How to handle retinol + the "purging" that results
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Sat May 24, 2014 7:56 pm

I had a regimen starting over a month ago where I barely (almost never) got acne, and never got cystic ones ever again. Before my regimen, I used to get cystic hormonal acne. After adding retinol, my cystic acne has been slowly coming back, and I am also getting small individual whiteheads (not hives or bumps) here and there, even though they disappear within a day. I used Philosophy Help Me Night Cream (0.15% retinol) every other day for over a week, and then Neutrogena's Healthy Skin Night Cream (0.15%) since three days ago.

Philosophy slowly brought cystic acne back on the spots where I used to get acne (the only negative side effects). How should I deal with the scarring that occurs from "purging" (even though they seem to fade relatively quick)? Wouldn't the skin be extra sensitive to retinol and get easily stretched/damaged when hydrocolloid bandages are pulled off?

I would also love to hear advice on how to identify purging vs irritation. I heard that cystic acne isn't something that should be result of purging, especially at such a low level of retinol. I wonder if it's safe to continue with the second brand (Neutrogena) and cut it back to once a week to see how I react to it. Maybe I won't react to Neutrogena, or maybe Neutrogena will irritate my skin even further (if I am sensitive to it)? What would you do? Or should I give retinol a long break altogether?

Thanks everyone, I hope to hear what you think. Smile

free skin care · Sun May 25, 2014 4:21 am

I can sympathize. I used to get cystic acne from using commercial products too. Its not the retinol, its the silicones and other fillers they use. This is the ingreds list for philosophy Help Me Retinol Night Treatment:

water (aqua), caprylic/capric triglyceride, glycerin, cetearyl alcohol, c10-30 cholesterol/lanosterol esters, cetyl alcohol, dimethicone, cetyl ricinoleate, polysorbate 60, benzyl alcohol, retinol, tocopheryl acetate, ascorbyl palmitate, methyl methacrylate/glycol dimethacrylate crosspolymer, stearic acid, peg-10 soy sterol, phenoxyethanol, cyclopentasiloxane, magnesium aluminum silicate, cyclohexasiloxane, methylparaben, triethanolamine, disodium edta, bisabolol, bht, polysorbate 20, propyl gallate, ascorbic acid.
http://www.philosophy.com/retinol-treatment/00500900,en_US,pd.html#source=search&keyword=help me night cream

As you can see, there's really not much active ingredients in it except a smidge of retinol, vitamin E and some vitamin C.

Bolded mine to show you what makes my skin a hot mess. The "Cyclops" are notorious for this. Avoid them and see if your skin doesnt behave better!

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