r/tretinoin

STOP USING MOISTURIZER WITH TRET. OR ANYTHING ELSE FOR THAT MATTER. NOTHING ELSE. JUST TRET AT NIGHT. FACE CLEARED UP ALMOST COMPLETELY IN TWO NIGHTS. ALL CAPS BECAUSE THIS IS INSANE.

Have been on Tret since February. M30. Have always struggled with horrible cystic acne on neck and jaw line / awful red bumps that look similar to razor burn no matter what I do along with general rosacea. My skin got worse since February no matter what - until this past weekend when I started using Tret alone at night and it’s like magic.

I have extremely sensitive skin. Since I was a teenager nothing has been able to make these bumps on my neck go away - until I tried Tret alone at night lol. It wasn’t the azelaic or ivermectin I use - although they do help. I’ve tried a whole laundry list of other things too. I’m stunned!

I’m fully convinced the sandwich method completely ruins Tret. I can see how moisturizing a half hour later might work but for now I’m totally good on that!

Morning:

Anua 3% Azelaic Toner
15% Azelaic Gel
Ivermectin Cream 1% w/ Niacinamide
La Roche Posay Cica Plast B5 Balm
Elta MD Green Tinted UV 50 Skin Recovery Sunscreen

Night:

Cerave Hydrating Foaming Cleanser
Tret .025

Hi all! I'm wondering if anyone has advice for facial sunscreens that don't clog the pores. I've been on tretinoin (0.1%) for about five months now, and have passed the initial purge (thank God). I have pretty sensitive skin, so I'm using the sandwich method with a light moisturizer daily. I've used the Round Lab Birch Juice (SPF 45) sunscreen, CeraVe moisturizing lotion (SPF 30), and La Roche-Posay Anthelios (SPF 50) in the past. Without fail, after about two to three hours in the sun, I will develop clogged pores and any preexisting acne swells noticeably. I'm travelling to southern France this summer and am really hoping to find something that keeps my flareups under control during a super sunny few weeks. Thanks y'all!

Buffering didn’t help. More moisturizer didn’t help.

This did:

1. Cleanse, wait 30 min - damp skin = more irritation for me
2. Pea-size tret - avoid mouth (until strong barrier and if necessary)/eyes
3. Wait 20 min - stops pilling
4. Press in a balm: key ingredients - zinc oxide + colloidal oatmeal + shea butter

Lotions would pill or vanish. This combo calmed redness + sealed everything in. No more snowstorm pillow. No stinging. Could finally use tret 3x/week.

Flaking? Try this:
If your night product pills on your hand, it’s probably messing with your barrier.
If you wake up tight, your seal isn’t strong enough.

Zinc + oat + shea worked for me. 

Before anyone starts telling me remedies… I’ve already decided I’m done using it. I have mystery skin, I swear. Nothing works. I did the whole pea-sized amount, don’t use it every day, moisturize, sunscreen, the whole thing, for well over a year. It does. not. work. I’ve been on birth control, Differin, and other medications prescribed by my derm, all given plenty of time to work (several, several months each and not used at the same time unless prescribed) throughout my adult life, and it simply does not work. I work out, am fit, I eat healthy, I drink plenty of water, etc etc the list is endless, I’ve done it all and it simply does not work. My acne is hormonal and it is genetic. My mother is almost 50 and still has bad skin. This is my life. Which is why I’ve decided to do Accutane, which I believe is the only prospective fix. There are a variety of cures that I’m sure work for 99% of the population, but I am the 1% that has none. This is just the way it is, and has always been, since I first hit puberty. We are not the same. My skin is a fucking unicorn from hell.

i feel like tret progress is so slow and my brain is not helping lol.

some days i swear my texture is better, then i catch different lighting and suddenly i'm convinced my pores are huge and everything is worse. same with redness and post acne marks. i know tret is a long game, but i honestly cannot tell if i'm improving or just staring at my face too much.

for people who have been on it a while, how do you track progress in a way that doesn't mess with your head?

right now i'm trying to do photos once a week instead of every day, same bathroom, same time, no makeup, but even then it feels weirdly hard to compare because my skin changes so much depending on sleep, cycle, stress, etc.

are you guys looking at specific things like fewer active breakouts, faster healing, smoother forehead, less oil by midday, or do you just go by vibes until one day you realize your skin is better?

would love to hear what signs you personally use, especially the subtle ones. i think i need a more objective way to look at this before i convince myself tret is doing nothing.

I started using tretinoin this March and have worked my way up to daily use (since beginning of June). My skin has responded quite well to tretinoin (some slight purging and minor dryness at the beginning).

I've been using the Cerave moisturiser and Cerave salicylic acid cleanser in my routine and otherwise no other active ingredients. I use the Transparent Lab 50 SPF sunscreen.

I'm currently in Japan and travelling to South Korea afterwards. I would really like to buy some skincare here, but I do not want it to mess with my tretinoin routine. I still have some pimple scarring that I'm trying to brighten up. Generally, I have oily skin with closed comedones. I get the sense from this subreddit that I might benefit from switching away from Cerave products, thus my question what cleanser/moisturiser/sunscreen from either Japan or South Korea would fit a tretinoin skincare routine?

Many thanks!

So I live in Germany and I used to be able to get a prescription for Corde Vas which worked really well with my skin. A friend from Thailand brought me really cheap retacnyl and now another friend is in Brazil and he’s bringing back Vitanol.

All three are in the .05 cream I’m just curious though has anyone experienced all three of these and can give a review on the actual cream cart which one is more drying or clogging etc. I know each skin is individual. I’m just trying to think what to expect.

FYI, it’s kind of a pain in the ass for me to get a prescription here in Germany so myCorde Vas is running out.

Excited for the 6-8 week journey ahead. Just bought 0.05% Tretinoin in Mexico for a real good price, around 5$. Used tonight with the sandwich method, and I guess so far so good. Any routine tips for the road ahead?

FYI Just have mild stubborn acne ive never been able to really fully get rid of.

Im trying to understand tret better because I see so many people say the routine around it matters just as much as the tret itself. I get that dryness and irritation can happen but i dont always know when its normal adjustment and when its my routine making everything worse

Right now my biggest confusion is what to keep using and what to stop like cleanser moisturizer sunscreen makes sense but then there are serums acids vitamin c barrier products and random things that say calming or repairing and I dont know what helps or just makes tret harder to tolerate

How do you figure out if tret is the issue or if your other products dont work with it. Do you track your routine somehow or just strip everything back until your skin calms down?

Been on tretinoin .05% for close to a year and a half initially for cystic acne but now mainly to keep my skin clear and minimize scars. My skin has drastically improved with the tretinoin over time but I still have some closed comedones and clogged pores that come up on my cheeks near (not on) the nasolabial area. Usually I would pick at them to get them to go away but I've been trying to be more disciplined not picking my face so I'm just wondering how long will they take to go away on their own? Its very difficult for me to not pick them but I'm trying my best not to.

I'm thinking they may be caused by not washing my pillowcase frequently enough but I've been trying to get better about that. I have an extremely minimal routine (just Dove sensitive skin beauty bar and Vanicream at night) and I am not really wanting to introduce new products if I don't have to as I'm on a budget.

I have been using tretinoin .025 for one year. I can see mild glow, and reduced hyperpigmentation as well as reduction in acne. But I am still having occasional acne as well (mostly closed comedones) and my sebaceous filaments are kind of worse than they were before I started tret. Is there anything I can add to my routine that will help?

My current routine below

AM:
under eye moisturizer
Skin aqua spf 50

PM:
Cerave gentle cleanser / cetaphil exfoliating cleanser (alternating based on weather)
Hadalabo premium lotion toner
Cerave daily moisturizing lotion
Tretinoin .025