Adapalene anyone?

[RD15]

Hey!

I’ve just been prescribed Adapalene for my mild/moderate adult acne (I’m 37). Has anyone ever used it? Just wondering what to expect. Thanks :)

I've used it for years- best topical treatment I've ever tried (in 27 years of acne treatment). No irritation, redness or dryness. It's great.

I've been using Differin cream for mild acne/ anti-aging for the last year and was very happy with it. What has your GP/ dermatologist said?

I had a little bit of purging, but not too terrible and my skin is much better now. I did have some peeling/ drying, mainly on my chin/ forehead and the bridge of my nose, but just missed a night and then buffered with moisturiser. The key for me was slowly introducing it - and make sure you wear SPF every day!

My GP put me on lymecycline for 6 months, but as soon as I stopped it, the spots can’t back. She referred my to a dermatologist about 5 months ago, but I’m still waiting for an appointment. The Adapalene was prescribe online- I’m sick of waiting to see an NHS dermatologist 🙈. It’s the 0.1% gel. I’m absolutely fed up of dealing with acne- just as one patch begins to clear, another one arrives!

When you say slowly introducing it, I take it you mean don’t jump in to using it every night? Xx

No, you should start with a pea-sized amount every other night or every third night and build up from there.

I just found this which pretty much was the advice I followed - although I started applying every other night and just buffered or took a night off if I got irritated. It probably took me 3-6 months to build up to nightly use with no problems and I still sometimes get flaky skin in cold weather.

www.skinacea.com/retinoids/use-retinoids-right-part-one.html#.XNmcGTbYqzw

I have been on this. And everything else a GO can prescribe! Nothing worked for me. So now I'm on roaccutane from the derm! It's not pleasant but hoping it clears my adult acne!

Hi @littlepeaegg, I had this in my early 20s and it did work. Although my acne has crept back a bit over the years, it’s never ever gone back to as bad as it was before roaccutane xx

@RD15 that's great! Mine has been cystic, under skin spots that started around the chin area but slowly worked upwards to forehead! I am on day 32 at the moment. So tired and lips are so dry! But I know it'll
Be worth it.

It’s definitely worth it. My skin was super clear for years afterwards xx

@onemouseplace- thanks so much for the advice and the link; it’s really useful. I hope it works for me xx

Adapalene works wonders OP! i had severe acne and its cleared it all up. now dc after first eye rolling when they had their first breakouts also use it and can't believe the difference. It notice it comes back once you stop using it for a few weeks. But its great!

Use it with alongside a face moisturiser though because it can dry up the skin and sometimes starts to feel like your face is burning! so just be warned.

Thanks @Shimy, that’s great news! So do you find you don’t really get any breakouts now? What does it do to the texture of your skin? Xx

It hasn't done anything to the texture of my skin and i've been using it for about 4 yrs now, but like i said if you constantly use it without using any moisturiser on your face, your face can go very, very dry and start to feel like its burning. Applying moisturiser to your face immediately resolves this issue. I don't know how if affects the skin of others.

I still get breakouts, the odd spot on the chin or forehead BUT nothing like the pus filled spots of astronomical proportions i used to have before, infact I quite often get compliments on how smooth my face looks .

So I’ve started the Adapalene- only used it twice so far and sticking to every 3rd night for a few weeks. However, I’m going on holiday in 3 weeks abroad (traditionally the time when I’m most self-conscious about my skin sans make-up) and I’m worried about being in the middle of a purge! Also, what’s the situation with sun exposure? Will I be ok to sit in the sun as long as I’m wearing factor 50? Xx