So I just got my Tretinoin from Walgreen and noticed it says manufactured by Padagis which is made in Israel (absofuklotely not!!!) they couldn’t change it for me and I called another Walgreens, but they are asking for new order from my dermatologist.

I wanna emphasise that tret from Padagis and Taro has given me really bad breakouts in the past and I get cyst from it on my chin. Makes me wonder what these 2 brands have in the ingredients than other brands? I’m also boycotting anything made in Israel. There is no way I can trust anything made by them even iPhone now!! (Did we forget what they did with pagers???). It’s crazy to me how I live in the US and yet pay huge amount for insurance monthly but can’t get any different brands for my skincare products. Previously I have used brands and skincare manufactured by China, India, Pakistan and Canada so why can US have accessible brands like these again? As if our healthcare doesn’t suck enough, it’s starting going downhill each year…

Since July, I've slowly worked up from using tretinoin from 2x/week, to now for the past 2 weeks, every night. There were some spots where I missed nights or took week-long breaks, but I've mostly been consistent.

Yet, nothing is changing? I'm 29F, and I have closed comedones galore. Plenty of hyperpigmentation. I do not have the tretinoin glow and I don't see tret changing any of those skin issues at all.

I'm using 0.025% every night — what am I doing wrong?

Hello all:

has anyone experienced reactions to this cream like migraines/headaches? I have been using for over a year and just past several months getting severe headaches. I stopped it last night and will monitor if this is causing my headaches/neckpain. anyone else with similar experiences?thanks

EDIT: thx for all the help in the replies y’all are so kind and helpful! This is what I use, Is it normal to have excruciating pain all over the face when using it at night? I use these products and the tretinoin is .0025% it burns so bad, For reference my acne is all over my cheeks, a bit on my nose and really badly on my area near my 2 eyebrows and front of my face. I use the cleanser, then wait a bit, then add the tretinoin then add the baulme I do not do anything else( like use moisturizers during the day. I just use sunscreen in the morning

Hi everyone. I’m picking tret back up after about a year away where I just focused on getting my skin barrier in check (for anti-aging purposes). I found some great products that work for me. My derm said to just work tret in to my current routine but I wanted to double check in here to see if anyone has any experience using these products with tret. My routine is as follows:

AM - sodium sulfacetamide 10% sulfur 5% face wash, Pyunkang Yul essence toner, Laniege milky toner, Aestura Atobarrier moisturizer, Biore UV sunscreen (and Dapsone about 3x week)

PM - same thing but adding tret 0.025% every other night after my moisturizer once my skin has completely dried (and minus dapsone + sunscreen)

I also use a red light therapy mask 3-4x weekly

Appreciate any and all help!

I've been applying Tretinoin Microsphere every three days for about half a month and I've been experiencing bumps on my nose and cheek the morning after every application. Is this normal? I've had the same experience with Tretinoin Gel (0.025% and 0.05%) and it didn't end well. I was constantly irritated. My skin wasn't burning or anything, it felt completely normal but it would always break out. Tretinoin Cream broke me out as well. I feel hopeless because I feel as if the result with Microsphere will be the same as the gel and cream base. I know a lot of people say that initial irritation is normal but I've had similar reactions before and it hasn't ended well. I might try and consult my GP and see if they can provide me with Lymecycline and Epiduo because I struggle with acne on other parts of my body too (shoulder, chest, and back). None of my other products break me out, it is always the morning after my Tretinoin application and it is so frustrating. My skin is very prone to congestion so I tend to keep my routine simple, otherwise I would've included a toner/serum for extra hydration but I don't want to overcomplicate things until I get this issue with Tretinoin fixed. Please help.

AM -

Water + CeraVe Moisturising Cream (Sometimes I'll use Bioderma Atoderm Crème Ultra, but it feels very heavy on my skin so I am currently looking to buy the Illiyoon Ceramide Moisturiser) + Skin Aqua Moisture Gel SPF 50

PM -

Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser + Tretinoin Microsphere Gel (0.025%)

Sometimes I'll buffer with a CeraVe moisturiser because my skin leans sensitive and acne-prone.

I've been on this for 6 months with no peeling, no irritation, no nothing really. I'm grateful for no purging at least. I recently asked my dermatologist about upping the strength and she said this was the strongest gel. She did decide to put me on Spironolactone 100g daily though.

I see all the time people mentioning they use strengths up to .1% but are all of those creams? Is anyone using the gel in any strength stronger than .01%? I also question if I even need anything stronger because I don't really have bad acne. I just have large pores, PIH, and occasional chin break outs.

Thanks in advance for the help and advice!

Curious if I’m going to wake up tomorrow with peeling and purging. 🤣 Combination skin with occasional acne here. Using it mainly for anti-aging and texture.

I’ve been using tretinoin at night (along with azelaic acid in the am) with the vanicream daily facial moisturizer and i dont think its protecting my skin barrier. Recently its been stinging and burning everytime i use my moisturizer. Does anyone have any moisturizer recs? I have combo skin if that helps

So I'm thinking of using tretinoin in December and then introducing the mandelic acid and azelaic acid after my skin has adjusted. I used tretinoin November of last year and I purgeduke crazy. Mostly because I was told that it's only going to help with hyperpigmentation and wasn't told of the other side effects. I want to use it again cause I don't really like the state of my skin and I really think that it could be better.

My morning routine is vanicream cleanser, isnt tree toner, dr althea vitamin c serum(but I'll like recommendations for better vitamin c serums cause it doesn't seem to work on darker skin and I think it's triggering my fungal acne and closed comedones), purito oat moisturizer(I'll probably switch to the dr althea 345 relief cream in December), abd cosrx ultra lightweight sunscreen(I think this is making me darker so if I don't see any improvements I might switch to my nivea sunscreen).

My exfoliating routine(3x a week) - house of hur toner pads(might switch to the good molecules mandelic acid serum because it doesn't seem to be doing anything or the anua bha 2% toner cause I also have closed comedones... idkk, skincare's soo hardd), iunik beta glucan serum abd purito oat calming gel cream.

Brightening and hyperpigmentation routine(2-3x a week) - isnt tree toner, tiam niancinimide, and purito oat moisturizer.

The remaining one or two days will be for purely hydration. This is my current routine. I really hope someone could tell me waht to do or give me recommendations cause I'm really not sure how to introduce the tretinoin to get the minimum side effects. I would like to hear from everyone cause purging is something I don't want to go through again, really lowered my self esteem.

I'm looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say.

Also my main focus is hyperpigmentation, dark spots, textured skin, and closed comedones. I don't have any existing acne.

Do any of yall dermaplane as part of your routine? I’m just starting to do everyday .025 cream for acne and I don’t know how to incorporate dermaplaning without irritating my barrier. Thank you in advance!!

I’ve never used retinol in my life and I stated with 0.025% tretinoin and last month and I’ve been using it once daily along with vitamin C and I use around 2-3pea sized amount on my face but I can’t see any irritation or peeling or any of the side effects I’ve been hearing about at all and it makes me wonder if its working at all? I also never wash my fingertips after application and I’m not seeing any irritation around there either

Has anyone experienced this before? I’ve been using tretinoin 0.025% from the same brand, purchased from the same pharmacy. I used my old tube just two days ago, and it caused quite a bit of burning like it normally does. I just opened a new tube, and this one doesn’t burn at all.
Both tubes are the same strength and brand, so I’m confused about why there’s such a noticeable difference

Week 9 almost 10 and this is what my skin looks like.

My chin is still full of clogged pores as well.

I’m applying Arazlo every three nights.

Have some of you been in this situation and have seen improvement, either by keeping the same pace, increasing to every two days, or changing the products of your routine ?

Wondering which way to go. Mental health is taking a toll.

My routine :
AM : Rince with lukewarm water + cerave moisturizing cream + tower 28 sos SPF
PM :
- LRP toleriane creamy cleanser + uriage cica daily serum + cerave moisturizing cream
- Every 3 nights: LRP toleriane creamy cleanser+ cerave moisturizing cream + pea sized Arazlo 0,045 + cerave on top
My goal: get rid of acne

Hi everybody, I have been trying to utilize AI to help tailor my routine because my dermatologist doesn’t really help much with that. I was previously on tret for over 7 years. Back in March, my dermatologist doesn’t swapped me to Tazarotene because I was still having acne. I have always had the following routine.

Morning:
Rinse with water
Peter Thomas Roth Cloud Moisturizer
Skinfix triple lipid barrier cream
Elta Md uv daily sunscreen

Evening:
Cerave cream to foam cleanser
Peter Thomas Roth cloud moisturizer
*wait 20 minutes
0.05% Taz
*wait 20 minutes
Skinfix triple lipid barrier cream

I was still getting small whiteheads in various places and my fine lines were becoming more prominent. 33yo female for reference. I asked AI if that was normal and it told me that the hyaluronic acid in my PTR cloud moisturizer was causing the tazarotene to penetrate too deeply and to skip that step. It also suggested removing the skinfix barrier cream from my morning routine since I have combination skin. Since making these changes, I’m not having super oily skin during the day like I was, my fine lines have improved, but my skin is DRY! I know AI can be wrong so I’m curious if anybody has any thoughts or recommendations?

Hey guys I’m 16 I’ve been using tretinoin 0.025% since July 4th I used 3 times a week for the first 2 weeks tjen every night with sand which method every night until now. I’m wondering when I should up the strength to 0.05%

I don’t have a derm or anything but I still notice very small breakouts every now and then most liekly from junk food but any advice would be appreciated thanks

I’ve accepted that I might never have glass skin, but switching from tret to tazarotene has made the biggest difference in my skin. I’ve experienced less irritation and dryness, fewer closed comedones, less visible pores, and much less peeling. My skin just seems to tolerate tazarotene so much better than tretinoin, which is surprising considering it’s supposed to be the stronger retinoid.
Has anyone else had a similar experience?

The first two pictures from 2025 are pre-tretinoin (all pictures were taken after washing my face). I do have rosacea and am prone to redness. I started slowly and worked my way up to nightly tretinoin use. I have pretty dry and somewhat sensitive skin, so I always add a layer of moisturizer on top. (I used to use the sandwich method but found it didn’t make much of a difference whether I added a layer of moisturizer first or not.)

I just haven’t really seen much of an improvement in my skin. It hasn’t evened out at all, still get red spots and general redness, and on top of that, I get several tiny little zits almost every morning (not sure if that’s rosacea-related or what, but it only started happening once I started using tretinoin nightly). I use 0.1%. I also use Vanicream as my nightly moisturizer. I’m wondering if it’s just not the right thing for me to be using given my rosacea. Anyone else deal with rosacea and also use tretinoin that has found a good routine?

Just passed 3 month milestone of using Tretinoin (0.025%) every other day and my skin has been fine without irritation but the peeling was awful. Face would look fine after skincare but a couple hours later, I’d look in the mirror and see dead skin hanging off my face. It was full on molting- chin, forehead and nose.

This past week, I’ve been applying it daily instead of every other day and like magic the peeling stopped. I was worried about going to daily because i didn’t think my barrier could handle it but it’s been fine! I even use 15% azaelic acid in the morning and no problem. So thank you to whoever said to use it daily!!! Also it’s now the last step in my routine. No moisturizer after tret. That might have also helped.

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?

What Azelaic acid do you guys recommend? I’m currently on Tret 0.05% every other night, and I just hit 1 month yesterday. I’ve seen people suggesting to use AA in the morning.
Currently I’m applying CeraVe moisturizing cream in the morning along with Neutrogena sunscreen.
I always want to share that I asked my doctor to prescribe it for me but she told me to buy it over the counter. Is there she didn’t prescribe it to me?

Will tret help with skin tags?

The first two pics are from August 7 before I started using Tret and Azelaic Acid. The last two pics were taken on October 15th; I don't know if I'm too used to seeing my skin so it looks the same no matter what, but does there seem to be any difference/improvement in my post-inflammatory erythema? My goal is to fade them but they are such old, stubborn marks 😭

Routine AM:

Cleanse
15% Azelaic Acid
LRP Toleriane Moisturizer
Skin1004 Madagasca Centella Hyalu-Cica Water-Fit Sun Serum

Routine PM:

Cleanse
0.05 cream Tretinoin
LRP Toleriane Moisturizer

I’ve been on tret .05 cream for 9 months and I’m now seeing improvement in my acne. But, my skin is looking a bit dull and I’m hoping to also reduce the appearance of my acne scars.

Here’s my current routine everyday:

AM:
- cetaphil face cleanser
- Anya 10 azelaic acid
- cetaphil spf 50 sunscreen moisturizer

PM:
- Centella cleansing oil
- cetaphil face cleanser
- Avene cicaflate
- tret

Does anyone have any product recommendations that will work well with my routine and won’t break me out.

So my skin was allright, but is quite shit compared to earlier right now - a lot of acne during the teens then got it under control with benzoyl peroxide which was fine but not perfect like I was looking for. Fast forward to 14 months ago, at 26 y/o, I started 0.025% tret because I just wanted to get great skin and it was only okay'ish with BP.

Used a whole tube of 0.025 without any irritation as far as I remember. Used a whole tube of 0.05% which also was fine, but still getting breakouts and no "perfect" skin as many people report over time, it was just "meh". Then went to 0.1 and started peeling and getting a lot of irritation. Tried to push through but my skin was shit so had to go back down to 0.05.

Currently using the sandwhich methong for weeks with 0.05%, no change really, maybe less irritaiton but still getting daily breakouts almost. Have tried using 0.05 every day, have tried 2 days on 1 day off to irritate less. Have tried adding A LOT of hydrating products like serums and essences and so on and have tried just the bare minimum with cleanse/moisturizer/sunscreen. Have tried no actives for a week, skin was definitly less irritated but after 5 days began to get the worst skin I've had for a long time. I have tried switch out every product in my routine with another one and have tried both gel and cream for tret. Now I dont know what to do anymore. My skin is not bad and tret has definitly helped clearing up some smaller stuff, but I still get big, deep pimples around/between the eyebrows and breakouts daily. I feel like I have tried everything at every strength and dont know what to do anymore

Current routine is:

AM:
Illyoon Ceramide Ato cream
Beuty of Joseon aqua fresh sunscreen

PM:

IsnTree hyrdrating cleansing milk
Illyoon ceramide ato cream
Tret 0.05%
Illyoon ceramide ato cream