topic Re: Anyone try the new acne OTC Differin yet, & if so... in Beauty

Anyone try the new acne OTC Differin yet, & if so...

cactusjack — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 03:20:52 GMT

Can you tell me your experience, please? Specifically is this drying to your skin? My skin hates benzoyl peroxide. This always makes my skin crusty & dry & flaky for days and days. Salisylic acid doesn't dry my skin biut I don't think it's as effective. I have the 30 day supply of the Differin but am scared to use it. I don't want to deal with weeks of dry peeling skin. Thank you for any information you can give me...

Re: Anyone try the new acne OTC Differin yet, & if so...

tucsongal — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 03:38:54 GMT

I don't know if the OTC version is gel or cream. I have used the cream for years and it is more moisturizing than the gel. I would suggest starting slowly, maybe every other night and see how your skin reacts.

Re: Anyone try the new acne OTC Differin yet, & if so...

cactusjack — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 04:28:25 GMT

Yes, I forgot to mention that it's the gel form... supposedly this otc version is the lower % of the prescription that comes in 2 different strength. Th direction says to apply on the entire face even if you only break out on your chin area consistently. I once tried the skinceutical's retinol 0.5% and thought my face would fall off! I became so red and dry I was peeing for weeks after I stopped ! So, I am extremely paranoid about retinol based products. I want to just apply this on the area of concern, but the direction says it is not for spot treatment and to apply it all over ! I think I'll still only spot apply and see how that goes... thanks for your response!

Re: Anyone try the new acne OTC Differin yet, & if so...

Gsmom — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 04:44:50 GMT

My 18 year old daughter has been using it for a month with amazing results .

She has oily skin . She experienced some dryness after the first 2 weeks only . I agree with the other suggestion of starting with every other day if your skin is sensitive .

I would highly recommend this product !!

Re: Anyone try the new acne OTC Differin yet, & if so...

cactusjack — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 04:48:14 GMT

Thank you Gsmom for your response!

Re: Anyone try the new acne OTC Differin yet, & if so...

mimi5775 — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 07:35:03 GMT

@cactusjack wrote:
Yes, I forgot to mention that it's the gel form... supposedly this otc version is the lower % of the prescription that comes in 2 different strength. Th direction says to apply on the entire face even if you only break out on your chin area consistently. I once tried the skinceutical's retinol 0.5% and thought my face would fall off! I became so red and dry I was peeing for weeks after I stopped ! So, I am extremely paranoid about retinol based products. I want to just apply this on the area of concern, but the direction says it is not for spot treatment and to apply it all over ! I think I'll still only spot apply and see how that goes... thanks for your response!

I'm the same with all retinol's Retin-a even at the lowest % and even OTC ones (tried PTR it was fine but wasn't faithful - got bored and didn't want to use an AHA along my light skin peel pads tri-weekly). I think retinols kind of thinned out my skin back many years ago and tried again in my early 50's and yes, I got red and sore and scaley every time.

Now at 60 my skin is truly thinner UGH!!! still good skin though.

I am scared to even try as it makes skin much more prone to sun's rays even more then aha's and even for my skin with high physical sunblock and ignoring the sun.

Wish I could have early on, but I don't think it's for everyone and maybe why I see so many like on beauty IQ so young with sun damage maybe they use retinol and not enough sunblock?

I have not seen differin yet at the stores...what section is it located at?

Always curious.

Re: Anyone try the new acne OTC Differin yet, & if so...

Toppers3 — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 08:28:36 GMT

@cactusjack wrote:
Yes, I forgot to mention that it's the gel form... supposedly this otc version is the lower % of the prescription that comes in 2 different strength. Th direction says to apply on the entire face even if you only break out on your chin area consistently. I once tried the skinceutical's retinol 0.5% and thought my face would fall off! I became so red and dry I was peeing for weeks after I stopped ! So, I am extremely paranoid about retinol based products. I want to just apply this on the area of concern, but the direction says it is not for spot treatment and to apply it all over ! I think I'll still only spot apply and see how that goes... thanks for your response!

I have used this successfully when it was available with a prescription.

I would like to use it again, now that it's available over-the-counter.

I have very sensitive skin, and I added it in very slowly with a doctor's help when I was using it by prescription.

I did apply it all over my face, and I started by using it something like once a month for one week, and then would go to once every three weeks for one time a week, and then once every two weeks, and then so on. I did experience flaking of the skin.

Then I worked my way up to once a week, and then started to add in another day of the week. All very slowly and carefully, for my skin.

You can buffer your skin with a plain moisturizer if you want to while using this product. You just want to use a simple moisturizer without any AHAs or BHAs in it--nothing that could possibly irritate your skin.

When you go outside, you do want to use a sunscreen while using the Differin as it will make your skin more sensitive to the sun.

Re: Anyone try the new acne OTC Differin yet, & if so...

PINKdogWOOD — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 13:07:20 GMT

Don't know about this fix for acne but I still swear by, stand with and use Pro Activ. Use today, gone in two days.

Re: Anyone try the new acne OTC Differin yet, & if so...

cactusjack — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 15:00:17 GMT

I found mine at Walmart in the acne meds section...

Re: Anyone try the new acne OTC Differin yet, & if so...

wilma — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 15:38:52 GMT

I tried prescription strength Differin over 25 years ago so I think the commercial is misleading when it claims it is a new idea compared to BP and SA. Anyway, this did not help my acne, and it did not dry out my skin. I hope it works for those who try it.

I have very oily acne prone over 50 skin. The only thing that reduced my acne was Paula's Choice acne line. I do not need the acne line anymore, but I use PC BHA products and Retin A from my dermatologist to keep things under control.

Re: Anyone try the new acne OTC Differin yet, & if so...

River Song — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 16:27:54 GMT

Well, I started using OTC Differin as soon as it was available. I'm using it for anti-aging (I'm 60) because I'm one of those people that cannot use Retin-a. No matter how low the percent or how slowly I add Retin-a, my skin just peels and peels for months and never gets used to it. I have been using retinol products instead but the effects of aging keeps accelerating at a distressing rate the older I get. They are right when they say that getting old isn't for sissies!

Anyway, I noticed that Differin gel spreads far more easily than Retin-a gel or cream does. I started out using Differin very slowly using less than a pea-sized amount once a week for a month, then twice a week for a couple of months, now I'm using it three times a week. I still don't use a pea-sized amount, only the minimum necessary to spread it around my face. I did experience some minor flaking around the mouth (lots of movement in that area with talking and eating) but certainly nothing like the peeling and irritation I would get with Retin-a. How does Differin compare with benzoyl peroxide? No idea, haven't used that in a dog's age, sorry.

The instructions do say that Differin is a preventative treatment and not a spot treatment for acne, so heed their usage directions but only use the tiniest amout all over your face when first starting out to see if it irritates your skin.

Re: Anyone try the new acne OTC Differin yet, & if so...

Texasmouse — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 17:04:28 GMT

@River Song wrote:
Well, I started using OTC Differin as soon as it was available. I'm using it for anti-aging (I'm 60) because I'm one of those people that cannot use Retin-a. No matter how low the percent or how slowly I add Retin-a, my skin just peels and peels for months and never gets used to it. I have been using retinol products instead but the effects of aging keeps accelerating at a distressing rate the older I get. They are right when they say that getting old isn't for sissies!

Anyway, I noticed that Differin gel spreads far more easily than Retin-a gel or cream does. I started out using Differin very slowly using less than a pea-sized amount once a week for a month, then twice a week for a couple of months, now I'm using it three times a week. I still don't use a pea-sized amount, only the minimum necessary to spread it around my face. I did experience some minor flaking around the mouth (lots of movement in that area with talking and eating) but certainly nothing like the peeling and irritation I would get with Retin-a. How does Differin compare with benzoyl peroxide? No idea, haven't used that in a dog's age, sorry.

The instructions do say that Differin is a preventative treatment and not a spot treatment for acne, so heed their usage directions but only use the tiniest amout all over your face when first starting out to see if it irritates your skin.

@River Song

Have you noticed any anti-aging benefits?

Re: Anyone try the new acne OTC Differin yet, & if so...

River Song — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 17:31:57 GMT

@Texasmouse wrote:

@River Song
Have you noticed any anti-aging benefits?

Well, gee, I've only been using it since what, December or January, lol?

Too soon to tell. It takes at least a year or two for noticeable anti-aging results to show up with Retin-a so I'm assuming it will be at least that long for Differin. This will be a long-term experiment. I keep telling myself, patience is a virtue...

Re: Anyone try the new acne OTC Differin yet, & if so...

WenGirl42 — Sun, 16 Apr 2017 12:43:59 GMT

I've been using it about 2 weeks and was also concerned about dryness. I also bought the Differin moisturizer to go with it. I alternate every other night, using the gel all over my face one night and just over my T-zone the other night. Then I follow up with the moisturizer all over my face. So far I'm pleased...I haven't broken out more, and I haven't had any dryness. Too soon to tell if it's improving my skin or not yet, but I'm optimistic!

Re: Anyone try the new acne OTC Differin yet, & if so...

mima — Sun, 16 Apr 2017 13:12:08 GMT

I have also been using it for a couple weeks. I bought the cleanser, gel and moisturizer from Amazon. It wasn't very expensive.

The cleanser if very gentle but I don't feel it cleans very good. I use a more aggressive cleanser in the AM. I want to use the D. cleanser at night (since it is gentle) before using the D.

I like the moisturizer for night, but for day it is a tiny bit too heavy.

I have clogged pores and cystic acne. When I started using it I had 3. These are going away. It takes me a long time to get rid of those. My clogged pores don't seem much better. I will use it til it's gone and then decide.

On the plus side: I don't have any more zits popping up. It is not drying for me. I have super sensitive skin and it hasn't irritated my skin at all.

BTW I'm almost 61 with super oily skin and clogged pores.

Oh, I am using it every night.

Re: Anyone try the new acne OTC Differin yet, & if so...

SKV — Sun, 16 Apr 2017 13:30:57 GMT

I have used it for 3 nights in a row and so far I have minimal flaking. I am using it with a moisturizer. My face does feel a little more sensitive, so I may back it off to every other night. Too early to really tell a difference in my skin.