ggirl - that retin a cream from the dodgy site

[faustina]

WOW. and thank you! It's amazing - made a really really huge difference and I've only used it five or six times. So grateful to you!

0.5% would melt your face!

Faustina - 0.5mg in 1g is the same as 0.5mg in 1000mg therefore strength is 0.05%

(maths genius)

Wow you lot are good at numbers - thanks for pointing it out, will now get some of the cheaper one

Im not enjoying my dry face at the mo.

I've ordered mine now so will report back once I've tried it. I was sizzling but it wasn't good for me so I'm hoping this will help my aged complexion.

iggle - thank you - you are truly a maths genius

I still have that sizzle stuff, unopened, if anyone would like me to send it on - just paypal me the postage cost. I'm not going to tempt fate and try anything else.

Still no peeling - perhaps my face is a weeny bit redder than normal, but I have rosacea so it's not exactly a horrible new development. nothing to put me off keeping on with the retin a.

It is normal to experience dry skin and redness/soreness to varying degrees, during the first few weeks of using retin a. Also purging ( yuk ). Faustina, I think you are lucky not to have experienced any.

Apparently most people who persist, get over these problems after a few weeks, and the real benefits often aren't seen for several months. A lot of people can't handle the side effects, which can be reduced or avoided by breaking yourself in to the product very slowly, and give up before the benefits are seen.

I used it again last night ( 2 days break instead of 3 ). Skin is a little dry and sore this morning. Will definately wait three nights now til the next lot. I'm in it for the long haul!

I haven't had much reaction at all . Some flakiness and once I obviously put too much undre the eye area and looked a bit haggard for a few days.
Other than that no ill effects.

I'm getting a fair amount of dryness and a bit of soreness despite only using it every three days, and mixing it in with a big dollop of moisturiser.

My face has been feeling dry for the last 4 days, bit flaky looking for the kast 2-3 days.

I dont like it! I want to know how long it will take to get back to normal, im n0t using any more until its normal again.

Oooh...A retin-A thread! I've been using it since my early 20's (Canada, prescription from my GP for stubborn mild acne). It has been a Godsend. I'm 35 now and I frequently get compliments on my skin from random people (means more than I can possibly articulate as I struggled with my skin for so long). It was a bit of trial-and-error at first to get the right carrier lotion and the right strength but now I wouldn't give it up for anything. I use it at night only, wash with a mild cleanser (cetaphil), moisturize, wait 30 minutes and then apply.

The gel is meant for acne-prone, oily skin and the creams are better for anti-aging applications. I wouldn't put the gel on my wrinkle-prone areas or naso-labial folds but I think the cream should work for acne and wrinkles.

For those of you that are having problems with irritation and excessive flakiness ( a little is normal at first but it shouldn't feel sore ), try going down in concentration. The prescription gel I use has three different strengths; I was accidentally given the medium-strength version once (normally use the gentlest one) and it was like night and day...extremely irritating.

SUNSCREEN. SUNSCREEN. SUNSCREEN. SUNSCREEN. SUNSCREEN. Can't emphasize enough. It's your friend (smile).

or !

Interesting post, thanks! When you say carrier lotion, do you mean that you mix it in with something else before applying it to your face? That's what I've been doing with moisturiser. I wouldn't want to to apply it directly to my skin.

Do you apply it every single night? And how long initially did it take before your dryness subsided and you started seeing good results?

The gel is meant for acne-prone, oily skin and the creams are better for anti-aging applications

Its all meant for acne! Probably important to remember that its prime use is for acne and the anti aging properties are incidental.

Yes I too am keen to know how long the dryness lasts?

Whilst I'm keen to see anti ageing results, I'm primarily using it because I have awful oily congested skin. Not acne, but stubborn blackheads everywhere, a few hormonal spots, lots of discolouration, and generally crap skin.

Quinn (it's me MessyTerrier). By carrier lotion I mean gel vs. cream and yes, it will clear blackheads and clogged pores and even out your skin...it flushes out and unblocks all the congestion (be patient...I think it took about 6-8 weeks at the beginning).

Amber I think you're right. I tried the creams and found that most of them were a bit too greasy-feeling for my oily skin. Perhaps there are some newer formulations that are better absorbed? I only had a tiny bit of flakiness for the first couple of weeks and then it went away, but then I have (had) very oily skin so perhaps didn't have as much of this as drier skin types might.

delurking to ask some questions

I opted for the gel (big thanks to amberleaf) it is more like a cream but is definitely working doing something as I am now peeling.

so I wondered what people are doing to combat / hide the peeling?

also, can anyone recommend a good spf face cream? I have never bothered with this but as I am doing this and the SA peel I want to be careful. I don't want to buy just anything as I am concerned about clogging my skin up again. I also find some of the tinted moisturizers to heavy on my skin plus I'm very pale.

I'm just spacing out the application days to combat the peeling. As soon as I notice my skin getting dry and slightly flakey, I stop until it goes back to normal. I'm putting the cream on every three days generally. I'm also mixing it in with my moisturiser, rather than applying it neat.

La Roche Posay Anthelios is a really good sunscreen for the face. You can buy it in Boots.

I've started to use mac prep and prime spf 50 on cybbos reccy..it's fab!

Yeah, I use that, it is only primer I'll ever use, with the added bonus of the spf. Either of those are great, the MAC one particularly if you have oily skin.

Hi everyone

I havent used it again since it made my face feel really dry, it took about 6-7 days to feel 'normal' and im a bit wussy about using it again!

I think if I use it 3 days apart I should be ok I hope I just really didnt like that dry rough feeling.

CutItOut I used looooads of coconut oil as often as possible to combat the dryness.

my peeling is a bit red and a little stingy sore when I put the moisturiser on tonight but I have to say my skin is looking better.

I might give the coconut oil a go but I wonder if it will give me cravings as I love coconut

thanks for spf tips I am off to have a look at boots as I have lots of points that need using

Hi amber- I've had no terrible dryness from using it ..wonder why you have?

were you using larger than a pea sized dollop?

Amber, perhaps try buffering it with a moisturiser too, to start with? I am definately still getting the benefit of the retin-a, doing this, without any horrible side effects.

Last time I put it on I used moisturiser first, I think it was probably because it was only the 2nd usage and only 2 days since the first use!

ggirl, I only used a pea sized bit! a tiny pea sized bit the first time too!

My face really did feel horrible though, it had been lovely from using the virgin coconut oil and I thought 'oh no ive ruined my face'