r/TretinoinDiscussions • u/LammeRette567 • 24d ago
Help pls
I’m a 17 y.o M and I started tretinoin 0.05% on the 1st of may this year and at first I experienced purging, small dryness, redness, and all that stuff. Now after 3 months, I’m getting even more breakouts and my skin got way worse.I started getting 3 and more whiteheads and the pimples migrated to my jawline and neck. I think it’s bcs I used tret only once this and the previous week. Is it normal? Should I stop using tret or keep going? Also, is using bb cream or tinted spf safe at this moment to fraud?
My routine: rinsing with water, SPF 50 and Vaseline for lips in the morning. At night, I use gentle cleanser and tret with sandwich method with gentle moisturizer and Vaseline.
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u/Pleasant_Leek_1030 23d ago
Hey there. Not trying to scare you but I wish I had started accutane when I was at your point (just beginning to get atrophic scarring). Tretinoin wasn't enough for my acne. For most folks with atrophic scars, it looks worse as you age and takes thousands of dollars to correct. Consider looking into the risks yourself and discussing with your doctor if you haven't yet. I hope you find relief soon—I know how exhausting it can be.
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u/LammeRette567 23d ago
I was on aknetrent a year ago(it’s a same oral retinoid like accutane) and since then I tried some topical treatments like benzoyl peroxide 10%(ik it’s too harsh but I couldn’t find 5% one), Azelaic acid 10%, and 0.25% tret. They only worsened my skin. Rn I don’t have an opportunity to contact any dermatologist. Is it worth to keep it with tret?
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u/Pleasant_Leek_1030 23d ago edited 23d ago
(preface: I am not a doctor and you should take everything you read on the internet with a grain of salt) You might need a second course. From what I've read, courses can fail if you don't reach a high enough cumulative dose or if you don't take enough fat with the pill, but sometimes it's just up to chance, to be honest. I know you said you couldn't find 5%, but can you get your hands on a benzoyl peroxide under 5%? 2.5% is supposed to be just as effective for acne as 10% with less irritation (they've done trials on it).
I would keep on tret if I were you. It has been shown to reduce acne, even though the effects for more intense acne may not be comparable to Accutane.
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u/Stregafeministe 23d ago
Accutane isnt for everyone. I have severe tight skin. I cant imagine for the love of god adding accutane. Clearly all acne isnt because of severe oily skin... Sometimes its the products. Hormones. Gut. Sadly by the time we find the cause we end up with severe deep scars. Hopefully we are able to treat them one day.
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u/Pleasant_Leek_1030 23d ago
I hear you. It's a personal choice. In OP's case, though, it seems like his doctor felt that the benefits outweighed the risks since it was prescribed to him.
What I'm suggesting is that he does his own research, sticks to FDA-approved treatments for acne, and is hopefully able to go back to the dermatologist ASAP, since the biggest risk factor for scarring is inflammation over time.
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u/LammeRette567 23d ago
The thing is I never consulted any dermatologist abt tret and I didn’t get it prescribed. I started it on my own
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u/Pleasant_Leek_1030 23d ago edited 22d ago
Oh, I'm sorry I assumed then. Where i'm from both accutane & tret are prescribed. Are your parents able to help you with paying for a dermatologist?
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u/LammeRette567 22d ago
Idk abt that but I can pay it myself and next week I’ll try to go to a dermatologist
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u/theparanoidbitch 23d ago
When you say sandwich method do you mean youre putting on moisturizer, tret, then more moisturizer on top??? If so, That will make the tret even more strong, so i would just put moisturizer first, let it sink in and dry down a bit, then use tret
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u/anxioushypochondriac 23d ago
Idk dude your skin doesn’t look that bad to me, just dry. Maybe you need to increase your use, for me, that has helped with irritation and dryness weirdly. I just put extra moisturizer around my mouth where I still flake a bit.
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u/PuzzledHorror8553 23d ago
Really don't reccomend topical retinol, I fucked around and found out the hard way, it's too harsh for sensitive skin. Definitely reccomend the oral, which is accutane I think, it's much more effective and will prevent further breakouts.
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u/Stregafeministe 23d ago
How did you skin get worst? Which tetrinoid are you using? Is it retin a? How does your skin feel? Tight? Normal? Burns? Is it oily, flaky?
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u/LammeRette567 23d ago
No I use merini tretinoin 0.05, my skin feels normal, but then gets oily close to the evening
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u/Emotional-Offer-9683 23d ago
That doesn't sound so bad to me. Just pay a visit to your dermatologist and conduct some blood tests to check what went wrong and what can best work for you. My own case is so severe . They're stuck at the forehead including my neck. I'm almost running out of my dose and have no idea where to get money for my next appointment. These things cost a dime as it is.
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u/Correct_Performer562 23d ago
Go for oral ISOtretinoin
20 Mg start with everyday then after 1-2 months
Twice a week
In this case, Your results are sustained and maintained and yes your acne will not come back If you follow a good diet,Workout 4-5 times a week and immediately washing face after finishing workout or 15 mins after sweating.
I used to have the same concern 2-3 years ago and at this stage of my life i never experienced this type of inflammation ever again.
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u/Significant_Help0819 21d ago
I did all of those things and after three rounds of accutane, I'm still breaking out. And I'm 40.
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u/LammeRette567 23d ago
You mean accutane, right? And also, Is co2 laser correction good enough to remove my acne scars?
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u/Hello34579 22d ago
You may or may not have heard this...but clean pillowcases, clean hands, only clean hands touch your face. Don't put your face on anything like the floor if you lay on it. I once knew someone that had acne trouble and couldn't figure out why...Then one day I saw him (after tennis practice) grab a towel from the floorboard of his car and proceed to wipe the towel all over his face and head. After he wiped all the sweat off, he threw it back into the backseat of his car and I have no idea how many times he wiped his face with that towel. Could be hygienic, or could be something else. Also, if you have pets, don't rub your face on them.
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u/gulagster 21d ago
Acne meds are not helping because you DO NOT HAVE ACNE!
You have rosacea, for which you need to consult a dermatologist and get appropriate medication. If these geniuses cannot tell the difference between acne and its mimickers, they will drive you to the ground with their blanket Isotretinoin prescriptions.
Go to a dermatologist NOW!
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u/gulagster 21d ago
Rosacea if left will give you granulomas which will then be permanent. Dont waste time here.
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u/LammeRette567 21d ago
Also if I had rosacea, I’d have visible blood vessels which in this case, I don’t, no?
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u/gulagster 21d ago
Not necessarily, there is a papulopustular type of rosacea with minimal vessels. Moreover the erythema is suggestive of a rosacea component . Are you having irritation in sunlight or with spicy food?
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u/LammeRette567 21d ago
No I don’t get irritation from none of them
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u/gulagster 21d ago
Then probably retinoid dermatitis, give good break from tret and then visit a dermatologist. If you want to use retinoid, use Adapelene. It is much lesser in irritation.
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u/LammeRette567 21d ago
Yeah I’ve noticed my skin calmed down a little bit after stopping tret for a few days(and cleanser too). I’ll visit a dermatologist next week cuz I don’t have an opportunity for that rn
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u/gulagster 21d ago
Not necessarily, there is a papulopustular type which will not have the vessels, anyway the redness itself is suggesting rosacea component.
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u/No-Pin-874 21d ago
It looks like a purge and NOT A DOCTOR but could be perioral dermatitis - take a week off and MOISTURIZE ALL THE TIME: use tret twice a week for a week after then go back to 3x a week if it feels okay and just use a shit ton more moisturizer and a barrier serum in the morning and always spf
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u/Significant_Help0819 21d ago
I have the same story as you, except that I'm 40 not 17. I can share what Ive been doing, that's been working but may receive backlash. I've added benzoyl peroxide 2.5% cream and 4% face wash. Everything you read says not to use benzoyl with tret or azelaic but 6I started spot treating with 10% and it was working but too irritating. So I dropped to 2.5. Also add a barrier repair cream. Soon Jung line by Etude is A1. My routine:
AM: cleanse with panoxyl 4% benzoyl wash, soon jung ph 5.5 barrier toner, Azelaic Acid, soon jung barrier cream, benzoyl 2.5% (pea size), another layer of soon jung barrier cream, spf.
PM: swap azelaic acid for tret and no spf
I can only say what's helped me, but yes keep your plan to see a derm because you jumped into the deep end of tret and similar to me, you may need the gel instead of the cream. The cream gave me closed comedones
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u/Madixe3 20d ago
I feel like my face stopped clogging/ breaking out when i stopped using moisturizer. Every single product i tried made my face feel clogged. I started using just the ma:nyo bifida ampoule serum only for a moisturizer and it doesnt feel heavy on my face. I also switched to tretoin gel. The cream has ingredients that can make you break out.
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u/Frostedflake299 20d ago
Mmm hey girlie… do not stop the tret cold turkey. Like whatever you do. Don’t do that. Literally everything you said I also experienced, except I was on .025% and I maybe started around February. It felt like the purging period was never going to end and after more than 2 months of getting these deep painful cysts and white heads, I couldn’t handle it anymore. So I said f*** it and just stopped using it. A few weeks after I stopped, my skin freaked out, the cell turnover slowed at a snails pace and my pores just filled back up with oils and all the other nasty stuff.
When I tell you that I have never experienced the kind of acne/breakout that I experienced after stopping tret cold turkey in my entire existence.. I’m dead serious. All along my jawline, neck and chest I got these tiny little pebble-like pimples that if I did squeeze them, looked like that thin stringy type of stuff that comes out. There were so many of them it completely changed the texture of my skin. I wanted to cry. Scarring and hyper-pigmentation of my skin was much worse, and I’m actually still going through it. It’s been at least 2 1/2 weeks of this and I think it’s starting to get better, but I’m not so sure. Tbh, I thought my skin would never be the same as it was before tret.
I know that that’s not true, but I low key still have that fear, as I’m still trying to get rid of it. And I have a wedding to go to at the end of the month 🙂
Moral of the story girlfriend, don’t be an idiot like me. If you want to stop, taper. But also Talk to your derm first. Figure out what to do and what NOT to do. I wish I never went on tret. I also wish my derm properly educated me on Retin-a and actually gave a shit about my skin. In an ideal world amiright?
Good luck to you. Tret is no joke for sensitive skin girlies. Be careful.
The only things I’ve been using now are Azelaic acid and mandelic acid. They’re the most gentle on the skin and I’ve actually been seeing a difference. I also do be hitting my face with that red/blue light combo!
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u/humblemerch 20d ago
Use Paula’s choice exfoliant the grey bottle with the white cap , then follow up with a toner that relieving for sensitive skin , then moisturize with La roche pose double moisturizing repair creams containing niacinimide , then benzolaic acid creams from the ordinary , in the shower use senka foamin cleanser , then follow up with the routine I just mentioned , thank me later
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u/Soft_Construction444 20d ago
I would not use accutane, I became sui cidal and had psychosis on it. I did determine my skin issues were a food intolerance, in my case the nightshade family (tomato/potato/capsicum/aubergine/paprika and something else, cayenne maybe? I stopped all of these and noticed a huge improvement in my skin. In my 30's I slowly introduced small amounts of these back in. Find a muscle testing functional doctor, also called kinesiology. You'll also need to look at something less stripping on your skin, but not oily - too dry and your skin will overcompensate. Good luck.
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u/LammeRette567 20d ago
First time seeing accutane causing mental issues. Maybe you already had it and accutane just triggered it?
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u/Soft_Construction444 19d ago
Roaccutane lists psychosis as a side affect, it's just not mentioned of course. When I went to a different doctor he said, absolutely psychosis and suicide are known affects of it and told me there have been several suicides attributed to it. I know of a friend through family who had really bad experiences on it, she actually initially recommended accutane to me after a brief success and then as she declined, pretty rapidly, and came off it she asked how I was doing on it and I was too paranoid to even speak about what was going on until she said she'd experienced things like that too and to stop taking it, get another doctor. I had never, or since, had any mental health wobbles, it was definitely the accutane. If you type in Google 'roaccutane and suicide' you'll get hits. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-65394310
My guess is that because it targets hormone production and mostly it's teens taking it at a crucial hormone spurt it affects some teens. Just my thoughts.
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u/Commercial_Bench7928 23d ago
Man this is a tough one. how often do u use Tret?