about cream vs gel, and possible comedogenic ingredients. I found this Q&A and thought it was interesting, so I thought I would share it with you as well:

November 7, 2012

yes, i remember also reading exactly that one post :)))) Well, i will stick to the gel ! C

November 7, 2012

Yeah, its really interesting to me because I used the cream and broke out, and ended up going off of it because my skin wasn't clearing up...now I'm curious about trying the gel...hmmm... :)

November 7, 2012

you should totally try it. I broke out so bad with the cream. I was lucky i could stay at home or just go to the grocery store, cos i woul not have dared to see anyone. And the whole situation did improve after about a week after i switched to the gel . C

November 7, 2012

PS. my review is actually not totally correct cos i did start with the cream, not the gel, then lowered the concentration and then i did use the gel. Only when i used the 0.025, that was gel ! I am not sure if the less pimples happened cos i switched to a lower dosage or because i used the gel . :/// C

November 7, 2012

Ok, good to know. I actually have a gel form that my derm prescribed, and it happens to be in a lower dose than before, so it could be a really good thing...its just getting up the courage of the potential for bad breakouts. Thank you so much for sharing this with me - so helpful and encouraging to hear!

November 7, 2012

One more thing : i went out with one girlfriend today whom i did not see since at least two months. She knew nothing about me using a new cream. At one point she looked at me and went " wow , your skin looks really good." .. so, well, i would say it might be worth trying again. I am personally really annoyed now that i might have to stop it or only use it once a week because of these possible spider veins. I am searching the net , but it seems totally a real risk :((((((((((((((( c