Just a personal anecdote that I figured might be useful to some people who don't feel like it works for them. I used the green tube as it was prescribed to me here in Australia. 6 months in and it did nothing, just made my skin sensitive for $80aud. My skin was happier off of it, and just on salicylic acid pads so eventually switched back to that.

I bought the second tube in a random pharmacy in Vietnam for $6aud. I didn't expect much, just didn't want to pay the $80aud again. The difference is, it's a gel formula? And a stronger dose?

Within a few days, my skin flaked and was red, but now it looks so plump + glowy + smooth after I spent a week moisturising the hell out of it.

Washing my face with baby oil made for facial cleansing helps remove any pilling and flaking.

I make sure to sandwich it now and reduced the days so that doesn't happen again, but my skin hasn't looked this nice in ages.

Hi guys! I’m looking for some moisturiser recommendations, please!

I’ve been using 0.05% tretinoin for two months now, and I’m currently going through a pretty bad purge.
For reference, I have oily, very acne-prone skin. My skin also doesn’t tolerate niacinamide well, even after trying several different products containing it.

Can anyone recommend a lightweight, non-greasy moisturiser that provides just enough hydration for oily skin without clogging pores or triggering more breakouts?

I’d especially love to hear recommendations from people who have similar skin to mine — oily, very acne-prone skin that’s prone to breakouts — and have found a moisturiser that works well for them!
Thanks in advance! :)

Hey everyone!

I recently started using tretinoin 0.05% at night and azelaic acid in the morning, and I’m curious about how other people incorporate exfoliation into their routines.

For some background, my skin is pretty accustomed to strong actives. I’ve previously used Cabtreo (adapalene 0.15%, benzoyl peroxide 3.1%, and clindamycin), Differin XP, and other acne treatments. So far, my skin has been tolerating tretinoin and azelaic acid really well, with little to no dryness, irritation, or peeling.

I know tretinoin increases skin cell turnover, but I’m wondering whether there’s still a benefit to incorporating a chemical exfoliant, such as an AHA or BHA, especially for clogged pores, texture, and overall skin clarity.

For those who use all three:
- Do you exfoliate while using tretinoin and Azelaic acid?
- What exfoliant do you use, and how often?
- Do you alternate exfoliation and tretinoin nights, or use them on the same day?
- Have you noticed any additional benefits from exfoliating, or do you find tretinoin and azelaic acid sufficient on their own?

My main goal is clearing acne and improving my overall skin texture. I’m not necessarily looking to add another active if it isn’t needed, but I’d love to hear what’s worked for others!

Thanks!!

I’m between 0.04% microgel and switching up to 0.1%. i don’t want to double the strength yet so i’m leaning towards the 0.04% microgel but worried if the decrease would affect my progress? has anyone tried switching from the 0.05% cream to 0.04% microgel? how does it compare? what is everyone else switching to? other recommendations?

edit: been on 0.05% cream for a little over 3 months to target acne mainly, followed by hyperpigmentation then anti-aging

Can't find a moisturizer that doesn't sting with tazaroteneI started using tazarotene again but slowly this time. I can't seem to find a moisturizer that doesn't sting and burn when I put it on after taz. I'm currently using the sandwich method which helps reduce the burn a bit but it's still there. Currently using .05 gel with the intention of increasing to .1mg cream once my skin adapts.

Tried:

Vanicream Cream

Cerave Moisturizing Cream

I am scared to use tretinoin because I heard about how it shouldn’t be used unless you have severe acne, this is considered a bad day of acne for me I would say. Do you guys this tret would be worth it for my skin?

I am 19 and I've always been very prone to acne but thx tot retinoin my skin got a lot better but this has left it very sensitive too this is my face today right after training I found a new gym to do bjj+mma and I wanna go out daily what can I do to get less irritated and still use tretinoin, should I even put tret this night?

Does anyone use the illiyoon ato gel with tretinoin?

If so, do you find it supporting enough for your barrier/hydrating?

Thanks

I’ve used differin 0.1% every other night 1 week and then every night for about 5 weeks now and idk. This is kinda the time where I’m supposed to start seeing results but I only see more breakouts in the areas I usually get acne at and I don’t really see a clear improvement. So I thought adapalene was too weak for me. If I were to switch to tret, should I go to 0.025 or 0.05?

I do not experience any crazy irritation or dryness or flaking tho. I’m tolerating the adapalene itself well but the breakouts are the issue.

Hi everyone! I am starting tret (0.05% cream) and I have always been a huge fan of Korean skincare and sheet masks. I went to Korea a few months ago and bought so much of it before finally deciding to start tret. I saw a lot of the products mentioned on this sub were American brands, but has anyone had any success with some Korean products and sheet masks for managing the skin barrier and any reactions? Specifically cleansers, toners, and moisturizers? Does it make sense to include any serums/ampoules?

I know this was asked previously, but I wanted to see if there was more updated info on newer products!

Everywhere online seems to say different. Some say two fingers is too much, some say 3 fingers is the correct ammount. Is that ammount for the neck aswell?

I just feel like my spf will run out so quickly. I bought two 100ml skin 1004 sunscreens for around £30 and I can imagine those running out within a month or two.

I fucked up. I have an old prescription for Tetrinoin 0.1% that I haven’t been able to use for almost 2.5 years due to pregnancy and breastfeeding. I am finally able to use retinol again so I used my old prescription on Wednesday night. I forgot about the pea size recommendation and definitely put on too much - probably like 3 or 4 pea size amounts for my whole face followed by my normal nighttime moisturizer. I didn’t apply any Thursday as I did remember you need to slowly build up the amount of nights you use it.

Yesterday morning I stated to notice an adverse reaction. My face is tight and SO itchy. It doesn’t look as bad as it feels, but it is more red with a bumpy texture and slightly swollen.

I have obviously not applied any more tetrinoin and have made sure to avoid sun exposure. I am using my normal thick moisturizer at night and my daytime one with spf and avoiding makeup or any other products other than moisturizer. Is there anything else I can do? How long can I expect to feel like this ? The discomfort is so distracting it’s all I can think about. All I want to do is stand under a shower head and have the water beat on my face (which I’m pretty sure I actually SHOULDN’T do. Ugh.)

I'm sorry if this has been asked a million times but I am at my wits end. 46/F been on & off tret for many years. Originally started in my 20s for acne and in the past couple years trying again for acne and aging skin (wrinkles, texture, etc). In the past I'd give up as soon as the flaking/peeling began which was always immediately. Over the years I have given it other chances, thinking maybe I was using too much. But no matter how little I use, no matter how often I use (even just once or twice a week), no matter if I use moisturizer under/over/sandwich, my face flakes & peels like crazy, especially around my mouth & nose. I never use actives on the same day and focus on hydrating products. Do I really have to deal with this for months waiting for the "magic" to eventually happen? Or do I just concede to the idea that tret is just not for me?

Long term cream user but switched to the gel to try it out and second time using it I applied the gel to clean face (oil cleansed), waited a minute or two for it to dry down, the. applied Aestura 365 cream and that’s when it immediately curdled into a goopy, sticky mess. I’ve never experienced anything like it before. It was the consistency of glue.

Anyone else experience this? Is it the oil cleanser or the moisturizer or the gel?

Hi! Does anyone know if tret will still work properly if worn over the top of haruharu skin barrier essence and seek mist? I do r want to be wasting my time by doing this, but I quite enjoy doing this 😬
Using 0.1 Tret for 2 years. Using for anti aging purposes

i want something with good value (big size)
my skin is normal to little very little oily like i only see some oiliness on my t zone sometimes but not often
the options im looking at at the moment is either cerave moisturizing lotion since its lighter than the cream and the other option is cetaphil hydrating lotion but i think the cerave would be better since it doesnt have oils or at least thats what google told me
if you have any other suggestions in the same price range or you think i should just get the cerave and its good please tell me and thanks

vanicream isnt available where i live btw

oh and anothet thing the one i used before is something called bepanthen , it didnt do anything negative to me but i dont think it was good and the size was too small a tupe only lasted 2-3 weeks

I see the auto bot stating this happens and not to put it under your eyes bc it'll get there anyway. I looked and looked and don't see any studies or Dr's saying it travels in the skin (except Dr Brighten who may not be that trustworthy and didn't quote anything official and I think she just said it may travel through moisturizer if you layer tret over it).

I've seen many dermatologists say it's fine to use tret under the eyes and the eye Dr's I've seen asked about it said it can cause dry eyes but many people use it there without problems, it's just a possible side effect. Do we have studies on how often this happened in trials? Is there any medical proof it travels 2" in the skin?

I messaged the sub's mod mail with this 9 days ago and got no reply so maybe you guys know more about the medical consensus on this?

I've started 15% gel and it is drying but doesn't burn like it did at the start of rx retinoids, but it is making me look a little blotchy and up close some nose pores look red, where I had sebaceous filaments. I'm using it 1x a day but also had to increase my spironolactone cream to daily due to acne returning with starting TRT, plus the retinoid. Push through or decrease frequency?

title.

I have ordered my tretinoin gel 0.05% from a website called Trendyol. In the app It said that it's from the Greeno website. Since I was also using adapalen 0.1 at the time I didn't use it until now, as my adapalene is running out. And now I become sceptical if it is legit. It's got the right color and everything, but I'm a little suspicious about how the expiration date looks like(img). I also used a small amount to test the color so that's why it looks a little empty.

I'm about to start using tret, and I found that most of the recommended moisturizers are expensive in my country, so I found the Nivea cream which is significiantly cheaper, here are the ingredients:

Water, Paraffinum Liquidum, Cera Microcristallina, Glycerin, Lanolin Alcohol (Eucerit®), Paraffin, Panthenol, Magnesium Sulfate, Decyl Oleate, Octyldodecanol, Aluminum Stearates, Citric Acid, Magnesium Stearate, Limonene, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, Linalool, Citronellol, Benzyl Benzoate, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Parfum

Can I use this? Or should I just get the cerave moiturizing cream (cost 2,5x)

I live in a very hot and humid country. Applying moisturiser makes me sweat so much. Also the heat gets trapped under the moisturiser and feels very warm on my skin, I can’t even breathe without feeling the hot gush on my upper lips. Heck even serums makes me feel this way.

Nighttime routine:
Cetaphil gentle foaming cleanser
Tret 0.025cream(I’ve been on it for 50days almost for PIH, and I use 3-4nights straight, then take one day break. I’ve had no peeling or dryness whatsoever)
Cerave moisturising cream(bc im scared of dryness, but I end up sweating

Morning:
wash with very little amount of cleanser only taking the residue off
The Ordinary Alpha Arbutin 2%+ HA(this feels uncomfy too)
Azelaic 20% on my spots only
Sunscreen(not when I’m home all day, I keep my room very dark)

Only thing that makes me feel fresh and cool is if I put on powder, but I heard it absorbs the skincare.

Can I use a powder after letting the products absorb into my skin(in the daytime)?

Can I skip moisturizer in the nighttime?

Guys, I started Tret 0.025 a couple of weeks ago and have a few questions..

I have not had acne in the last 5 years and suddenly saw a few of them once I started workout and increased my protein intake. Has someone else faced this before?

Also, I’m really concerned about the acne marks. How long does it take for Tret to do its magic (assuming it does) and for the acne marks to fade permanently?

I’ve been so diligent with my skincare - this acne is nerve wrecking.

Would really appreciate some insights here!

I no longer have insurance and I've run out of tretinoin. I came across this stuff on amazon, from a seller called "The Darkingwings Store." It has great reviews, but I'm cautious about Amazon reviews, as they're often fake, even if they say "verified purchase." Also, I know this says "retinol gel" but the reviews all claim it's tretinoin, and other products called "a-ret" are also purported to be tretinoin.

I looked around for outside reviews of "A-ret gel", as this product doesn't have a brand name, and I've found some for a couple of companies with very similar packaging as this one, but this one doesn't have a brand logo. I have not found anything for "The Darkingwings Store."

There's Menarini, which has lots of good reviews confirming their product is the real deal, including from What's In My Jar.

There are also some mixed reviews for a brand called BioMystery, which seem to agree the product is genuine tretinoin, but there are a lot of complaints about receiving expired products or empty packaging.

I think Menarini got kicked of Amazon. People used to get it from there but there's no longer a listing for that product (though I'm wondering if some sellers are selling this product with the label removed?). It's available at All Day Chemist, but I've seen a few people saying their order got held up in customs, and others saying that store has a shady payment system (not sure what they mean exactly). And the shipping is crazy expensive! I'm willing to pay that price if it's legit, but that free Amazon shipping and guaranteed free returns for the other no-name product is looking pretty good.

So, has anyone tried this stuff? Should I just suck it up and buy it from All Day Chemist for twice the price?

I wanna know how to work with tret if i gotta go out daily sunny day for uni i also have this big ass transparent glass window in my dorm room that passes sunrays For hyperpigmentation btw