Features:

  • Clears breakouts where they start (Deep in pores) and prevents new acne from forming, which ultimately restores skin's texture and tone
  • Differin works differently than other Acne treatments by normalizing skin cell turnover and effectively targets two primary causes of Acne, clogged pores and inflammation
  • Adapalene was created for superior tolerability compared to other prescription retinoid products not containing Adapalene; It is suitable for use as part of your morning or evening regimen
  • Water based formula, oil free, alcohol free, fragrance free, non comedogenic; Helps reduce the risk of scarring and Hyperpigmentation by treating Acne
  • In a clinical study, Differin gel provided up to 87 percent reduction in acne lesions after 12 weeks, which will continue to improve with further use
How to use-it makes a difference

I do think this product is the same as the Rx version. I see a lot of complaints about dryness, rash and bumps. Differin is a type of tretinoin so this recommendation is for basically any tretinoin, including Differin. After 15 years of using tretinoin and experiencing redness, rash and bumps, I decided to actually listen to my derm and take her advice which is this: never apply Differin immediately after washing face. You MUST wait at least 20 minutes. Once I started doing this, it made all the difference in the word.

It works if you're patient!

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!

Be Patient!!

Differin has worked wonders for my hormonal acne that I developed in my thirties. I have to say that it did take about 12 weeks to really show a difference. The picture that I’ve posted was over a span of three and a half months, with the most recent pictures from left to right starting from the top and earlier on pictures towards the bottom. Also, the breakouts got worse for me before they got better. It was at my worse ever at about 4-6 weeks in, but began getting better after that. Don’t be discouraged and stick it out to at least 12 weeks! My skin is the best I’ve seen it in a long time!!

This saved my skin!

After 30 years of cystic acne, this finally healed my skin.... I gave up on using it 1 month in because it was drying me out like crazy. My dermatologist told me to trust the process and push through the purge. I’m 4 months in now and I’m ready to move to a stronger % (Rx only) 2 things I wish she would’ve told me: #1 wait for Your skin to dry fully after washing it and before applying the differin. This will prevent flaking. #2 apply at night right before bed, as sunlight makes differin lose its effectiveness. Focus on protecting your skin and using an SPF during the day. It’s amazing! About to order my 2nd tube... trust the process! Push through the purge!

Differin. It changes lives.

Grab some popcorn, here's a fun tale: I was a teenage emotional female living the dream in a place that is sunny year round, while also hiding indoors because I hate the sun. Picture it: so pale you can almost see through me, a pension for danger in the form of books and the Sims, and a spattering of acne on my forehead. The boys were FIGHTING over me so much, to this day, they still don't know who the f*** I am. But it has been AGES since that was the case. A little birth control at 18 and BOOM, I was a clear skinned goddess ready to make the opposite sex fear my very existence. I was ready to make them weep. Fast forward to now: twenty-something, a still constant pension for danger in the form of books and the Sims; but with a constant look of "don't you dare come talk to me" constantly on my face. Though I excelled in making the opposite sex fear my existence, I overestimated my uncanny knack to keep them away. No longer in need of a pill that prevents my becoming a mother, due to the lack of secondary involvement, I set out on my new life as a woman in solitude. Enter: Regret. A funny thing I wasn't told about taking birth control for 5+ years, and then stopping it, was that your face LITERALLY BECOMES ARMAGEDDON! Not only is it like a MINEFIELD OF EXPLOSIVES, but they just keep regenerating and spawning like the land of the Fing dead! No amount of ammo or first aid was helping this scenario! My face was getting KO'd and slain at every attempt to upgrade the disaster of ghosty pink spotted features that my face had become. Goodbye model contracts! HELL-O toilet scrubbing troll. Thankfully, there's Differin. My skin is clear, spotless, and still completely see through due to a lack of sunlight. I'm back to being drop dead hilarious and have all of 0 guys knocking at my door. Thanks Differin.

Really works

This is the only product that has ever cleared up my acne and I have tried many, including prescriptions. It took about 6-8 weeks to see a difference, and it got worse before better, but it works. It has made my skin look so much better. It also doesn't dry my skin out like every other product.

So far so good - Make sure to moisturize before applying

I wanted to write this review to help others with similar skin like mine. I am 31, have had mild/moderate adult acne all throughout adulthood. I have combination skin (oily in some spots, dry in others) and suffer from on/off mild cystic acne. I had tried everything from changing my diet to changing my makeup/moisturizer with no success. I have been a religious user of Benzoyl Peroxide for about 10 years that was working for the most part, but it felt like something was missing from my routine as I would keep getting the occasional cystic outbreak. So far, I have been using Differin for a week and can already see improvements. Yes, you will break out a little when using this at first, but so far they have been little clustered tiny pimples that go away within a day, so nothing that is unbearable. I have not had any cystic acne since starting. My routine is as follows: At night, I wash my face with a plain bar of white castille soap. After getting out of the shower, I leave my face wet and apply my moisturizer (I use the Equate brand daily moisturizing lotion with natural oatmeal - just the generic version of Aveeno, but I have found that I like the Equate version better as it is less greasy). After that has dried I apply benzoyl peroxide (I have been using this for years with hit/miss success and have researched that it is perfectly ok to use in combination with Differin), I then apply a very small amount of Differin to my entire face. I do exfoliate with a washcloth once a week The key is to properly moisturize to avoid drying of the skin, applying a moisturizer while your face is wet and then applying the acne product seems to be the best way to go, in my opinion. So far, my skin is looking/feeling great. I have read that it does take time to fully start working, but with each passing day I am seeing noticeable improvements. I will updated again once I have reached the 3 month mark.

Give it time, it works differently!

It came across as punny, but honestly I didn't mean to. Also I'm not entirely sure why they want us to rate the moisturizing and sensitive skin aspects because this isn't intended for either. It's a retinol. It speeds up the cell turnover on the outer layer of your skin and it does an amazing job of it. It's not for people who want an instant solution to a long term problem or just have no patience for things that take time to work. This is for real-real, not for play-play. I see a lot of ignorant reviews, but I imagine it's due to it being misrepresented. It is not a traditional acne treatment like salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide. Those are totally different creatures and work as such. They tend to work against your skin. They dry acne crops out, Differin works WITH your skin and just razes the whole facescape to make it better. Differin is the ONLY thing that has made me actually love my bare skin again. It helps fade out my freckles, old zit scars, and fine lines. It does take time to work, remember that it's helping your skin go through a natural process at several times the speed. I got flakey, itchy, and some overly sensitive areas because there's a period of adjustment where you should mix it in with moisturizer that I DIDN'T do, but they tell you that so it was just me being arrogant and I'm not blaming them. You may purge as it cycles out the trapped sebum and whatnot, also normal. After a couple of months, you'll know whether or not it works for you. I SUCK at keeping faithful to skincare routines but Differin is the only thing that has stayed in my arsenal for 5 years, if that tells you anything. It's genuinely a godsend to me. WEAR SUNSCREEN IN THE DAY, it makes you more likely to burn. Don't put it on wet skin. Wear moisturizer under it for a couple of weeks until the potential irritation eases, then moisturize over it after that. It's best to use it at night. Seriously, give it a chance to work instead of pitching it out with the garbage after a week. Some things really are worth waiting for, Differin is one of them.

Excellent for cystic acne.

i use it to keep my cystic acne in check. I've been using it since I was 15 when it was prescription only. THANK GOD it's OTC now. Price is even cheaper tgan when it was RX.

Use it correctly and you will be amazed at the results

I have sensitive skin. I get some acne, especially around my cycle. I am using this for it’s anti aging benefits and to improve overall skin quality. I did not have the same reaction to this product as others with sensitive skin so I thought I would explain what I did to prevent an adverse reaction. 1. Cleanse your skin with cerave or cetaphil gentle cleanser before applying (oil cleanser before hand if you have makeup on) 2. Use only moisturizing serums and lotions at first. Do not use acids, vitamin c, retinols, or fragrance until your skin gets used to the adapolene. 3. Make sure face is dry before applying. 4. Use moisturizer before or after 5. Use vaseline on corners of nose and under eye to prevent irritation in those areas. 6. Apply at night and wear sunscreen during the day. That’s it. Just remember that some irritation is normal and will go away eventually.

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