Everyone does it. You’re sitting on your couch, scrolling through Reddit or TikTok at 2 AM, squinting at tretinoin before after photos wondering if that could be you. You see these dramatic transformations—angry, cystic acne turning into "glass skin" that looks like it’s been filtered into oblivion. It’s tempting. Really tempting. But if you’ve spent any real time in the skincare world, you know that lighting is a liar and angles are even worse.
Tretinoin is basically the gold standard. Doctors have been prescribing it for over fifty years because it actually works, unlike that $80 "miracle" cream you bought at Sephora. It’s a derivative of Vitamin A, specifically retinoic acid. It speeds up cell turnover. It builds collagen. It clears pores. But the journey from "before" to "after" isn't a straight line. It’s more like a jagged mountain range with a lot of peeling skin at the bottom.
The Problem With the Photos You See Online
Most tretinoin before after photos you find on social media are missing the middle. They show Day 1 and Day 180. They skip the Day 45 where the person looked like they had a chemical burn or the Day 60 where their chin was covered in "the purge."
Lighting changes everything. A "before" photo taken in harsh, overhead bathroom light will show every single pore and pitted scar. An "after" photo taken in soft, golden hour sunlight or with a slight ring light glow makes the skin look infinitely smoother than it might be in person. When you're looking at these, check the background. If the wall changed color, the skin "improvement" might just be a white balance shift.
Then there’s the "tret glow." People talk about it like it’s a magical aura. In reality, it’s often just the way light reflects off a very smooth, thin stratum corneum. Tretinoin thins the very top layer of dead skin cells (while thickening the deeper dermis), which creates a flatter surface for light to bounce off of. It’s physics, not magic.
Realism Check: What 3 Months Actually Looks Like
Honestly? After three months, you might look worse. That’s the truth nobody wants to hear. This is the period of "retinization." Your skin is learning how to deal with the drug.
The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) notes that it usually takes about 12 weeks for acne to significantly improve. If you’re looking at photos of someone who claims their skin cleared up in two weeks, they either didn’t have much acne to begin with or they’re selling something. Real tretinoin before after photos at the 90-day mark usually show a reduction in active breakouts, but often lingering redness or post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH).
Why the Purge Ruins Your Early Photos
The "purge" is the devil. It happens because tretinoin accelerates cell turnover. All those microcomedones—basically baby pimples—that were hanging out under your skin surface get pushed to the top all at once.
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It feels like the cream is breaking you out. It’s not. It’s just "cleaning house."
You’ll see photos of people with clusters of whiteheads around their mouth or jawline during weeks 3 to 8. This is normal. If you’re seeing breakouts in places you never get pimples, that might be irritation or a reaction to the cream’s base (like the isopropyl myristate in some cream versions), but if it’s in your usual zones, it’s the purge.
Dr. Andrea Suarez (known as Dr. Dray online) often emphasizes that patience is the biggest factor in tretinoin success. Most people quit right before the "after" photo happens. They see the peeling, they see the redness, and they think their skin hates tretinoin. Usually, their skin is just adjusting.
The Long Game: Aging and Texture
If you’re using tretinoin for anti-aging, your tretinoin before after photos will be even less dramatic in the short term. Fine lines don't vanish in a month. We’re talking six months to a year.
A famous study published in the Archives of Dermatology showed that 0.025% and 0.1% tretinoin both significantly improved photoaged skin, but it took time. The "after" photos in clinical trials show a decrease in "crepiness" and a more even skin tone.
- Hyperpigmentation: Sunspots start to fade because the pigment is being sloughed off faster.
- Collagen: The skin actually gets structurally stronger over years of use.
- Pore Size: You can't actually "shrink" pores (they aren't doors), but you can keep them clear so they don't look stretched out.
The Buffer Technique and Why It Matters
If your "before" photo includes raw, red patches, you're probably doing it wrong. You don't need to suffer to get results. Many dermatologists now recommend "buffering"—putting moisturizer on first, then tretinoin. Or the "sandwich method": moisturizer, tretinoin, moisturizer.
This doesn't make the tretinoin useless. It just slows down the absorption so your skin doesn't freak out. Your tretinoin before after photos will look much better much faster if you don't destroy your skin barrier in the first week.
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Navigating the Different Strengths
You’ll see people bragging about using 0.1% (the highest strength). Don't fall for the "more is better" trap.
Study after study has shown that 0.025% tretinoin often yields nearly identical results to 0.1% for anti-aging over the long term, just with way less irritation. If you use 0.1% and your face peels off, you’re going to stop using it. Consistency beats intensity every single time.
If you're looking at tretinoin before after photos to decide on a strength, remember that the person with the 0.1% results might have spent three months looking like a shedding lizard. Is that what you want? Probably not. 0.05% is usually the "sweet spot" for most people dealing with both acne and aging.
What Tretinoin Won't Fix
We need to be real here. Tretinoin is powerful, but it's not a laser or a facelift.
- Deep Scars: Icepick or boxcar scars—the kind that are indented—won't disappear with cream. You might see a 10-20% improvement in depth over a year, but you usually need microneedling or CO2 lasers for those.
- Sagging: It won't fix a sagging jawline. That's a loss of fat and bone, not just skin quality.
- Broken Capillaries: If you have those tiny red "spider veins" around your nose, tretinoin won't touch them. In fact, if you're too aggressive, it might make them more visible by thinning the top layer of skin.
How to Document Your Own Journey
If you’re starting today, do yourself a favor and take a real "before" photo.
Turn off the filters. Go to a window with indirect North-facing light (it’s the most consistent). Take a photo of the front of your face and both profiles. Do it again every 30 days. Don’t do it every day; you’ll drive yourself crazy looking for changes that haven't happened yet.
Wait for the six-month mark. That’s when the real tretinoin before after photos start to show the structural change in the skin. The redness from the purge will be gone, the "glow" will be settling in, and you’ll actually see the texture smoothing out.
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Actionable Steps for Success
Getting those "after" photo results requires more than just a tube of cream. It’s a systemic approach to your face.
Start slow. Apply it twice a week for two weeks. Then every other night for two weeks. Only go to every night if your skin isn't stinging when you apply regular moisturizer. If it stings, back off.
Moisturize like your life depends on it. Look for ingredients like ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids. Brands like CeraVe, La Roche-Posay, or Stratia (their Liquid Gold is a cult favorite for a reason) help repair the barrier that tretinoin is constantly trying to disrupt.
Sunscreen is non-negotiable. Tretinoin makes your skin more photosensitive. If you use tretinoin at night and don't use SPF 30+ during the day, you are literally wasting your money and potentially causing more sun damage than the tretinoin can fix.
Keep the rest of your routine boring. This isn't the time for 10% Vitamin C, AHA peels, or scrubby exfoliants. Use a gentle cleanser, a heavy moisturizer, tretinoin, and sunscreen. That’s it. You can add the "fun" stuff back in once your skin is adjusted, which usually takes about three to four months.
Expect the plateau. There will be a point around month four where you feel like nothing is happening anymore. This is where most people stop. Don't. Tretinoin is a marathon. The people with the most impressive tretinoin before after photos are usually the ones who have been using it for five, ten, or twenty years. It’s a long-term investment in your skin’s future, not a quick fix for next week’s party.