Differin Adapalene Gel 0.1% Acne Treatment, 45g

Hi, chronic adult acne sufferer here. Here I am, one whole year later. If you are brave enough to STICK with this thing for at LEAST 2 months, you won’t be disappointed.

I will of course start off by describing my personal experience. My first 2 weeks were rough, but I was fully prepared for the struggle, after reading all about the initial “purging” stage. And still I almost wanted to quit 7 days in because of the irritation and peeling. I would wake up in the middle of the night sometimes because my skin feels like it’s burning and ants are crawling all over it. Throughout the day, a light breeze that sends little strands of baby hairs tickling my skin is enough to inspire the urge to simply claw the skin off my face.

I don’t mean to scare anybody away haha but I want you to be FULLY prepared. Everybody is different, and you might be lucky enough that the irritation is on the milder side. But you will for SURE experience some kind of sensitivity, it is unavoidable and PART OF THE MECHANISM of action. The irritation MEANS the adapalene is doing its work! Think of it as skin boot camp! So many people use it for a few days, panic and quit right off the gate. I’ve heard one beauty guru on Youtube refer to his experience as “like getting a chemical burn that I never want to experience again”. Don’t be discouraged! Have no fear! Be brave!

Moisturizer sandwich for the first 2 months! Moisturizer (bottom bread) – Differin (meat) – moisturizer (top bread).
Apply moisturizer after showering when your skin is damp (whenever you shower during the day), then apply Differin in the evening or at bedtime, wait 15-20 mins for it to absorb, then apply moisturizer on top of the Differin. A light lotion is enough for me, I didn’t need any hardcore Eucerin or even the recommended Differin moisturizer pairings. Just use what you normally do in your existing routine, and basically do extra layers on top to help ease the dreaded initial irritation.

After about 3-4 weeks of diligent use, your skin will start to feel tight and bouncy, almost like baby skin, as if the old skin layer has shed itself to make way for a brand new layer of skin.

To me, it’s like a cycle that will repeat itself when you make Differin a part of your routine (like brushing your teeth). Here is what is sort of looks like:
Occasional breakouts and skin feeling a bit flaky/oily/weird & crummy –> Differin will work its magic –> breakouts will shrink and heal almost overnight –> old pigmentation/scars will fade and baby skin achieved for a while –> repeat cycle

Another downside that may dissuade you: the price. It IS expensive but I am still working on my 1st tube almost one year later! It is a BIG tube and with this deal you get TWO TUBES. This will be more than enough to cover you for at LEAST 6 months, as long as you are using the correct amount (if you are running out before 6 months you are using way too much and NOT reaping any extra benefits). The instructions say once daily thin layer all over… but after about 4 months my skin had improved so much that I was no longer abiding by this regimen. As your skin improves you will find that you no longer need to be so stringent. Now I only use it sparingly and almost sporadically, often skipping a few nights in a row, always a very thin layer, almost like a spot-treatment concentrated more on the few active breakouts and pigmentation scars. The swelling goes down overnight, and the scars fade over time.

Short of going on oral isotretinoin (which I am way too scared to ever try), birth control pills that might make some people’s acne even worse, aldosterone-blocking drugs and other much scarier medications with way riskier side effects, plus other hosts of expensive dermatologist treatments, adapalene (the active medicinal ingredient in Differin) alone is a sweet little miracle. All it takes is a lot of PATIENCE and PERSEVERANCE, but trust the science! Adapalene will deliver.

Differin is NOT an overnight cure. It is not really a “cure”. And it will NOT work at all if you jump in using it as spot-treatment only (like benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid). But it is the MOST effective thing you will find over-the-counter without a prescription. My skin is not crystal clear, I still get the familiar hormonal chin/jawline pimple beard, and the occasional acute stress monster breakouts, but it is now a 1/10 – 2/10 case of adult acne (with much-improved oil control and texture) compared to the 5/10 – 7/10 horrendous suffering I used to have to endure.

TLDR: READ THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE BOX. BE PREPARED. BE PATIENT. DO NOT GIVE UP!!!

The bottles are huge – great value!

I will continue to update as I use it more. My dermatologist said it usually takes a good 2-3 months to produce results. As a background, I had very bad acne as a teenager and now really only break out on my chin. I was warned that it would burn, especially since I have sensitive skin. In my experience of the product, it hasn’t burned my skin at all- and all the acne products I’ve used in the past have. It has never dried out my face either, but I make sure to use the product at night. One thing I don’t like is how much you have to use to cover your face. I was told a little goes a long way, which I thought would be the case as with most other acne products. Unfortunately, a little bit does not go a long way with this product, which is too bad because of the price. I think it would be more worth the price if it lasted longer and spread more.

It seems to be mildly working for me, but I think it is probably too early to tell as I’ve only had it for a month. So I will update later 🙂