retin-a is good. i used it once a while ago because i had an allergic reaction that gave my cystic acne. it fixed my skin all up in just six weeks. i started using it again just now because my new toner had something in it that i'm allergic to, so the cysts came back.
it's kind of painful, the retin-a. for about four or five days during the first two weeks, your skin will flake alot and you might have some burning sensation on the really bad problem areas. retin-a speeds up skin cell generation, so the first two weeks your skin is adjusting to the medication which is why you get those kind of side effects.
for the third and fourth weeks, your skin should only be a little bit dry which can be easily remedied with an organic moisturizer (it's best to not use any chemicals along with retin-a, so you'll probably want to invest in an organic cleanser as well...burt's bees orange essence is nice because it moisturizes while it cleanses.) your skin will look worse than it did at the start of treatment because all the deep blemishes will be surfacing.
the fifth and sixth weeks of treatment are usually the last and your skintone will start evening out. your blemishes will be almost completely gone by this time, save for a tiny bit of redness which can easily be covered with foundation or concealor.
one thing you have to remember if you use retin-a is to use sunscreen. the active ingredient in it makes your skin sun-sensitive and trust me, you don't want to put your skin through any more trauma than it's already going through with the retin-a treatment. it's also good to drink lots and lots of water while you're using retin-a. i saturate a cotton ball with vitamin e oil and rub it all over my face for a few hours every few days to help heal the dried out skin (i don't know if this is suggested by a doctor or anything, but it helps me alot.)
hth.
