Differin Gel (15g)

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. This is based on my personal experience. I’ve been using this product for two years, and I’ve noticed that many first-time users don’t fully understand what it’s meant to do. Yes, this product is supposed to dry your skin out. Dryness and flaking are normal and part of the process. It works by helping shed the acne-prone, irritated layer of skin and increasing cell turnover, which is why moisturizing is so important. Use only a pea-sized amount and apply it every other night. I strongly recommend wearing a MINERAL SUNSCREEN during the day. If you’re having an allergic reaction to another product, avoid adding sunscreen or new products and stay out of the sun until your skin calms down. Around the seven-day mark, I usually start seeing great improvement. This is one of the few retinoids that has truly worked for me. The dryness isn’t a bad reaction, it’s part of how the product works. When used correctly, the results are absolutely worth it. I give this product 100 out of 100. One of the best skincare products I’ve ever used.

Overall I was surprised by the results and effectiveness of this product. Im writing this review a month after using this adapalene gel because I wasn’t sure how well it was going to work. A month ago I had been dealing with a bad breakout on my forehead, temples, and jawline. I had been using either salicylic acid treatment or benzoyl peroxide on my face. Neither of those products made my situation any better. This product has been on my saved for later list for a while so I was curious to try something different for once. The first week and a half I didn’t see much change. But by week two and three, my goodness my acne nearly vanished. And I’m not exaggerating. It’s been a month now of wearing this every night after my nighttime routine. My face is smooth, acne and bumps are almost completely gone. Even the dark scars from some acne have gone away. It works really well and the 30-day supply really does last for 30-days. The skin around my eyes do dry out with this product, so I’ve been applying Vaseline to help with the excessive dryness. Otherwise this product really helped in just one month use. I spot treated acne on my chest and shoulders every now and then and this works for body acne too. I’m very impressed with the results. 95% of my acne is gone, with some trouble areas like my temples. But it’s helped a lot. I wish I took comparison photos to show the difference.

If you don't read any further in my review, please know this: IT GETS A LOT WORSE before it GETS MUCH BETTER. HANG IN THERE. I'm posting this in hopes this helps someone. First, some history: I've struggled with moderate acne from my teenage to adult years. In my early and mid 30s, my acne has turned into painful cysts that predominantly cover my cheeks, jawline and neck. I also have breakouts on my shoulders, back and chest, though they aren't anything like my face. The areas I break out in would lead me to believe it's hormonal. Since I've also had hair loss and have had cysts on my ovaries, there was a thought it was PCOS, but dozens of blood tests and expensive doctor visits later, that was ruled out. I spend COUNTLESS, and I mean COUNTLESS hours researching about acne. It's ruined my self-esteem and confidence, I never feel attractive, and I even have trouble looking at people sometimes. My skin is PAINFUL due to the deep cysts and inflammation. So much so, some days I just wanted to cut my skin off. It's been hard not to pick, but of course even if I don't, my skin is left with red marks that are just has hard to cover up as the inflamed bumps. I've tried EVERYTHING over the years. You name it, I've tried it, and that includes Acutane (but I wouldn't stay on it due to concerns over liver damage). The only thing I haven't tried that I heard could work is Spirnolactane. I was actually prescribed it but decided not to take it, again, over concerns about what it would due to my health. I don't even know how many dermatologist, primary care and OB/GYN appts I've had to discuss the matter. One derm went so far as to tell me, "If you still have acne at this age, you'll always have acne." In other words, I'm hopeless. I hated that guy. That was told to me when I was around 22 and I've never forgotten it 13 years later. Recently, I moved to a new town and got a facial. The woman that was treating me suggested Differin Gel. She mentioned she'd seen some success with it and that it was a fairly new OTC product. I figured, what in the heck do I have to lose. Desperate, I ordered it from Amazon. And after using it for the first time, I BROKE OUT EVERYWHERE, particularly my forehead. It was AWFUL. My only patch of clear skin was now what seemed to be infinite whiteheads. Every pore was a whitehead. It was awwwwwful!!! I immediately quit the product, and was so angry that another thing failed me. It took WEEKS for the whitehead breakout to clear up. While I waited, I kept researching it. I don't know why. And I read how people talked about it "purging" the skin so people get a bad initial breakout. Ok. Well, I don't know if it was out of frustration or a little nagging gut feeling, I decided to try it again. AND MY SKIN GOT SO RED AND DRY AND BURNED SO BADLY. I mean, excruciatingly painful. And it turns out that's just because I was coating on a thick layer of it all over my skin. How embarrassing showing up for work and my whole face is just red and massive FLAKES. But after all that flaking and peeling, and using non-stop aloe on it (also borrowed my husband's thick Aveeno Eczema lotion... it seems to really work!), I had.... clear skin. I can't believe I'm typing this. It's been weeks, and my skin has cleared up 98% (I did have a couple neck and jawling cysts this period cycle, though - but they're not as hidden under the surface as they used to be). My skin doesn't get nearly as oily (overcompensating for the dryness of Differin) or as flaky (because I'm using a little bit for the whole face with a little more added onto my problem areas). It seems to have finally balanced out. I really just can't believe it, and I am so unbelievably happy and feeling so much more confident than I have in a long time. I truly hope this helps someone. Shoot me a question on here if you have one and I'll be happy to answer. For the record, after a ton of my own research, I believe I have a sensitivity to DHT. My blood test DHT levels are normal, but as I understand it, sensitivity to DHT cannot be measured, and I believe that may explain my female hair loss and cystic acne. I recently purchased Saw Palmetto Extract to see if that can help -- though it made me feel very faint so I stopped after a third day.