Tretinoin: 5 Month Results

uniloser20

uniloser20

Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2023
Summer of 2022, my skin condition gradually got worse. I didn't think much of it at first until I opened my front camera in class one day and realized it had gotten bad. View attachment 4

I'm 20 years old, and have been facing skin issues since the age of 12. I completed a round of Accutane at age 15, and it held acne off for about 2 years before it started coming back. 5 months ago, I got a dermatologist and started tretinoin. Here are the results so far (I tried to use different lighting conditions so it's not misleading, but I don't have any pictures in the exact same conditions as first photo):

View attachment 1
View attachment 2View attachment 3
If you're facing skin problems, I 100% recommend you try tretinoin. Just be certain to use the proper amount and apply plenty of sunscreen and moisturizer during the day.
 
DAMN this is sick!

I have shit skin man, lots of patches of redness and shit.

I will get on this dude.

Thank you for this

MAC
 
It's awesome, not only for acne also for anti aging, i am taking it since 4-5 years.
 
Similar experience here. 2 rounds of accutane, now on tretinoin and it has a way of frying cystic acne before it can become a problem. Reverses sun damage/scarring too. Fucking amazing stuff. It took me about 6 months of daily use though before I really started noticing a difference in terms of reduced breakouts and skin quality but once it finally kicked in I was like holy shit…
 
Paid Renegade said:
Similar experience here. 2 rounds of accutane, now on tretinoin and it has a way of frying cystic acne before it can become a problem. Reverses sun damage/scarring too. Fucking amazing stuff. It took me about 6 months of daily use though before I really started noticing a difference in terms of reduced breakouts and skin quality but once it finally kicked in I was like holy shit…
Click to expand...

☝️This☝️
The first few months I was on it, I didn't see visible results. The results came all at once in the past month. It takes a hell of a lot of patience, and wondering "Am I just a genetic outlier who will never see any benefit from this drug?"
It's annoying having to apply just the right amount of this at night, apply lotion on top of it, then applying sunscreen and lotion during the day. It's totally worth it though.
 
uniloser20 said:
It's annoying having to apply just the right amount of this at night, apply lotion on top of it, then applying sunscreen and lotion during the day. It's totally worth it though.
Click to expand...

I just do cleanser -> rinse face -> tretinoin -> moisturizer -> sunscreen all in one go during the morning. Don't have to wait between any of the steps, just mash the next product on top of the previous one.

Tretinoin at night vs the morning isn't gonna make a difference in photosensitivity if you're actually using sunscreen. If anything at night is worse because you just smear it all over your pillows.
 
Can you guys tell me more about night protocol for anti aging ?
I’ve seen you talk about quantity?
 
AskTheDom said:
Can you guys tell me more about night protocol for anti aging ?
I’ve seen you talk about quantity?
Click to expand...

Sure! At night, I use Cerave Hydrating Cleanser in the shower. After the shower, I pat my face dry with a paper towel then apply the tretinoin. I try to only use a pea-sized amount. I let it stay on my face without any lotion to interfere with it while I brush my teeth, floss, and clean my mouthguard (dentist said I grind in my sleep, real recognize real). After it's had a good 5-10 minutes to absorb, I apply Cerave moisturizing lotion evenly across my face. Also, this is purely anecdotal, but I've noticed that my skin tends to look and feel better the day after I sleep with a silk pillow case (pretty sure satin has the same effect) so that's something to consider.

In terms of anti-aging, I feel like the protocol would be the same as using tretinoin for acne to be honest.
 
OK this sounds really promising, I will get on this for sure

Any ideas how guys in the UK can access this and formulate a good protocol for themselves?

It seems like this is prescription only here

MAC
 
MakingAComeback said:
OK this sounds really promising, I will get on this for sure

Any ideas how guys in the UK can access this and formulate a good protocol for themselves?

It seems like this is prescription only here

MAC
Click to expand...
AskTheDom said:
Can you guys tell me more about night protocol for anti aging ?
I’ve seen you talk about quantity?
Click to expand...

Yes, you can usually get it on prescription, but that shouldn't be a problem. Say you've taken it before and it helped a lot to get clear skin, easy. It is by far one of the best, maybe even the best, anti-ageing products out there. In any case, take the right medicinal product and not what you can get free of the cosmetic industry.

Some people will get irritation and breakouts at first, others won't, so test slowly first. You have to go through with that.

There are some sources that say it shouldn't be used around the eyes and that it may have the opposite effect there, but other sources say there is no problem. To be on the safe side, I leave out the eye region, but I have to find out more about it. Youtube is full of info about tretinoin from dermatologists.
 
MakingAComeback said:
OK this sounds really promising, I will get on this for sure

Any ideas how guys in the UK can access this and formulate a good protocol for themselves?

It seems like this is prescription only here

MAC
Click to expand...

I had to get a perscription, but it wasn't a struggle whatsoever. Dermatologists are usually pretty quick to prescribe it. I'm pretty sure you can also get it online. Start out applying the tretinoin after your night lotion has already absorbed, which will "shield" your skin from it initially until your skin is used to it. After you stop getting irritation, you can start applying it directly, and apply the lotion afterwards. Contrary to what some people might say, 0.025% is plenty for most people. That's what I use and I see great results.
 
Yeah in the EU is by prescription only, but like TRT, you just need a good doctor that understands your situation
 
I’ve tried tretinoin twice in my life. The first time when I was around 20. I followed the conventional advice at the time of applying it after the shower and before moisturizing. I went on like this for awhile but eventually gave up because my skin was chronically irritated and dry from doing it this way. Looked worse, not better.

The second time around I started a little over a year ago, and now I do it this way:

First, get an RX from your dermatologist. Should be easy as pie. Dermatologists all love tretinoin. Go for the lowest strength cream - 0.025%. There’s no need to increase the strength because studies have shown equal outcomes after one year of use across all strengths - but with less irritation at .025.

At night, I use a product called albolene to strip the sunscreen off of my face before climbing in the shower.

Then I use the cerave hydrating facial cleanser on my face while showering to remove any remaining residue. I like to use cool/lukewarm water because it’s more gentle on the skin.

After climbing out of the shower, and this is important, don’t dry your face off with the towel. Moisturizing damp skin is an absolute cheat code to having nice hydrated skin that I wish I’d discovered earlier. Suffered for years with chronically dry/oily skin until I figured this out in my 20’s. I go on first with neutrogena hydro boost (hyaluronic acid) and then cerave moisturizing cream.

I give my skin a chance to fully dry before applying tretinoin. I wait a couple hours while I chill and watch tv but you don’t have to wait that long.

Applying tretinoin over the top of moisturizer (onto dry skin) will NOT hurt its absorption. What it does do in my experience is prevent any irritation or dryness. I can apply anywhere (next to eyes, mouth, etc. and be fine.

I use more than a pea sized amount, making sure I have enough to fully cover all the skin on my face. You can use whatever looks right and be liberal with the amount IMO. I apply to my face every day and to my neck every other day (I found doing this stopped me from getting ingrown hairs from shaving)

I picked all of this up from a dermatologist on YouTube called Dr Dray. You can see an example of her basically doing the same thing here:
(Skip to 6:00)
https://youtu.be/nJjSqAqzP6k
She’s got lots more videos explaining skincare and tretinoin that you should check out. Really helped me.
 
uniloser20 said:
Summer of 2022, my skin condition gradually got worse. I didn't think much of it at first until I opened my front camera in class one day and realized it had gotten bad. 8BFD1D41-3EF7-4192-B629-67BF4228DEC0.jpeg

I'm 20 years old, and have been facing skin issues since the age of 12. I completed a round of Accutane at age 15, and it held acne off for about 2 years before it started coming back. 5 months ago, I got a dermatologist and started tretinoin. Here are the results so far (I tried to use different lighting conditions so it's not misleading, but I don't have any pictures in the exact same conditions as first photo):
28858ACC-5A6B-4357-91CF-F60A8C2F6467.jpeg
189BE4BD-1AA6-49E4-9884-956B744C0230.jpeg
20A75CA7-7FCA-47E4-AEF8-35CAECC8065B.jpeg9B65C8DC-4348-4117-B032-07D2FA83A902.jpeg
If you're facing skin problems, I 100% recommend you try tretinoin. Just be certain to use the proper amount and apply plenty of sunscreen and moisturizer during the day.
Click to expand...

I used to have skin issues and eczema. I fixed it by quitting caffeine. The caffeine puts your cortisol levels out of balance leading to inflammation. Took me over 10 years to figure out it was caffeine and not food I was having. It's something that's not discussed much because caffeine is the world's most popular drug.
 
AmericanAndy said:
uniloser20 said:
Summer of 2022, my skin condition gradually got worse. I didn't think much of it at first until I opened my front camera in class one day and realized it had gotten bad. 8BFD1D41-3EF7-4192-B629-67BF4228DEC0.jpeg

I'm 20 years old, and have been facing skin issues since the age of 12. I completed a round of Accutane at age 15, and it held acne off for about 2 years before it started coming back. 5 months ago, I got a dermatologist and started tretinoin. Here are the results so far (I tried to use different lighting conditions so it's not misleading, but I don't have any pictures in the exact same conditions as first photo):
28858ACC-5A6B-4357-91CF-F60A8C2F6467.jpeg
189BE4BD-1AA6-49E4-9884-956B744C0230.jpeg
20A75CA7-7FCA-47E4-AEF8-35CAECC8065B.jpeg9B65C8DC-4348-4117-B032-07D2FA83A902.jpeg
If you're facing skin problems, I 100% recommend you try tretinoin. Just be certain to use the proper amount and apply plenty of sunscreen and moisturizer during the day.
Click to expand...

I used to have skin issues and eczema. I fixed it by quitting caffeine. The caffeine puts your cortisol levels out of balance leading to inflammation. Took me over 10 years to figure out it was caffeine and not food I was having. It's something that's not discussed much because caffeine is the world's most popular drug.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I'm a complete caffeine fiend, usually drinking around 4 cups + a monster per day. Maybe quitting could be beneficial! I'll ease off the coffee and keep you updated on the results. However, tretinoin has been a miracle for me so far so I will continue using it.
 
Tretinoin is great. I've been using it for 5+ years. It's done wonders to fade acne marks/scars, even my skin tone, and repair sun damage. It definitely maintains that youthful look (although I'm a babyface so that'd probably happen regardless).

Unfortunately for me, Tretinoin didn't prevent new acne from forming. I would go in this annoying cycle of my skin healing then a huge pimple appearing that would ruin my progress. Finally went to a dermatologist and they prescribed doxycycline (oral antibiotic) to combat my acne. It worked, but taking an antibiotic in the long-term is awful for your gut health. Now I use Panoxyl 4% face wash and that helps prevent acne. Occasionally I get a pimple here and there, but not as severe as before.
 
Absolute legends

I'll make a plan and take action. Will post here on Sat its in my diary

Working on the biz bros Mon-Fri is 5am-9pm grinding.

I need better skin mine is red and patchy and I am getting older.

Thanks for the help Gs

Ravi
 
I'm seeing a dermatologist on monday. I don't have acne or many pimples but I'd love that glaring modelish skin.

Writing all these things down that I read here and shall ask questions. It's great to have a community who goes beyond and offers me so many opportunities (in this case to ask questions).
 
I've been using it daily for a year. It's made a difference. Not black magic type of difference, but definitely has helped.
 
Zug said:
I've been using it daily for a year. It's made a difference. Not black magic type of difference, but definitely has helped.
Click to expand...

Like anti aging with wrinkles you mean?
 
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