La Roche-Posay Effaclar Retinoid Acne Treatment

I received this product and started using it on May 10th for peri-oral dermatitis I’ve had since late January/early February of 2022. I have a health lung condition that means I have to avoid antibiotic use if at all possible so my condition doesn’t become antibiotic resistant. Also, the number of antibiotics I’m allergic to has gone from 0 to 4 in the past 3 years. I haven’t had acne or skin irritation around my nose and mouth since I was 14-19 years old. I found a face wash at that time that got rid of it. Now it’s back with a vengeance. This product was recommended to me to try. In the past 5 days my skin has gotten better for the first 2 days and then WAY worse with it drying and flaking to the point I can’t wear any makeup without looking like a snake shedding it’s skin. My trouble spots are cracking and peeling to the point if I absentmindedly brush my chin I get huge flakes on my desk at work. It stings when I use the product after washing my face at night and despite copious amounts of water to hydrate, my skin continues to be red, itchy, burning and flaking. Sorry to say, I’m 5 days into this and about to quit. I will say, the product does not smell bad and it spreads easily. I’m treating my dry skin tonight with a moist warm compress and vitamin A&D ointment to get it to quit flaking and shedding. I can’t imagine looking like this for the next 2 months like some people are saying. Maybe I will try every other night for the coming week and see how it goes.