Differin Acne Treatment Gel, 180 Day Supply, Retinoid Treatment for Face with 0.1% Adapalene, Gentle Skin Care for Acne Prone Sensitive Skin, 45g Tube, Pack of 2 (Packaging May Vary)

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!

This is a great product! But there is a side effect you should make sure you're ready for.I'm almost 26yrs old & I've been struggling with acne since I was a teen. I had been using Aveeno Clear Complection face wash for years & it usually kept it under control. The past few months my skin just kept getting worse & worse (no change to my diet, skin products, etc.) & no idea what caused my skin to have such horrible breakouts. I decided to look into Proactiv to help. I know a few people who have been on it & half loved it & half hated it. But all of them hated the price & how difficult it was to unsubscribe. That made me not want to get Proactiv. I did more research & found this product, Differin. It has the exact same amount of Adapalene Gel .1% as the ProactivMD Acne Treatment gel. It's basically the same product, they just charge you 2x or 3x the cost for it, depending on the size you order.With that in mind, I order the Differin gel & Differin Gentle Cleanser. Now I did read the reviews on the Differin gel. I knew it would cause dry skin. But I didn't worry about it because I knew I had a pretty good moisturizer (Bio Oil is not meant to be used as a moisturizer but I accidently discovered it makes an awesome one) that I've been using for at least a year.However, when I started using the Differin products, my beloved moisturizer did Not stand a chance. I switched to an Aveeno face moisturizer & Nope, that didn't work either. My skin felt Raw. It was so dry, it started to peel which then made my skin feel raw, itchy & so red. I started shopping around buying different face moisturizers & every one I used made my skin feel like it was set on fire. It burned. I guess because it was raw, I'm not sure. I didn't want to stop using the Differin product because I had read in other reviews that the dryness & peeling was normal & a good sign that the product is working (hard to believe, I know), all I had to do was use a good moisturizer.So I did some more research for what I could use for very dry & itchy skin. A few websites suggested a number of things that I already wasted money on except petroleum jelly (aka Vaseline). I know... Vaseline? On my face? It's really thick, won't it clog my pores? I had given just about everything else a try & my skin was screaming for relief. A website said the thickness of it helps prevent waterloss in the skin. So I decided to give it a try.Oh my goodness.... It worked!! After a couple of days the dryness, peeling, & itchiness was almost completely gone. After a little over a week, no more redness, no more rawness & no more anything. Well I still had acne, lol. The greasy texture takes some getting use to. I apply small dabs & rub it in, leaving a thin layer to soak in.Okay, I found an excellent moisturizer to combat the drying side effect of the Differin products. Since I've been using all three; Differin gel, Differin Gentle Cleanser, & Vaseline. My skin is looking Amazing.I started using the gel daily but it was/is too much for my skin. So instead I use it every other day but I use the cleanser & moisturize daily & nightly. You will go through a "purge" phase. This is normal for most acne products, even Proactiv. So don't be scared away when this happens. Think of it like it's digging out all of the built up junk that's been lying under your skin, waiting to pop up at the most inconvenient time like a date or job interview.For me, it's been about a month. I battled the dry skin side effect & patiently waited out the purge phase & now my skin is truly looking amazing & so much better. I still have acne but only about 50% of what I had when I started. Your skin might take longer or less time to purge before clearing up. Just be consistent. Be patient. Don't chicken out. And be realistic, this is not a one week or one month cure. It'll take time & you'll have to continue using it even when you're acne is gone. Or else it'll come back. So you might as well buy the 2 large bottles. I've already order again & plan on using these products long term.My advice.... Buy this product!! You won't regret it. Just make sure you have a really good moisturizer.I would add a photo of my skin now but it wouldn't mean much because there's no before photo so you would have no idea of how bad my acne was when I started. Just know, I'm very impressed after one month.

I have been using differing gel for over a year now and every time I run out I get my acne and greasy skin back. It works so well! No irritation at all and my skin actually heals faster when I am using it consistently. I use it night and otherwise keep a super minimal skincare routine. No other actives except adapalene and once a week acid exfoliation mask. (Wash off product by Bliss 100% recommend). And I find one tube lasts me 4+months. I only use a small amount and it covers whole face and chin. I use it in conjunction with nightly cleansing and Eucerin eczema baby cream as my moisturizer. It is gentle and healing and has colloidal oatmeal in it. I have no other serums and actives in my skincare. Just adapalene gel is enough. ;)