I have been using Adapalene  for about a week now. From the reviews I can see that I'm going through the purging stage because my skin looks and feels absolutely awful. It hurts so bad, it feels like a severe sunburn and I can't wash my face without feeling like I want to cry (and usually I'm pretty tolerant of pain).

My doctor recommended Cetaphil because it's a gentle cleanser but I feel like the Adapalene-Cetaphil combination is friggin' KILLING my skin! Even under my eyes and my lips - where I try not to get either acne medication anywhere close - feels like I have a sunburn or just plain chapped .

I know it takes a while to actually work, but I have senior pictures coming up soon... Is there any way I can speed up the purging process, or, at the very least, make it less severe? I can't even put on makeup at this point because my skin is peeling so badly; on my nose and chin especially.

I'm using two kinds of moisturizer multiple times a day but my skin still looks and feels dryer than the Sahara. (And did I mention the freaking PEELING??) I'm about to just give up on this altogether and go back to my old regime. It doesn't even seem worth it.

But before I throw this demon-medicine off of a cliff... ; in your opinion, should I just wait it out (maybe even just reschedule my pictures til it starts to work)? Should it even be hurting this bad or should I contact my doctor ASAP? I feel like I'm having some sort of allergic reaction or something... or is this completely normal and I'm just being a baby?