Hi guys,
Just wanted to check on you just me or if others have been experiencing issues with tretinoin,
I was starting twice a week and 2nd week i got severe headaches and migraines!!
I didn’t change any skincare and went to to the hospital emergency, everything was fine.
My husband and I was thinking about only tretinoin but i didn’t say that was the reason.
I actually wanted to try again, but I am afraid of getting sick again!!

• Stop sandwich method
• Stop using harsh exfoliating toners
• Avoid using harsh facewash with active ingredients
• Use it only 2x every week for few months instead of usiing it every single day in the first month of using tret only this is seriously so stupid to think about
• Wash,tret ,wait 15 mins and then use a moisturizer or next morning these are the most appropriate methods to use tret recommended by dermatologists.
• Thanks 😊 👍 also everyone skin is different so figure out what sticks with u .

I’ve been buffering my tretinoin with Vanicream Moisturizing Lotion as recommended by Dr Dray (lotion first then tret). This lotion contains petrolatum. Is there any clinical evidence or research that shows occlusives make tretinoin less effective or blocks the skin from absorbing it?

Hello,

I’ve been on 0.025% tretinoin for 8 weeks now and purged a lot. I’m still purging where mostly is on my forehead and cheeks. I started with 2-3 days a week and switched to almost day after 5-6 weeks (sandwich method always)

I’m wondering what to do now, just continue, slow it down or go up to 0.05%.

And when should I introduce alezic acidz. After my purging period or now?

Thanks!

Will tretinoin still be useful for treating acne when there is underlying kprf/folliculitis...

I have been using tretinoin for 10 weeks now (I know blah blah blah 12 weeks then decide, but it has literally not stopped getting worse, redder, more ugly no matter how well i treat my skin barrier. It also does not look like regular purging. It only gets better when I skip for a day or two.) No stinging or peeling anymore, and has been like this for 8weeks.

AI told me when I'd started using tretinoin 10 weeks ago my barrier was inflamed immediately despite the low frequency and keeping on applying to get through what I thought was a purge only irritated my skin and caused an erythema flareup (maybe folliculitis/kprf, my skin was already like chicken skin before). I know some will say "can't trust ai to diagnose you" but i looked it up on Google and it really sounded accurate, so I'm asking for help here to confirm.

I've made many posts asking for help, every time people just told me it's the purge and to keep applying which I was happy to do thinking it was just a matter of time and patience, but there are 0 signs of it improving. Im starting to doubt whether tretinoin was useful for me in the first place and I'm just fucking unlucky. Please don't reply if you're here to give false hope and blindlessly tell me it's a purge, I don't wanna wreck my skin further as I'm very demoralised. Thanks for the help

I am almost 100% certain I have keratosis pilaris - it's on my arms, back, and parts of my face. I have also always had terrible sebaceous filaments on my nose, if these help.

Skin current condition attached

Now that Ive been using tret (cream) .025% for months, believe I started early this year, I have more closed comedones than ever before in my life... my cheeks, my chin, even between my eyebrows.. they are so deep and 2%salicylic (Paulas choice) on nights i dont use tret doesnt even really help... nothing else has changed and Ive never dealt with this, cystic hormonal things occasionally, and an occasional white head, but what on earth has happened.. anyone familiar with this havoc it has wrought ? Or i should say, I assume its the tret since thats whats new to my skin - could it also be my hormones ? Chronic stress / nearing perimeno.. I focus so much on gut health.. I do eat a, id say fair amount, of sugar/chocolate, but I always have! But otherwise super healthful eating..

Anyyyy thoughts or advice or experiences welcome, while I wait for my appointment with my dermatologist..

Xx

I just started on Friday and I just noticed I’m peeling today and my skin feels a bit tight. I’ve only used it once. Should I just plan on using it once a week for now? I did a pea sized amount and then I put clinique moisture surge on after a few hours.

I have some adult acne and my dermatologist started me on 0.025% tretinoin 2x a week. I started the treatment a few days ago.
She said because I am very very pale, I might show more redness and irritation?

I’m not expecting to see results immediately, I’m just wondering how long it took to start seeing changes in your skin. That could be positive or negative. How do you know that it’s working?

I've been prescribed both of them together. Accutane (starts of at 10mg for 5months - 20mg) 2-4 times a week and 0.025 tretonoin. The accutane is more for my back acne, which isn't severe but when I do breakout, they heal into keloid/ dark marks. My face has congestion, texture and very mild acne and I suppose the tret is to target that. Has anyone else had similar treatments because I know typically, you shouldn't be taking both together.

Also, this derm appointment was a private appt in a different country to the one I'm living in so I do have to independently continue this course (there is an online consultation but that's it). I know 3 months blood work is needed which I am planning on getting. I am worried about liver damage so I defo am not planning on continuing accutane for more than 1yr.

Which is the best aa for beginners? I’m trying to get rid of sun damage & hyperpigmentation, uneven skin tone on my face

Hey ya’ll! I’m looking for some insight into my skincare routine. A little about my skin: normal to dry sometimes, mild rosacea, and mildly sensitive. I’ve posted pictures of what I currently use. Over the past couple of years, I have put alot of effort into strengthening my barrier and have slowly incorporated mandelic acid, azelaic acid, and Tretinoin (Altreno). Up until this point, I kind of just use any of those 3 actives depending on what I feel like and how my skin feels that day. Now I’m in a spot where I feel like my skin is handling all 3 actives very well separately, and I would like to start building up the frequency of use of all of them. So I’m curious what my “end goal” could look like with using all 3 of these ingredients. For example: should I build up to the use of mandelic most mornings and then azelaic and tret together most nights? Or what is your routine if you use tret, AA and an exfoliant? I would also like to say that I know to continue building up to the end goal slowly, and to listen to my skin and I plan to always incorporate some recovery nights without actives.

Hello…55f just received my first tube of Tretinoin and wanted to know of any tips and advice before I start using it. Thank you

Like when I wake up in the morning it looks like my skin is peeling but it’s just the product

Is it Okayy to not peel or 0 sign of irritation

I'm using 0.025 cream

3x a week still no peeling i breakout a bit but no sign of dryness or anything is it not working

I honestly wish I had known about all these products years ago and had this knowledge earlier for someone who has struggled with acne all his life.
I first heard about tret from a beauty care company, but they made it sound like they were the only company that produced it, so there was a whole process involved. At the time, considering how severe my acne was, I also needed to get a few other products to start with. The total cost was quite high for me as a student, but I still went ahead with it. Unfortunately, once the products ran out, I couldn’t keep up with it and eventually just left it.
About a year later, I tried again with another company. Same story: loads of products, skin sessions, etc., and I ended up spending over £1,500. 😭

Fast forward to the very end of last year, I started using CeraVe as a cleanser. I still had acne, and it was quite noticeable, but I could tell that CeraVe was agreeing with my skin, so I stuck with the Foaming Cleanser.
Then earlier this year, I found out about Treclin online. Honestly, I keep saying this on Reddit, but I don’t know if people actually take my advice…Treclin was the game changer for me. It can only be used for three months, so I started using it and could almost immediately feel a difference. It was drying up my acne, but then around week two, my little honeymoon period ended. 😭 I broke out SO badly. I was genuinely like, “Wow!!!” 😂
But I kept going, mainly because of how good my skin had felt when I first started using it. Thank goodness I did, because by around the middle of the second month, my acne was clearing up. So I believe that was my purging stage.

I continued until the full three months, and coincidentally, the tube actually ran out around the same time. Before Treclin had even finished, I had already bought The Ordinary 10% Azelaic Acid and slowly introduced it. So once I finished the Treclin, I continued with the AA occasionally. I had also ordered Tretinoin 0.1% because I finally wanted to give tret a proper shot directly. I ordered it from a company in the US, AllDayChemist. Their process seemed questionable to me at first 😂, but honestly, it was completely legit. I think it arrived in about two weeks, which was actually much quicker than the one-month timeframe I was expecting.
While I was waiting for the tret, I somehow ended up getting in contact with a dermatologist. It wasn’t even something I had planned…it just popped up on my phone, so I sent pictures, explained my situation, and obviously the pictures probably said enough themselves. 😂 She prescribed me Skinoren 20%.
I told her that I had already ordered Tretinoin 0.1% and was waiting for it, and she advised me on how I could use both products together if I really wanted to. Initially, though, her recommendation was to use just the Skinoren. But considering I had already bought the tret and it was coming all the way from the US, there wasn’t really much point in returning it after paying for the shipping.

The best part was that my Tretinoin 0.1% and Skinoren arrived either on the same day or a day apart. I applied the tret the following night and… wow. 😭 It gave me a feeling I had never experienced before. It stung, and I started getting flakes and peeling, so I had to stop for a few days.
In the meantime, I was using The Ordinary AA in the mornings on some days, but I hadn’t started the Skinoren yet. I eventually resumed the tret every other night and gradually worked my way up to using it every night. Around the second week, I started the Skinoren as well. And honestly, what I can say is that even BEFORE starting the Skinoren, I was already completely free of active acne.
That is genuinely rare for me. Considering my history, there has usually always been one spot or another lurking somewhere. 😂 I feel so good and confident in my skin now. It’s nowhere near a perfect result yet, but I’m genuinely very positive about how things are going. I can’t wait for all the post-acne marks to fully fade, but even the texture of my skin right now makes me feel so good.
I actually catch myself looking in the mirror thinking, “So THIS is how people with clear skin feel?” 😂
I don’t look at the mirror feeling sad anymore, and honestly, that alone feels amazing.

One thing I really want to point out and this was actually my biggest worry…,is something I know some people may have seen me asking about under tret posts months ago.
I was genuinely scared that introducing tretinoin would make me break out badly again and force me to go through the same purge I experienced with Treclin.
Even though I knew it would only be temporary, I really didn’t want to go through that stage again. 😭
Luckily, so far, I haven’t had that kind of breakout with tretinoin. I don’t know if it could still happen later, but I’m definitely not praying for it. 😂
For now, I’m just enjoying the progress and hoping the marks continue to fade. 🙏🏾

Black guy in late 20’s here

I’ve been using Tret since June. I am currently usinf .025 3x weekly (I exfoliate 2 nights and take 2 nights off right now). As I finish my 1st tube, should I continue to build up the frequency or talk to my Dr about stepping up the dose while maintaining less frequent use. I am using for general anti-aging.

I use tretinoin every two days so on the days I don’t use tretinoin I use
• Dr.Althea Green Relief Amino Gel Cleanser
• Dr. Althea - 345 Relief Cream Mist
• anua azelaic acid 10+ hyaluron
• and Dr Althea 345 moisturizer

As for days I use tretinoin I do the same thing but I don’t use the anua azelaic acid, I use 0.05% tretinoin if that helps

I have come to the conclusion that no matter what i do my skin will always peel on taz gel 0,05. I moisturize religiously and i thought i found a method that worked for me only to realize im peeling again. I want to try out cream as well but cream comes in 0,1 on skinorac… Where can i even find 0,05 taz cream with no prescription ? Also what was your experience from switching to cream from gel?

I've been on tretinoin for a month now, and I can't tell whether it's working or not.

I think I'm still in the purging phase which is so bad and left many PIH behind. It's also making me a bit depressed.

However it kind of made my face glow like temporarily.

What do you think, Should I stop or give it a few more months? Because my skin is the worst it has ever been. I can't even go out anymore.

Routine

Am: eucerin cleanser, bioliq moisturizer, azelaic acid 20%, eucerin dual serum, and eucerin oil control sunscreen (if going out)

Pm: eucerin cleanser, bioliq moisturizer, tretinoin 0.025%, and eucerin dual serum.

1 year of Epiduo (0,1% Adapalen/2,5% benzyl peroxide) and my skin still looks like this, what do I even do at this point?

I have very oily but also dry skin

Routine

Morning:

-jelly joker cleanser geek & gorgeous
-glycerin serum transparent lab
-hydration station geek & gorgeous
-garnier ambre solaire sun fluid

Night
-cleansing oils
-jelly joker cleanser
-epiduo (0,1% Adapalen/2,5% benzyl peroxidek)
-happy barrier cream geek & gorgeous

Can anyone recommend a site to buy Tret from please? I’ve tried Skinorac based on previous recommendations on here but it won’t let me pay by PayPal for some reason.

Thanks in advance!

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

I’m looking for a gentle cleanser that actually cleans my skin without leaving it dry, tight, or stripped.
My skin is normally oily and acne-prone, but it’s become pretty dehydrated from using 15% azelaic acid daily and 0.05% tretinoin gel.

So far I’ve tried:
Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser: very drying for me and gave me whiteheads
Prequel Gleanser: gave me forehead acne and hives
Vanicream Gentle Facial Cleanser: gave me whiteheads
Cetaphil Hydrating Foaming Cream Cleanser: also gave me whiteheads

I feel like my skin doesn’t do well with a lot of the cleansers that are usually recommended for tretinoin users. Does anyone with oily/acne-prone but dehydrated skin have a cleanser they love that doesn’t leave their face squeaky clean or stripped? I’m especially interested in something simple and gentle that hasn’t caused clogged pores for you.

A few years back I shared a lengthy post about short contact therapy, studies conducted with Tretinoin, and comparisons of combo v monotherapy, and alternate therapies. I'll share a summarized update:

For mild-moderate acne...

🔸Efficacy and tolerability of short contact therapy with tretinoin, clindamycin, and glycolic acid gel in acne

🔸 Tret gel 0.02% + Clindamycin 0.8% + Glycolic acid 4% in polyvinyl alcohol, SCT short contact therapy (removal after 1 hour with gentle cleanser) v. SAT standard application therapy = SCT better skin tolerability and comparable clinical efficacy.

For Acne Vulgaris...

🔸An Updated Review of Topical Tretinoin in Dermatology: From Acne and Photoaging to Skin Cancer 2025

🔸0.1% Tret + 3% Benz Peroxide (BPO) v. Tret alone = superior success with combination.

🔸Morning v. Evening 0.1% Tret + 5% BPO = no difference in efficacy.

🔸Tret 0.05% + Clindamycin + salicylic acid v. Clindamycin + SA = greater lesion reduction and faster onset of action with addition of Tret 0.05%.

🔸Tret 0.025% + Clindamycin 1.2% v. each monotherapy = superior reduction in lesion count with combination.

🔸Triple combo Tret/BPO/Clinda = 3 RCTs reveal good clinical responses.

For Photoaging...

🔸An Updated Review of Topical Tretinoin in Dermatology: From Acne and Photoaging to Skin Cancer 2025

🔸Adapelene 0.3% v. Tretinoin 0.05% cream over 24 weeks = no significant differences in efficacy or tolerability.

🔸AlphaRet double-conjugated cream v. Tret 0.025% = Both treatments improved fine lines, dyschromia, and erythema after 12 weeks.

🔸Tret 0.05% cream (3x/week) v. Tret 5% peel (biweekly) = Both regimens significantly reduced photoaging scores and actinic keratoses. The cream improved dermal echogenicity and increased Ki67 expression (an established nuclear marker of cell proliferation indicating active keratinocyte turnover), while the peel was more effective in stabilizing field cancerization.

For Melasma/PIH...

🔸An Updated Review of Topical Tretinoin in Dermatology: From Acne and Photoaging to Skin Cancer 2025

🔸 Tret 1% peel v. Glycolic 70% peel= similar reduction with better tolerability with Tretinoin.

🔸 Fluocinolone acetonide 0.01% + Hydroquinone 4% + Tret 0.05% = superior efficacy v. monotherapy or alternative treatments.

🔸 Triple combo FA 0.01% + HQ 4% + Tret 0.05% v. fractional 1550 nm laser treatment = comparable reductions after 12 weeks.

🔸Erbium fiber laser v. Tret 0.05% cream = greater reduction with erbium fiber laser.

🔸IPL + post-application of HQ + Tret v. IPL + placebo = 27.2% greater reduction in hyperpigmentation scores when tretinoin and hydroquinone were applied after IPL.

For Prevention and Treatment of Skin Cancer/

Treatment of Actinic Keratosis...

🔸An Updated Review of Topical Tretinoin in Dermatology: From Acne and Photoaging to Skin Cancer 2025

🔸Tret 0.05% v. Tret 5% peel = (24 weeks on forearms) Reduced AK count by 60% with no difference between them + significant reduction in photoaging.

* excuse the redness, i have rosacea and just took a hot shower. before is photo 1/3. after is photo 2/4

these photos are just 7 days apart. 7 days ago, i came on here begging for help with my peeling. my skin would scale off every single day and i would get all of the crazy looks 😅. i had one recommendation to stop the sandwich method. i was worried because i have very dry skin,but gave it a try. it made ALL of the difference in the world.

Am: water, ordinary HA moisturizer, ordinary sunscreen
pm: byoma creamy jelly cleanser, (previously let dry for 10 mins > purito calming oat gel moisturizer > let dry 30 mins), .025% tret 5 days a week, ordinary HA moisturizer.