Tell me about tretinoin

[Houseplantmad]

I’ve seen it mentioned on multiple threads and it sounds like it’s effective. I’ve never heard of it. What is it, how do you use it and where do you get it please? Am I too old at 58 to start using it?

I’m 53 and use it. I bought it over the counter in Hong Kong, but I think mostly you need a prescription. You need to be super careful in the sun, and wear sunscreen. It certainly improves your complexion (well, it does mine). I use it about 3 x a week. It really depends on the strength though.

it’s basically a retinol cream. You put it on like a moisturiser, but only in very small amounts, avoiding the eyes, of course. I find I need a more rich moisturiser, otherwise the exfoliating effect fries my skin out too much.

Tretinoin is a type of retinoid which is Vitamin A. Retinoids have become popular in skincare products over the last five years as they are one of the few ingredients actually proven to be effective for anti ageing but over the counter options are normally a much weaker strength (you see ‘retinol’ used a lot). Many rather expensive creams and serums from known brands like Estée Lauder or Sunday Riley are sold through clever marketing and brand recognition rather than their proven ability to fight ageing. The actual ingredients are often the same as cheaper products. The latest scam are creams apparently designed for ‘menopausal skin’.

Tretinoin is powerful in that it essentially renews the surface of your skin (making it a good treatment for acne and pigmentation too), but this means it can be very drying and make it super sensitive to sun damage (undoing all your hard work and putting you at higher risk of skin cancer). Most people need to build up tolerance and there are different strengths (often 0.025, 0.05 and 0.1) to allow you to build this up. It’s a long term commitment and one some people either can’t be bothered with (if ageing not too important to them) or give up on (since endlessly peeling skin is not fun). There is a lot of advice on building tolerance online.

Tretinoin is only available in prescription in the UK, whereas in other parts of the world it is available at the pharmacy. For example I have bought Retirides, a Spanish brand, in Spain, and also ordered it online. I think you can also buy a Greek version in Greece. Traditionally in the UK to access tretinoin you had to see a private dermatologist which was very expensive. The companies Dermatica and Skin and Me disrupted this with their online skincare prescriptions. For a monthly subscription you can access tretinoin and these companies normally build your strength up gradually and are available to support you. IMO Skin and Me is better for very sensitive skin as they start the strength very, very low, Dermatica is better if you have already used tretinoin or are impatient.

You can then buy relatively basic other skincare products (cleansers and moisturisers), not necessarily from these companies, so be spending £15-£20 on a moisturiser rather than £50-£60 or even more.

I am 56 and have recently started a tretinoin blend with dermatica. I’m religiously using sun cream daily (Sam bunting tinted spf). I’m at the start of month 2 and think my skin looks and feels amazing. I had pretty good skin but a few fine lines and sun damage which are both improving. I’m using the dog and little else ie not resending foundation any more. Dermatica is good value I think.

If you want to try it OP here us a referral code which gives us both money off I think.
6DG4W1

Should have proofed. I’m using the spf and not much else (ie not much foundation). I’m definitely not using the dog! I am using a rich but relatively basic moisturiser (Liz Earle super skin)