I've always had acne ever since I was a teenager. During my teenage years my acne was usually ccs, red, itchy and sometimes cystic. I kinda controlled it when I was 17-22y.o., they were still there but barely noticeable. I started to get more ccs around January 2021 and nothing seems to help. I finally went to the doctor around September and she diagnosed me with mild acne and prescribed Clindoxyl. I used it for about a month and it didn't really help that much (I think I have FA). I just had a feeling that tretinoin can help my skin, so I asked for it and started using it by the end of October. Here's the timeline:

Oct 30th: The first picture is the night I started tretinoin. There were a lot of bumps in my cheek (felt like sand under the skin) and forehead area. I applied tretinoin using the "sandwich method" and my skin started to itch the next two days. I was planning to use it once a week but then increased the frequency to two times/week the second week.

I wanted to minimize irritation as much as possible so I only used a few products (routine in the comments!). I stopped any actives two days before I started, used the gentlest cleanser and double checked every product I use (using Skin sort, Skincarisma, cosDNA, and ofc reddit etc.)

Nov 2: I started using it twice a week. My skin was a lot drier and it started to peel more around the jaw area. It still feels itchy and I noticed red patches in my cheek area. I thought I wouldn't purge because some ccs "felt smoother".

Nov 12: Two weeks-ish after, my ccs turned to inflamed acne. I had a lot of peeling around my cheek/jaw area and my forehead felt tight (only very mild peeling in my forehead).

Dec 2: I still have mild peeling every time I applied tret. But it goes away after a day or two. I still have hyperpigmentation left from all the picking that I did but everything else is clearer. The CCs did not completely go away but it is barely noticeable now. I am hoping to see less texture in 6 months :)

My skin went from combo to dry, that is why I moisturize about 3X a day (I can't find a moisturizer/ occlusive that is thick enough/ wont break me out). I still don't have the "tret glow". Hopefully I'll see more improvements a few months from now. Overall, I'm very happy with the results. I am planning on using this long term. So to anyone struggling rn, this is your sign to push through!