Retin A creating open pores and bad texture
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Tue Aug 26, 2014 11:21 pm

Hi I was just wondering if there has been any improvement in your skin after stopping the retinoids? I have huge enlarged pores opened up all over my face and scars that i never even knew existed have appeared all over my cheeks and nose. It is horrible and am hoping that there is some hope for healing and recovering?

Thu Sep 04, 2014 5:30 pm

Hi Ladies

Newcomer here.... have been reading this thread with a lot of interest.

A bit about me i'll try and keep it short.

I'm 41 south american olive[on the lighter] side complextion.

When i was in my 20's i invested heavily in tanning.

When i reached 32, i gave birth to two beautiful little girls.

I have never ever used products on my face apart from tanning accelerators. Never done any routines as such, eg. cleansing, toning etc.

Yes i wore makeup. However,,,,,,,,

When i reached 38 i started to look at my skin and was soooo upset at seeing my skin age so quickly.

I decided to invest in very expensive products.... went from ASAP, done microdermabrasion 'ocassionally' and all sorts of other products to reverse signs of hyperpigmentation and large pores.

Anyways, about a year ago 41 now..... i did try natural products and then moved onto skinceuticals retinol 0.5% > i found that my skin wasn't peeling and due to the lack of knowledge i went out and bought 1.0% > still no peeling.... which was what i thought was suppose to happen in order for my skin to get better and 'renew'

Tried IPL one time and i felt that it made my pigment worse!

Anyways, stopped that as i started to see fine lines and type of creapiness around my whole face.... then a dermatologist suggested the Neostrata Enlighten products in order to fix the discoloration as i wanted the one coloured skin lol.

Used these for 3 mths

Foaming Glycolic Acid Wash 20%
Illuminating Serum
Face Cream Plus [which made my skin very oily]
and pigment controller which also has retinol

+ Clarisonic as my cleansing tool

=================

Also for 2 mths i've been doing a series of Neostrata Perfecting Peel with 20AHA

============

Again my fine lines are very much there Sad

===========

Now.... my skin is worse!!!!!! i feel that my lines are more visible... i put on my mac foundation the other day for the first time... and i nearly died!!!!

The problem i'm finding is not understanding how the skin works.... You see,,,, i can see lines now and a wrinkle here and there and i have been told that my skin is very dehydrated..... but after putting makeup on within a couple of hours my skin is oily??? WDF?

Soooo, I was thinking,,,, i am going to do a TCA/JEssner peel... just anything to get rid of my top skin!!!!! but after reading many horror stories, its on the side burner Sad

Now after reading all these comments specially ladies who have had some great results with the HA supplements... i was wondering if this is something that may help me???? and stopping all the AHA products as they are powerful acids and could be doing more damage?

Please any help would be greatly appreciated.....

Ohhhh added to say.... cause i'm based in Australia, i can't seem to find the Source Naturals, Skin Eternal Hyaluronic Acid, 50 mg

However i found a site that sells this one.... is it the same?

Solgar Hyaluronic Acid 120 mg

Chanty XO

Thu Sep 18, 2014 1:49 pm

Hello, I have been reading the posts on here and wanted to say hi and add my experience. I too tried Retin A. It was 18 years ago and it was just a few times in a week or two. I don't remember the strength, name, etc... but I did receive damage and my skin has never fully recovered since. The best thing for me was just to wash my face with water and not use any creams, lotions, soaps, oils, etc. I can't even wear makeup every day. I only wear for special occasions and even then it's just light...blush on cheeks, mascara maybe but usually would just curl the eyelashes, and lipstick. Otherwise I go daily without makeup, my face just cannot tolerate anything. It's super sensitive, for a long time I didn't understand it and never went back to that dermatologist. What happened was I got sunburned while using Retin A, even though I just went for a short run and in a lot of shaded areas my face still got sunburned, then I developed a lot of acne. It seemed to be when I got the acne it created damaged looking pores. I saw a different derm and he suggested an acne prescription and just Aveeno Balancing Bar for cleansing. The acne eventually went away, it took a long time, and the Aveeno bar helped soothe any irritations my face felt. But then the soap bar was discontinued years ago and I decided to just wash with water. It's the only thing my face will tolerate. I will use a sunscreen or block if I plan to be outdoors for awhile but only on my nose since that seems to burn the easiest. Over the years my face has improved as far as looks go, I will always have some wrinkles around my eyes and above my lips and tend to have light dark circles under eyes, as well as an occasional pimple and some enlarged pores that come and go, but for the most part most people don't seem to notice I have skin damage. Even my husband tells me I am beautiful and he doesn't see anything wrong with me. I did go through a few years of depression from it but came out of it and started to feel better about myself. I still don't always like what I see in the mirror but I have gotten used to it and decided there are better things I can worry about. It's not easy when one's skin changes so drastically in a few days or weeks or months, but it's also not the end of the world either. I wish I would have known people back then who experienced this. It would have been nice to not feel so alone about this for so many years. I also want to add that exercise, plenty of water, and multivitamin supplements helps me too. I've never tried collagen or hyaluronic acid supplements but am intrigued by others suggestions of them. I did use hair, skin, and nail supplements but it's been years and I think they were helpful but I only take a multivitamin now because I am pregnant. So I can't try too much right now. Smile

Mon Oct 06, 2014 7:05 pm

Hi Newbie here. Damage done from microdermabasion followed by retin-a. I'm in my 4th week and I'm freaking out. Some of you haven't posted in a while and I'm hoping that is because your skin recovered. I am trying to hold on to hope here. I am doing emu oil once a day and a barrier repair cream epiceram at night. I introduced vitamin c, fish oil and vitamin e tablets into my daily routine. Been to 3 dermatologists who say my skin is just inflamed and all three prescribed a steroid cream. I haven't used the steroid cream yet because of all the things I have read on here about babying your skin. However, three out of three prescribed steroid cream. What are your thoughts and has anyone else used The collagen supplement listed before with success. It's in my cart on amazon right now.

Mon Oct 06, 2014 10:19 pm

@Crystan-
I would strongly advise you not to use a steroid cream. A lot of derms are dopes and will just write prescriptions because it's the easiest way to go. Even if you use the steroid cream for the recommended time, your skin could still become dependent on it and nasty side effects will happen. Keep doing what you are doing. Emu oil is a great remedy along with time. Our skin is quite powerful with repairing itself when treated gently.

Mon Oct 20, 2014 8:16 pm

did anyone else notice fat or volume loss from their face after using rein-a ?

Wed Nov 26, 2014 1:35 pm

I can't even explain how glad I am to see that there are others like me. I literally spend all of my time with my boyfriend and have no other friends. I am 21 years old and the amount of time I spend crying, researching, talking, blah blah blah about my stupid enlarged pores in my t-zone is making me suicidal and insane. I talk to him about it so much it causes a lot of problems... I don't know what happened but about a year ago I was looking in the mirror and I noticed the holes.... I had never seen anything like them before on my face. I have for the past two months been applying raw montana ranch honey and emu oil after reading another post on google about the orange peel texture. I don't know if it's working or not. My t-zone looks so dehydrated it's ridiculous. The thing is though, my forehead pores seem to be closing? I think that my forehead is less dehydrated!!? People on here are describing our skin as dehydrated and this damage is not permanent. Please Please Please be true. I would take acne over this any day. It makes me so sad and so angry. I feel horrible vain and self-conscious but I literally can't imagine not caring about this. I just ordered online the neocell pills and also the hydro acid ones as well. I hope they come soon. I can actually see myself driving to the vitamin store after work and buying a couple bottles because I CANT wait to fix this.... I know it will take time and I'm totally 100% okay with that. If these pores close up I don't think I will ever complain about a breakout again..... I could really use some support and everything because this has really taken a huge tole on my soul...Let's all keep updating. I am here for you all. Sad

free skin care · Thu Nov 27, 2014 1:00 pm

I use Retin A and noticed larger pores but I think that is because they are empty. All the dead skin and old oil has been cleaned out. Better for any serums or peptides to penetrate deeper I would think. Also as we age, our skin loosens and the pores get bigger as a result.

I have noticed that I seem to have more brown spots on my face but don't know if that would have happened anyway or if the Retin A has brought them to the surface. In any case, do they eventually slough off?

free skin care · Fri Nov 28, 2014 11:19 pm

Due to frequent occurrence of pimples on my chins and around my Temples, I've used Differine A for around 2-3 weeks after reading in a forum about its superb effect in eliminating aches and pimples. It first went very well as my pimples got better. However in the 2nd week, my skin started to become very dry, which I couldn't tolerate and hence stopped using it. It took a month for my skin to recover, and sadly, my pimples are still here. Sad

Wed Jan 14, 2015 8:12 am

I know there hasn't been a post on this thread for a couple months, but I just wanted to say that I am going through a similar situation as you all after using a 10% glycolic acid lotion for about a month or so. I feel angry at myself for ever using it. I never used retin-a, I never had laser work done, I have never had a chemical peel. Just good old over exfoliation. I am kicking myself every day. The first thing I noticed was a random indented scar looking thing on my left cheek. I immediately stopped any and all exfoliation and harsh products and have been babying my skin for the past month and a half (I noticed the scar the day after this past Thanksgiving). Sometimes I think the psychological impact this has had on me is worse than how my skin looks. My mom and husband both swear they can hardly see anything, but when I look in the mirror I feel sick, and anytime I have to use the bathroom I get a knot in my stomach knowing that I can't resist looking in the mirror while I'm in there. Since stopping what I believe to be the culprit, I have gotten broken blood vessels, a bit of the orange peel look on my lower cheeks, and discoloration. All of this is pretty much confined to my cheeks. My forehead and chin pretty much look the same. I feel so regretful now. I have started taking xanax here and there to cope with the anxiety and depression that I have been feeling. I cry a lot. Also feel angry that I had to get a scar before I knew I was doing something wrong. I had no redness, no irritation, no signs that I was over exfoliating before that happened. Sounds silly but it's like I'm mad at my skin for not letting me know sooner. Sometimes I feel suicidal when I start to wonder if this is just going to keep getting worse instead of better. Then I think of my 4 year old and my 9 month old, and the fact that my mom already lost her son (my older brother), and I know I can't do that. I am praying every day that this will improve with time. Like I said, it hasn't even been 2 months since this started, so I want to have hope. From what I've read it seems that I have pretty much destroyed my skin barrier and that it could take quite a while for it to recover. I am terrified though that whatever damage I have now is here to stay. I can cover the discolored spots with make up, but any indents/scars I have obviously aren't able to be hidden and I feel like I want to hide behind my hair or something. There are days when I feel ok, and then there are days when I just cry, like today. I feel I've ruined my face. It was fine before. The only scar I had on my face was a chicken pox scar from childhood that I didn't even care about. Now I feel like a mess. Not sure what else to say....I just felt like I wanted to try to maybe discuss this with people who know what I am going through, because my family just does not understand. Thanks to anyone who read this, sorry it was so long. :/

free skin care · Wed Jan 14, 2015 5:50 pm

Your skin is constantly changing. It takes time to heal. How big is the scar? I have a feeling no one notices except you.

I can't help but wonder if something else is going on in your life that you don't want to "face" so focus on your face instead as a distraction. (See what I did there?) Having two small kids is a lot of stress. Do you work outside the home? How is your marriage?

Sun Jan 18, 2015 5:08 pm

You are right in that I am the only one who notices...it probably doesn't help that my bathroom has a fluorescent light right above the mirror which probably makes me look worse. The scar isn't huge, but I hate it, and it gave me a ton of anxiety. Reason being is I didn't understand why it appeared seemingly out of nowhere (no pimple, no nothing before hand), and I started getting scared that it would keep happening, and then the anxiety kind of manifested into a depression. Having two young kids is stressful, but nothing that would make me depressed. After I had my son I was so happy that I had a healthy daughter and son. I don't have a paying job, I decided that I wanted to stay home with the kids so I have no work related stress. I don't have any real problems with my husband. Sometimes we argue over small things but nothing serious. This anxiety and depression didn't start until I started feeling like I ruined my skin. My mom thinks it's something else too, so does my husband, but I really am that nuts that I will obsess over my skin. It sucks...

Thu Mar 26, 2015 4:41 pm

Hello everyone... english is not my first language so sorry for the mistakes Smile

... i have the same problem, started using a similar retinoid called epiduo.. after a few month my skin turned oily and my inner cheeks are full of large pores.

It was really reconforting to know that there is hope after all. Actually I stopped using cleanser and any type of cream but started a low dose of accutane 5mg/day to control the sebum, do you think that this can delay my skin to come back as it was before? should I stop using accutane and just let my skin heal for it self?. At least now Im not oily anymore.

greetings to all of you!

Mon Apr 06, 2015 5:06 am

Hi to you all,
I posted some of my experiences a while back and now after some time I have found some surprising things.

First of all, the big pores and lines and scars are all connective tissue (scarring). And the first thing:

You can't fix it over night. It's a long process.

What everybody should do is stop all kinds of retinoid medications or harsh exfoliating stuff. It will make things worse without any doubt.

Many of us have experienced day to day variations in our skin since the damage. Well, that's caused by several things. We all know the standards (sleep, hydration, exfoliating etc). Now, there are some new studies (not that new) talking about glycation process of collagen and skin. The bottom line is: stop eating sugar and things with suger in them. Now this seems impossible in the US since almost everything contains sugar or corn syrup (or whatever that shit is called). But this is the only way. You can look up glycation of skin and collagen and you will see.

The second thing is: different people react to different substances in different food products. And the reaction is a total systemic inflammation. This inflammation shows itself primarily in the skin. So, you have to do what they call the elimination diet. Now if you could eat only unprocessed food products, then it's the way to go. If it's impossible, you have to find the food products that rocket the inflammation processes in your body to the heavens.

You have to do this for a long time in order for your skin to repair itself. And dermarolling is one of the fewest things that can boost the repair process. Remember start with small needles and give it time. You have to give it time.

This is pretty much the core of it. Now, HA and other supplements could help or they could just make the inflammation worst for some people, me included.

Thu Apr 16, 2015 10:38 am

Your condition may due to sensitive skin. Many people experience discomfort and redness with Retin-A. A highly-recommended moisturizer for this cream is Clarisonic A, which has an abundance of vitamin A. You can also try reducing your dosage, or you can use a Retin-A gel instead of a cream, which is used often for patients with sensitive skin.

Thu Apr 16, 2015 7:44 pm

Thanks luntania, what u said is quite true. Anywhere that I have applied retin a before all enlarged with open pores. It has been many many pores n they haven't closed. It has a weird plastic shine n looks abnormal. Reducing retin A to once per week, reducing to half a pea, reducing to retinoids all didn't help. In fact it makes things even worse. I have thrown all retin a retinoids anything with vit A out. Using a heavy moisturizer over retin A doesn't help as well. Forehead all with open pores n lines constructed by pores together. It's horrible. This is not imaginary n people definitely notice it. All chemical peels after retin A, lasers don't help as well. Only last few ways is to put on emu oil n dermaroll.

Sun Apr 19, 2015 10:27 am

I can only confirm what other posters have mentioned about retinod products causing skin damage, as I was in a similar position myself. However, I also believe that supplementation is more effective than topical treatment in regenerating aging/damaged skin.
At 38, after starting a protocol of Fish Oil/Omega 3 1000mg, Agnus Castus 1000mg, Evening Primrose Oil 1000mg, Co-Enzyme q10 600mg, 2x multi-vits and Vitamin B-complex daily (incidentily not for skin reasons but to balance hormones)the improvements in my skin are astonishing. For me anyway, this cocktail of supplements is turning back the clock rapidly, possibly because of the association between dwindling hormone levels and impaired mitochondrial functioning in skin aging.
Topically, I am cleansing only with water and a facial cloth, then moisturising with Epaderm - basic stuff indeed!

free skin care · Sun Apr 19, 2015 2:51 pm

particlezen wrote:

I can only confirm what other posters have mentioned about retinod products causing skin damage, as I was in a similar position myself. However, I also believe that supplementation is more effective than topical treatment in regenerating aging/damaged skin.
At 38, after starting a protocol of Fish Oil/Omega 3 1000mg, Agnus Castus 1000mg, Evening Primrose Oil 1000mg, Co-Enzyme q10 600mg, 2x multi-vits and Vitamin B-complex daily (incidentily not for skin reasons but to balance hormones)the improvements in my skin are astonishing. For me anyway, this cocktail of supplements is turning back the clock rapidly, possibly because of the association between dwindling hormone levels and impaired mitochondrial functioning in skin aging.
Topically, I am cleansing only with water and a facial cloth, then moisturising with Epaderm - basic stuff indeed!

Welcome to EDS!

Can you give a little more information on your supplements? I am not familiar with Agnus Castus. Does this also have another name?

Are you taking a balanced B supplement? Strength? I have read of ladies taking additional B6 (in addition to the B complex.)

I am currently taking Omega 3 (or flax). My eye doctor suggested this for dry eyes and it does help.

Fri May 01, 2015 6:00 am

There is one thing I forgot to mention in my last post. This is something everyone should get checked; blood level of vitamin D. I'm a medical student and a researcher. After years of digging through all scientific articles, it seems that lots and lots of people nowadays in our modern world have D-vitamin deficiency to a degree. Cause of this is little sun exposure because of our modern life style which keeps most of poeople indoors throughout the day. There is also overuse of sunscreens.

Vitamin D deficiency has lots of long-term harmful effects which are defficult to reverse. One of those physiological effects is the role vitamin plays in sore healing and collagen production. Everyone should check out Vitamin D Council's website.
to understand how widespread vitamin D deficiency really is.

In the US, the official normal rage for serum vitamin D (25-OH-vitamin D) is ridiculously low, something you can read about on this website.

This vitamin is highly relevant for skin and healing of a damaged skin.

Fri May 01, 2015 9:13 am

Autumn1995 wrote:

Can you give a little more information on your supplements? I am not familiar with Agnus Castus. Does this also have another name?

Autumn, I think it might also be known as Vitex, Chaste Tree or Chasteberry.

Thu Jun 11, 2015 9:14 am

Hi all,
I am so fortunate to have found this forum. Like most of you, I had near perfect skin only a year ago: INVISIBLE pores, smooth texture, etc. I returned from a long trip abroad and broke out horribly on my forehead. Instead of being patient, I saw a derm and treated with every product I could get my hands on, the final treatment being Retin-A.

Retin-A ruined my skin. HUGE pores, orange-peel skin, connecting pores, indented scars/ice pick scarring appearing overnight, the whole works. It has killed my self confidence and I struggle every day to interact normally with friends/coworkers, etc.

During times of desperation, I would apply all kinds of concoctions to my face, but recently I threw them all away. I am going to purchase supplements and strictly wash with cold water and hydrate with emu oil.

Your experiences/stories give me hope that this damage can be even partly reversed. Honestly, that glimmer of hope is all I need right now to leave the house, be social and enjoy life.

I hope ya'll can be my sounding board during this journey.

Thu Jun 11, 2015 7:52 pm

Thank you all for sharing your stories. I have always wanted to try Retin-a and will be seeing a doctor next week to get a prescription. I am a bit wary now that I have read some of the journeys here.

My question is, did you use any OTC retinol products prior to using prescription retin-a? I have been using Avene Eluage for a few months with no issues whatsoever. It has retinaldehyde which is stronger than retinol, but weaker than tretinoin. If I am not reacting, could I still have these severe side-effects from retin a? Or is the absence of any reaction to retinaldehyde a good indication that I will be able to tolerate retin-a?

I plan to get 0.025 strength and use it once a week for the first 2 months. I am in no rush to see results.

TIA!

Wed Jun 17, 2015 11:32 am

Hi klwilli,

I posted on here a few months ago. I am going through similar problems after using glycolic acid 10%. I too had beautiful skin but was just trying to get rid of some clogged pores. Now I have scars that came out of nowhere.

You are on the right track to not use anything on your skin. I no longer wear make up and hardly ever even wash my face with water. I am going full caveman, haven't touched my face with even water in almost two weeks. Skin looks a bit better but the scarring is still there. Mine appeared 6 months ago. Maybe my skin would have had more healing if I had done the caveman regimen sooner.

Careful with emu oil! I know that sounds weird because it works great for many (like retin-a and glycolic acid, I guess....sigh) but when I used it my pores got bigger and my face looked even worse. If you notice anything getting worse with it I would stop using it. I read the high % of oleic acid can actually be bad for your skins barrier. I wish you luck!

Wed Jun 17, 2015 10:18 pm

Some of the above posters have mentioned that you might be using it too much if you are getting this effect. Is it possible that by (possibly) overusing it you're causing inflammation, and that's resulting in the appearance of large pores? If that is the case maybe someone can chime in with anti inflammatory ideas and you can try this? I'm really just learning so I'll leave it to the veterans to take a guess.

I know at one point I was using a lot of benzoyl peroxide and it caused me to have something tat hat sounds a little like what you're describing. I believe it had to do with inflammation.

Fri Jul 03, 2015 2:48 pm

I stayed up til' 5 AM last night reading all the posts here, until then I couldn't figure out why my skin had suddenly developed scars literally overnight. It started three months ago and I can't even begin to say how my life has been turned upside down from this. My fiance and I live together and she has had a hard time coping with my depression and doesn't really understand which has caused a ton of problems - life has been absolutely hell.

I started googling after realizing that the Retin-A had basically turned my skin to "mush" in the sense that if I press on my skin very lightly with my finger nail it will leave a permanent indented scar, i've ordered the Source Naturals supplements that were recommended here and hopefully they'll have some effect but i'm feeling very hopeless. To the people who are going through the same thing, after some time did your scars eventually start to fill in or are they still pretty much the same? Looking at pictures from just before this nightmare started is nauseating.. I had such smooth skin. Crying or Very sad

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