Irritated red skin & closed comedones after 5-6 months on tret

My dermatologist prescribed me 0.025% tret in August 2024 for the milia I get under my eyes, but I can't seem to get consistent results.

Background on my skin: I'm a redhead (26F) with very fair skin. I've never had bad acne, just the occasional pimple, some closed comedones here and there, and milia around my eyes. My skin is relatively dry and it took me years to find First Aid Beauty products that work really well for me. I use their face cleanser every morning with First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream after as my moisturizer. I occasionally use Good Molecules niacinamide serum before moisturizer as well. I also have a 10% AHA serum I've liked in the past but I discontinued use once I started tret.

I also have seborrheic dermatitis on my scalp, ears, neck, and chest, and i've wondered if some of the closed comedones/bumpy texture I get around my temples could be sebderm related.

My Tret Journey: I started using tret cream in August every 3-4 days after showering at night. Less than a pea sized amount over dried moisturizer. By now I've upped it to every other day-ish. Sometimes it makes my skin feel instantly flawless and sometimes it seems to really irritate it and I need to back off. I'm really not sure what i'm doing wrong. I'm not absolutely religious about sunscreen but I do put it on before I leave the house in the morning.

I'm starting to feel like tret just isn't the thing for my sensitive pale skin and I should dial back to a simpler retinol and the AHA that I like. What do you think?