Spring? What Spring?! The ground is still covered with snow here in my part of lovely England. I guess it will be a white Easter (who would have thought). Been awhile since I put up a review of anything...it's been a busy month. I started using Retin-A 0.025% cream (not gel) in the beginning of January when nothing would work on my skin. After New Year's, my skin was especially clogged. This was probably partly due from wearing my MUFE foundation (I never learn tsk tsk). Well, drastic measures had to be taken. I'd ordered Retin-A from Amazon a few weeks before and finally decided to start using it. I was really hesitant because of the all the reviews saying how flaky and red skin could get. My skin was already dry/flaky because of winter, so initially I just wasn't sure what was going to happen to my poor tortured looking skin.
First thing to remember...make sure to wait about 20-30 min after you wash your face to use Retin-A. Skin has to be completely dry (not easy, I know). After putting a very small amount of cream over the face (don't rub it in too much), I wait at least an hour until I put any moisturizer on top. I use Clarin's Lotus Oil. The rest of the time it's important to use gentle products on the skin..no scrubs/exfoliants or harsh facials cleansers. My skin needs more moisturizer than normal since starting Retin-A.
First couple of weeks...IT WASN'T HORRIBLE! Yes! I think I had one major pimple on my chin that took awhile going away (it was huge). My skin got much clearer..all the bumpiness that used to be near my jawline was going away. My skin felt much smoother. I had a few clustered pimples on one of my cheeks and they were going away. I didn't experience any "purging" as many do. I did, however, experience flakiness and peeling. Not much redness though. I used this every 2/3 days.
The second month...A lot of dry patches that I tried my best not to peel off (I know...should not be doing that!). My acne was almost totally gone. I had a few minor zits (or should I say zitlets...they were that small). I think whatever minor acne I did get was because of different products I was trying out (makeup, moisturizers). I was still using this every 2 days because when I did try it every other day, my skin would get very dry.
Third month....Still have dry patches/flaky skin but it doesn't bother me as much because even without the Retin-A I would have had some dry patches (winter just doesn't want to leave *sigh*). I've been using this every other day now and it's been okay. No crazy pimples..some minor ones on the forehead that long to go than I thought. Right now I have a couple very small whiteheads on my chin and one teensy weensy one on my nose. When I put on my mineral powder they're not very noticeable. I have noticed a lot more lines on my forehead..it might just be dehydrated skin though. I guess I'll find out for sure once summer comes along and if there's a change.
I've had really good results from Retin-A, and I've always had very sensitive skin. The trick is to use a very small amount and figure out how often you can use it (a lot of trial and error). Make sure that everything else you use on your skin is gentle. I'm thinking of trying the 0.05% after my tube finishes, but am having trouble finding Retin-A online. There are other brands but some of them have ingredients that would clog my pores and I want to stay away from anything like that. Should have bought more tubes a couple months ago! I would defnitely recommend this to anyone who's been suffering from acne and if you have drier skin but can put up with the dry/flaky patches for a few months, this is the winner.
