Ive been using Retin-A o.o25% for 11 yrs now and it has worked miracles!!! But recently in the last 4 months i started to get cystic acne around my chin so my doctor prescribed an oral med called monodox and upped my strength in Retin-A to o.1% which is the strongest strength so im worried that my skin will get over dryed or i will break out all over again like i did the first 3 weeks of using the 0.025% 11 years ago. Was wondering if anyone has gone through strength changes and how it has affected you?

Tretinoin A has worked amazingly for me! I am 23 and have suffered from acne for nearly 10 years, the last 6 or 7 years I have used Benzol peroxide, which seemed to worked ok but never really acheived lift off. It got to the stage where I was having horrid breakouts, dry patchy and sore skin with using it for so long and often, plus my face wouldnt tan and my pillows got bleached :-( My skin was bad again so the doctor put me on topical gel tretinoin a- and within the first few days my skin started to peel leaving fantastic blackhead free smooth skin underneath. it has now been two weeks, and I am using tretinoin at night (becuase I cant wear it with make up it and goes all strange and lumpy if you try put something on top of it) and in the day I use benzol peroxide with moisteriser so I can wear make up. But the last week I have been using it in the day as well- becuase I have absolutely NO zits at ALL now so havent been wearing any make up! Plus I dont even need moisterizer now becuase my skin is so smooth and soft. I hope to god this stuff keeps working becuase the doctor sent me a miracle!!!!

Here are some hints which have proven to be helpful to me, and believe me I feel your pain. You may be drying out your face too much and need to moisturize it as well as exfoliate it. I swear by Philosophy line of skin care, Clarisonic facial system, retinol and vitamin C serum. I would suggest you visit Sephora and have one of their helpful and knowledgable staff spend a few minutes with you and play twenty questions, it will pay off in the end. They are informative, really helpful and are not 'selling' you the product just informing you, and no, I'm not affiliated with any of the products I've mentioned, or Sephora. Good luck!!

12-13-07 I have mixed feelings. I'm 30 and I have fair skin. I do see an improvement on my forehead wrinkles but that is not what I'm using Retin-A Micro for. I also notice that all my blackheads have cleared from the creases of my nose and on my chin. I still get cystic pimples even though they are smaller and seem to clear faster. I have moderate redness around my mouth and nose and my skin peels everyday which is frustrating and embarrasing. I've been on Retin-A Micro for about 2.5 months. I use Retin-A every other night and benzoyle peroxide the other nights. I want to stop using it but I do notice some improvement in my skin but not in my acne breakouts. I've tried minocycline, trycycline and other antibiotics. My acne only improves while I'm on them.

Tretinoin saved my skin, i was so embarrassed before, i would not want to leave the house or look someone in the face, but now my skin is clear and i have my confidence back. STICK WITH IT! the first month or two is bad, but i assure you it will get better. i know how it feels, ive suffered acne for 6 years and now finally i have clear skin!

Retin-A Micro is HORRIBLE! Ive been on it for 8 months and NOTHING! I keep breaking out horribly. and i am soo dry for nothing! it sucks! i am moving onto ProActiv lets hope that works!!!!!

I take this with Minocycline (generic for Minocin) and its cleared up my skin in just under a month. I had really bumpy skin and a whole bunch of white heads but now its all gone. My skin is real smooth now. I still have reddish spots from the pimples that I had from before but I think that its gonna clear up soon, I hope. Atleast it doesn't hurt to wash my face no more. And Tretinoin is the generic for Retin A, I dont think that Retin A Micro has a generic yet. Tretinoin worked out pretty good for me though.

I've used this medication for about 7 months now in addition to Benzaclin and Plexion. It has cleared up my skin a bit, but I think most of the improvement was due to the Benzaclin. It isn't too drying for me but you have to make sure you don't apply more than a pea sized drop to your face. I haven't had any cysts while I've been on this, so that's a plus, but it isn't quite powerful enough to totally clear up my skin on it's own. Might be better for those with light-moderate acne.

I just bought the cream Tretioin Cream, which is a product from spear dermatology products. Is this cream the same one that you are talking about ?

Retin-A Micro works well, not miraculously, but does decrease breakouts somewhat. Worth a try for acne sufferers. This cream is very effective at smoothing and firming the skin, after a couple of months, my skin does look younger and healthier, aside from the acne. Retin-A is also good for applying to those post-zit red marks that take forever to fade. The Retin-A seems to speed up the process.

I love it!! It may be a little premature, but I have been on Retin-A Micro for about a week. Literally three days after I started treatment the majority of my deep, painful, really red and disgusting looking zits were gone. I've read a lot about the pharmacology of Retin-A and I definitely didn't expect results this great this fast. I've tried benzoyl peroxide, differin, minocycline, antibiotic lotion, really - everything they've got out there. Right now I'm just waiting for deeper, older scars to fade and I expect 100% recovery!

I used this for 6 months with varying degrees of success. I have since switched to Tazorac which doesn't make me peel as bad. One great thing, it totally reduced my wrinkles. I look way younger now. Tazorac seems to be working just as well on the wrinkles. The peeling with Retin-A was awful but I used MD Forte III and a buff puff every morning. The glycolic acid in it gets rid of alot of the peeling.

I have been using Retin-A for about 15 years now. I swear by it. Not only does it help keep my acne under control, but it also helps keep me looking younger! Renova is also an option if one cannot tolerate the excessive dryness. I like to use Retin-A during the summer when my skin is more oily, and Renova during the winter when my skin is more dry.

Retin A works by changing the function of cells in the subcellular skin layer. They produce less oil. It takes about a year of every day use, then you go to every other day. It also reduces discoloration of scar tissue and makes the skin surface tighter and smoother, reducing wrinkles. It is very good for people over 35 with oily skin. It does not 'cure' pimples. If you are over 40 it really tightens neck skin and will make you cheeks pink (causes increased growth of skin capillaries). But it does take a year, so you have to be patient.

I found a website, SafeMeds.com which has Retin-a for $18.95 dollars per tube! This is because it is a mexican pharmacy company. This allows them to sell the product for way under US prices. I also suffering from acne found retin-a to od wonders! it does suck at first, it takes about 4 months to work and your skin gets worse before it gets better, but it was totally worth it! I just wanted all of those people out there who liked the product, but not the cost of $120 per tube!

I am currently using Tretinoin in conjuction with Minocycline. I have seem AMAZING results and I have only been taking it for four weeks. The large, red, sore pimples have completely dissapeared and are now just flat small red spots (that fade more each day!) My face is looks completely clear when I have makeup on. I expect it to totally be gone soon. I also didn't experience the "break-out" stage I have heard alot about. My skin is starting to look great! I recommend it to anyone who is suffering from acne. Is also good for getting rid of painful cysts-gets rid of mine overnight!

I have been using retin-a micro for about 5 months in conjunction with minocycline. I have seen incredible results. My skin has been totally clear for a few months now. I am someone who didn't start to have problem skin until my late twenties. I started having deep acne lesions that were awful & were leaving marks on my face.

I have sensitive skin, so I was concerned about using this product but I tried AVITA .025% and not only did the cream feel great on, it had only minimal burning, because I was only using it once a day, and the lowest dose it was a while before it really worked (4mo) but now my skin looks great and people really do comment on the fact that it looks healthy. Would be better if it wasn't so expensive or my insurance would cover it.

I am 35, with mild acne, and I've been using Retin-A (in conjunction with Cleocin-T gel -- aka clindamycin) on and off for about eight years. It has been "on and off" because I have found that I reach some sort of tolerance with Retin-A wherein it is no longer effective. I stop using it for about 2 months, and then when I go back on it, it works for another couple of years. Strange. Thankfully, there hasn't been the initial "start up" breakout that usually accompanies first-time use of Retin-A. I am growing weary of this need for layoff time, though, and it seems that time between recurrence is less each time.

I've used used retin-a from time to time and it seemed to clear up acne after about a month. The problem is its by prescription and it's expensive. I believe Benzoyl peroxide works just as good or better for me.

Good for some things although, I think like many topical acne products, after awhile your skin develops a tolerance and it won't work anymore (at least it's that way for me). I started using Retin-A when I was in Junior High. At the time, I got very horrible acne on my forhead that I would use bangs to cover because I was so humiliated by it. Cystic, large zits that were leaving very dark, purple scars. I was terrified that I'd be scarred for life. My doctor put me on Retin-A at that point. From what I remember (this is 10 yrs ago now), I went through about a 2 month period where I broke out worse, but then, afterwards, about 2 months later, my skin was mostly clear and the best part was - ALL THE SCARRING WAS GONE! I have this memory of being in a swimming pool and my hair being wet and slicked back, and someone gasping when they saw those dark scars on my forhead. Today, at 23, I don't wear bangs, I have no scars, and my forhead is the clearest part of my face! I only give it 4 stars because it didn't totally clear my face, and about a year later, my acne started getting worse, and my skin more oily. I still suffer with acne today.

Was way too drying. also didn't like the fact that skin had to get worse before it got better.

I really do not like Retin-A at all. If you can get through the first weeks of treatment then more power to you. A lot of my clients that I talked to have a lot of side effects from it, like burning, extreme sensitivity. It may cause your other products like make up & sunscreen (which is recommended if you are going outdoors)to sting and burn.

I used Retin-A for several months, and it did nothing for me. In fact, I think it made my skin even worse! Before we had insurance, we payed $50 for 1 little tube, and it hardly did a thing. It does work nicely on big zits though. just gob it on the one spot, and in the morning it should flake right off.

Worked very well for me for the last 2 years. the only bad thing is that you have to continuously use it or acne comes back. (I know from experience). You also have to use an anitbacterial cream along with retin-a b/c retin-a does NOT killl backteria

Retin-a(the main ingredient is Tretinoin) was not very helpfulwhen I was younger and it had just been released as a experimental drug( I was 15). I just re-started using the drug and it does help after it breaks down( the period where it makes your skin worse) the skin. At best, I would state that it help mildly.

It works better now that I am older (35) than when I was younger and my skin was much oilier.

Tretinoin (Retin-A) works for some people. I know a lot of people that have used Retin-A to clear up their face, and they all were pleased with it (however, I didn't even think they needed help with their complexion, so this isn't saying much). I have heard in a lot of magazines of studies that says that Retin-A helps the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, though I am not in that time in my life where I need to worry about that, it is supossed to be very effective after an initial "dry out" period.

First of all, it takes months to work, and your skin gets worse at first. Then, my skin didn't iimprove that much even after waiting. Maybe a 30% improvement. I want more than that from a prescription. I would never take Retin-A again. Benzoyl peroxide works much better and is a lot cheaper.

Retin-A (main ingredient is Tretinoin) was not very effective in my experience. Also, the odor of the cream is not very pleasant and it left my face feeling tight and dry. People seemed to be drawn to it for it's supposed ability to eliminate wrinkles and fine lines (I don't know about that, I was in high school at the time and wrinkle free)! At the time it seemed like the miracle drug..Not for me.