User Reviews for adapalene topical

Pay attention to which of these reviews say they've only been using it for a couple of weeks that complain about redness and peeling. They clearly didn't read the instructions or any of the WebMD page they're writing a review on. Adapalene is a retinoid and is not intended as a spot treatment for acne. If you want something to spot treat, get benzoyl peroxide. You apply adapalene all over your face - it isn't an antibiotic, it's a form of Vitamin A that encourages faster cellular turnover which helps reduce fine lines, acne scars, and gives acne less time to form and become inflamed. If you put a dot of this on a pimple, you're not encouraging anything but irritation. Retinoids help create long-term change in the way your skin functions, and like this entire article states, you will get worse before you get better. You WILL be red, you WILL peel, you WILL break out at first, and the duration of that varies from person to person. If you use it for one week and your skin gets irritated and you break out, giving a 1-star review just tells everyone else who comes here that you can't follow instructions, or thought you didn't need to believe the warnings. Retinoids are the absolute cream of the crop when it comes to acne treatment and anti-aging IF YOU USE THEM CORRECTLY. Your skin will most likely get much worse temporarily, but if you can stick with it/you aren't like genetically incapable of processing a lot of vitamin A, your breakouts will reduce in frequency, severity, and your existing acne scars will improve and even fine lines will become less noticeable. I did 5 months of Accutane in my late teens (fun fact - adapalene and isotretinoin are both forms of Vitamin A) and it was the only thing that ever got rid of my acne completely, after years of amoxicillin, doxycyline, tetracycline, Duac, all sorts of stuff. Differin is now available OTC and I started it again several weeks ago after my acne started to flare up a bit and am already very happy with the results. That being said, my retinization period was very short and mild since I've already used adapalene and isotreinoin extensively in the past. You NEED to use sunscreen daily (and reapply it through the day) and you NEED to stay moisturized. If you aren't following directions, don't complain about not getting the results you want. Adapalene is the real deal.Read More Read Less

Face is full pain

Acne gets worse before it gets better. Scaling , peeling and dryness are my side effects. I have "maskney" since I'm in the medical field, I have to wear a mask....and wearing it all day gives me pimples :(

I have primple prone face skin. It appears frequently on both side of face and leaves dark black spot. It's have been 5 years, I didn't go for skin specialist1st. I tried many home remedy, but nothing worked. Then this year i go to doctor. And he prescribed me this ointment with some oral medicines. After 1 month of continued this my acne and dark spot reduces slowly. Now 4th month , now i apply this ointment at night only when primple shows up, otherwise not . (Not all over face, only acne prone area)Read More Read Less

I've been on adapalene for about 5 years and I love it. It starts by moving everything in your pores to the surface so acne will probably get worse before it gets better if you have years worth of congestion to deal with. In my experience, washing your face, letting it dry for about 20 minutes, applying the product, leaving it on for about 20 minutes, then washing it off and applying a moisturizer immediately after while your skin is still damp prevents any irritation and excessive dryness.

Those complaining about the peeling and redness are either using the product wrong or don't understand how it works. Adapalene is a retinoid. All retinoids will cause peeling. The peeling leads to new, refreshed skin, preventing acne and aging. If you're starting this product, use it once every three days, only at night (retinoids leave the skin susceptible to UV damage, so night use prevents the worst of it. You should still wear sunscreen every day). If your skin is too sensitive for that, move it to every four or five days. Once your skin gets used to it, do it more frequently until you can use it once a day (never more than that). The first time I used this, I used it three days in a row. Nightmare! I peeled everywhere I have fine lines and it BURNED, but that was my fault for misuse. Over the next few days, after deep hydration (overnight masks) and reapplying moisturizer through the day, my skin was already glowing and clear. Pimples I'd had had lost redness and were shrinking. I was astounded. It's worth the peeling. If you're still concerned, search up "retinoid uglies." They will subside!Read More Read Less

If I could give this a 0 in everything I would. This product gave me a chemical burn and now my face is red, swelled up, burning and stinging. Used it only 2 times now I can put anything on my face besides cold cold washcloths. I am very disappointed in this product. Would not ever reccomend.

EXTREMELY DRY SKIN AS A RESULT. used for over a year and everytime I used it, my face would become unbearably dry for at least 2 weeks.

I thought acne was just for teenagers, until I became 40. I have been using this product for 2 weeks. The first week my acne became horrible. Now over the second week I have new and clearer skin developing. My acne is almost gone and I am just waiting for my acne scars to heal. The medication continues to dry my skin and I have started to use just a little lotion on the dry spots. Consistency is key!

Fabulous medication! It has helped both my daughter

My acne isn't terrible, but it is described as "moderate". I was prescribed this, and have been using it for probably over a year now. I have recently stopped using it, because my face became incredibly irritated while using this. My face was constantly a vibrate shade of red, something that was hard to hide even with makeup. To add to it, this product was not overly effective for me. I can say my face seemed better, but the cons outweighed the pros

Skin flared up, redness, dryness, scaling and pimples worse after 1 weeks use - then EVERYTHING settled right down and my skin improved drastically with ongoing regular use, new healthy skin appeared, irritation no longer a problem and far fewer if any pimples at all. Great product.

I have on Adaplene for a few weeks now and I think my acne is worse than it already was. I have had acne for twelve years now and I am looking forward to having clearer skin.

This medication seems to be inconsistent. Sometimes ill have a good month, other times I don't even want to go out in public. Seemed to get the same side effects in the beginning, where the acne gets worse during the start of use. I definitely think that this acne makes pimples redden.

Wow. I don't know what to think. My GP gave me this to try for some, what I thought, was just lingering acne. I figured I'm too old to still have it. I also had eczema as a kid. I've used this product 4 times. I was told to only keep it on for 15 - 20 minutes to get used to it. All the spots of eczema I had as a kid you can now see clearly, my skin is flaking off, I got 2 new spots, and I see many raised bumps. I'm pale to begin with, now I look awful. My skin always feels really dry and tight. I don't know if I can wait the 30 days my Doc says it'll take to work. At what point does this cause serious damage?Read More Read Less

I have always had mild acne especially during puberty. However, for whatever reason I started getting cystic, more severe acne in the summer of 2014 when I was 20 yrs old. I thought it was a temporary flare up, but it stayed. I started birth control and it helped clear my skin for a little while. But then one day in the sun caused my skin to develop closed comedones on the forehead. I decided it was time to go to the derm and I was prescribed adapalene (differin) for night and Duac (clindamycin and benzoyl peroxide) for the mornings paired with cerave facial cleanser and a basic moisturizer like cetaphil. The first 2.5 months were hell and I wanted to give up but I knew that there wasn't anything better to go back to. My acne became severe and got pimples I never have before. It was absolutely horrible. I had all of the side effects (redness, feeling heat, burning, peeling, itching, etc) and my neck even became red sometimes if I accidentally touched it with medication. But after 2.5 months of struggle and frustration, I finally began to see results and now I am pretty much acne free. I am still on the same birth control and although my skin might be a shade lighter, it's not much of a difference. I have recently switched to a La roche posay cleanser and moisturizer and my skin took it very well. I do have some scarring left, but that will fade with time. Just give it time and be patient! It took me almost 3 months. Good luck.Read More Read Less

Been using this for about 5 weeks now. Initially, I was breaking out more as everything was coming to the surface. Skin is finally clearing up and another benefit is that it's fading some of my sun spots!

I am 15 years old and I have been using adapelene for around a month or so. My skin is now 5x worse from when I started. I am not sure if this is a "good thing" because it is clearing out my pores, or if this product just doesn't work for me. I even have acne scars which I didn't have before. Probably the third week I was using the product, I broke out the most and it has slightly cleared since then, but I still have pretty bad cystic bumps around my mouth and forehead.

I have occasional problematic cystic acne and was given this prescription medication. However, after reading many reviews about how it can take up to months for your skin to grow accustomed to the medication, and if you skip out on it, it will continue to break you out... I'm not bothering with it as it has caused nothing but more problems.

I've been getting acne on my face since my freshman year, and I am now a senior. I got this gel from the dermatologist and started using it a couple days before senior pictures, and it cleared up almost 100% of the pimples(just in time!). I've now been using it for a total of about a week and a half and it's been working wonderfully. I also used it on my back, where I've recently been breaking out, and it decreased the size of a couple of cystic acne pimples I had. The only slight con of this gel would be the dryness; it's nothing too crazy, but my skin is a bit dry and slightly flaky in certain areas. This is a common side effect in the first four weeks of using it, though. Overall, this treatment is amazing and is the only thing that has worked this well and consistently. I've tried glycolic acid peels, dozens of different face washes, and every single home remedy there is, from lemon juice to toothpaste. This gel is the best treatment yet! Read More Read Less