2 Month Tret Update. Is It Working??!! + Other Products I’m Using :)

It’s been 2 months on tret. I used it a few days a week at first until my skin acclimated to it. That went by quick, so I started using it every day at night. I haven’t had any issues with using it every day since. My skin isn’t red, peeling, or in pain. No irritation of any kind. It’s so weird. I had issues with it using it every night before. All of a sudden, out of the blue, it’s been such a breeze. It’s like I’m applying water to my skin now. So interesting and odd at the same time! I wonder if it’s working anymore. So that is why I’ve been trying out other skin care products. It looks like tret isn’t helping with some forehead acne and blackheads on my nose. They’ve been really stubborn, and I need to get rid of them ASAP, so they can heal quickly and properly. This is what I tried during the second month of tret.

Skin Care Products I Tried…

Benzoyl Peroxide: I would slather BP all over my face if I could, but the side effects are just too much. The fumes get into my eyes and burn. But, BP truly does work to eliminate acne. Some days of the week, I’ll spot treat areas where I notice congestion. That’s about it. *sigh* Those BP days…

Glycolic Acid: I started using glycolic acid again when I was looking for another option to treat my acne (besides BP). I’m using Alpha Skin Care Intensive Renewal Serum (my first impression). Here’s my 1 week review on the product. I did another update on this serum. Go here to read more about it (my 3 week update). Glycolic acid seems to be working this time around too. I’m stunned! It worked before then stopped working. Now, it’s working again. It’s been great for skin texture and the overall quality of my skin. Keeping my skin looking soft, smooth, and refined, but it didn’t do much for my acne. Well, it did at first, but it stopped working on my acne. I’m still deciding if I should keep this serum in my routine. I was really looking for something that’ll unclog my pores, and this serum seems too gentle on my skin to do just that. So, I took a break from it since I didn’t see an improvement in my acne. I might bring it back if I think my skin needs it. I really don’t know yet.

Some Products Worth Mentioning…

My skin seems to be tolerating almost all of the products I used before. Didn’t work at one point in time, but it’s working now. They are…

iUNIK Black Snail Restore Serum: This serum is very moisturizing. It helps to keep the skin soft and hydrated. Feels sticky at first but feels very nice on the skin. Once it sinks into the skin, it leaves the skin feeling smooth and moisturized. I have a little bit of this product left from using it twice a day. But am I going to keep using it when I’m done with the bottle? I’m not sure. I prefer the iUNIK Propolis Synergy Vitamin Serum a little bit more. I’ll have to think about it. 🤔 The iUNIK Propolis Synergy Vitamin Serum is another serum that’s working for me now too. 🙂 Love it!!

Cosrx Ultimate Nourishing Rice Overnight Spa Mask: I have a love-hate relationship with this moisturizer. It’s moisturizing. It’s probably the most moisturizing lotion I have used where I don’t get huge cystic acne. But I decided to keep it in my routine and use it only on dry areas of my face. If I have a dry patch, I’ll use this product to moisturize that specific area of my face. I don’t use it all-over anymore. It causes too many problems. Makes my skin all oily, more blackheads, and forehead acne goes nuts. Moisturizing is important for skin health, but too much leads to consequences like breakouts (on my skin). I really like this moisturizer though. It truly does help moisturize my oily skin without leaving my skin feeling heavy and clogged.

Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid: I started using this BHA Liquid again. I went full on, lol, but I had to stop using it because it was drying my skin out. It works to tame the oilies on my facial skin, but I don’t think it did anything for the blackheads on my nose. I was hoping it would do something about that. I like using this BHA Liquid when my skin is oily. I’ll use it once in a while right now until summer arrives. That’s when my skin is even more oily.

Here are some products I’m not too wild about anymore:

Cosrx AHA BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner: This toner hasn’t helped much with acne whatsoever. I was hoping that it did a little bit of something. Doesn’t seem like it’s good at controlling the oil in my skin anymore. What happened? I don’t know. It’s an OK product. I’m not sure if I should keep it in my routine or not. It has a weird texture to it. I’m on the fence about this toner. We’ll see what happens in the near future. lol.

Olay Regenerist Vitamin C Peptide 24 Brightening Facial Cleanser: I’ve been using the Olay Regenerist Facial Cleanser since last year. I started off with the Olay Regenerist Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser. The Vitamin C Peptide 24 Brightening Facial Cleanser is the exact same as the Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser in terms of results. I didn’t notice brighter skin using the one with vitamin c. I loved this cleanser months ago when I was using it. That was when I didn’t have a good BHA product in my routine. I know these facial cleansers aren’t advertised as acne cleansers or cleansers with BHA, but it does contain salicylic acid in them. I can feel the salicylic on my skin when I use it. I would keep it around, but I’m using Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid instead. I just thought it would be a better option for me instead of this face wash. Maybe I’ll use it again if Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid doesn’t work out. More reviews on Olay Regenerist facial cleansers:

1 Week Using Olay Regenerist Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser. Goodbye Acne?

1 Month Using Olay Regenerist Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser & What I’m Doing Now for My Acne…

How My Skin Is Doing

The only acne I’m dealing with right now is a few pimples on my forehead. Some blackheads on my nose (so annoying). Sometimes some random pimple that pops out of nowhere. My skin is almost, just almost clear. Texture looks pretty good. It’s looks smoother. I’m not liking that shiny forehead though. It looks so weird and odd, haha. I’ve been trying to keep my skin moisturized by using lightweight facial moisturizers, which don’t provide enough moisture for my skin, but it’s better than nothing. My skin hasn’t broken out from those moisturizers (as of yet!). Right now, it’s all about keeping my moisture barrier healthy and happy. But tret hasn’t been drying. Or doing much for my acne like I hoped. I think I’m going to keep using it and wait it out. In the meantime, just search for something else to combat these stubborn pimples that just won’t go away. After 2 months, I’m pretty much neutral with the results I’m getting from tret. I can’t say much about it helping with fine lines and wrinkles. I think moisturizing my skin has helped a ton more. Well! That’s my 2 month update on tret. Take it or leave it, lol. I’ll see everyone next month!

⭐ If you missed out on my previous experience with tret…

My experience with tret the first week…

After 1 Month on Tret + Skin Care Routine. Here are My Results.

2 Months on Tret. My results. 🙂

Taking a break from tret…

Back to tret! 1 Week Results & My Skin Care Routine. Did it work? 🤔

1 Month on Tret. My Results!

A break from Tret & What I’m Doing Now

Surprise! Back on tret + Other Acne Treatments for Clear Skin. 🙂

Back to tret! 1 Week Results & My Skin Care Routine. Did it work? 🤔

I’ve officially started tret again. It’s been a month off of tret. My skin has settled down. It’s not red, itchy, inflamed, and falling apart. Well, besides the mishap with a particular moisturizer (Vanicream). I think it’s time to add tret back into my routine to help unclog some more stubborn clogged pores. My skin is about 99% clear. I’m ready to take on this journey once again to clear up my skin fully. Since I’ve added more moisturizers into my routine, I’m going to stick to what I was using before (0.05%). From what I remember, it was pretty harsh on my skin. The lower concentrations of tret did nothing for my acne. It was just a waste of time. So, let’s get started! Here’s my skin care routine!

Note: It changes often, haha!

My Skin Care Routine

So I’ve added a few (ahem, lol) more products into my routine. 🐰🙂

Face Wash: I’m still using PanOxyl Acne Foaming Wash (10%), but I’ve also been using PanOxyl Acne Creamy Wash (4%) more often. It’s creamier, more moisturizing, and a lot more gentle on the skin. I haven’t made the jump to try another face wash yet until I finish my bottles of facial cleansers. I might even switch over to the 4%. I haven’t seen any changes in my acne when using the 10%. I think they’re both good, but I like using the 4% when my skin is a bit drier than usual, but the 10% works better when my skin is oilier. I think they’re both good considering the state of my skin.

Toner: I’m using Cosrx AHA BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner. This is a nice skin pH adjuster toner with a low concentration of glycolic acid (0.1%) and a more gentle form of salicylic acid (betaine salicylate, 0.1%). I like it. It’s hydrating. Not drying on my skin at all. For a low concentration exfoliant, it’s doing a pretty good job at keeping pesky little pimples away and hydrating my skin at the same time. I was complaining about the spray nozzle before, but I’m starting to like it. I don’t have to use cotton pads. All I do is spray some product into my palm and gently pat it into my skin. I’m falling in love with it! It’s so much more convenient and easier to use! Less wasteful too!

Serum: Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum is the only serum that I’m using. My skin was so dry when I decided to try it out again. I was searching for a serum with a bunch of good-for-skin ingredients too. This looks like it could work. So far, everything is going well. Go to the link provided to check out my thoughts on this serum!

Other Acne/Acne Scar Treatments:

• Olay Regenerist Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser

I was using Olay Regenerist Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser daily, but it’s not necessary anymore. Olay dries my skin out when used too often. I can feel my skin getting sensitive and raw. Also, I have Cosrx AHA BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner. I think using those two products with chemical exfoliants daily is just too much for the skin. Even though they are low in concentration, they’re still chemical exfoliants. I don’t want to dry my skin out even further. So I use Olay only a few times a week, while I use Cosrx almost every day (super gentle!!).

Go here to read my 1 MONTH update on Olay!

• Ascorbic Acid Powder

I’ve given up on brand name vitamin c serums. They all break me out due to the other ingredients in the product, so I use the powder form only. I haven’t had a breakout since doing this. My skin looks brighter and acne marks are slowly fading using the powder version. I mix a little bit of vitamin c powder into my essence in the am to boost my sun protection + brighten the skin + fade acne marks.

You can read my thoughts on The Ordinary 100% L-Ascorbic Acid Powder here! 👈🏻

Essences/Moisturizers: I made a list of moisturizers that I like. If you missed out, go check them out! My thoughts have changed on some of them. A new update on that soon!

Sunscreens: Here are my sunscreens! ☀

• Neutrogena Visibly Even Daily Moisturizer SPF 30
• Canmake Mermaid Skin Gel UV SPF 50+ PA++++ 

I was going to give up on Canmake due to some clogged pores, but I decided not to. Yeah, I know, using a product that clogs my pores??!! Why?? Well, I’m alternating my sunscreens. That seems to prevent the sunscreen from breaking me out, since I’m not using it too often. And this seems to be working! I love that I’m benefiting from the Canmake sunscreen too. It has a higher SPF, feels ultra soothing on the skin, and makes my skin less red. I guess I can use Canmake when I’m outdoors majority of the day, while I use Neutrogena when I’m mainly indoors or need an extra boost of moisture. 🙂

1 Week Results!

Dun dun dun! Here we are! My ONE week results! 😁

During the first week, I have to thank Cosrx Ultimate Nourishing Rice Overnight Spa Mask for nourishing and leaving my skin moisturized on this treatment. My skin would’ve been falling apart if it wasn’t for this moisturizer. I ended up using it more often than I thought I would. And it worked (the best it could)! If my skin soaks up all of the moisturizer, I would just reapply to prevent my skin from drying out. That seemed to happen very often too. I would apply a blob of this moisturizer, and my skin would feel dry after a few hours or in the morning when I wake up. That’s how drying tret is on my skin. My skin felt itchy sometimes too and looked awful some days of the week due to the dryness. That means more moisturizer needs to be applied to prevent the moisture barrier from being damaged. Moisturizing the skin helps dead skin to come off easier too.

And I purged this week! Purging occurred much quicker than I expected. I had a bunch of random pimples popping out of nowhere. A lot of blackheads (what??!!) that I’ve never had before. Some of them turned into whiteheads. Some of them healed quick, while others just lingered. It looks like it’s going to be a long, annoying breakout. Hopefully my skin improves before Christmas! 🤞🏻 But right now, I think tret just took my skin back from being almost clear to having breakouts again. *sigh* It’s not something I want to happen, but it’s bound to happen if I want to unclog these stubborn clogged pores that I’ve had for ages! It’s a chance I wanted to take. Who knows what may happen a few weeks from now! Along with my skin breaking out, I had a ton of skin shedding from my face. It was embarrassing sometimes when I had to meet people. I just hope that no one noticed, lol. It was pretty obvious though, haha! Skin would just flake off of my face and get on my shirt. 😳

There were times when my skin became extremely dry, I used CeraVe Healing Ointment to prevent my skin from losing moisture. I applied this ointment all over my face. Yes, I tried it! And you know what? This ointment is amazing! It did wonders for my skin! I woke up the next morning after my skin was feeling raw to touch with skin that’s soft, smooth, clearer, and less crusty. It helped heal my skin faster and helped with flaking. So it looks like my skin prefers CeraVe Healing Ointment over Aquaphor and 100% Pure Petroleum Jelly. It hasn’t irritated my face. My skin feels so much better after using this ointment. Must be the ceramides! 💕 But I can’t use it every night. It’s too occlusive, especially with other moisturizers I’m using. But it’s nice to have it around when I need it.

Those are my thoughts and results after 1 week! I’m going through the initial breakout… 😭

Next up! My 1 month update! See everyone there! 😊

⭐ If you missed out on my previous experience with tret, check them out!! ~

My experience with tret the first week…

After 1 Month on Tret + Skin Care Routine. Here are My Results.

2 Months on Tret. My results. 🙂

Taking a break from tret…