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POSTED UNDER Retin-A Reviews

Retin A for Acne and Age Spots

UPDATED FROM cricricri11

Probably last review: using it only once a week is...

$32
Probably last review: using it only once a week is impossible.
Every time i use it , I break out in pimples again. Using it twice a week seems too much for my spider veins.
I will give up.
Very sad cos i feel like I wasted a month and a half, and i so hoped this would have been the miracle solution.

Having said that , i think it would have totally worked if i did not suffer from fragile capillaries .
Good luck to all the rest of you :) c

Replies (1)

I hate retina a. I seriously do. It's the worst and when you wean off if it, be prepared for havoc. I would try Gloss Skin Retexturizing cream. It has TCA in it which will help your skin cells keep exfoliating like retina a did. I would also suggest obagia vitamin c 20%. It is amazing and very healing and calms the skin.
sadly Vitamin C breaks me out . I will look into the Gloss Skin Retexturizing Cream thou :) Thank you
UPDATED FROM cricricri11

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

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 (1)

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 :).
iI just noticed u use the gel, iI use the cream:/ lets hope theres not too much of a difference!
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
iI read that too. however, my skin has never really been that oily, only in my t zone
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
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!:)

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:

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

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

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... :)

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
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

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!

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

Yeah, that sucks. :( I'm so glad you are doing your research though - smart!!

I'm using the cream; it's week 10 (ish) and I'm down to one pimple a week...I still see a face full of wreckage but everyone says I look so much better...we are our toughest critics...
UPDATED FROM cricricri11

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

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 (4)

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:/
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?
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 .
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 .
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?
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.
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 :-(
so once I’m finished with bottle I plan to move up on RX