u/briqnva

i recently made the transition to nightly use of tretinoin 0.025% cream as an oily skin type fighting comedonal acne after using tretinoin consistently for 3 months. its been 3 weeks since i started using nightly and ive noticed that instead of my skin getting smoother, im getting tiny clogs in areas that were just clear and i dont think its a secondary purge. im thinking this is because i continued using my 0.5% salicylic acid face wash every morning like ive been doing the past 3 months alongside tretinoin and it was never an issue for me but now i think i cant use it daily now that im using tretinoin daily and i think its irritating me but i dont feel any irritation at all. i just have minimal flaking around my mouth but i believe thats just my skin getting used to nightly tret.

what do i do if i cant drop the saliyclic acid wash because its been useful but feel i cant use it every morning anymore because it may be causing more harm and how do i know if it is or isnt? im scared that not using the sa wash every morning anymore is gonna clog up my skin and using every other morning wont be strong enough. please help!!

i wanted to ask for your guys opinions on tretinoin vs salicylic acid for clogged pores? which one do you think helps best, or do you think a balance of both works well too?

im an oily skin type & very clog prone with clogged pores so if you have a similar skin type as me, id really appreciate any feedback.

i’ve been using tret 0.025 cream as an oily skin type with comedonal acne for 17 weeks. ive seen good reduction in clogged pores & recently transitioned to nightly usage during week 15. ive been using a salicylic acid face wash that only contains 0.5% salicylic acid in it every morning to help my oil production & exfoliate any dead skin that tret brings to the surface. my skin has been tolerating both really well but i feel like the salicylic acid cleanser has started to become an issue recently. im starting to see an increase in tiny clogged pores and i dont think its just my skin re-purging from going up to nightly use of tret because its in areas that were previously smooth.

i feel like my skin has a lot of less dead skin build up due to using tret nightly & using the salicylic acid cleanser every single morning is starting to over exfoliate my skin since there isnt much dead skin to be exfoliating anymore. im thinking that this is why I’m seeing a return of tiny clogs and areas that were just smooth. i havent changed anything in my routine & have stayed consistent. my skin doesn’t feel the slightest damaged/irritated so I’m wondering if the cleanser being used daily is causing a little bit of underlying irritation. i don’t wanna drop the cleanser completely because it has helped a lot w/ my clogged pores combined w/ tret but not sure if i have to reduce the frequency now that I’m using tretinoin nightly.

is it possible that the SA cleanser is an issue now that im using tret every night? do i drop down to using it every other morning? please helppp :(

am: cerave sa cleanser, cerave moisturizing lotion, neutrogena spf
pm: micellar water, la roche posay foaming cleanser, tret, cerave moisturizing lotiom

hii!

so ive been on 0.025% tret for 17 weeks, recently went up to nightly use at the 15th week because i was using it 5-6x a week for a whole month & tolerated it super well but felt results stopped.

im using tret to target comedonal acne as an oily skin type & i definitely feel that tret 0.025% has helped a lot with my clogged pores but i still have some lingering congestion & im not sure if transitioning to nightly is helping or if i need to move up strengths. ive noticed a seconday purge which everyone has been telling me is normal & that it’ll pass but when i was looking at my skin today, i noticed an increase in clogged pores in areas i felt were just now looking smooth? i feel like this has been a pattern all week but ive been assuming its just tret bringing any stubborn congestion to the surface even if the area previously looked clear. they are tiny & not inflamed. some of the bumps have been forming heads really quickly & going away fast. i dont think its irritation because they arent red, nor does my face sting, itch, skin isnt producing excessive amounts of oil or feel tight & dry.

i havent changed anything in my routine & have been super consistent. im hoping this is just a wave and that itll settle? im not sure but im worried that 0.025 may not be enough for me anymore. should i wait up to the 6th month mark of using 0.025 then go up to 0.05%?

am: cerave sa wash, cerave moisturizing lotiom, neutrogena spf
pm: micellar water, la roche posay wash, tretinoin 0.025% cream, cerave moisturizing lotion

i recently went up to daily use of tretinoin 0.025% cream last week for my comedonal acne as an oily skin type on sunday and after the 7th day, i noticed a slight increase in dryness but its very surface level since i dont feel any tightness at all. i feel theres also a little increase in flaking & breakouts. the breakouts dont feel random though, i feel they are just clogged pores surfacing.

when i had went up to nightly use, i had already been using tretinoin for 15 weeks & for the entirety of the 3rd month, i was using it 5-6x/week. skin tolerated pretty well so i figured it was time to use it nightly to help fight the rest of my lingering congestion which i felt started to increase again after taking rest nights when i didnt technically need a rest night. if im ever overusing tret, my skin usually start overproducing wayyy too much oil, skin feels tight after cleansing, feels like sand paper & i start peeling excessively, havent gotten any of those symptoms so i think im okay im just scared they will be delayed and itll all hit me sooner or later.

i wanna make sure the symptoms im getting right now are normal & im hoping they can go away soon. if anyone can tell me about their experiences going up to nightly use, it would be greatly appreciated :)!

routine
am: cerave sa cleanser, cerave moisturizing lotion, neutrogena spf
pm: bioderma micellar water, la roche posay foaming cleanser, tretinoin 0.025% cream, cerave moisturizing lotion