POSTED UNDER Retin-A REVIEWS
8.5 Week Retin A Update - Boston, MA
ORIGINAL POST
Hey everyone, I started dealing with adult acne...
eortiz05November 11, 2015
WORTH IT$5
Hey everyone,
I started dealing with adult acne about 1.5 years ago. My face pretty much out of nowhere just started getting heavy breakouts mostly on my cheek area . However, sometimes my forehead would get them as well. In those 1.5 years I literally tried EVERYTHING under the sun to battle this acne. Proactive, Mary Kay, st. Ives , doxycycline, clindamycin, all kinds of acne topicals and nothing worked! I first associated my break outs to a bb cream I used because I started breaking out after I used it . However, quickly noticed my skin was not going back to normal even after I stopped using it. My stomach could not handle the doxycycline so I stopped after like a month. (Wasn't noticing a difference anyways). My doctor had scripted out Retin A When I first started breaking out and I tried it for like 3-4 weeks and totally freaked out because my skin was so dry and flaky. I could bare walking around with my face like that so I stopped. I started doing homeopathic topicals like witch hazel, apple cider vinegar, Manuka honey, coconut oil ,etc. these things helped for a while but the acne came back eventually. Not as bad as before but everyday I would wake up to at least 1 new pimple and that frustrated me I just wanted to wake up without having a new zit on my face. The apple cider vinegar really helped with my dark spots and really would dry up any pimples over night. The smell was gross! But worked. I wanted a more permanent solution. So I decided to pull out that old tube of Retin A (wasn't expired yet) almost a year later and decided to bite the bullet and just try it. However, this time around I was prepared. I started using the Retin A in conjunction with coconut oil and a microdermabrasion brush so my skin wouldn't be as flaky as I had experienced before. Let me tell you this has SAVED my Retin A journey!!!! It's a miracle worker with the retin A. Now use the microdermabrasion brush like every other day or even twice a week. I used it daily but noticed my skin was very sensitive so stopped doing it every day now I do it maybe 2-3 times a week. It minimized the flaky skin and made my Retin A journey not as terrible. Week 1 and 2 wasn't too bad just a little dry skin but no major change. Week 3-4 MAJOR BREAKOUTS! Not going to lie I felt very discouraged so many white heads and black heads and new pimples I was embarrassed, but I was hoping things would get better. Week 5- my face cleared up and was brighter and smoother and looked great, but that didn't last long! Week 6-7 still breaking out and so many white heads and black heads. Literally they would be coming out my pores by the end of the day. I was so discouraged it did cross my mind to stop but my desire for clear skin was stronger! Now, there always is a light at the end of the tunnel! Between week 7.6-8.5 my skin looks GREAT!! Not nearly as much white heads and black heads as I had before my skin is so smooth and looks great! Very bright as well. I do have some dark spots but I am sure with time will go away. No new pimples. I wake up and my skin is smooth. That is a dream come true! I even went out without makeup :) I feel comfortable washing my face as soon as I get home and just staying bare faced without having the embarrassing redness , pimples and white and black heads. I know I still have a few more weeks before I hit the target 12 weeks but I can say I will never stop using this product!! My is looking the best it has in a very long time! And it's only $5 per tube with my insurance :) hope this helps someone! Please try it and don't lose hope!! I almost did and I would have regret it! P.s I've always used Retin A once daily at night time :) sometimes I'll skip a day of my skin is very sensitive or if I forget but I never go 2 days without it :)
A very happy woman,
Elizabeth
I started dealing with adult acne about 1.5 years ago. My face pretty much out of nowhere just started getting heavy breakouts mostly on my cheek area . However, sometimes my forehead would get them as well. In those 1.5 years I literally tried EVERYTHING under the sun to battle this acne. Proactive, Mary Kay, st. Ives , doxycycline, clindamycin, all kinds of acne topicals and nothing worked! I first associated my break outs to a bb cream I used because I started breaking out after I used it . However, quickly noticed my skin was not going back to normal even after I stopped using it. My stomach could not handle the doxycycline so I stopped after like a month. (Wasn't noticing a difference anyways). My doctor had scripted out Retin A When I first started breaking out and I tried it for like 3-4 weeks and totally freaked out because my skin was so dry and flaky. I could bare walking around with my face like that so I stopped. I started doing homeopathic topicals like witch hazel, apple cider vinegar, Manuka honey, coconut oil ,etc. these things helped for a while but the acne came back eventually. Not as bad as before but everyday I would wake up to at least 1 new pimple and that frustrated me I just wanted to wake up without having a new zit on my face. The apple cider vinegar really helped with my dark spots and really would dry up any pimples over night. The smell was gross! But worked. I wanted a more permanent solution. So I decided to pull out that old tube of Retin A (wasn't expired yet) almost a year later and decided to bite the bullet and just try it. However, this time around I was prepared. I started using the Retin A in conjunction with coconut oil and a microdermabrasion brush so my skin wouldn't be as flaky as I had experienced before. Let me tell you this has SAVED my Retin A journey!!!! It's a miracle worker with the retin A. Now use the microdermabrasion brush like every other day or even twice a week. I used it daily but noticed my skin was very sensitive so stopped doing it every day now I do it maybe 2-3 times a week. It minimized the flaky skin and made my Retin A journey not as terrible. Week 1 and 2 wasn't too bad just a little dry skin but no major change. Week 3-4 MAJOR BREAKOUTS! Not going to lie I felt very discouraged so many white heads and black heads and new pimples I was embarrassed, but I was hoping things would get better. Week 5- my face cleared up and was brighter and smoother and looked great, but that didn't last long! Week 6-7 still breaking out and so many white heads and black heads. Literally they would be coming out my pores by the end of the day. I was so discouraged it did cross my mind to stop but my desire for clear skin was stronger! Now, there always is a light at the end of the tunnel! Between week 7.6-8.5 my skin looks GREAT!! Not nearly as much white heads and black heads as I had before my skin is so smooth and looks great! Very bright as well. I do have some dark spots but I am sure with time will go away. No new pimples. I wake up and my skin is smooth. That is a dream come true! I even went out without makeup :) I feel comfortable washing my face as soon as I get home and just staying bare faced without having the embarrassing redness , pimples and white and black heads. I know I still have a few more weeks before I hit the target 12 weeks but I can say I will never stop using this product!! My is looking the best it has in a very long time! And it's only $5 per tube with my insurance :) hope this helps someone! Please try it and don't lose hope!! I almost did and I would have regret it! P.s I've always used Retin A once daily at night time :) sometimes I'll skip a day of my skin is very sensitive or if I forget but I never go 2 days without it :)
A very happy woman,
Elizabeth
Replies (8)
November 16, 2015
Good morning Elizabeth. I really started using retin-a probably 6 weeks ago for fine lines and sun damage. I had tried in the past but it was so drying so I'd quit. And it is still somewhat drying to where I sometimes take a night or 2 off from using it. Well last week I had noticed my face was dry so I took a night off then put it on Thursday night. By Friday evening both of my cheeks became extremely dry and flake to wear it looks all wrinkly and feels horrible. So all weekend all I've done is put loads of moisturizer on and it's somewhat better but still flakey and wrinkly. Do you think I just use my micro dermabrasion brush to get that skin off? And if so, do you put some type of mild soap on the brush/face or just the brush wet? And should I use the sponge brush or the bristle brush? I have the oil Olay microdermasion cleanser and exfoliating scrub that came with brush, should I use that or wait until my skin isn't so dry? Sorry for all the questions but there's not much out there about exfoliating when using retin-a.
Thanks for any advice you can give. I'll send you a pic if that'll help, let me know.
Jody
Thanks for any advice you can give. I'll send you a pic if that'll help, let me know.
Jody
November 19, 2015
Hi Jody,
Sorry I the delay in my response. I would not recommend using an exfoliating scrub. That will absolutely irritate your face even more and it will hurt. I would recommend using a very mild cleanser for sensitive skin then using the microdermabrasion brush on the lowest setting to get rid of the dead skin. Right now I am using a Mary Kay cleaner for sensitive skin. This combination has worked out well for me. You don't need the exfoliating scrub because the retin A and brush are already doing that. :) thanks!! Let me know how it all works out for you! Use coconut oil it has been a lifesaver for me :)
Sorry I the delay in my response. I would not recommend using an exfoliating scrub. That will absolutely irritate your face even more and it will hurt. I would recommend using a very mild cleanser for sensitive skin then using the microdermabrasion brush on the lowest setting to get rid of the dead skin. Right now I am using a Mary Kay cleaner for sensitive skin. This combination has worked out well for me. You don't need the exfoliating scrub because the retin A and brush are already doing that. :) thanks!! Let me know how it all works out for you! Use coconut oil it has been a lifesaver for me :)
November 20, 2015
Hi Elizabeth, I have to laugh and smile with glee when I read your review. I feel exactly how you feel and am so encouraged even more now. I have had this horrible crap on my face for far too long and I have been feeling like its ruining my life!!! I am 27 years old and I am so thankful for life and everything in it, but this acne is really causing me serious doubt about myself and my confidence and self esteem has declined significantly. Its a nightmare! I so desire to wake up and not see this acne anymore, be able to be free again and feel good about myself.
I have been on the tretinoin 5% gel with a birth control called mononessa for 7-8 days now and I have not had any dryness at all! However, my face looks so much worse then it ever has, and it was bad to start with. Sounds like it is working from all these reviews. Keep us posted. Thanks so much again! I am happy for you and congratulations, of course we all deserve this.
I have been on the tretinoin 5% gel with a birth control called mononessa for 7-8 days now and I have not had any dryness at all! However, my face looks so much worse then it ever has, and it was bad to start with. Sounds like it is working from all these reviews. Keep us posted. Thanks so much again! I am happy for you and congratulations, of course we all deserve this.
November 22, 2015
What doctor did you see in Boston?
December 16, 2015
I did not see a doctor in Boston. I just saw my general practioner and she scripted out the Retin A .
UPDATED FROM eortiz05
13 week Retin A update (for acne)
eortiz05December 16, 2015
Hi everyone,
Hope your journey with Retin-A has been great! This is my 13 week update! Can you believe it ?! 13 weeks already! I have to say I have good news for you all. The Retin -A is working! My skin feels and looks great. It is very smooth and very bright. I do not get breakouts anymore. can't even remember when I last saw a full blown pimple. I would say this happened in the last 3 weeks. After week 10 my face really started clearing. Right now I have a few pimple scars on my cheeks but that is it. I do still get blackheads and whiteheads but it has significantly decreased! I still get some on my cheek area but no pimples so I am happy! I can actually leave my house without makeup without feeling embarrassed. Also, when I do wear makeup I don't have to wear as much makeup as I did before because there really isn't much to cover. Overall, I would say it was very well worth the breakouts and frustrations. I no longer wake up to a new pimple on my face. I wake up to clear smooth skin :) . I still want to get rid of the dark marks on my cheeks so I will continue to use the Retin A indefinitely. I still try and use it every night but sometimes if I forget it's every other day. But I do like to keep it at every night. I know it helps with wrinkles moving forward so why not continue to use it? My face is not sensitive to it at all anymore. I do not have terrible dry skin and it's not peeling anymore. I do have some days where my skin looks a little more dry but it's no big deal. I came to encourage you to continue to use it. Even though you are frustrated! Please the results are well worth it :) I didn't see really good results until about 10 weeks in. I can imagine what is yet to come as well the more I continue to use it. Stay strong my beautiful ladies or men! Remember you are beautiful inside and out! God bless you abundantly. Oh yea P.s for Those wondering what I've continued to use for products. I still use the coconut oil in the morning and at night time before putting the Retin A on. I use a neutrogenia moisturizer with SPF (very important when using Retin A ) and I've started to use tucker Ashley perfecting moisturizer! It's amazing. You will thank me. Makes your skin so smooth and smooths out those large pores and makes your makeup glide on perfectly. I promise to post before and after pictures in the next couple days! Stay tuned !
Blessings,
Eli :)
Hope your journey with Retin-A has been great! This is my 13 week update! Can you believe it ?! 13 weeks already! I have to say I have good news for you all. The Retin -A is working! My skin feels and looks great. It is very smooth and very bright. I do not get breakouts anymore. can't even remember when I last saw a full blown pimple. I would say this happened in the last 3 weeks. After week 10 my face really started clearing. Right now I have a few pimple scars on my cheeks but that is it. I do still get blackheads and whiteheads but it has significantly decreased! I still get some on my cheek area but no pimples so I am happy! I can actually leave my house without makeup without feeling embarrassed. Also, when I do wear makeup I don't have to wear as much makeup as I did before because there really isn't much to cover. Overall, I would say it was very well worth the breakouts and frustrations. I no longer wake up to a new pimple on my face. I wake up to clear smooth skin :) . I still want to get rid of the dark marks on my cheeks so I will continue to use the Retin A indefinitely. I still try and use it every night but sometimes if I forget it's every other day. But I do like to keep it at every night. I know it helps with wrinkles moving forward so why not continue to use it? My face is not sensitive to it at all anymore. I do not have terrible dry skin and it's not peeling anymore. I do have some days where my skin looks a little more dry but it's no big deal. I came to encourage you to continue to use it. Even though you are frustrated! Please the results are well worth it :) I didn't see really good results until about 10 weeks in. I can imagine what is yet to come as well the more I continue to use it. Stay strong my beautiful ladies or men! Remember you are beautiful inside and out! God bless you abundantly. Oh yea P.s for Those wondering what I've continued to use for products. I still use the coconut oil in the morning and at night time before putting the Retin A on. I use a neutrogenia moisturizer with SPF (very important when using Retin A ) and I've started to use tucker Ashley perfecting moisturizer! It's amazing. You will thank me. Makes your skin so smooth and smooths out those large pores and makes your makeup glide on perfectly. I promise to post before and after pictures in the next couple days! Stay tuned !
Blessings,
Eli :)
Replies (1)
December 16, 2015
Oh hello, Eli! ☺
Thank you for the update, I look forward to seeing your photos, and don't forget to include on of the facial brush you mentioned that you're using.
I'm thrilled that you joined us and shared your story. I've recently started using Retin-A and found your review very helpful -- I never thought to use a microdermabrasion brush, do you just mean one of those circle hand brushes? Could you post a photo of it?
I hope I didn't miss this, but what strength Retin-A do you use?
Yes! The facial scrubbing brushes. It's great at removing all the dead skin that the Retin A provokes. I use the pretika sonicdermabrasion facial brush. I will post a picture of it . But any clarisonic brush or something similar should get the job done :) I am using a 0.1% of Retin A . Sorry forgot to mention that! Good luck :)