It can be purchased at a pharmacy with a valid prescription. However you first need to speak with a doctor to decide if tretinoin acne products are something he or she should prescribe you. I had severe acne growing up so I know what it’s like. I must have tried every acne remedy out there, including accutane which had horrible side effects.  So I though I could handle any treatment.

My experience
But what surprised me with tretinoin was just how powerful it was. My dermatologist wanted to give me Retin A Micro 0.04%, but I insisted on starting off with the stronger 0.1% instead. Boy did I make a mistake. The peeling, burning, and dryness from it was so intense, I had to stop using it. I called up my doctor and told him I should have gone with his initial recommendation. He called it in for me and I then started back up on the lower concentration.

He instructed me to apply it once every night before I went to bed and then to wash it off thoroughly when I woke up in the morning. After that, I was to apply sunscreen. You need to do this because it makes you more susceptible to damage from the sun. I have olive skin naturally and don’t even burn, but while using this, I did noticed increased sensitivity, especially during the first couple months of treatment.

What to expect
The first few weeks you’re on tretinoin cream is by no means fun. As your skin adjusts to it you are going to have a lot of burning. Your face will basically feel like it’s chapped. Sometimes, your cystic acne will even worsen temporarily. These things are usually normal  when you begin using it.

Then after a few weeks the irritation started to go away and my skin started to improve significantly. Not only was my acne going away, but I also noticed my skin was just much smoother overall. It felt so soft, like ten years had been taken off my skin. Acne scars also were fading away. It kept getting better as time went on.

I’ve read that it can take anywhere from 6 to 12 months to experience the full benefits when using a tretinol acne gel or cream. The two biggest mistakes I see people make is that they give up treatment during the first couple weeks or so when the irritation is at its worst and never get to see the results. The other big mistake I see a lot of people make is using too strong of a gel. I don’t even know why they make them that strong. Those high concentrations just seem to give more irritation rather than better results.

Is it worth it?
I definitely think if you suffer from moderate to severe pimples, you should talk to a dermatologist about Retin A for acne. I am so happy I found this product. Nothing is a 100% cure, but for me at least, it definitely worked way better than the antibiotics and other creams I’ve used in the past.