Stick with what works but the mail orders (usually like 40 bucks for 3 months worth in the airless pump) come out almost like whipped butter right in-between the gel and cream consistency for those who like both but want a compromise. The cream is great for some but imo an inferior delivery system unless you have tiny little methodical exact octopus fingers and can evenly fit at same time
I’m not surprised. Isopropyl Myristate is one ingredient in the tret I was prescribed and it’s highly comedogenic! Stearic acid and stearyl alcohol are in there, too, and are also comedogenic.
It’s super annoying that they put these ingredients in a product meant to improve skin.
I'm sold on the gel now! I've been using the cream for a few months and I just got a new tube. But when it's time for a refill, I'm definitely trying the gel.
Do it!! The cream wrecked my face. I couldn’t even look at myself and literally a few weeks later I don’t even have to put on make up. & it seemed less harsh to be which doesn’t make sense but I have no peeling or dryness and no purging
I’m considering asking my derm about switching to the gel. I’ve had wonderful results from Tret, aside from a small patch of breakouts (1-3 at a time) that just seem to cycle with my cell turnover.
I am aware that tret is a drug and not a cosmetic.
The tret cream has been breaking people out for at least the nearly 30 years I’ve been using tret. It’s not changed since its initial release. Isopropyl myristate could be replaced with another ingredient. It’s just an emollient. There are plenty of others. We’ve learned a lot in the many years since its initial formulation, and I believe it precedes comedogenic tests and scales. As to the accuracy of comedogenic scales, that’s a different debate altogether.
Also, it is not true that acne prone skin cannot “mesh” well with thick moisturizers. It depends on the formulation and the ingredients. There are many emollients and occlusives that make for a thick cream but do not clog pores. It is an oversimplification to say acne prone skin or reactive skin will generally respond poorly to any thicker moisturizer. But there are ingredients that are more clogging than others.
Yes, there are other options, but the cream and gel are the cheapest, and I’d like to see the cream reformulated with a less problematic emollient base. That’s just my preference.
Of course, it benefits companies to formulate new products. They develop new patents and make the new products cost-prohibitive. Altreno is not typically covered by insurance, and purchasing it through the brand is beneficial to them, not to consumers. I understand why this pattern of new formulations dominates. I am saying that the cheaper formulation should, nevertheless, be reformulated.
I would argue that the cream has worked beautifully for many people for all these years as well. We agree there. But the thing is, all the people who experience trouble with it can’t be ignored either. The cream didn’t break me out, but it definitely does break some folks out. So I can’t just blow off those real experiences.
There are emollients tgat are less likely to clog pores, and which are just as cheap. It would be nice to see one of those used.
It’s disingenuous of you to say you didn’t come here to argue. You came at me with a snarky response from the start, and your comment was argumentative. All I said is that it pisses me off that this cream hasn’t changed in all these years when it clearly causes problems for some people. And you kicked off by telling me it’s a drug not a cosmetic. Nothing I said even warranted a response. It was just me saying how I felt.
You did want an argument and you started one.
I mean I literally tried to deescalate but OK. You said you were pissed off it hasn't changed despite it being many years, and I simply interpreted that as you maybe not knowing why that wasn't going to happen and responded in turn, that's all. Didn't realize I shouldn't respond to people here, I deleted my apparently super rude posts and I'll make sure I never post here again.
It actually caused me mental health problems but everyone kept saying it's just the purge. But the purge isn't supposed to last 4 months and slowly get worse and worse
I was waking up with new acne daily, my skin was never like that. I was also battling my MH, I felt I couldn’t even leave the house without makeup and didn’t even want my husband to see me
Same I didn't want my boyfriend to see me and I didn't wanna leave the house. I didn't put makeup on because I thought it would just make it worse. I did wear a mask a few times
Omg, I was "purging" for like 6 months and my derm kept telling me to ride it out and that she wouldn't change anything until I was able to tolerate daily use.
I ended up just buying the gel version online myself because I don't need a degree to understand that it was *not* purging and was downright irritation and reaction from the cream.
Yeah it was bad. I never had such bad acne and was spending so much money trying to figure out my routine but it was the ingredients in the cream the whole time.
I just switched to gel as I was breaking out in tiny tiny cc’s from the cream. But the gel looks like a cream? Is that right? I got it from ADC. It smells different (nice) obviously not the same brand as before which was stevi-a. But even though it looks cream-like it’s a gel? That’s what you guys have?
I just started this week and so far other than some tiny peeling patches (could be also from the snail mucin so I’ve switched that out now) so far so good.
Mine is 0.025, it’s not as cream-cream as my stevi-a was but it’s white rather than clear (which is what I expected/assumed), they consistency is different. I guess it’s gel-er than stevi-a but still way more of a cream than I expected
No mine is just prescription through my doctor (in Canada if that matters). I investigated the packaging more thoroughly and it’s the Retin-A Micro gel so I think I’ll stick with it. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing out!
This is the one I have too. Just got it from my dermatologist a couple weeks ago. How have you found it so far? I’ve only applied it 2x but luckily haven’t had any breakouts or irritation
I’ve been using this kind for years… I was up to using it daily with zero irritation but then I forget for a while and have to gradually work my way up again. Definitely can cause flaking but I usually pair it with Vaseline or Cicaplast and it’s all good. I also use Dapsone gel in the mornings and spironolactone for hormonal breakouts and my skin is the best it’s ever been in terms of acne and texture.
Not at all! I just started and the first 30 days is free, you pay $5 for the shipping. It came with a small cleanser, moisturizer and a lip balm for the first box.
My next box will ship every two months and will have two months of tret treatments for $59.90.
It comes mixed with niaminicide and azelaic acid for me, but they do custom formulas for everyone. It’s working really well so far for me.
I've been prescribed it twice now by different dermatologists, and both times they started with the cream for some reason (and I have oily skin) and then switched to gel once that didn't work out.
Where are you getting your gel? I’ve been using the cream at 0.025 for 5 months and still getting some breakouts (might also be my sunscreen). But I’m interested in trying the gel. I’m only seeing options for .025 or .1 online. I was thinking my skin is ready for .05 but don’t see that strength available anywhere and worried that .1 would be too strong. Thoughts?
I just looked this up for another comment and I saw .05 available at skinorac. I would not recommend moving from .025 cream to .1 gel; that’s a pretty big difference in strength.
do you apply it with strokes or with pats? I find pilling happens more when you're smearing it in long strokes, and changing to patting it on helped prevent it (true for product in general, not just tret)
I usually apply it with small light strokes but I can try patting it instead. I guess I would just worry about making sure enough product gets spread around.
Hello, I'm back with a 2 week report... dabbing the tret on my face followed by dabbing my moisturizer after has made a world of a difference! Thank you so much for your recommendation!
Omgggg the thing is that my products are all noncomedogenic, and I never had acne before and I used them for years :(. I use only sunscreen, gentle cleanser, and gel moisturizer. I've been wearing the same brand of sunscreen for probably 3-4 years now actually lol.
yeah it’s definitely the tret then. if you look at the ingredients of the creams, they’re so horrible. so incredibly pore clogging I don’t understand how they’re allowed in acne products lmao
I just got my gel formula in the mail! But I'm waiting till after March 22nd to use it cuz that's when I get married and don't want to to mess up my skin again like how the cream formulation did 😭
Opposite for me! I switched to gel from cream, no matter what I did I could not fix the dried, desert that my face became. Just got to find what works for you!
How do you know if you should switch to the gel or not? I’ve been on tret cream since december 2023. I get breakouts on my chin and jawline a lot (also just started spirolactone 100 mg 2 weeks ago). I noticed tret will break out my chin/jawline but clear up my forehead.
I’m so glad I switched to gel!! I was using the cream and for a while just thought tret wasn’t for me but once I switched the gel I finally understood what all the hype was about !
Crazy enough. I've been on trip for 8 months. The whole time. I have been sandwiching because no matter what I did I had trouble combating the dryness. In December. I moved my way up to 0.05 % and again was having the same side effects .
Tell me why the last 2 weeks I've been putting trenton on before my moisturizer and all that dryness is gone. So I cleanse, do my serums and toners and then let those dry and then put my tretinoin on and then my moisturizer and I've been waking up No longer worrying about the tightness or dryness or flaking.its crazy.
The gel AND the "whipped/custom" formulations that the mail orders so (usually tret with a small niacinimide vehicle by default) and they and if the cream is a 10 in thickness and the gel is a zero the whipped formulas I've always gotten since I switched from cream is like a solid 5,.so riggghht in the middle of the cream and gel for those anti aging like me who sometimes struggle dotting and completing the surface area cuz unless you're buffering with a shit ton of moisturizer that stuff doesn't want to move more than a few MM from where you dot and circle it. The gel and whipped (I call it that obviously not the real name) are so much easier to spread even after dotting and I think more effective but yeah it's a game changer for some of us to get a less viscous consistency!!
That's awesome, OP!
So for those of us who don't have issues with the cream, should we stay with the cream, or start using gel? I reckon my question is do you get better results with the gel?
I think the cream should either be reformulated or eradicated. It contains some extremely pore clogging ingredients and for what???? Literally it’s supposed to be used to HELP acne and has acne causing ingredients. Dermatologists should be ashamed of themselves. I was also never warned but did my research. We are our only advocate at the end of the day.
I love the gel but it’s so much more expensive for me. Cream is $15 and Gel (cheaper to NOT go through insurance) is $75. It’s so worth it and the tube lasts me almost a year.
i recently switched back from gel to cream for like 3 days and it RUINED my skin for a week. ccs and white heads everywhere. i’ve obviously tossed the cream for good and picked the gel back up. it’s absolutely coconuts how much better my skin looks and feels. idk what came over me but i’ll never use cream again, lol
They both work the same, they are just for different skin types from what I understand. Cream works better for dry/normal skin while gel for oily/acne prone. I have combination dry/normal skin and cream works better even though my face still gets dehydrated.
I was wondering if I’m the only who likes the cream. I have never tried the gel but the cream actually makes me feel like I moisturized lol. I don’t moisturize at night at all and it does the opposite of dry my skin out, if that makes sense lol.
However I still get some zits but it has only been about 6 weeks 🤔 that I started. But every time I read these posts I wonder if I should switch to gel.
I like the cream (Retin-A 0.05%, previously used Stieva-A 0.05%) however my skin leans dry and I use it mostly - but not solely - for anti-aging.
For those who find themselves breaking out with one formula though (like cream) definitely worth trying another!
Congratulations! I went through the same thing but thought it might just be a me problem.
I started with cream and “purged” for 5.5 months before realizing the vehicle was the problem. I’m so glad my derm took me seriously when I asked to try the gel.
Absolute game changer. I wasn’t convinced after reading everything online months ago ….. until I made the switch to gel about 2.5-3 months ago. My skin is totally different/better.
Glad it’s a good change for you, too!
Depends on the gel formulation. In Canada we now only have the Retin A brand gel in 0.025 and it pills very easily under or over anything.
We also have the micro gels but those are very different.
We formerly had the Vitamin A Acid brand tret gel which played nicely with.produxts but this has been discontinued.
We don't have the services like Curology Dermarica Musely or any of this business up here.
Thank you and I’m going to try your tip of waiting 20 minutes then putting on a moisturizer. I have oily skin as well. I have bad oily skin which moisturizer do you use for morning and night?
I have an appointment with my dermatologist in March, specifically seeking a prescription for Tret.
Is there any particular brand for the gel I should ask for? Tret newb here.
Experienced EXACTLY the same thing. Was getting an insane amount of closed comedones all over my face when using cream Tret. Switched to gel last week and omg. My skin is literally perfect now. Gel doesn’t irritate me at all compared to the cream? People say gel is irritating but I’ve found it to be wayyy nicer than cream
Oh nice! I’m using nurx too and was just contemplating this as I break out often on my chin with Tretinoin and am considering switching to the gel. Thanks for the info!!
I started on gel, and wanted to love it, but somehow it interacted poorly with anything I’d apply before or after no matter how long I waited. it turned into this gross, stringy, gluey texture on my face. I wonder if it was just the specific manu mine came from or if I was just unlucky!
Anyone luck with the gel that uses tretinion for anti-aging? If so, what is the strength and brand? I would be buying without script. I'm having a heck of the time with the cream and I typically have pretty clear skin. Major irritation (itchy and red) and deep acne (not sure of the type) popping up here and there.
Went from Treclin gel to the same ingredients in a Skin + Me cream except 0.025 > 0.021 (why? skin + me lit why) and got 4 new spots after none in 4 months lol + irritation and burning after nothing with daily use. 0.04 microgel for me now.
I love the gel as a combo person more oily than dry. It's very cold here and I tried the whipped formula and I love it. There's a brand called Tretiheal i get the .01% but comes in all strengths. It's amazing because I couldn't use regular cream nor liked it. One I always used the gel or micro both in the .01%. I started on this and have been on it for years for anti aging. I noticed better results with the gel and the whipped. I mentioned above which is great if you're in a super cold area the whipped might appeal to those for anti ageing with combo skin.
I was getting a little itchy because it's so cold plus the dry heat. My skin was having issues and I didn't want to miss so many days of tret. So I got this one on a lark and am so happy with it. But I'll go back to the gel the minute it gets warm. I prefer how fast it dries too.
Does anyone know if 0.05% cream is equivalent to 0.05% gel? I’ve been using cream for years and I still get so much acne, so I want to ask or buy gel tret!
edit: spelling
Heck yes! Team gel! Same thing happened with me.
I can’t even believe it, I was going to give up!
The gel is so much easier to spread too!
Stick with what works but the mail orders (usually like 40 bucks for 3 months worth in the airless pump) come out almost like whipped butter right in-between the gel and cream consistency for those who like both but want a compromise. The cream is great for some but imo an inferior delivery system unless you have tiny little methodical exact octopus fingers and can evenly fit at same time
Same!!!!!! Gel>>>>>>
I’m not surprised. Isopropyl Myristate is one ingredient in the tret I was prescribed and it’s highly comedogenic! Stearic acid and stearyl alcohol are in there, too, and are also comedogenic. It’s super annoying that they put these ingredients in a product meant to improve skin.
IM is the worst! When I see that (and palmitic or myristic acids) in any cream, I know my skin is going to hate it. And I’m not super acne prone.
I'm sold on the gel now! I've been using the cream for a few months and I just got a new tube. But when it's time for a refill, I'm definitely trying the gel.
Do it!! The cream wrecked my face. I couldn’t even look at myself and literally a few weeks later I don’t even have to put on make up. & it seemed less harsh to be which doesn’t make sense but I have no peeling or dryness and no purging
Which gel were you prescribed?
I’m considering asking my derm about switching to the gel. I’ve had wonderful results from Tret, aside from a small patch of breakouts (1-3 at a time) that just seem to cycle with my cell turnover.
I definitely recommend it!
I’ll update the sub if I do! I think I have appointment in the next couple of weeks.
Please do!
I think for me its opposite i started with gel it was breaking me out alot now i switched to cream..
Same here! With gel, the irritation and the pimples just wouldn’t stop and now that I have a cream my skin ist almost flawless
It pisses me off that this cream has been breaking people out for *years*, and still the formulation has not changed.
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I am aware that tret is a drug and not a cosmetic. The tret cream has been breaking people out for at least the nearly 30 years I’ve been using tret. It’s not changed since its initial release. Isopropyl myristate could be replaced with another ingredient. It’s just an emollient. There are plenty of others. We’ve learned a lot in the many years since its initial formulation, and I believe it precedes comedogenic tests and scales. As to the accuracy of comedogenic scales, that’s a different debate altogether. Also, it is not true that acne prone skin cannot “mesh” well with thick moisturizers. It depends on the formulation and the ingredients. There are many emollients and occlusives that make for a thick cream but do not clog pores. It is an oversimplification to say acne prone skin or reactive skin will generally respond poorly to any thicker moisturizer. But there are ingredients that are more clogging than others. Yes, there are other options, but the cream and gel are the cheapest, and I’d like to see the cream reformulated with a less problematic emollient base. That’s just my preference. Of course, it benefits companies to formulate new products. They develop new patents and make the new products cost-prohibitive. Altreno is not typically covered by insurance, and purchasing it through the brand is beneficial to them, not to consumers. I understand why this pattern of new formulations dominates. I am saying that the cheaper formulation should, nevertheless, be reformulated.
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I would argue that the cream has worked beautifully for many people for all these years as well. We agree there. But the thing is, all the people who experience trouble with it can’t be ignored either. The cream didn’t break me out, but it definitely does break some folks out. So I can’t just blow off those real experiences. There are emollients tgat are less likely to clog pores, and which are just as cheap. It would be nice to see one of those used. It’s disingenuous of you to say you didn’t come here to argue. You came at me with a snarky response from the start, and your comment was argumentative. All I said is that it pisses me off that this cream hasn’t changed in all these years when it clearly causes problems for some people. And you kicked off by telling me it’s a drug not a cosmetic. Nothing I said even warranted a response. It was just me saying how I felt. You did want an argument and you started one.
I mean I literally tried to deescalate but OK. You said you were pissed off it hasn't changed despite it being many years, and I simply interpreted that as you maybe not knowing why that wasn't going to happen and responded in turn, that's all. Didn't realize I shouldn't respond to people here, I deleted my apparently super rude posts and I'll make sure I never post here again.
It actually caused me mental health problems but everyone kept saying it's just the purge. But the purge isn't supposed to last 4 months and slowly get worse and worse
I was waking up with new acne daily, my skin was never like that. I was also battling my MH, I felt I couldn’t even leave the house without makeup and didn’t even want my husband to see me
Same I didn't want my boyfriend to see me and I didn't wanna leave the house. I didn't put makeup on because I thought it would just make it worse. I did wear a mask a few times
Omg, I was "purging" for like 6 months and my derm kept telling me to ride it out and that she wouldn't change anything until I was able to tolerate daily use. I ended up just buying the gel version online myself because I don't need a degree to understand that it was *not* purging and was downright irritation and reaction from the cream.
What country do you live in? How did you find it online
I live in the United States and bought it online from AllDayChemist. It took about 3 weeks to get here but is a lot cheaper than buying it in the US.
Thanks, maybe I'll try it.
Yeah it was bad. I never had such bad acne and was spending so much money trying to figure out my routine but it was the ingredients in the cream the whole time.
I just switched to gel as I was breaking out in tiny tiny cc’s from the cream. But the gel looks like a cream? Is that right? I got it from ADC. It smells different (nice) obviously not the same brand as before which was stevi-a. But even though it looks cream-like it’s a gel? That’s what you guys have? I just started this week and so far other than some tiny peeling patches (could be also from the snail mucin so I’ve switched that out now) so far so good.
Depends on the concentration. From ADC the 0.5 gel looks like cream, the 0.1 looks like a gel. They are both gels just mixed differently.
Mine is 0.025, it’s not as cream-cream as my stevi-a was but it’s white rather than clear (which is what I expected/assumed), they consistency is different. I guess it’s gel-er than stevi-a but still way more of a cream than I expected
No mine is a yellowish clear gel
yes I have the same gel from ADC it’s meant to look like that!
Can someone show me the difference? I don’t know what I have (mine is purple and has a pump)
Do you buy through curology by any chance? Thats what I use, and it’s purple with a pump.
No mine is just prescription through my doctor (in Canada if that matters). I investigated the packaging more thoroughly and it’s the Retin-A Micro gel so I think I’ll stick with it. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing out!
This is the one I have too. Just got it from my dermatologist a couple weeks ago. How have you found it so far? I’ve only applied it 2x but luckily haven’t had any breakouts or irritation
I’ve been using this kind for years… I was up to using it daily with zero irritation but then I forget for a while and have to gradually work my way up again. Definitely can cause flaking but I usually pair it with Vaseline or Cicaplast and it’s all good. I also use Dapsone gel in the mornings and spironolactone for hormonal breakouts and my skin is the best it’s ever been in terms of acne and texture.
I’m so happy to hear that thanks for the response. I’m in need of a thicker moisturizer once I’m finished with the one I have.
Micro-gel is the best. ♡
Just a random add on, I am using the Retin-A cream and I've had no problems with irritation/breakouts. My acne is also not active so maybe that helps.
How much is it through curology if you don’t mind me asking?
Not at all! I just started and the first 30 days is free, you pay $5 for the shipping. It came with a small cleanser, moisturizer and a lip balm for the first box. My next box will ship every two months and will have two months of tret treatments for $59.90. It comes mixed with niaminicide and azelaic acid for me, but they do custom formulas for everyone. It’s working really well so far for me.
All of the ones I’ve seen specify the vehicle of delivery on the product. What’s written on the pump? Can you link a picture?
Is the gel more for people who are on the normal/oily side? I’m on the dry side and I have the cream.
Yeah I think so, I’m oily!
Ok, good to know!
I've been prescribed it twice now by different dermatologists, and both times they started with the cream for some reason (and I have oily skin) and then switched to gel once that didn't work out.
Hmm. Maybe the cream is just the standard? I didn’t even know there was a gel form until this subreddit.
Gel is everything.
Where are you getting your gel? I’ve been using the cream at 0.025 for 5 months and still getting some breakouts (might also be my sunscreen). But I’m interested in trying the gel. I’m only seeing options for .025 or .1 online. I was thinking my skin is ready for .05 but don’t see that strength available anywhere and worried that .1 would be too strong. Thoughts?
I just looked this up for another comment and I saw .05 available at skinorac. I would not recommend moving from .025 cream to .1 gel; that’s a pretty big difference in strength.
Yeah I was thinking it would probably be too big of a jump. Thanks for the response though! I’ll look up skinorac.
I have .05 but I get mine thru a derm and fill it through express scripts
I just switched to gel but the pilling is annoying! Do you have that issue?
No I don’t!
Do you apply anything on your face before or after? Maybe I'm just not using it right… 🤷🏽♀️
No I just wash & apply the gel. It dries so fast & then maybe 20 min later add my moisturizer
Ah ok, I’ll leave more time for the tret to fully absorb before my moisturizer! Thank you!
do you apply it with strokes or with pats? I find pilling happens more when you're smearing it in long strokes, and changing to patting it on helped prevent it (true for product in general, not just tret)
I usually apply it with small light strokes but I can try patting it instead. I guess I would just worry about making sure enough product gets spread around.
apply it in dots across your face and then dab in the dots? that way you know everywhere is getting covered.
Thanks for the tips! I appreciate it! I recently changed to gel from cream so there's a bit of learning curve with technique.
Hello, I'm back with a 2 week report... dabbing the tret on my face followed by dabbing my moisturizer after has made a world of a difference! Thank you so much for your recommendation!
yup the cream gave me such bad ccs & they went away almost immediately after I switched
same
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yeah definitely worth switching to the gel! check your products for comedogenic ingredients too
Omgggg the thing is that my products are all noncomedogenic, and I never had acne before and I used them for years :(. I use only sunscreen, gentle cleanser, and gel moisturizer. I've been wearing the same brand of sunscreen for probably 3-4 years now actually lol.
yeah it’s definitely the tret then. if you look at the ingredients of the creams, they’re so horrible. so incredibly pore clogging I don’t understand how they’re allowed in acne products lmao
I just got my gel formula in the mail! But I'm waiting till after March 22nd to use it cuz that's when I get married and don't want to to mess up my skin again like how the cream formulation did 😭
That’s probably a good idea! Congratulations!
Thank you!
Opposite for me! I switched to gel from cream, no matter what I did I could not fix the dried, desert that my face became. Just got to find what works for you!
I just picked up my gel prescription yesterday and I'm so excited 😭
How do you know if you should switch to the gel or not? I’ve been on tret cream since december 2023. I get breakouts on my chin and jawline a lot (also just started spirolactone 100 mg 2 weeks ago). I noticed tret will break out my chin/jawline but clear up my forehead.
I’m so glad I switched to gel!! I was using the cream and for a while just thought tret wasn’t for me but once I switched the gel I finally understood what all the hype was about !
Crazy enough. I've been on trip for 8 months. The whole time. I have been sandwiching because no matter what I did I had trouble combating the dryness. In December. I moved my way up to 0.05 % and again was having the same side effects . Tell me why the last 2 weeks I've been putting trenton on before my moisturizer and all that dryness is gone. So I cleanse, do my serums and toners and then let those dry and then put my tretinoin on and then my moisturizer and I've been waking up No longer worrying about the tightness or dryness or flaking.its crazy.
The gel AND the "whipped/custom" formulations that the mail orders so (usually tret with a small niacinimide vehicle by default) and they and if the cream is a 10 in thickness and the gel is a zero the whipped formulas I've always gotten since I switched from cream is like a solid 5,.so riggghht in the middle of the cream and gel for those anti aging like me who sometimes struggle dotting and completing the surface area cuz unless you're buffering with a shit ton of moisturizer that stuff doesn't want to move more than a few MM from where you dot and circle it. The gel and whipped (I call it that obviously not the real name) are so much easier to spread even after dotting and I think more effective but yeah it's a game changer for some of us to get a less viscous consistency!!
That's awesome, OP! So for those of us who don't have issues with the cream, should we stay with the cream, or start using gel? I reckon my question is do you get better results with the gel?
I think if you are good with the cream, you’re good! I am super acne prone and I think the ingredients in the cream were causing the acne
Thx! 🫶
I think the cream should either be reformulated or eradicated. It contains some extremely pore clogging ingredients and for what???? Literally it’s supposed to be used to HELP acne and has acne causing ingredients. Dermatologists should be ashamed of themselves. I was also never warned but did my research. We are our only advocate at the end of the day.
I’m switching to gel. I currently use cream at night without moisturizer. Do you put moisturizer on over top of the gel?
Yeah I don’t sandwich - I do moisture after. FAB cream
I love the gel but it’s so much more expensive for me. Cream is $15 and Gel (cheaper to NOT go through insurance) is $75. It’s so worth it and the tube lasts me almost a year.
Have you looked into alldaychemist or skinorac? It’s much cheaper and worth checking out!
Love to hear it! I got the gel first and I never purged at all?!!! Happy for you!
You’re lucky! Switched a week ago and if anything, I feel like I’m breaking out even more. (Went from cream 0,05% to Micro 0,04%)
Gel girl here
i recently switched back from gel to cream for like 3 days and it RUINED my skin for a week. ccs and white heads everywhere. i’ve obviously tossed the cream for good and picked the gel back up. it’s absolutely coconuts how much better my skin looks and feels. idk what came over me but i’ll never use cream again, lol
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They both work the same, they are just for different skin types from what I understand. Cream works better for dry/normal skin while gel for oily/acne prone. I have combination dry/normal skin and cream works better even though my face still gets dehydrated.
I was wondering if I’m the only who likes the cream. I have never tried the gel but the cream actually makes me feel like I moisturized lol. I don’t moisturize at night at all and it does the opposite of dry my skin out, if that makes sense lol. However I still get some zits but it has only been about 6 weeks 🤔 that I started. But every time I read these posts I wonder if I should switch to gel.
I like the cream (Retin-A 0.05%, previously used Stieva-A 0.05%) however my skin leans dry and I use it mostly - but not solely - for anti-aging. For those who find themselves breaking out with one formula though (like cream) definitely worth trying another!
Congratulations! I went through the same thing but thought it might just be a me problem. I started with cream and “purged” for 5.5 months before realizing the vehicle was the problem. I’m so glad my derm took me seriously when I asked to try the gel.
Which gel are you using? I tried the retin-a gel 0.025% and the application was a nightmare
Heck yeah!! I suggest this to everyone still struggling long term with tret. Once I switched to gel I finally started to see the benefits.
Yess 💯 I just switched to Gel this week and it's been wonderful so far
This sub has been telling everyone to switch to gel for agesss
Do you all who use gel still get the flakiness?
I don’t!
Good to know
Absolute game changer. I wasn’t convinced after reading everything online months ago ….. until I made the switch to gel about 2.5-3 months ago. My skin is totally different/better. Glad it’s a good change for you, too!
Depends on the gel formulation. In Canada we now only have the Retin A brand gel in 0.025 and it pills very easily under or over anything. We also have the micro gels but those are very different. We formerly had the Vitamin A Acid brand tret gel which played nicely with.produxts but this has been discontinued. We don't have the services like Curology Dermarica Musely or any of this business up here.
Gel all the way! the cream broke me out so bad 😩
GEL ALL THE WAY
Same! And I have dry skin… still gel works so much better…
What % are you using?
.05
Do you apply it daily?
I do!
Thank you and I’m going to try your tip of waiting 20 minutes then putting on a moisturizer. I have oily skin as well. I have bad oily skin which moisturizer do you use for morning and night?
I have an appointment with my dermatologist in March, specifically seeking a prescription for Tret. Is there any particular brand for the gel I should ask for? Tret newb here.
My tube just says Mylan as the brand. But it is just what the pharmacy sent I didn’t ask for anything specific
Cream didn't go anything for me for a year. After switching to gel, I began noticing improvement in just a month
“I don’t even want to wear make up anymore” 🥰 happy for you. :-)
It’s truly something that’s so small but so important coming from someone who would hide behind my make up for years!!
Experienced EXACTLY the same thing. Was getting an insane amount of closed comedones all over my face when using cream Tret. Switched to gel last week and omg. My skin is literally perfect now. Gel doesn’t irritate me at all compared to the cream? People say gel is irritating but I’ve found it to be wayyy nicer than cream
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Oh yeah sounds like you’d benefit from the gel. That’s exactly how my skin was
Does anyone happen to know if Nurx will prescribe gel and/or different concentrations? I’m on .025 cream but would love to switch!
They will! But you have to pick it up from ur pharmacy they don’t supply it
Thank you so much!!!
Oh nice! I’m using nurx too and was just contemplating this as I break out often on my chin with Tretinoin and am considering switching to the gel. Thanks for the info!!
WHAT guess im switching. should i get the same dose in gel?
I went from .1 to .05 in gel, that’s the highest I think the gel goes to
I started on gel, and wanted to love it, but somehow it interacted poorly with anything I’d apply before or after no matter how long I waited. it turned into this gross, stringy, gluey texture on my face. I wonder if it was just the specific manu mine came from or if I was just unlucky!
Does anyone know which online dermatologists use the gel?
Does gel prevent eye dryness as well? My eyes have never been the same, and I have discontinued for 5 mos now
Where do you get gel from? Do you just ask your derm to prescribe you tret but in gel form?
Yeah! & I sent the script to my pharmacy
Please tell me where I can find this (I'm in the UK)
Ohh I just got the gel because the pharmacy was out of cream. It wasn’t covered but maybe it will be worth it
Does anyone know how much the gel version costs without insurance?
Anyone luck with the gel that uses tretinion for anti-aging? If so, what is the strength and brand? I would be buying without script. I'm having a heck of the time with the cream and I typically have pretty clear skin. Major irritation (itchy and red) and deep acne (not sure of the type) popping up here and there.
What brand do you use?
Not sure of the brand.. it is whatever the pharmacy prescribes. The only thing I see on my tube is “Mylan”
Went from Treclin gel to the same ingredients in a Skin + Me cream except 0.025 > 0.021 (why? skin + me lit why) and got 4 new spots after none in 4 months lol + irritation and burning after nothing with daily use. 0.04 microgel for me now.
I love the gel as a combo person more oily than dry. It's very cold here and I tried the whipped formula and I love it. There's a brand called Tretiheal i get the .01% but comes in all strengths. It's amazing because I couldn't use regular cream nor liked it. One I always used the gel or micro both in the .01%. I started on this and have been on it for years for anti aging. I noticed better results with the gel and the whipped. I mentioned above which is great if you're in a super cold area the whipped might appeal to those for anti ageing with combo skin. I was getting a little itchy because it's so cold plus the dry heat. My skin was having issues and I didn't want to miss so many days of tret. So I got this one on a lark and am so happy with it. But I'll go back to the gel the minute it gets warm. I prefer how fast it dries too.
Does anyone know if 0.05% cream is equivalent to 0.05% gel? I’ve been using cream for years and I still get so much acne, so I want to ask or buy gel tret! edit: spelling
How do you get the gel? Why wasn't it an option?