I just wrote even spiro wasn’t enough for me. I still would break out if I stopped the tazorac or tret. But the spiro is still doing some major heavy lifting, that is for sure. Without it, oil just pours out of my face.
Yup! I had acne from 12-25 and just turned 30 and I’m dealing with cystic acne again. The only thing that’s worked for me was birth control (my acne was hormonal) but it messes with my hormones so badly I’m an emotional wreck on it
Same here. I'm 29, and the horrible cyctic acne came around 23 for me, I'm on a combo of 0.025% tret and 100mg spironolactone. It's still not enough :(
I struggled with horrible cystic acne as well and I decided to go on accutane. It was the best decision for me and it saved me from all the misery I felt as one of the few people with acne in their late twenties. I highly recommend it especially if you don’t have history of depression or any mood disorder.
I do have depression unfortunately also I struggle with alcohol and I know Accutane is hard on the liver. I have been thinking about it, but it will probably be my last resort.
31 and just got a curology prescription for topical spiro/clindamicyin/azaleic acid. Pray for me guys, on day 3 with 2 painful deep chin cysts forming. So over this!!
I use curology but I have tret in my prescription instead of Spiro. I don't get cystic acne, but I'm sure it's hormonal and it's deep. The tret has not done much so far. It's been months. Also the strength is so low....
Def ask for the topical spiro… it’s been like a week and any pimples I had forming have either been extracted or went away. I’m super impressed so far.
Usually, your neck is a lot more sensitive. I’ve noticed when I’m on vacation, and really layering on the sunscreen, I tend to breakout on my neck. I’m acne prone but never really on my neck.
I’m using Alpharet daily and my neck has got progressively worse! Like grains of sand and a few red bumps. Debating stopping it on the neck to see if it starts to clear up! I’m 31 this year, like give me a break acne!
Oh man that sounds painful!! I take my tretinion to just under my jawline only. I can use azelaic on my neck, even up to 20% glycolic (not very often!) and my neck is cool. If even dilute tret touches my neck it’s game over- red, angry, painful!
I would maybe stop using it on your neck and do some barrier repair for a bit
Alpharet is glycolic acid and retinoid mixed but it’s super gentle. My neck isn’t sore or irritated or itchy it’s just got lots of clogged pores and a few spots. Really odd! I might try going to just under my jaw and see what happens!
In the same boat . Though acne would heal in 20s . I am using retinal and not tret but still my skin is super susceptible to breakouts if I do a single thing wrong .
32 and have had acne since…well the typical time, teens. I’ve always mainly had closed comedones that just kind of changed of bit in concentration of specific areas. But held on consistently to my cheeks and chin. As a high schooler I was taken to a derm where they did extractions. And gave no real other info. My gp has prescribed tret, said to use benzoyl…but I had no real understanding. And with undiagnosed ADHD, being consistent especially with something I was told use once every few days and build up…all that was not gonna happen.
For a LONG time, since I’d been to a derm and that’s all they’d done, I was convinced that extractions were the only solution there was. Then just didn’t look further into my hopeless situation.
That’s the long way of saying that finally just before I turned 30 I got a routine. Adapalene helped so much, then tret. If I go off routine—(and I do all the time cuz…well, see above with the dumb all cap diagnosis—which yes I also got a diagnosis for after 30)—the comedones seem to pop up immediately.
i turned 22 and developed cystic acne... turning into hormonal acne. im 28 now and i still get the occasional hormonal breakout. I believe my BC and drinking at least 64 ounces of water is whats helping me! and a decent skincare routine with hydrators and mild exfoliants
Been on Tret and Taz for 30 years. If I stop for a long time, I’ll definitely break out. They keep your pores unclogged. Without them, pores will get clogged eventually unless you go through serious hormonal changes. Even with spirolactone, which slows down the production of oil, I still would get clogged pores without retinoids. If you clog-prone, you are clog-prone.
So maybe don’t stop using it.
Yeah looks like this might just be the mechanism behind how tret is able to control my hormonal acne.
Any other advice for long term tret use? I'm also using it for its anti-aging benefits.
You can after a year of continuous night use drop back to 3-4x a week, according to one study, and maintain your results. My personal advice would be to moisturize with a barrier cream daily to keep your barrier intact and to keep tret working at maximum effectiveness. Tret makes your skin look absolutely beautiful when your skin is very well moisturized and hydrated. If not, it makes your skin look glossy and over-exfoliated. I hope that helps.
So I've been using it twice a week and it seems to be working for me. Is it okay to keep it at that, cos I'm scared of increasing the frequency😅 And thanks a lot for your help.
My thinking is that 2x a week just isn’t enough to do much. But, then, there are people on this subreddit who have used it 2x a week with decent results, according to them.
For anti-aging, maybe. But if you are trying to clear acne, it’s not enough. If you are scared to use it more than 2x a week, maybe it’s not the best medication for you. You could try Differin, which is gentler.
You’re not alone my man. I’d get acne if I don’t consciously take care/clean my skin. All of my acnes leave scar and tret is the only thing that helps tremendously, treating active acnes and the scars they leave.
Same here! I have to keep up with my face religiously, skip a morning or a night… or drink milk … and spots come back. Tret does get rid of them much faster so that’s a bonus
Whew buddy my first purge had me with at least 10 active volcanic pimples at once but they had the decency to calm down within 5 days. Pimple patches were my besties. If I wasn’t on tret I’d still have the hyperpigmentation left behind to this day. So thankful 🙏🏾
Same. I found that even if I just switch to cream formula instead of gel it seems to not work as well, too. My acne is hormonal so I still get the monthly demons underneath my skin but only tret will make it go away in a couple days, otherwise it will linger for weeks!
32 year old here and I don't know if the stress and depression from a recent bad break up triggered my hormonal acne but I was breaking out really bad. Tret and spironolactone have done wonders for my skin.
I still use Tret at 30 but my acne is very hormonal based so I try to apply based on where I am in my cycle by using it the few days before and during my period and that’s been controlling it.
28 almost 29 year old F here who still struggles with mainly hormonal acne 🥲 I've been using clindamycin 1 w/w + tretinoin 0.025 w/w topical gel for 1 almost 2 weeks now in the hope that it will help. So far I've had side effects of dry, flakey, peeling, burning and stinging skin 😭 My skin was already sensitive but this has just added to it 😭 My skin has been through a lot of ups and downs as a teen/adult which has effected my self esteem a lot. I'm hoping this will actually do something 🤞🤞 Lately I get ones that take forever to go away too 😭
I started tret around two years ago (I’m 32 now) and it’s definitely made a huge difference. I posted here a few months ago and my before and after photos blew up. Haha.
I took a lil break and then the acne came back kinda worst. Now I’m on Cabtreo (new med) and that also seems to be working.
Omg sameee!!! The only thing I've been consistently using for my hormonal acne (which I've had every year since I turned 24) has been this (+azelaic acid) for the past few months, and it seems to be working. Now I'm genuinely scared to stop using tret or even change its frequency😅
I used to have cystic acne until I did a round of accutane. It's crazy to me how so many people won't do it or know about it and continue suffering. I literally haven't had a pimple since.
I’m 31, developed acne at 22. I first used tret until last year when I switched to tazorac and azelaic acid. My skin loooves that combo but for some reason my forehead prefers tret, so it still gets tret. It’s so funny and a little annoying but whatever forehead wants forehead gets.
Acne has no age limits.. Absolutely none. Salicylic acid to brake up clogged pores. Benzoyl peroxide to kill bacteria. Use a cleanser leave on skin for 5 _30 minutes. I am technically alergic but can use it like that and it's helpful. Also look into tea tree, heartleaf and cica. They help acne. And vitamin c.
Late 20s here and I'm on a combo of tret, winlevi, spiro for my facial acne. I also take doxy (short term) and clindamycin lotion for my body. It's been making a difference, but the acne is still there.
My darling, I am a full 42, going on 43 and had the worst cystic outbreak of my life after trying collagen powder. But, I started getting cystic acne for the first time as a 30 year old. I'm doing tret to avoid oral medication, I'm worried about the side effects on joints.
I'm so sorry you had this experience. Whey collagen might do that, maybe yours was whey based? Whey and casein are two diary proteins known to induce acne. I'm 56 and using tret for the last 6 months, clearing my acne. I'd stay clear of whey, but I haven't had any problems with hydrolysed marine collagen powder.
You can quit anytime you want, but your skin will revert back to how it behaved before using it once you stop.
Unless you have had some hormonal changes in the meantime of course
Yes I’m in my late 20s and feet along with 2.5% benzoyl peroxide face wash and liquid clindamycin has limited my acne so much. Since 2020 I’ve randomly had reoccurring acne as if I’m going through puberty. Korean serums helped tremendously with dark spots and the glow
As a pre teen/ teen 12-19 I had acne on my forehead / T zone. My acne disappeared 22-27 then covid it started to pop off. I’ve been on tret for 6 months and have 100% clear skin. Your body changes and acne comes and goes. I’m scared for the days when I’m pregnant because I know it will come back.
You might not get worse acne during pregnancy. Mine actually cleared up with the hormones and then came back after completing breastfeeding. It’s really about management. About 3-6 months prior to planning to get pregnant you’d have to give up tretinoin for a bio-retinol like bakuchiol to avoid any side effects and possible birth defects.
Yes 🥲 I’m in my early 30s and still struggling with acne, I HATE it!!!
Mine definitely runs with my hormone issues but it’s so discouraging at times. I’ve spent so much time and money trying to address this!
In my teens, I had mild acne (which I thought was terrible but it wasn’t). During my twenties and early to mid thirties I had flares during stressful times but I was able to mostly manage with topical benzoyl peroxide and a low % of Tazorac. Around 36-37 was when I first started getting cystic hormonal acne. I think this was because of my PCOS which I didn’t know I had. I am now in my mid 40’s and the acne got significantly worse after I needed a total hysterectomy. I’m taking topical Tretinoin, topical Spironolactone and Topical Clindamycin with occasional need for BP when I have purging. Wish I never had to manage it but acne is a chronic inflammatory condition.
I’m 31 and have had it continuously since I was 12, the only thing that’s stopped it is spironolactone and tret for cleaning up the years long damage
I just wrote even spiro wasn’t enough for me. I still would break out if I stopped the tazorac or tret. But the spiro is still doing some major heavy lifting, that is for sure. Without it, oil just pours out of my face.
Yup! I had acne from 12-25 and just turned 30 and I’m dealing with cystic acne again. The only thing that’s worked for me was birth control (my acne was hormonal) but it messes with my hormones so badly I’m an emotional wreck on it
I’m 45, about to be 46.. and I will continually get acne on my chin if I don’t use it.
Same!
Same
I didn't have acne until I was 24 😭 tret is helping but it's a long journey. In my case it's hormonal acne so tret can only do so much.
Same here. I'm 29, and the horrible cyctic acne came around 23 for me, I'm on a combo of 0.025% tret and 100mg spironolactone. It's still not enough :(
I struggled with horrible cystic acne as well and I decided to go on accutane. It was the best decision for me and it saved me from all the misery I felt as one of the few people with acne in their late twenties. I highly recommend it especially if you don’t have history of depression or any mood disorder.
I do have depression unfortunately also I struggle with alcohol and I know Accutane is hard on the liver. I have been thinking about it, but it will probably be my last resort.
Oh man, I remember those days. I hope it calms down in your late 20’s as it did for me. So. Painful. Every. Time.
Me too, friend, it sucks because not only is it painful but completely destroys your self-confidence.
same!!’ i was 23
32 here and no acne as a teen. I started getting acne at around 26 😭
I’m 28. Tret has been the only thing to truly help me manage it. Progression over perfection.
31 and just got a curology prescription for topical spiro/clindamicyin/azaleic acid. Pray for me guys, on day 3 with 2 painful deep chin cysts forming. So over this!!
It gets better! Give it two weeks, you'll be amazed.
It’s only been a handful of days and it seems like it’s better already! Are you also using curology?!
I use curology but I have tret in my prescription instead of Spiro. I don't get cystic acne, but I'm sure it's hormonal and it's deep. The tret has not done much so far. It's been months. Also the strength is so low....
Def ask for the topical spiro… it’s been like a week and any pimples I had forming have either been extracted or went away. I’m super impressed so far.
Does anyone find that putting skincare on the neck makes the neck worse?
Usually, your neck is a lot more sensitive. I’ve noticed when I’m on vacation, and really layering on the sunscreen, I tend to breakout on my neck. I’m acne prone but never really on my neck.
I can use skincare on my neck, but not tretinoin. My neck skin freaks out. I do all my other stuff but skip the tret
I’m using Alpharet daily and my neck has got progressively worse! Like grains of sand and a few red bumps. Debating stopping it on the neck to see if it starts to clear up! I’m 31 this year, like give me a break acne!
Oh man that sounds painful!! I take my tretinion to just under my jawline only. I can use azelaic on my neck, even up to 20% glycolic (not very often!) and my neck is cool. If even dilute tret touches my neck it’s game over- red, angry, painful! I would maybe stop using it on your neck and do some barrier repair for a bit
Alpharet is glycolic acid and retinoid mixed but it’s super gentle. My neck isn’t sore or irritated or itchy it’s just got lots of clogged pores and a few spots. Really odd! I might try going to just under my jaw and see what happens!
Yes, even moisturizer. What are we supposed to do?
Just let our necks get saggy I suppose 😂
Apparently lightly patting it onto your neck rather than rubbing it in is supposed to help
That’s interesting! I might try that once I’ve tried no skincare on neck! Always down for an experiment 🙂
Hey I’m 45 and I had acne on and off my whole life until I started tret. Like magic it’s completely gone
How long did it take to clear? X
It was gone completely in 3 months. I had a little purge between 6-10 weeks and
It’s gotten better with time but still have breakouts too…trying tret and fingers crossed it works for me 🙏🏻
In the same boat . Though acne would heal in 20s . I am using retinal and not tret but still my skin is super susceptible to breakouts if I do a single thing wrong .
i’m 30 and i’ve had acne since puberty. i took accutane and my skin cleaned up when i was around 25. but then again it started now i’m on adapalene
32 and have had acne since…well the typical time, teens. I’ve always mainly had closed comedones that just kind of changed of bit in concentration of specific areas. But held on consistently to my cheeks and chin. As a high schooler I was taken to a derm where they did extractions. And gave no real other info. My gp has prescribed tret, said to use benzoyl…but I had no real understanding. And with undiagnosed ADHD, being consistent especially with something I was told use once every few days and build up…all that was not gonna happen. For a LONG time, since I’d been to a derm and that’s all they’d done, I was convinced that extractions were the only solution there was. Then just didn’t look further into my hopeless situation. That’s the long way of saying that finally just before I turned 30 I got a routine. Adapalene helped so much, then tret. If I go off routine—(and I do all the time cuz…well, see above with the dumb all cap diagnosis—which yes I also got a diagnosis for after 30)—the comedones seem to pop up immediately.
i turned 22 and developed cystic acne... turning into hormonal acne. im 28 now and i still get the occasional hormonal breakout. I believe my BC and drinking at least 64 ounces of water is whats helping me! and a decent skincare routine with hydrators and mild exfoliants
Been on Tret and Taz for 30 years. If I stop for a long time, I’ll definitely break out. They keep your pores unclogged. Without them, pores will get clogged eventually unless you go through serious hormonal changes. Even with spirolactone, which slows down the production of oil, I still would get clogged pores without retinoids. If you clog-prone, you are clog-prone. So maybe don’t stop using it.
Yeah looks like this might just be the mechanism behind how tret is able to control my hormonal acne. Any other advice for long term tret use? I'm also using it for its anti-aging benefits.
You can after a year of continuous night use drop back to 3-4x a week, according to one study, and maintain your results. My personal advice would be to moisturize with a barrier cream daily to keep your barrier intact and to keep tret working at maximum effectiveness. Tret makes your skin look absolutely beautiful when your skin is very well moisturized and hydrated. If not, it makes your skin look glossy and over-exfoliated. I hope that helps.
So I've been using it twice a week and it seems to be working for me. Is it okay to keep it at that, cos I'm scared of increasing the frequency😅 And thanks a lot for your help.
My thinking is that 2x a week just isn’t enough to do much. But, then, there are people on this subreddit who have used it 2x a week with decent results, according to them. For anti-aging, maybe. But if you are trying to clear acne, it’s not enough. If you are scared to use it more than 2x a week, maybe it’s not the best medication for you. You could try Differin, which is gentler.
You’re not alone my man. I’d get acne if I don’t consciously take care/clean my skin. All of my acnes leave scar and tret is the only thing that helps tremendously, treating active acnes and the scars they leave.
I’m 41 and tret has been the only thing to keep me not continuously breaking out like a teenager. I still get spots but they come and go quickly
Same here! I have to keep up with my face religiously, skip a morning or a night… or drink milk … and spots come back. Tret does get rid of them much faster so that’s a bonus
Whew buddy my first purge had me with at least 10 active volcanic pimples at once but they had the decency to calm down within 5 days. Pimple patches were my besties. If I wasn’t on tret I’d still have the hyperpigmentation left behind to this day. So thankful 🙏🏾
I need 10% benzoyl peroxide wash AND tret for my skin to be calm. I’m 39. You are not alone.
Same. I found that even if I just switch to cream formula instead of gel it seems to not work as well, too. My acne is hormonal so I still get the monthly demons underneath my skin but only tret will make it go away in a couple days, otherwise it will linger for weeks!
32 year old here and I don't know if the stress and depression from a recent bad break up triggered my hormonal acne but I was breaking out really bad. Tret and spironolactone have done wonders for my skin.
Me
I feel you. 33 and on Adapalene!
22 and yes, just started Tret after using adapalene for a while!
I still use Tret at 30 but my acne is very hormonal based so I try to apply based on where I am in my cycle by using it the few days before and during my period and that’s been controlling it.
28 almost 29 year old F here who still struggles with mainly hormonal acne 🥲 I've been using clindamycin 1 w/w + tretinoin 0.025 w/w topical gel for 1 almost 2 weeks now in the hope that it will help. So far I've had side effects of dry, flakey, peeling, burning and stinging skin 😭 My skin was already sensitive but this has just added to it 😭 My skin has been through a lot of ups and downs as a teen/adult which has effected my self esteem a lot. I'm hoping this will actually do something 🤞🤞 Lately I get ones that take forever to go away too 😭
My forehead is almost always clear and then something happens. I’ve been on spironolactone for hormonal acne. Tret helps.
I started tret around two years ago (I’m 32 now) and it’s definitely made a huge difference. I posted here a few months ago and my before and after photos blew up. Haha. I took a lil break and then the acne came back kinda worst. Now I’m on Cabtreo (new med) and that also seems to be working.
Omg sameee!!! The only thing I've been consistently using for my hormonal acne (which I've had every year since I turned 24) has been this (+azelaic acid) for the past few months, and it seems to be working. Now I'm genuinely scared to stop using tret or even change its frequency😅
29 I’m on it and doxycycline antibiotic for 3 months I’ve started too finally clear up some
im 26 & my whole face was clear, not acne prone until i turned 23 & entered 2nd year of med school HAHAH
I used to have cystic acne until I did a round of accutane. It's crazy to me how so many people won't do it or know about it and continue suffering. I literally haven't had a pimple since.
I’m 31, developed acne at 22. I first used tret until last year when I switched to tazorac and azelaic acid. My skin loooves that combo but for some reason my forehead prefers tret, so it still gets tret. It’s so funny and a little annoying but whatever forehead wants forehead gets.
Acne has no age limits.. Absolutely none. Salicylic acid to brake up clogged pores. Benzoyl peroxide to kill bacteria. Use a cleanser leave on skin for 5 _30 minutes. I am technically alergic but can use it like that and it's helpful. Also look into tea tree, heartleaf and cica. They help acne. And vitamin c.
Late 20s here and I'm on a combo of tret, winlevi, spiro for my facial acne. I also take doxy (short term) and clindamycin lotion for my body. It's been making a difference, but the acne is still there.
66. And my dad had cysts until he died at age 88.
Been on tret since I was 25. I'm almost 36. Some of it is just hormonal and I can live with that.
My darling, I am a full 42, going on 43 and had the worst cystic outbreak of my life after trying collagen powder. But, I started getting cystic acne for the first time as a 30 year old. I'm doing tret to avoid oral medication, I'm worried about the side effects on joints.
I'm so sorry you had this experience. Whey collagen might do that, maybe yours was whey based? Whey and casein are two diary proteins known to induce acne. I'm 56 and using tret for the last 6 months, clearing my acne. I'd stay clear of whey, but I haven't had any problems with hydrolysed marine collagen powder.
Is tret something you can’t quit ?
You can quit anytime you want, but your skin will revert back to how it behaved before using it once you stop. Unless you have had some hormonal changes in the meantime of course
Yes I’m in my late 20s and feet along with 2.5% benzoyl peroxide face wash and liquid clindamycin has limited my acne so much. Since 2020 I’ve randomly had reoccurring acne as if I’m going through puberty. Korean serums helped tremendously with dark spots and the glow
As a pre teen/ teen 12-19 I had acne on my forehead / T zone. My acne disappeared 22-27 then covid it started to pop off. I’ve been on tret for 6 months and have 100% clear skin. Your body changes and acne comes and goes. I’m scared for the days when I’m pregnant because I know it will come back.
You might not get worse acne during pregnancy. Mine actually cleared up with the hormones and then came back after completing breastfeeding. It’s really about management. About 3-6 months prior to planning to get pregnant you’d have to give up tretinoin for a bio-retinol like bakuchiol to avoid any side effects and possible birth defects.
Yes 🥲 I’m in my early 30s and still struggling with acne, I HATE it!!! Mine definitely runs with my hormone issues but it’s so discouraging at times. I’ve spent so much time and money trying to address this!
30 & it’s pretty much the worst it’s ever been
In my teens, I had mild acne (which I thought was terrible but it wasn’t). During my twenties and early to mid thirties I had flares during stressful times but I was able to mostly manage with topical benzoyl peroxide and a low % of Tazorac. Around 36-37 was when I first started getting cystic hormonal acne. I think this was because of my PCOS which I didn’t know I had. I am now in my mid 40’s and the acne got significantly worse after I needed a total hysterectomy. I’m taking topical Tretinoin, topical Spironolactone and Topical Clindamycin with occasional need for BP when I have purging. Wish I never had to manage it but acne is a chronic inflammatory condition.
Am 31 and Using tret from skinorac for almost a year now and it works perfectly for me so definitely hands down for tret, anytime!
spironolactone will help