Retinoid (Differin) help please!

[TheChristmasCaca]

I’ve ordered Differin cream via an online consultation as I wanted a retinoid to add to my skincare regime. I couldn’t find anywhere that looked reputable to order tretinoin.

I have mild acne with very few breakouts after having previously suffered with more severe hormonal acne. I have lots of shallow acne scarring, like small pits and also some fine lines/ wrinkles forming that I want to ward off. I have some sun damage discolouration also that I’m hoping to fix. My main concern is anti-aging as the acne is pretty much under control and breakouts are very seldom.

Will Differin (adapaline) help with all this? What are others’ experiences? Any and all advice welcome!

Including retinol in my skin care is a 2023 goal of mine.
I’ve been doing loads of reading/YouTube and I’m unsure where to start myself but hopefully you get answers and a product that helps.

Differin is quite specific for acne only. They can theorise it might work for anti ageing but there's no evidence for it. It can help with scarring and pigmentation but it is mainly to prevent acne than to deal with the aftermath of it. Tretinoin is the probably the better option, if you're with dermatica or skin + me just message them and say you prefer to focus on anti ageing not the acne.

@botemp Thanks, will look in to those, I signed up to skin+me but it wasn’t clear what product they would send me when I completed the consultation. I exclusively focused on anti-aging when completing the questionnaire. Have you used either site before?

@fallfallfall When I googled tretinoin, Differin kept coming up, so think I got the two confused as they were both retinoids. I should have done a bit more research 🙈

i follow these two dr.'s on youtube and insta.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHCZnC9akNA9pBP7aJGNKdg
and they do discuss differin/adappalene
but they also caution starting retinol products with too high a concentration and having months of needing to fix the damage caused.
and i don't want more melasma/hyperpigmentation from any damage.
but in my case my skin appears to be more like shoe leather and so far the products i've tried have not caused any problems.
i've ordered up some sunscreen...because if i use any retinol i need to use the sunscreen...i gather it's a must.

I'm a bit confused though, was the original online consultation you did with skin+me or have you just done the skin+me

I'm not in the UK but I'm a regular on the skincare threads here so am familiar with both services vicariously. If you fill in the questionnaire and specifically ask for anti ageing then they will likely prescribe you a very low introduction strength tretinoin at skin+me, and maybe an additional ingredient for pigmentation. They'll then gradually build up the strength of the tretinoin.

If you filled in the skin+me questionnaire (in your OP) and they came back with differin when you asked for anti-ageing specifically then you can just contact their customer services, they're very helpful.

@botemp Sorry, I wasn’t clear. I filled in the skin+me questionnaire but didn’t continue with it as it wasn’t clear what they would prescribe. I then went searching for retinoids and found Differin which I mistakenly thought was the same as tretinoin, I had this prescribed by an online pharmacy, although it was for acne.

@fallfallfall thanks for the links.

At the moment I use La Roche Posay’s night cream which has retinol in, I think, which I get on well with and I really like. I just wanted something a bit stronger that would also help sort out my pigmentation and scarring as well as the fine lines.

I’ve started using sunscreen the past couple of weeks, I bought Piz Buin factor 50 face cream. Previously, I relied on the sunscreen in my foundation or tinted moisturiser. A bit slack of me really as I also alternate using glycolic acid and lactic acid with the retinol cream.

Ah, ok, yes tretinoin and differin are not the same. If you continue with the skin+me questionnaire you'll get a prescription for tretinoin if you only answer anti-ageing in your questionnaire. It is a monthly subscription thing (you can stop or pause any time) as opposed to a single prescription. If you're new to prescription strength retinoids these subscription services are definitely preferred over sourcing it from dodgy online pharmacies as the introduction is much more controlled and less likely to cause serious irritations and their customer service is helpful in case something goes awry.

Amazing, thanks for the advice, I will continue with Skin+me!

la roche posay do a retinol serum. if you are pleased with their product line you could add that in.
excuse the canadian link
www.laroche-posay.ca/en_CA/retinol-b3-serum/3337875694469.html

@fallfallfall thanks, I do generally like La Roche Posay, I will look in to that too.

You can get Tretonin from
Boots online now. I’ve read all the information on Differin and there are studies that show an improvement in lines from using the gel. It’s a good start with retinols as Tret is stronger on the skin.

Differin doesn’t help with aging, but it’s probably good to start with it to clear up your acne, then move to Tretinoin (Retin-A) cream later.
I have used tretinoin for 20+ years and I swear by it.
Just make sure to use really good sunscreen with both creams. Your skin will be thinner and is more vulnerable. You don’t want to undo your good work and age yourself even faster!