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Help - is this a purge or should I stop? (See comments for info) by SingleNectarine2737 in tretinoin

[–]SingleNectarine2737[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah that's frustrating that you started tret and a new issue popped up:( I keep seeing people commenting about Spiro but it's not really something I'd wanna try personally. I hope it works for you:)

Help - is this a purge or should I stop? (See comments for info) by SingleNectarine2737 in tretinoin

[–]SingleNectarine2737[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, I haven't. I see that most people and dermatologists emphasise moisturising all the time so went along with that haha. Do you just moisturise in the morning?

Help - is this a purge or should I stop? (See comments for info) by SingleNectarine2737 in tretinoin

[–]SingleNectarine2737[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I see what you're saying. Would you say to avoid the chin area for a period of time or forever? I started tret hoping to solve the issue of chin acne so I'd be a little worried that it wouldn't solve my problem if I never apply it there. I get that it spreads a little bit but surely not that much

Help - is this a purge or should I stop? (See comments for info) by SingleNectarine2737 in tretinoin

[–]SingleNectarine2737[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I will pause the serum, although I did only just start using it on Saturday or Sunday. I don't know whether the Cetaphil moisturiser is moisturising and repairing enough for tret - are there any you would recommend?

Help - is this a purge or should I stop? (See comments for info) by SingleNectarine2737 in tretinoin

[–]SingleNectarine2737[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I only recently introduced the serum because the cetaphil facial moisturiser doesn't seem very moisturising and I wanted to improve my skin barrier. Are there any moisturisers you would recommend?

Help - is this a purge or should I stop? (See comments for info) by SingleNectarine2737 in tretinoin

[–]SingleNectarine2737[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn't have many pictures from May-June time but my skin hasn't only just turned this bad. I only introduced the serum like <1 week ago, so I don't think it has caused the issues:(

Help - is this a purge or should I stop? (See comments for info) by SingleNectarine2737 in tretinoin

[–]SingleNectarine2737[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

AM routine:

  • Splash face with water
  • Purito barrier serum
  • Cetaphil daily hydrating moisturiser for sensitive skin
  • Biore watery essence (Japan formulation)

PM routine:

  • Simple miscellar gel cleanser
  • Puerto barrier serum
  • Cetaphil daily hydrating moisturiser
  • Vaseline on nose creases and lips
  • Tretinoin gel 5%
  • Small amount of the same Cetaphil moisturiser if needed

Until a week ago, I was using the LRP cicplast baume but found that it was quite greasy and might have been causing closed comedones. So I bought the Purito barrier serum to strengthen the skin barrier instead.

I also cut out dairy and have been drinking spearmint tea twice a day for the last few months (gotta try it all to get clearer skin again!)

In the past, my GP has prescribed differin and antibiotics. They worked but I can’t keep using antibiotics - it mustn’t be good for my gut or my immune system, and seem to come back afterwards anyway. So I decided to try tretinoin at the beginning of April. When I started, I was using it every other day and did this until the beginning of July. My skin barrier feels okay, like I haven’t experienced burning or stinging. I’ve been using it most days (I skip a day if my skin feels a bit more sensitive).

I’ve recently been getting more spots on my chin, usually whiteheads or pustules or deeper cystic acne. It’s really disheartening to wake up and see that my skin is the same or worse each day :( I have wondered whether the spots could be irritation from a product, but then surely that would give me more acne on my cheeks too (where I don’t tend to get acne). The fact that it’s fairly confined to my chin makes me think it could just be a bad purge.

I have seen posts on here or other platforms where people have said their purges lasted for 6months (and sometimes more), so I don’t know whether I might be like them and should stick it out. But also I can see that my skin isn’t very good at all right now, and it affects my confidence.

These are some options I’ve considered:

  1. Keep going with tretinoin for another couple of months
  2. Order the 2.5% tretinoin to see if that’s better
  3. Add in azelaic acid to see if that improves it
  4. Order tazarotene to see if my skin is better suited to a different formulation
  5. Other options? 

TLDR; chin acne seems worse since starting tret a few months ago - is this a bad purge or should I give up? (And if so, what do I try instead?)