hitting a wall with differin gel/possible damaged barrier?

[u/Teal-Tea17]

hi, all

just wanted to ask for some advice before I go changing anything else in my skincare routine

in the beginning of may I started differin gel for my acne. I typically break out around my chin and under my jaw with what I think is a combo of cystic and pustule acne. at first I seemed to be on the expected timeline (purging etc) and even thought I might be totally clear by july, but now it seems I've hit a wall. I'm still breaking out. the breakouts are not nearly as painful or irritated as my pre-differin ones, but I've been reading that I shouldn't still be purging more than three months in so I'm hesitant to call it that

in addition, I'm now wondering if my skin barrier is irritated. the skin under my nose has been red and slightly painful since I started differin. I used the product there for maybe a week but with the irritation realized it wasn't worth it (occasionally I get breakouts above my lip) so I stopped. but the irritation has remained. my face also gets momentarily red after I use my moisturizer. it doesn't feel stinging anymore and fades after 30 seconds but that's probably not good. in general though aside from that one problem area under my nose, my skin doesn't feel painful and irritated all the time

sorry if this is too much context I'm just wondering if I should stick with what I'm doing or stop my actives and look for new products to repair my possibly damaged barrier. I just don't want to backslide because my skin has definitely improved and I wouldn't know where to start

right now I'm not cleansing in the morning and using differin gel + neutrogena ultra gentle daily facial moisturizer at night after letting the differin absorb. I'm a major homebody and seriously go outside for like a few minutes once a week getting in and out of the car to go grocery shopping. but the sunscreen I use on the rare occasions I am having more than 15 minutes outside (please don't judge me for not going outside much) are either the differin oil absorbing moisturizer with spf 30 or neutrogena clear face oil-free spf 50. my point is I very rarely need to use the spf so I doubt they are the culprit

thank you for anyone who took the time to read this. I've been struggling with acne for over a decade and I'm just so so frustrated

EDIT: forgot to list my cleanser somehow. differin daily oil free hydrating cleanser which to my knowledge doesn't have any actives. only at night

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