My Tretinoin Journey: Week 3 Results
Sep. 18, 2020
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Hello Week 3! 😊😊😊
Day 15: New week, new skin care routine!! 😀 Honestly, it feels so much better not applying that many skin care products on my face. This made me realize that the Cos De BAHA Serums I’ve been using are VERY sticky. Maybe clogging my pores?? I decided to fully stop using them (just like that), except for the Vitamin C Serum. The Vitamin C Serum isn’t sticky and absorbs into my skin very well. It leaves my skin feeling matte. Not oily, sticky, or greasy.
My skin looked better today than last night. It’s less angry. Running my fingers over my breakout-prone areas is the worst! It feels bumpy. A lot of the pimples turned into scabs. Well, I hope they fall off soon! lol. My skin is definitely feeling a lot better with less skin care products on my face. Less irritation. Less redness. Less everything that is bad for my skin. Hmmmm, I might even eliminate them for good if my skin improves over time. Using less skin care products on my face has saved me a lot of time.
Perhaps, less is more. 😮
Day 16: My skin is super flaky today. It’s peeling everywhere on my face. It was so difficult to apply makeup and look at least somewhat decent with it on. I really tried, but my skin was not having it. lol. It’s really hard to not think about it when I’m interacting with people. It’s actually kind of embarassing. At the same time, I’m happy that my skin is clearing up and moving in the right direction. Can’t have both ways while on Tret. HAHAH! At night, I used a brush with soft bristles to remove the dead skin off. It worked wonderfully!! Amazing!! I’m going to continue to do this on the day that I peel. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Tonight, I’m going to moisturize my skin and start up on Tret again the next day!! So excited!! 🙂
Day 17: I had some skin hanging from my face today. It was annoying and made my makeup look so terrible. I think I have to put up with having a bad makeup application for a while. I can’t do anything about it even though I moisturize my skin. Today, I started using Differin Oil Absorbing Moisturizer SPF 30. I’m going to give it another chance. My skin is very vulnerable right now. I need all the sun protection I can get. Hopefully it doesn’t break me out.
I did get some more breakouts today. They’re not new breakouts. Since I have comedones (why I went on Tret in the first place), They are moving up to the surface of my skin after going through a peel from Tret. That’s great and all, but I am now dealing with more acne and MORE acne marks. It’s pretty devastating and makes me feel very self-conscious of my skin. I hope things turn around in the next couple of days. But, I don’t know, I think it’s going to take a couple of months to get where I want to be.
Day 18: More pimples today. Some were inflamed. Some weren’t. They’re leaving acne marks behind too. Meh. I think I’m over it. I just want Tret to do its thing and leave my skin looking flawless. 🙂 Wearing makeup is so annoying. It just doesn’t blend and cover properly. Feels gross knowing there are breakouts underneath. That’s something sooooo hard to cover. UGH!!! Having good skin is very important to having flawless-looking makeup. Only a couple of months away…I’ll be there. Patience is key. ☺
So my skin doesn’t feel red, dry, and irritated anymore. I wonder if I am able to use Tret every night. 🤔
Day 19: It’s another skin peeling day! Skin actually looks much better compared to the other days before. Weird. It is what it is. So, I’m happy to remove this layer of dead skin off of my face tonight. Seems like they’ve been coming off of my face too throughout the day. I can take a piece of the skin and peel it off. LOL. I don’t want to have dead skin hanging from my face, right?? That’s just too funny. I’m planning on using Tret every night or 6 days a week now. My skin doesn’t feel dry, irritated, or red anymore. I think what I’m doing right now is working — dropping a lot of skin care products that irritated my skin, that don’t work, cause more issues than ever…and sticking to a simple, minimal skin care routine. And, I think Differin Oil Absorbing Moisturizer SPF 30 is working very well on my skin right now. It protects AND moisturizes. It hasn’t broken me out. I can feel a slight tingling sensation when I apply it. It’s probably from having fresh, new skin after peeling. Overall, it’s been good. Let’s keep this up! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Day 20: More breakouts today. 🙁 They seem to live in clusters. lol. But, good news, I can tell that my skin is improving. My skin texture is looking better. Closed comedones are going away slowly. I am able to use Tret every single night now without any issues too. 🙂 No dryness, irritation, stinging, or redness. Yay! 😃
Day 21: NO NEW BREAKOUTS TODAY! Just the old ones crusting off. My skin is looking good! Makeup goes on good today! Yay! I’m sooooo happy! I think my skin is going to be 100% clear by 2 months! I’m going to cross my fingers and hope for that!! 🤞🏻
So I changed up my facial cleansing routine. I’m double cleansing. I didn’t purchase a cleansing oil. I’m using oils to cleanse my face first. The oils I am using are hemp oil and jojoba oil. I dispense some hemp oil into my palm with a few drops of jojoba oil. I gently use this mixture to cleanse my face. It helps with removing makeup too at night. After that, I use Acure Brightening Cleansing Gel. This isn’t my favorite face wash, but that’s what I’m using right now. I might switch to a different face wash after I finish it. This method has been working for me. The oils help to prevent dryness, and I just wash away the oils afterwards. 👌🏻
Let’s move on to the next week! 😎
More on my My Tretinoin Journey:
My Tretinoin Journey: Week 1 Results
My Tretinoin Journey: Week 2 Results
I was on Tretinoin Cream before. Read my experience here:
My Tretinoin Journey: 1 Week Results!!
My Tretinoin Journey: 2 Weeks In!
My Tretinoin Journey: 3 Weeks Results
My Tretinoin Journey: 1 Month Results!
My Tretinoin Journey: 1 Month + 1 Week Results
My Tretinoin Journey: 1 Month + 2 Weeks Results
My Tretinoin Journey: 1 Month + 3 Weeks Results
My Tretinoin Journey: Going off of Tret…
Check out my 30 Days of BP too:
Acne, Acne Log, Acne Marks, Acne Prone, Acne Scars, Acne Skin, Acne Skin Care, Acne Skin Care Routine, Anti Aging, Clear Skin, Experience, Journey, Life, Lifestyle, Oily Skin, Results, Retin A, Review, Skin Care Routine, Thoughts, Tret, Tretinoin, Tretinoin Gel, Tretinoin Journey, Week 3, Week 3 Results, Wrinkles
My Tretinoin Journey: Week 2 Results
Sep. 12, 2020
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Week 2 Results… 🙂
Day 8: I used Tret last night. It didn’t tingle or burn. It didn’t feel warm on my skin either. It went on nicely. My skin does feel a little dry, but it’s nothing to call home about. My skin has returned to a better state — irritation decreased due to moisturizing the skin the past couple of days. Thanks to the oils and shea butter I used. I wish I could use shea butter forever on my skin, but I can’t. It’s not a long-term skin care product for me. It’s a tad too heavy for my skin type…even though I loved what it did for my skin. I can’t use it on a daily basis (for fear it might break me out). I noticed some pimples. I’m not sure if it’s the shea butter or just my skin breaking out (initial breakout from Tret). But, I’m not going to take the risk. I’ll use it when my skin needs it the most, but stop when I don’t need it anymore. Seems to work well that way. I’ll be on the search for oils that are more suitable for acne-prone skin (no jojoba oil, lol).
Moisturizing skin care products I’m using now:
I’m going to continue on with Tret. Skin is moving in the right direction. 🙌🏻
Day 9: My skin peeled today. The whole day. Almost all of it came off tonight. I’m still shedding as I write this, lol. But, I am happy all of that dead skin just came off! Finally! It’s about time! Along with the dead skin, pimples, pimples, and more pimples. Inflamed pimples! The one underneath my eyebrow hurts so much, haha. I hope it goes away soon! The comedones have been thriving under my skin for way too long. I want them all out NOW! After all of that dead skin coming off, they seem to come out much easier from the pores and heal faster too.
So I stopped using Acure Brightening Day Cream. It’s not for my skin type. It’s too thick and feels like it sits on top of my skin. Potential pore clogger. A full review here — Updated Review: Acure Brightening Day Cream.
I stopped using these oils on my face…
I’ve included these oils…
They’re supposed to be better for oily, acne-prone skin.
I thought I would be able to use Tret tonight. Nope! My skin is way too raw and sensitive after the peel. I decided to moisturize my skin tonight. Gotta listen to your skin, right? That’s what I’m doing. 🙂
Day 10: I have some skin peeling. Tried to remove them this morning…but I didn’t want to tug on my skin. I left them alone. The initial breakout sucks. I’m dreading it so much right now. I’ve only had 4 new big pimples so far. The rest are comedones that need to come out and die off, lol. As for the new pimples, one near my eyebrow exploded, one near my ear is completely gone, a new one by my nose/cheek, and one on the side of my face (so random, lol). LMAO! I forgot to mention the nodule on my chin. That one hurts like a &@%!. Good news, my skin isn’t too sensitive anymore. I can continue on with Tretinoin tonight. We’ll see how the rest of the week goes. I’ll play it by ear.
P.S. I added a hydrating face mask tonight to give my skin some more moisture. It’s called Andalou Naturals 1000 Roses Rosewater.
Day 11: The pimples I had this morning disappeared. I don’t know how, but they did. A lot of the previous pimples were peeling too. That annoying nodule I turned into a cyst and exploded. LOL!! Thank goodness. It was painful to touch.
About the oils…
I said that I stopped using argan oil, but I changed my mind. I decided to include it in my skin care routine along with rosehip oil and hemp oil. Argan oil didn’t do anything bad to my skin. It didn’t break me out either. Im going to continue to include it. Why not? If anything bad happens, I’ll discontinue it ASAP. I love how all of these oils hydrate my skin. Way better than facial creams. I haven’t had any breakouts from them yet.
Today, my skin looks way better than yesterday. It’s like night and day, which makes me even more excited for the results by the end of the week! My makeup looked way, way better! It was also easy to apply it. Not that many flakes going on. For the past couple of days, I had a difficult time making my makeup look decent due to the peel, haha. Today is a different day. 🤗
It’s a green light to continue to use Tret tonight. I’m starting to feel the warm feeling when I apply the gel to my skin. Let’s see what happens tomorrow! =)
Day 12: A few new pimples today. Along with that, more skin peeling. Honestly, that makes me happy because I know it’s still working. What’s so great is that my skin doesn’t feel as sensitive anymore. I think the facial oils that I use in the morning are helping TONS! My skin feels hydrated, and it makes the peeling process much easier. I haven’t had any breakouts from them either! YES!!! 😊 I hope it stays that way. 👌🏻
Day 13: I woke up this morning with a few more pimples…after a layer of skin peeled off. Also, my skin feels drier too after washing it. Hmmm. Gotta make sure I lather myself in moisturzer to prevent cracked skin and further dryness. I’m going to take a break from Tret tonight and moisturize my skin.
Day 14: It’s the last day of WEEK 2! I can’t believe it. Hmmm, skin is TERRIBLE! I think today is the worst it has been compared to prior days! 😢😢 I’m still getting breakouts here and there. These breakouts are quite painful. They’re bumps under the skin. Lots of red, swelling, tender to touch type of acne. These take a little longer to heal too. But, I am trying to hang in there. TRYING.😭😭😭 I think I’m at the stage where the skin looks horrendous. My makeup doesn’t even look good when applied. I’m just like WTH. This is gross. I don’t even want to look at anyone in the eye! UGH! Horrible!
This made me think. What if other skin care products I’m using are clogging my pores???? So, I’m discontinuing some skin care products. Simplifying it while on this treatment. Some skin care products that come to mind are…
- Trader Joe’s Argan Oil. I don’t need it when I have other oils in my skin care routine. I’ll just use it in my hair. My hair seems to love it!
- I’m going to continue to use only rosehip oil. The reason why is because it’s lighter and absorbs better. I’m going to discontinue Hemp seed oil for a while. Let my skin adjust to the rosehip oil first. If it does…lol. I want to know if it’s doing more damage than good. You know, clogging pores or not.
- Acure Radically Rejuvenating SPF Day Cream. It’s not clicking with my skin. I think it’s the shea butter and coconut oil. Could be clogging my pores. We’ll see what happens when I’m not using it.
- As for my serums, I’ll just stick to Vitamin C. Stop using the rest for now. Maybe they’re not compatible with my skin? And I’ve been using them for MONTHS…could be…. 🤔 That would be horrible news! It’d be good to know, so I can continue clearing my skin.
Here’s a wrap up on what I’m using: Rosehip Oil, Vitamin C, Eye Care Products. At night, I’ll throw in a sheet mask + some moisturizing face masks. That’s it! Pretty simple. 👌🏻
Alright! Let’s move on to WEEK 3!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 And I’m hoping the breakouts will go away by then……
More on my My Tretinoin Journey:
My Tretinoin Journey: Week 1 Results
I was on Tretinoin Cream before. Read my experience here:
My Tretinoin Journey: 1 Week Results!!
My Tretinoin Journey: 2 Weeks In!
My Tretinoin Journey: 3 Weeks Results
My Tretinoin Journey: 1 Month Results!
My Tretinoin Journey: 1 Month + 1 Week Results
My Tretinoin Journey: 1 Month + 2 Weeks Results
My Tretinoin Journey: 1 Month + 3 Weeks Results
My Tretinoin Journey: Going off of Tret…
Check out my 30 Days of BP too:
Acne, Acne Log, Acne Marks, Acne Prone, Acne Scars, Acne Skin, Acne Skin Care, Acne Skin Care Routine, Anti Aging, Clear Skin, Experience, Journey, Life, Lifestyle, Oily Skin, Results, Retin A, Review, Skin Care Routine, Thoughts, Tret, Tretinoin, Tretinoin Gel, Tretinoin Journey, Week 2, Week 2 Results, Wrinkles