Honest thoughts on Curology 🧐

Hi all, Around the first week of December 2020 I decided to start trying Differin Adapalene Gel to address my skin concerns. As some of my previous posts explain, I’ve struggled badly with oily skin, blackheads, extremely enlarged pores, and occasional acne, most of my teenage years and into my adult life (I’m 26 now). I have tried SO many products to try and help curb my issues (see previous posts for examples), and though they’ve helped a little, I’ve never been fully satisfied with the results... my skin is just stubborn! I decided to swap my retinol for Differin to see if it would target my issues a little bit better and JEEZ has this been a journey so far... So to be completely blunt, I’m discouraged. If you look at the attached photo, the picture with all the acne is me NOW. Yes, RIGHT NOW. The one WITHOUT explosive acne is my BEFORE Differin skin. Okay, now I’ll get into it... So it’s been about 9 weeks since I’ve started on Differin. In the beginning I noticed my skin was starting to feel really sensitive, which it never is. Any other product (Niacinamide, Hyaluronic Acid, etc.) felt like burning when I put it on, which is incredibly strange for me. My skin has been consistently pink ever since. I immediately stopped using any BHA, AHA or any harsh acid while using Differin and made sure to SLATHER on reparative moisturizer to help repair my skin barrier. Basically my skin routine needed to stripped to the bare minimum. Throughout the weeks, my skin flaked and peeled excessively, especially with makeup on. It looked SO dry and awful and felt stingy underneath (still does). Then about 3 weeks in, the purging started. It started off slow and erupted to where it’s at now on February 11, 2021. Purge pimples are so strange compared to my sporadic cystic acne bumps I’m used to getting. Purging shows up in a big breakout cluster of pimples, mostly small (not always), but definitely painful and brutal looking for me. Over the weeks it just got worse and worse. I’m getting pimples all in the same place for the most part — my lower cheek areas. It has been tumultuous and my skin has never looked this terrible in my whole life. I’ve done my research on Differin, and everyone says it is completely normal for your skin to get worse before it gets better (for me, A LOTTTTT worse). I’m hoping this is true because I really want to stick this out — I’ve already gone through the worst of it, might as well wait it out a bit longer. If you’re interested in Differin, just be prepared for what you’re getting into! I’m sure this will all be worth it but wanted to share my experience and help others with the SHOOKness that may or may not happen. I will definitely share updates in the future with hopefully better results! Anyone try Differin before? Was it this hard? Did your purging last this long? Words of encouragement? Thank you!! DIFFERIN - DIFFERIN Acne Treatment Gel

I truly don’t like doing before and afters especially when it looks like there’s barely any progress but I promise you my skin FEELS so much better than it looks and I’ve seen some amazing progress! I’ve tagged the products I feel have helped the most recently. It takes patience but little progress is still PROGRESS 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

🌸 note: two of the products in my picture are prescription only, high grade retinoids. but i have tagged their drug store dupes that are the SAME product with a lower concentration 🌸 WHAT IS A RETINOL? in the most basic form, a retinoid is a form of VITAMIN A which encourages skin cells to break down and turn over faster, resulting in reduction of acne, wrinkles, dark spots and signs of aging. It promotes collagen production, unclogs pores, and reduces scarring. its actually thickens skin, preventing wrinkles from forming ☀️☀️ALWAYS USE AN SPF WITH RETINOIDS☀️☀️ because your skin cells are dying and regenerating so quickly, you are much more prone to sunburns. read @jensanti‘s comment below for more health cautions! they vary HIGHLY in strength (weak to strong list)  - retinoid esters: The weakest version of a retinoid, but is good for sensitive skin, surface level  retinol: found in a variety of products, works on the cellular level of skin - adapalene (differin): Used to be prescription only but can now be found in a low-dose age in most drug stores. penetrates deeper and slows the production of sebum with faster cell turnover - retinoic acid (Retin-A/tretinoin): works deeper in the skin, can produce overnight results in the form of dead skin peeling. Very advanced skin cell turnover, as it penetrates and stimulates cell death and production. Skin can become very sensitive, irritated , and red - isotretinoin (Accutane): essentially sebum production is very limited and skin cell turnover is dramatically increased. on ingestible medication that will make your skin peel, dry out, and really kill acne. It’s prescription only but very effective. 🌸 products i use! prescription only: ADAPALENE 0.3% dupe: DIFFERIN - DIFFERIN Acne Treatment Gel ADAPALENE is the primary form of retinol in this product. this has been my go to product for years, it makes me less sun sensitive then Retin-A 0.05%, while still giving me excellent skin cell turnover and anti aging benefits. It helped my skin go from absolute shiz to a much cleaner glowing face (see 4th pic) prescription only: RETIN-A 0.05% dupe: janssen - Retino-A 0.05% Tretinoin Cream TRETENOIN is the primary form of retinoid in this product. these two may actually be the same product, but the one that I have I know is usually prescription grade. it will make your skin peel overnight, so I use it as a spot treatment if I get any deep set nodular acne. i used this for a couple years but it made me really sun sensitive, it is very strong! luxury brand: SUNDAY RILEY - A+ High-Dose Retinol Serum RETINOL ESTER and CoQ10 are the primary forms of retinal in this product. this claims to have a 6.5% blend of stabilize retinoids and botanical retinoid alternative extracts. I think that it is incredibly overpriced for what it is. There are very similar dupes such as those from the inkey list and the ordinary