Differin for Acne User Reviews (Page 5)

• JoePot
• February 7, 2017

"Its been over a month using the over the counter. I posted previously. I had started out using once every three days and then went to every two days to make sure no issues. Skin got very dry at first. Apply each evening about two hours before going to bed. In the AM I apply Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture with Sunscreen SPF 35 and re-apply as needed. Had several blackheads mature during the month. Some were under the skin surface. All gone. A few whiteheads. Skin has calmed down considerable. Skin seems healthier. No longer use Benzoyl Peroxide."

• kano
• March 5, 2016

"acne has been a problem for me since 8th grade & I started using Differin my first day of senior year (major mistake due to it making your skin "purge" the first couple of days//weeks" by the end of October my skin was mostly clear & by the beginning of December my face was completely clear except for the occasional pimple every once in a blue moon. At the beginning it would make my skin burn especially during sports. It's sensitive to sun to defenitely use sunscreen when you're out. All around miracle medicine."

• laylow
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 16, 2015

"I only started using differin a week ago. It has made my skin very red like in the first 3 days I got a red rash-like thing below my lips and on my cheeks and it burns. It also has made around my eyes very dry. I am going to start using it every second day for my skin to get used to it but I really hope that it will work. Just give it time people and don't over use or get worried if your skin becomes red because that is a side effect if you have sensitive skin."

• Zam
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 5, 2019

"I am 34 years old and female. For the past 6ish years I started getting breakouts. Sometimes they're terrible. I get painful deep pimples, cystic acne, blackheads. About 7 months ago I started realizing how bad my scarring was getting. NOTHING WORKED THAT I TRIED. Well maybe for a few days it would work. But nothing ever consistently worked. I tried salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, all at different doses with moisturizer toners etc. Anyway when I tried Differin it did not start working for a few weeks. Maybe 2-3 weeks. But I kept doing it. Initially the side effects are facial redness and skin flaking. I pushed through that part of it and my breakouts STOPPED. Like completely stopped. I will start to get minor break outs if I skip a few days of Differin. Once I begin again, it starts working again. I always use a good moisturizer in the morning when I wake up and I apply the differin at night. This stuff is awesome for acne and it really works."

• Senio...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 19, 2020

"I am 42 years old and I have fair skin. Recently, I have had the worst Acne Rosacea outbreak I have ever had in my life. After a few months of antibiotic and soolantra cream, the inflammation and new pimples were getting better. But, I still had rough, bumpy skin with lots of red hyperpigmentation where the acne has been. My dermatologist ordered Azelic Acid and I waited for over a month for it to come in at the pharmacy. It didn’t they claim because of Covid19. I was furious and cancelled my order. I decided to buy Differin to help skin turnover and prevent new pimples. My skin is so smooth! I have used it every night except 1 night for a month. The redness has improved and if I get new pimples, they go away quickly. I never got the purge. I am wondering if antibiotics helped with that. Also, my skin seemed dry for a minute, but it was my skin getting ready to slough off. Overall, I believe the product is doing a fine job. I also use Cera VE Day and night moisturizer recommended by my doctor."

• Car
• September 25, 2018

"I purchased this product after seeing the commercial for it several times. I had tried everything OTC and thought that this might actually work.. it didn’t. I’ve had moderate acne for about 5 years, and it always comes in spurts. I really didn’t notice anything the first week of using it. In the second week I noticed my acne getting worse, and by the third week my acne was unbearable. I had the worst acne of my life and so I finally did research because I hadn’t before I started. All the reviews I read said that it gets worse before it gets better, but usually starts really working after a month or so. I decided to stick with it and kept hoping it would get better. It didn’t. After 12 weeks of using it my acne was awful. I had developed more scars than I ever had before. I threw it away and went back to my old routine. My face started clearing up right away. Everyone has different reactions, but I wouldn’t recommend this product to any of my friends."

• Meg
• November 1, 2013

"I've been using this gel for probably about 2 or 3 years now. I started getting acne in around 6th grade where as I didn't start my period until 9th grade. I've never had SEVERE acne, there's just always been at least a couple zits on my face for as long as I can remember. I had no significant peeling or dryness when I started using differin, and I also had no immediate results. Slowly over time, however, my acne is becoming less severe and less often. Maybe it's because of the differin, maybe it's because I'm growing out of it. I did stop using it last summer as a test and my skin got worse and worse for the entire month I stopped using it and it took a solid 3-4 months after I started using it again for my skin to return back to normal."

• JoePot
• January 3, 2017

"Using the over the counter product for just a few weeks. Oily skin has always been a major problem. Seems to have knocked down excess skin oil big time. I apply early evening. I use it with Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture with Sunscreen SPF 35. Been in the sun and no burning or dryness noted. Did the beach yesterday for about an hour, no problem. I first started using every third day after reading a number of postings. Thought I ease into it as some reported issues using daily right off the bat. No issues. Did notice dryness of the skin before using my moisturizer. Just went to every other day. The skin has calmed down and a few flare ups that were just not going away are clearing. End of the week I plan on daily use."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 15, 2019

"30, male, extremely oily skin. I had cystic acne and I have some of the worst scars, and now I get the occasional huge cyst/pimple. I rotate my use of this daily. one day cheeks, one day forehead, one day nose, kind of like that, because all over every day, even a thin layer, it burns cause its too potent. On this I realized my brow ridge and nose produced less oil, and they look less "congested". I've been on it 3 months now, for the first time I've healed a cyst without a scar in my life. There are absolutely less lines on my forehead, my nose gets no cysts and looks smoother like my forehead. To prep skin for dryness this causes I use the Cereve PM moisturizer before Differin. It just dries me out too much on bare skin. I also use SPF 50 daily on my face. I live in an area with a high uv index all year."

• JimJa...
• August 25, 2010

"I started getting a few to many zits the summer starting after freshman year in college (that summer is just about to end) so I started using Differin. A full 10 weeks later I see pretty darn good results (there is less acne and the zits that are there are smaller). It does get worse before it gets better though. Week 2-6 were hell. I didn't have severe acne (or that close to severe) to begin with, but I wanted to clear my face as much as possible, and in a week and a half when school starts back I will be well into my 12th week and I think it's entirely possible that I could be completely clear by then. I also have been taking 65mg extended release Solodyn (minocycline) the entire time as well as Differin."

• Chris...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 30, 2019

"The purge I experienced lasted in two different waves from end of week 2 to week 6. Yikes. However, the acne from it was no worse than what I had been dealing with already on some of my worse breakouts. I seemed to be able to combat inflammation by using a benzoyl peroxide face wash and aloe vera gel as part of my routine. For me personally, dryness and skin flaking was far worse than the purge. It took about 7 weeks for my skin to adjust to adapalene, and even with two moisturizers layered on, I had the worst dryness and slight irritation. That said, once I hit 8 weeks, noticeable improvements started happening. About half of my comedones are gone, dryness is now manageable, and hyperpigmentation scars are starting to fade a little bit. I expect all of these areas to keep improving now that I'm getting closer to the 12 week mark. This was a process that had growing pains, but I am so glad to have stuck with it. Be patient, it will reward you!"

• CS_mom
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 17, 2019

"I have used Retinol for years, recently switched and gave Differin a try. I purged, and then waited, and waited. My skin was a mess for months. I couldn’t ever get it happy or calm, even after the purge period. Deep cystic acne combined with these weird superficial blemishes that I’ve never had. This is honestly one of the worst products I’ve ever used for my occasional hormonal acne and fine lines. I’ll stick with glycolic acid and retinol from now on."

• lv14
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 30, 2021

"Tried Differin for almost 4 months. In that period of time it totally ruined my skin. I started with a few pimples and now my face is completely covered. It has absolutely destroyed my self esteem. I can hardly look at myself in the mirror. I see people stare at the sides of my face and it is so hard on me. A kid even asked if ants had bit me. Tonight I'm done with this stuff"

• Amber...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 7, 2017

"I've only been using this for about 5 days and I can already see very clear results! It says to not expect anything till 2 weeks but with my skin it seemed to start working overnight because the next day it was already clearer and scars had faded a bit! Bearing in mind I have very very mild acne not very noticeable just wanted this cream to prevent from getting worse. Will keep you guys updated :) would definitely recommend this for oily skin with some blackheads and mild acne or moderate acne."

• Bella
• March 29, 2017

"I've been using this product for 5 weeks now. Before this, I have mild acne on the forehead and cheeks. I went to dermatologist and the specialist prescribed me this product to apply on my entire face every night for 2 months. And after 1 week using this adapalene cream, my acne gets worse and worse. Pimples keep popping out everywhere on my face even on areas that have never had pimples before. I am still using it because it does says on the brochure that the product's effect may be seen after 8 weeks. I'm using Aiken Tea Tree Oil for my pimples so that they will 'shrink' and heal quickly. So for the time being, I'm just gonna bear with all the acne on my face and wait for miracles of Differin Adapalene cream to work."

• Jess
• January 26, 2017

"After benzoyl peroxide made my skin worse, I was prescribed differin cream 0.1%. Results were slow at first but with maintaining a good skincare routine and healthy diet my skin showed huge improvements after about 2-3 months of use. Little side effects, some dryness but as to be expected with any acne product and easily resolved with moisturiser. Felt a lot less harsh on my skin than benzoyl peroxide. I am left with some spots and scarring but the effects have been overall brilliant. Would reccommend sticking with it for a few months to see best results!"

• Anonymous
• July 10, 2009

"I've been using Differin for 5 weeks now. My skin had seemed to be improving but then all of a sudden the last few days I've had several new break outs. It's a little frustrating but I'll continue using it as it can take up to 12 weeks for the best results. I'll just keep my fingers crossed. "

• Pei...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 4, 2017

"I started using Differin last January in 2016. It was prescribed by my dermatologist together with antibiotics, and I have to say - it's the best ever! I don't know if it was because of the antibiotics, but my acne healed in less than three months and the only thing I had to worry about was the scars. The only (common) side effect I had was dry, scaly skin. Doctor told me it was fine during our second checkup, so he gave me moisturiser. (Side note: I've been moisturising my face since young but I didn't dare to aggravate my skin so I stopped) And I love the fact that Differin does not discolour clothings and bedsheets. Before this I was using Duac, it was also beneficial to my acne but it discoloured my favourite bedsheet horribly!"

• anony...
• December 22, 2020

"I have pretty sensitive, and kind of oily but dry skin, at the age of 12 I would get massive breakouts, and blackheads, so I started differin. I already knew I had sensitive skin to instead doing it every night I would put it on whenever I got a break out to help calm my skin down, and not for regular acne use. Now it also seems like a lot of people aren't having a skincare routine while doing this and let me tell you, having a consistent skincare routine is the most important part. So after my breakout cleared out I would stop putting differin on and instead I would wash my face twice everyday with a soap that wasn't too harsh on my skin, like Dove. And I'd put a natural face mask on every Friday, made of aloe vera, honey, and cinnamon. At first it's going to seem like nothing is happening but after 2 or 3 weeks you'll start to see some of your acne clear out. DO NOT PUT MAKEUP ON! That'll take away at least a weeks worth of progress on your skin, I learned this the hard way."

• SD93
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 29, 2017

"This is a miracle in a tube! I had moderate to severe adult acne and would have breakouts on my cheeks, jawline, and chin that would leave dark marks for months. I have oily/sensitive skin. At first, the gel burned A LOT and I got a few more pimples, which are side effects of the product. But now after about a month, my skin is adjusting and looks better than it has in years! Little to no pimples and dark marks are fading! My Routine: Morning- Wash face in lukewarm water with Dove Exfoliating Soap, then apply Aveeno Clean Complexion moisturizer. Makeup - e.l.f. Blemish Control Primer and BB Cream Night- Same as morning routine, but add Differin gel after washing face with soap, and apply Aveeno moisturizer about an hour afterward if needed"

• Anonymous
• December 30, 2008

"I don't have that severe of acne, but I do have regular pimples, including the cyst-like kind that hurt. I get them on my face, back, and chest. Differin worked wonders on my skin with very little irritation. I recommend it for sure!"

• frankie...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 30, 2021

"My biggest regret in life was taking Accutane before actually trying out differin gel. the gel helped me more than the tablets ever could. Mixed that with taking probiotics, digestive enzymes, avoiding dairy and limiting junk my skin has never been so clear. Now I only need to focus on improving acne scars"

• Kendall
• June 25, 2017

"This gel is amazing, if you didn't stick it out for a full 8 weeks with this, then you are missing out. This gel has a purge faze that lasted about 6 weeks for me with extremely dry flaky skin, then very oily breakouts worse that what I was trying to cure, but I bought the moisturizer which is a must and stuck it out. I put this on at night after the moisturizer, and wash it off in my morning shower. Do not leave this on your face and go out in the sun, it says so on the packaging and could cause chemical like burns. I absolutely love this product!"

• Cassi...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 4, 2016

"I've struggled with acne for YEARS and my doctor prescribed Differin to help with my face. I've been using it for maybe 2 and a half weeks at this point so I know it's really early to post a review. Everything I've read about the product has been that it changes nothing for the first couple months but I've been using a Tea Tree Facial cleanser before the Differin cream & it has made a WORLD of difference ! So if you don't see much of a chance try a tea tree product. I got mine from the body shop."

• Kennedy
• December 29, 2009

"I started using Differin when I was 12. I was going through puberty and getting the worst acne anyone has ever seen. I saw significant improvements in my skin immediately. On the downside, it dries some parts of my face and has increased oiliness in other parts, so now every morning I wash my face and apply moderate-strength moisturizer. It doesn't prevent blackheads, and I still get some pimples and boils here or there. Now I am 20 and still apply it to my whole face every night."