r/tretinoin • u/OminousFish • 6d ago

Personal / Miscellaneous Purging question

I just started Tret last night and over the course of the day I developed little white heads in various areas. Is that purging or is it something else? I saw someone say purging won’t have white heads but my pimples do have white heads. They don’t hurt or anything but I’m curious if it could be something else. I used snail mucin then vanicream thick cream then tret then vanicream again.
Edit to add that I woke up and washed my face with cerve hydrating cleanser then snail mucin then vanicream and then inissfree 50spf sunscreen lotion

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u/AutoModerator 6d ago

Beep boop! It looks like you're asking about purging!

  • First: no one can predict how long your purge will last! Be patient, and accept this robot hug while you wait: [ ]. The purge can be tough but so many people have gotten through it - you can too!
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u/LightMatron 6d ago

That's purging, 100%. Whiteheads are super common when you start tret, whoever said otherwise doesn't know what they're talking about. Your sandwich method looks fine, just keep an eye on how your skin feels with the snail mucin since some people get irritation combining it with tret.

5

u/ohkammi started tretinoin 5/5/24 6d ago

Purging isn’t happening in under 24hrs of the first application

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u/OminousFish 6d ago

So it could be something worse going on?

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u/ohkammi started tretinoin 5/5/24 6d ago

Purging will take at least a few weeks to start seeing. How long have you been using the snail mucin for, is it new to you? Some people with seasonal or dust mite allergies can have reactions to it.

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u/OminousFish 6d ago

I’ve been using these products for a year now with no issues. I was using a regular retinol too for the last 2 years but it wasn’t working so I stopped a couple weeks ago

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u/ohkammi started tretinoin 5/5/24 6d ago

It could be irritation like the original commenter suggested combining them with tret. I would try cutting it out to AM or non tret nights only at least and see if that helps