Differin Acne Treatment Gel, 30 Day Supply, Retinoid Treatment for Face with 0.1% Adapalene, Gentle Skin Care for Acne Prone Sensitive Skin, 15g Tube (Packaging May Vary)

I have been using Differin for over a year now (around 14 months giver or take) and did not publish a review until now. If you want an in-depth review, read on. For the tl;dr version: it works, just stick with it. Btw, I was not paid for this nor was I sent this product (although they should be sending it, given how many tubes I've bought).I had the MOST TERRIBLE acne. No, I'm not talking about a small tiny excuse of a blemish that your friend with great skin complains about when she has her "bad skin" days. My face was RED and PAINFUL. My cheeks were COVERED all the time, and I had no area on my face where acne wouldn't pop up. Nose, brows, chin, jaw, underneath the jaw, you name it. I had tried Curology and while my skin got amazing for the first 6 months, my acne returned with a VENGEANCE. I had tried so many things, clay masks, benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, other AHAs and BHAs, sulfur, rosehip oil, and even supplements like zinc and milk thistle, you name it. Nothing worked at all. I was so so embarrassed of my skin, but I couldn't wear makeup either since makeup made my acne SO MUCH worse.I heard about Differin and I figured "well, might as well give this a try cause it can't get any worse". Boy, I was wrong. It did get worse. Much worse. Suddenly I had SO much more acne and I felt like crap. I couldn't believe my skin could get worse, but it did. Differin was the only thing I was using so I knew this was it. I was depressed but I stuck with it, cause I wanted to test it for at least 4 months. I thought I might as well test the claim, since my skin is so bad already.The first month was really really bad. It brought all underlying acne to the surface i.e. the purge phase. It did the purging for 3-4 months, but the first month was THE WORST. Not gonna lie to you, that first month will probably be the worst skin you've had in your life. Your skin will become SO SENSITIVE! Anticipate that! My skin has never been sensitive to products but while using this, my regular moisturizers and masks would sting like crazy (get stuff with no fragrance/alcohol or acids!). It didn't affect my skin in any other way, it just stung a lot. Oh, and I used to get my upper lip and brows waxed. Not with this you can't, the wax will tear off your skin since it gets much more sensitive. I learned the hard way. ONLY do threading!However, after I waited out the terrible, terrible first month, I slowly began to see improvements. Marginal, though. I had acne, but I probably had just a tad less. And it continued that way, it kept improving. Eventually, my skin was so much clearer than before! I still had acne, mind you, it's not a miracle drug, but it was few and far in between. There would be times when I had no active acne, which was HUGE for me!! My face usually looked like a connect the dots game. However, I did hit a plateau. This worked phenomenally at reducing my ugly acne all over my face to a few zits here and there, however, my issue was deeper than that. Eventually, I went to a doctor and got on spironolactone.Now, I am both on my Spiro and this. The combo of these two have made my skin so clear! I could have never imagined this day! I still need to use this, I have noticed my Spiro is not enough to keep zits at bay and if I skip a couple of nights putting on differin, new zits come up. I am so much happier now that I don't have zillions of gross zits on my face. I still get zits if I eat sugar or near my period but man, I am a long way from before! I have a few blemishes left over from before but I honestly don't care, my skin looks wayyy better. I can hide my blemishes with a sheer foundation of spot concealing if I want.So if you've read till the end, the lesson is: be PATIENT and be realistic! Your acne did not appear overnight and will not disappear overnight. If you stick with this, it WILL work. However, your mileage may vary. My acne was extremely bad, so after I hit my "acne plateau" I went to the doctor. If your acne is not as bad, it's likely differin is all you need for clear skin! If you're on the fence, confused, depressed, frustrated and/or can't afford a doctor, it's worth a shot! Just be patient and gentle with your skin!

I've been a Differin user for over six years at this point, and I swear by it. It is one of the most effective over-the-counter skincare products that you can purchase, and it's pretty affordable too. Most things that work as well as Differin are prescription-only. It actually works in a similar manner that some of the prescription-strength treatments do: by increasing the rate at which your skin cells turn over. This helps decrease the pore blockages that cause acne to develop.Now since some pimples form weeks before they actually show up on the surface of your skin, this product may actually make things seem like they're getting worse at first. Because Differin increases the rate at which your skin cells turn over, pimples that might have shown up days or weeks down the line are going to show up sooner. This might make it seem like it's breaking you out. That happened to me. But be patient, this is known as the "purging" stage and can last a few weeks. I'm glad I stuck it out, because my skin is all the better for it.Have a good moisturizer that you know works well to use after applying the Differin. It may be good to ease your way into using it as well. I started out using it two nights a week and now use it nightly. And like I said in the title, even though the product listing says it only lasts 30 days, I usually get a few months of use out of one tube despite using it nightly. Differin is amazing.

Background: 44 year old female with occasional breakouts sensitive to make-up and hormone fluctuations. I suffer some scaring to my chin and frown line area. Bought this double pack on a whim just to see if it could get my skin under control. When I bought it I had several areas on my face in different stages of healing and breakouts. I needed something to add to my skin care routine to keep these minimal but frequent breakouts under wraps.Manufacture states to give it 3 months to fully judge if it’s making a difference or not.I apply it once daily with a moisturizer and snail mucin. A pea size amount to my chin area and T-zone.I’m 2 weeks in and absolutely astonished at how well it took back my skin to the results I was hoping for. I have 0 breakouts and am hopeful it will help reduce the reddened areas that are still healing.I even made the mistake of sleeping in my make-up one night, woke up with an area that appeared was about to start a breakout. I washed my skin, applied the Differin adapalene and 24 hours later, no sign of a developing breakout.Skincare is so expensive, I’m so happy to know this is an affordable product I can keep in my regimen for a long time to come.