u/One-Championship5925

Tretinoin made my face significantly darker should I continue or switch to Tazarotene?
I’ve been using Tretinoin 0.025% for almost 6 months now. I didn’t have severe acne to begin with, but I did get recurring pimples. Tretinoin has actually worked really well for that my acne has decreased to maybe 1–2 pimples a week, and overall my skin is much clearer.
The problem is that I feel like it has made my face significantly darker.
My entire face now looks dull, lifeless and noticeably darker than my neck/body. It honestly feels like I look like a completely different person compared with how I looked before starting Tretinoin. I don’t really have burning, peeling or obvious irritation, but my skin just looks unhealthy and lacks any glow or brightness.
I’m brown-skinned, so I’m wondering if this could be related to irritation/inflammation and pigmentation from Tretinoin, even though I’m not experiencing obvious irritation.
I also don’t go out in the sun very often, but whenever I do, I make sure to use a good SPF.
I’ve also been using a good barrier-repair moisturizer, and Tretinoin has basically been the only active skincare product I’ve been using.
Now I’m confused about what to do.
Should I:
Continue using Tretinoin because it has controlled my acne?
Stop Tretinoin and focus on repairing/brightening my skin?
Switch to Tazarotene, since I’ve heard it can be more effective/faster for acne and skin texture?
I feel if i stop tret my acne is gonna come back.
I have college starting in about 3 months, and I really want my skin to look healthy, clear, bright and more even by then.

I’ve been dealing with this for almost **2 years now**, and I genuinely don’t know what’s causing it. No matter what I eat or how much I change my diet I’ve tried eating very clean, different diets, avoiding certain foods, etc. my stools are almost always **soft, mushy, or runny**. They’re not really watery diarrhea, but they’re also rarely properly formed.
I do experience mild abdominal discomfort here and there, but it’s very minimal, around **2/10 in terms of pain**.
I usually go **1–3 times a day, mostly 2**, but sometimes I suddenly have days where I go **5–6 times**.
I’ve tried psyllium husk , but the results are inconsistent. Sometimes it gives me properly formed, firm stools, while other times it makes absolutely no difference and my stools remain soft and mushy.
I also tried kefir, and surprisingly, it worked really well initially. For around **10 days, I was having completely normal, well-formed stools and bowel movements**. However, after about 2 weeks, it somehow stopped working, and my symptoms returned.
About 2 years ago, I had an **endoscopy and colonoscopy** because I was having similar problems. I was told there was some mild swelling/redness in my intestines. I was given medication for about a month and completely recovered.
I was completely fine for around **7–8 months**, but after I started eating out regularly again, the soft stools eventually came back.
Now it’s been almost **2 years of this**, and I’m honestly getting frustrated. I’m only **20 years old**, and this has genuinely turned my life upside down. I feel like some of the best years of my life are being taken away from me because I constantly have to worry about my bowel movements and what might be wrong with my gut.
**Has anyone experienced something similar? What was the cause in your case, and what finally helped you? I would genuinely appreciate any advice or personal experiences.**