1yr Tretinoin journey - simple routine helped

[Vishal]

Backstory: I was battling breakouts all over my cheeks and chin last year. I was using a ton of products - serums, SA cleansers, even azelaic acid for the redness - but nothing worked.

Then I decided to keep it simple and let tretinoin be the star.

I've used tret before (about three years ago) so I knew my skin could handle it.

I was avoiding it because the results are slow and the skin needs time to adjust.

So I stopped all the serums and harsh cleansers and switched to a gentle cleanser, a moisturizer, sunscreen, and tret at night.

How I started using tret:
- Began slow with 0.25% using the sandwich method
- 1 × a week for the first month
- 2 × a week for the next month
- 3 × a week for the following month

Then I dropped the sandwich method. After a while I could use it every other day, but the results plateaued after a few months.

That's when I moved up to 0.5% a few months ago and cut back the frequency.

In colder weather I was at 2 × a week, but now that summer's in full swing I'm using it just once a week and topping it with moisturizer.

Purging:
I noticed a little purging at first, plus a lot of flaking. My skin is so sensitive that a gentle rub would make flakes come off.

The purging and redness settled after some time. Around my nose it still gets a bit flaky now and then, even after a year, but a good amount of moisturizer and a two-day break keeps it under control.

Current routine:

AM:
- Cetaphil gentle face wash
- Dot & Key ceramide moisturizer
- Reequil sunscreen (orange pack in winter, ultra-matte in summer)
- Dot & Key tinted sunscreen for a glow

PM:
- Makeup remover wipes
- Cetaphil gentle cleanser
- Tretinoin 0.05%
- Dot & Key ceramide moisturizer

[Rajendra]

You're glowing. Beautiful skin!

[Ehsan]

Hold on, why isn't there a moisturizer in the PM routine?

[Hemant]

I think I'm at your April stage - breakouts have calmed down but I've got a lot of post-acne pigmentation. Great progress, OP!

[Prem]

Why did you drop the frequency to once a week in summer when it's more humid? That seems odd. It's usually better to stay at 0.025% and increase the frequency to daily rather than jump to a higher strength and then cut back to once a week. If it works for you, that's fine.

[Vinod]

Adapalene or tretinoin? I want something strong but not so harsh that my skin peels like a banana.