I used to have combination/normal skin where it would sometimes be oily around the "T" zone. During high school, I had most of my acne on my forehead and the scars would take months to fade. It didn't really matter to me at the time because I had bangs that covered up everything (which might have been the reason why I had pimples to begin with!). Overall, my acne was extremely mild in the past and I have continued to keep my skin clear with the help of Retin A (short for Vitamin A acid or Tretinoin gel).

Why I Started Using Retin A?
At the time, my boyfriend had a lot of acne on his cheeks and he was so embarrassed that he would cover the sides of his face with his hair when we went on dates. After a lot of research and appointments with the dermatologist, he ended up choosing to use Retin A because of the many good results (for acne and wrinkles) he read about on the internet. Since I did not want to go through an 'acne phase' like many of my friends, I also went out to get a prescription for Retin A... hoping that it would keep my skin clear.




How Does Retin A work?
"Tretinoin is used to treat certain types of acne. Tretinoin helps acne by causing the skin's outer layer to grow more quickly and be replaced with new skin cells, which helps to reduce the formation of blackheads, whiteheads, and other acne lesions. It may take up to 2 to 4 weeks to see improvement in your acne and the full effect of this medication may not be seen until 6 to 12 weeks."
(Check out this site for more details: Retin-A Drug Factsheet)

NOTE: Since it may not work for everyone... you should go to a dermatologist to see if they would recommend you to use this. Also, if you get severe side effects then you may need to stop using it. (blah blah the same story for many topical treatments since there's no 'cure-all' solution for acne).

Retin A also comes in a cream formula. Both the cream and gel come in different 'forms'/levels..... I had very mild acne so I used the gel with very low concentration of tretinoin.... 0.025%. It also comes it 0.05%, 0.1%.



My Retin A Story

Like other topical gels for treating acne, it is a long and difficult process that will likely make your skin worse for the first few months. There are also many side effects when you use this gel that vary depending on the user. Three years ago when I started using Retin A, I experienced a burning/stinging sensation for a few seconds after I applied the gel (which is normal), redness, flaking, skin peeling, dryness, sensitive skin and itchiness which led to rashes and scabs. My boyfriend who also used this at the same time, experienced the same side effects except he felt a burning sensation instead of itchiness.

I noticed my skin peeling immediately the morning after I applied this gel. Apparently, it takes 2 weeks (more or less) for your skin to get used to the gel and most of the side effects to wear off. This is the most difficult stage during the process since this gel makes all of the acne that has formed underneath your skin to appear on your face (I did not have much acne so this wasn't so bad). Also, your skin peels A LOT.... (you should always peel your skin during a warm shower when it is steamy, even though it feels extremely gross at first).

After a few weeks my skin felt better since I was experiencing less of the side effects. I noticed that I got clusters of small bumps on my face from time to time but with continued use, they went away. At this point my face was still very very dry and sensitive so I had to go out and hunt for a very gentle moisturizer (the dermatologist recommended Cetaphil). You must also keep away from prolonged sun exposure and high winds because it will irritate your skin. Always wear SPF of at least 15.

After 2.5-3 months, my skin was almost completely clear of acne (even on my forehead with was my problem area). It was an amazing thing.... :).

After 6 months +, Retin A made my skin a bit 'shiny'(?) even without the gel on (it gives you a dewy glow). My face felt tighter and I rarely got pimples (1 or 2 every couple of months). However, my combination/normal skin type became dry skin... but as long as I didn't get acne then using moisturizer more was not a problem.

After a year or two, I started getting lazyyy >___< so I used this every other night which then became once every couple of days and then after a while I completely stopped. Now, I am trying to get myself into the habit of using it everyday again because Retin A also works to prevent/diminish wrinkles so I am using it for that reason. Since I have been through the beginning stages before.. it feels much less irritable and there's less flaking! 


OH! and as for my boyfriend... he went through the same flaking and skin peeling process as me and his face completelyyyyy cleared up :). I get more pimples than him sometimes and both of us have stopped using it for a period of time (that's so unfair! I'm kidding). Both of us have very clear skin nonetheless.



I will look for some old pictures of how my face looked like when I started using Retin A and include more detailed directions on how to apply it in your face in my next post.