24yo. Hormonal/Cystic Acne & Scars CLEARED with Persistent Use - Las Vegas, NV

Unfortunately I do not have any before or after photos because Taking photos of my horrible cystic acne outbreak was too painful to look at. BUT FIRSTLY, I have always struggled with mild acne; Enlarged pores, black heads and occasional white heads. When I was 21 (May 2012) I had my first hormonal, cystic acne breakout. I was prescribed a myriad of antibiotics and creams along with Tretinoin (Retin-a). The antibiotics and other topical creams had a moderate affect on my skin as I was afraid to use the Tretinoin at first. Though I eased into it and after about 6 weeks I began to see a massive improvement. Mind you, in my opinion this 1st outbreak was probably a 5/10 on the acne scale. I was thrilled. The Tretinoin pushed everything to the surface, healed my scars and hyper pigmentation. Fast forward to October 2014 and I was hit yet again with another cystic outbreak. But the severity was something I would have never expected. I was, at least, an 8/10-9/10 on the severity scale. I couldn't leave my house, work, go to social gatherings or even go to the gym. I cried everyday, NOTHING worked. The tiny, DEEP, under the skin bumps were surfacing into full blown quarter sized cysts across my entire face. HUNDREDS of bumps covered the face. Again I was prescribed the typical antibiotic regimen along with Retin-a. But this time it didn't work as nicely as it had before. My red, oozing cysts became redder, more irritated and even more pronounced. But I KNEW that Retin-a would be the other thing to truly rid my face of my cystic congestion as long I could be patient. I weened myself off the antibiotics and topical creams and went head first into using Retin-a every night. This was unbelievably unpleasant at first I can't lie to you. I convinced myself I would never get better. I believed I would never see a day without a cyst, pimple or clogged pore. Except that today I am completely acne free and my skin looks and feels like a porcelain doll. It took about 8 weeks of hard persistent work with the Retin-a as the only product I used(I honestly felt like a monster, like somebody off of a
documentary with severe acne), though slowly but surely my skin improved and your skin WILL improve. Slowly, but IT WILL GET BETTER. I never thought I would be able to promise myself that let alone somebody else but it is a promise I am willing to make. Be patient, it will get much worse before it gets better, and you may feel slightly hopeless at time but trust me this WORKS so please do not give up. Clear skin is in your future.

Since my first review I have continued to use retin-a everyday or every other day for the last years. I do still get mild, hormonal breakouts here and there and the occasional clogged pores from overuse of makeup but nothing to write home about. Retin-a has kept my pores clean and clear, severely reduced my sun damage and scars as well as has kept the fine lines at bay. I will admit, I am young, 25, but I live in one of the hottest, dryest deserts on earth. It takes a toll on your skin at a young age. People always ask me how Inhabe been able to get and keep my skin so smooth and retin-a will forever be my secret weapon. Did I experience purging, dry/flaky skin, and severe redness at first? YES. For five months to be exact. As stars in my initial post, Instarted to use this as I was going through a hormonal breakout and I couldn't even leave the house for the simplest of things because I was a horrific sight. But I stuck through the bad times and trusted that the product would work. You have to be patient. It is a "fix all" for everyone? Perhaps not. But worth the time and patience to find out.