Do we actually have proof that slugging helps? Or is it just a popular belief? I’ve always felt like using tret on its own prevents it from being diluted and therefore losing its efficacy.
hey guys :)
ive been using tretinoin gel 0.025% since february 16th 2026, i never purged and my skin doesnt look different now, it is just more sensitive!
ive used 0.025 (sandwich method) once a week for first 6 weeks, i keep trying to work up to 2x a week but my skin barrier gets so damaged that i need to reduce the use back down to 1x a week.. should apply onto red/flaky/patchy skin? any tips or advice?
(i attached a pic how it my skin looks after 2nd application per week)
am routine:
wash with water
weleda almond sensitive face cream (the only moisturiser that does not burn on tretinoin!!!!)
beauty of joseon sunscreen
i only put make up on my eyes & brows
pm routine:
avene xeracalm cleansing oil
balea med sensitive cleansing gel
weleda almond sensitive face cream
tretinoin 0.025 once a week
mivolis panthenol cream
So basically I a new pimple would show up every other day while I was using tazarotene. I thought it was dairy, allergies, stress, etc. After months of experimenting with everything nothing worked.
Then I figured to stop using tazarotene and they stopped showing up!
When I started again after a couple months I got 1 pimple just the next day after I first applied tazarotene again...
Should I just not use it? Am I doing something wrong?
I've been using tret for 3 weeks. I applied tret last night and then this evening I noticed this red patch on my neck. Today I woke up, cleansed, applied sunscreen, later went to the beach from 430-6 (where I applied additional sunscreen), went to the gym/pool and afterwards cleansed and applied ordinary NMF. When I got home I noticed this red area and applied cerave from the tub and it stung.
What did I do wrong? Is this a burn or just irritation? How should I treat it?
Routine AM:
- cerave cleanser
- ordinary NMF
- biore uv aqua SPF 50 sunscreen
Routine PM:
- cerave cleanser
- tretinoin 0.025% gel (every 2 or 3 days, depending how my skin feels)
Goals: anti-aging
So I'm on tretinoin & just had my wedding trial. As everyone in here knows — retinoids dry up your skin exponentially. When wearing makeup it can create a scale effect.
My makeup was pretty, but by the end of the day I noticed the scales under my eyes and on my chin (not pictured). We did a bunch of skin prep along with my regular skincare routine which consists of a total of 7 pumps of snail mucin. So very hydrating.
What else can I do / have my MUA do? She used cream products maybe that isn't effective for tret users? Im just worried if it's like this on the big day it might upset me.
So do I wait? For how long? I’m afraid rubbing an occlusive right after is gonna take all the tret off kinda?
Ive been on tret for just about a 6 weeks so im elbows deep in flakes
The problem is im struggling to find a sunscreen that is hydrating enough for under make up, im currently using beauty of joseon/skin1004 centella or glow recipe dew glow which is actually my favorite but its only spf 30 so ill only use it in winter
Ive tried a few others from yes style but feel like they are all similar levels of hydration which isnt enough for me, but all the US ones kill my eyes, fun times
Anyways my make up looks like garbage even applied minimally the other day i forgot I had applied sunscreen (it had been 20 minutes) so I put a light layer of lotion on remembered decided not to reapply sunscreen since I was gonna be indoors (it was 4pm) and my make up looked great
My question is, people do primer after sunscreen a lot but idk if thats different. If I wait for it to soak in can I use a light serum or moisturizer with my makeup or am I hurting the sunscreen?
Im considering trying a mineral one instead to see if its more hydrating
main reason i started tret was for my hyperpigmentation (mainly upper lip) and skin texture. Is tretinoin a fix for hyperpigmentation? I do see posts that say to not use it under your eyes and then there are some that say their dermatologist did not mind them using it under their eye but then what can be used under the eye alongside tretinoin? Any recommendations? i just need my under eye area and upper lip area solved :/
Three months ago, I had a breakout so bad that I saw a doctor a prescribed me at acnatac which I started using and stopped using common actives.
I haven't seen any success at all its made my skin so much worse breakouts my self esteem is low and I am hiding away in my room not going out.
I have used a pea sized dab every night which I've done I've tried using azeliac acid with it.
My routine was always foaming gel cleanser qv, moisturiser acnatac moisturiser at night and in the morning foam cleanse maybe hyaluronic acid or niacinimide and moisturiser spf 50
I'm going to see if stopping will help my skins acne maybe using Azeliac acid vitamin c.
Super dissapointed
Photos 1-3 were taken on the 3rd of feb photos 3-6 taken now.
I had been prescribed a steroid cream and topical minoxidil by my dermatologist for alopecia areata, I didn’t know what it was back then and used it for a couple of months before stopping. Recently I came to know that topical steroids/minoxidil thin and age the skin over just a period of a few weeks and I was on it for MONTHS.
I looked into tretinoin and saw that it actually reverses the damage caused by the steroid cream/minoxidil but this time I did my due diligence and actually researched into it and saw that there is a huge amount of anecdotes from people talking about how tretinoin damages the fat pads and causes even more wrinkles over time, this had scared me and I even made a post about this topic yesterday.
So my question to people have been on tretinoin >5 years, did you notice any loss of fat in your face or more wrinkles over the years? Thank you.
basically what the title says, I’ve had it in my drawer for a month, have stopped all actives in preparation and still can’t bring myself to use it!
ETA I’ve read the whole wiki! I’m just nervous lol
I genuinely am so confused. On one hand I see so much praise for how tretinoin is one of the best anti-aging products out there, on the other hand I also see so much anecdotal evidence from people saying how tret ruined their faces or gave them fat loss etc. I myself started 0.025% tret every other day and do notice that my smile lines are a bit more pronounced (20M for context), not sure if it’s the tret causing or purging, but it’s not dehydration as I drink 3L of water a day + apply moisturizer there like almost twice daily. I want a concrete answer to this question tbh as there is just so much conflicting information out there, thanks.
I started 0.025% tret for anti aging and hyperpigmentation last September. 7 months in, my skin is much brighter but for the first time in my life, hormonal acne is leaving PIE. How do I get rid of it? I’ve seen AZA being recommended on this sub but I can’t seem to get past 3x or 4x a week of tret.
Should I first build my routine to increase Tret frequency or introduce AZA?
My current routine:
AM
Water rinse
Skin 1004 probio cica ampoule
Cerave moisturizer
Skin 1004 centella Hyalu cica sunscreen
PM
Cleanse (a local brand)
Tret 0.025%
Hi! I’m looking for some advice and would really appreciate your input.
I was prescribed tretinoin 0.025% by my dermatologist (the product is called Acnatac in my country) for milia and closed comedones. At first, I used it every day, but it irritated my skin really badly, so I cut back to 1–2 times a week. I also tried the sandwich method, but my skin still didn’t tolerate it well.
After about 2 months, I took a long break to focus on repairing my skin barrier. Two days ago, I decided to give it another try. After cleansing, I applied Cetaphil MD Dermoprotector, waited a bit, and then applied tretinoin.
And now I’m back to square one - my skin is red, bumpy, and insanely itchy (nothing seems to soothe it).
I’ve read a lot of posts here, but I’m still not sure - is this something I just need to push through for a while, or is tretinoin simply not for me?
First photo is my skin on day 1 of tretinoin and second photo is my skin today after 4 weeks of using tretinoin 0.25%.
I (23F) suffered from cystic hormonal acne for over 7 years as a teen and used a mix of benzoyl peroxide and differin gel to clear my skin. I was subsequently left with texture/scarring and hyperpigmentation that would not go.
I decided to wait a few months of using no actives then started tretinoin.
I read about purging but nothing could have prepared me for the amount of acne that has suddenly appeared on my cheeks.
My forehead has never been a problem area and also has broken out in deep blackheads. My skin hasn’t been this bad in years and it is really difficult to look at after having relatively clear skin for a long time. It is just getting worse and I would really appreciate some advice on my routine before giving up tret altogether :)
current routine:
AM
centella barrier serum
cetaphil daily hydrating moisturiser
aveeno spf 50
PM
oil cleasner
water based cleanser
tretinoin every 3 days
azelaic acid
barrier serum
moisturiser
Thankyou so much!
To preface - I used the Cerave Hydrating Cleanser for the past 3 months and stopped using it about 2 and 1/2 weeks ago, since I thought it was the cause of my problems but it doesnt seem to have helped.
My current routine:
Boma Milky Oil Cleanser
Byoma Hydrating Toner
The Ordinary Soothing & Barrier Support Serum
Byoma Moisturizing Gel
Cicaplast Balm
The first two pictures are from December when I started using it, the second two pictures are from February like a month after I started using Cerave hydrating cleanser, and the last two are from two nights ago.
I was prescribed tret for my acne and dark spots/hyperpigmentation. I usually break out on my chin + jaw and right below the cheekbones so the area is pretty much the same. However its only been 5 days since I’ve started my routine. My derma told me to use it 2x a week with the sandwich method, and increase usage after 3-4 weeks. Just a little concerned because I thought purging takes a couple weeks
Currently one month in with tazarotene and I am now currently experiencing some light purging also because Im on my period too. Background I have been using tretinoin since the start of 2022 and just stayed on the 0.025 strength and eventually went up to 0.05 but went back to 0.025 because of the ingredient it had but I did bump up my 0.025 from every other day to nightly and sometimes even on damp skin. I switched to taz because I really wanted some help with the pores and some acne scars left from my tretinoin purge and so far not really experiencing any flaking since I drown my skin in hydrating skincare. Can't wait to see the results and probably bump up to taz 0.1 in the future. I also stopped using my blemish serum from Papa recipe because it had started to make my skin sting probably because of the niacinamide.
Skincare Routine and Products
Daytime Skincare Essentials
• Water
• Hada Labo Gokujyun Lotion
• Smoochkins 5x ceramide moisturizer
• Illiyoon Ceramide Ato Lotion
• La Roche Posay Cicaplast Baume
• 3w Clinic Sunscreen/ Belo Sunexpert Spf60
Evening Cleansing and Treatment
• Garnier Micellar Water (wearing makeup)
• Simple Micellar Gel wash
• Tazarotene Gel 0.05% (nightly)