Tretinoin making skin worse?

[Hotchocfudgecake]

Has anyone else had this?

I started using tret from dermatica at the beginning of September, started off with 0.015%. I took it really easy, got quite a lot of purging and skin irritation on my cheek bones but I’ve been persevering and eventually got up to daily use with no irritation but regular hormonal spots on my chin.

When the really cold weather hit my skin flared up again quite badly with spots and irritation. I contacted dermatica and they advised moving on to my new tube which is 0.025%, but to go easy and buffer, which I did but have had huge irritation on my cheek bones again, which every time it happens is taking nearly a week of no tret to calm down again. My skin feels so sore for days after using as well.

I had always suffered badly with adult acne and had finally managed to get it under control with a prescription from my GP of Epiduo, which is a combo of adapene and benzoyl peroxide. I obviously can’t use that now with tret and I’m definitely getting more spots again which I absolutely hate.

I decided to try tret for anti aging as I’m 37 and have 11’s but generally ok, prevention. I can’t say it’s helped at all, certainly no glow or improvement in skin texture, it’s actually much worse.

Has anyone else had this or have any advice? I’m thinking it’s just not working and am ready to abandon- I know it takes time but it’s only made my skin worse.

Current routine
AM
LRP dermo cleanser
Medik8 vit C serum
LRP tolerating fluide moisturiser
Anthelious super light spf 30

PM
LRP dermo cleanser
Tret or LRP HA serum
LRP tolerating fluide moisturiser

Currently double moisturising of an evening to buffer if I use tret.

Sorry for the essay!

I use skin and me, I feel like the initial concentration you're using is quite high? I think mine was 0.006 at the start. I have had a bit of dryness/peeling around the nose and mouth and I can't say I think my skin's any better but it's only been three months. Have you tried cutting down on the other things you use, just as it seems a lot for your skin to take at once. I literally just wash and moisturise in morning, then wash, tret, moisturiser at night.

Oh and factor 30 after moisturiser in the morning of course!

Actually that's broadly what you're doing, ignore me. It just looks a lot written down!

I wouldn't use vit c whilst using tret if your skin is sensitive which it appears to be. I'd let the tret work and my skin acclimate then use the vit c as well.

The glow took 6 months for me tbh.

Also, agree with Pp you started really quite high.
I've been on it for over a year and only just gotten to 0.021% with azelaic and niamicide.

I agree. I think it's too high and I also wouldn't use any other 'actives' whilst getting used to it.

I still get the occasional irritation and I'm on 0.015 (along with azaleic acid and zinc) a year on. But it's occasional only and usually coincides with bad diet/ sleep!

Perhaps cutr out the vit c and see if it changes anything, or add in something more hydrating as a moisturiser- both of the LRP fluid and the SPF would be too light for me their own and my skin barrier needs more (but I have dry skin).

I gave up on tret after (i think) about 7 months as my skin stayed worse than it was before I'd started and just felt so sore and dry all of the time no matter what I tried (eg easing in alternating days, very low %, buffering before and after. I got fed up of the discomfort.

Factor 30 is nowhere near enough, you need at least a very good factor 50 or you'll absolutely destroy your skin.
Vit C can be harsh on skin
Cleansers can be hard on skin.
I'd sack this off in order to protect your skin's barrier, which I'm surprised you havent already destroyed.
The noly thing which makes a difference to 11s is Botox I'm afraid, find a good practitioner and get it 2x yearly. Then you can use nivea soft, vit c, factor 50 and your prescription and you'll look perfect. If you are Cheshire/Leicestershire or Derbyshire i can reccoan amazing nurse Botox lady.

When you're using Tret try to keep your routine as simple as possible. Honestly just Cleanser, Tret, moisturizer, SPF. That's all. Moisture is your best friend when using Tret.

Also I don't use it everyday, 3 times a week max and never consecutively. You can do this for as long as you want. You will notice that after some time your skin will get so use to it that you can eventually use it everyday.

Tret isn't a magic potion and it can take months, even years to even see slight improvement.

Also, some people are simply not tolerant of Tret etc. I have the hide of a rhino, bot the other 3 females in my family have the skin of a peach!

Hmmm ok, food for thought.

I think I started on the lowest concentration you can get- I’ve only gone up in concentration because I ran out and I asked advice from dermatica and they said the tube was probably out of date and to go on to the next one which is 0.025.

I can cut the vit c, I’ve been using it for years so didn’t think it would be an issue. But that’s fine.

I know tret won’t help with 11’s, I’m using it as anti aging for the rest of my skin.

I’ve also been using LRP lipikar balm for sensitive skin as a moisturiser recently which is much richer than the toleraine and has helped.

My skin seems fine until I put tret on, I have it a week off to let all the irritation subside, put moisturiser on and a tiny bit of tret followed by more moisturiser and the next day have irritation.

Re spf my understanding was that in winter spf is adequate? I have previously used skinceuticals ultra facial uv defence spf 50 which breaks me out terribly. I’ve really struggled to find an spf which doesn’t make me break out terribly. If anyone has any suggestions I’d be grateful.

To clarify, my skin was fine irritation wise until the really cold spell hit, but I’ve been suffering with breakouts which had all stopped and wasn’t an issue when I started using tret.

I think maybe I need to go back down to 0.015 for much longer or just pack it up and use what works acne wise, which really is much more of a concern to me than anti ageing.

Not sure about the breakouts, sorry but you need a really thick moisturiser to counteract the tightness and dryness that comes from tret. Eucerin Urea Repair is the only one I've found that comes close. The LaRoche Posay moisturisers are very popular but for me I found they just weren't moisturising enough.

It sounds like your skin barrier is compromised, which is why all the irritation. I've been there!

I know you say your skin recovers if you stop tret for a week but I suspect it's still fragile. Also even though a HA serum is meant to be good for hydration, it can actually make matters worse if you're already dehydrated and don't have a sufficiently occlusive layer to lock in the moisture.

My suggestion (disclaimer not a dermatologist etc) would be to stop all actives including the vitamin c for at least a month and really focus on fixing your skin barrier. I'd add in some ceramides based serums/moisturiser - I've used the LRP before and while it's light, it wasn't moisturising enough for me, especially over winter. Also suggest a salicylic based blemish oil for spot treatment if needed!

Products I use and would rec (slight pricey and am sure cheaper ones are out there, I just like these and there are usually discount codes!) - Dr jart ceramidin serum, Ren evercalm day cream (will be thick if you're used to LRP but absorbs well) and night balm, Votary blemish oil. I've heard good things about the Cerave range but have not tried myself.

Spf - have just discovered a Korean spf50 from Beauty of Joseon which is beautifully light, non irritating and absorbs well.

Good luck! I know how frustrating it can be to have irritated skin.

I'd definitely cut the Vitamin C for now. When my skin is irritated from the tret, I find cheapy E45 to be the best thing.
Is your sunscreen mineral or chemical? You might be better off trying a mineral sunscreen.
I wouldn't cleanse in the morning, just splash with some warm water.

Nivea sun Matt is F50, cheap, and is the only one that doesn't break me out.
I think the same as pp that the treat dose is high for the time you have been on it. I'm just up to that strength on month 7 with skin and me

I do think tret is worth persevering with. I'm 51 and my skin is smooth - though I do have forehead lines, laugh lines etc, but my skin quality itself is very good for my age. Most people in real life put me at mid to late 30's, and I think the past decade or so of on/off tret use has contributed to that. I am on the max dose now (0.1%), plus niacinamide and azelaic acid and have been diligent with use for the last year or so.
When I was starting out, I found the Hotandflashy youtube channel very helpful. Bear in mind though that a lot of youtubers have the non subscription types of tret supplied through their dermatologists, and wouldn't then normally apply it every day, especially at first. I followed that advice and applied twice a week for a month, then three times a week for a month, etc. It's in the subscription companies interests to have us apply daily and need a new tube every month. I use Skin + Me and have pushed the deliveries back when needed.

What did you decide to do OP? I’m in the same position - had acne well under control with Epiduo but wanted to start tret to help combat aging. Although it’s not caused irritation it’s made my acne so much worse so I’m on the verge of giving up. Does anyone have any idea how long you’d need to wait between stopping tret and restarting Epiduo?

LRP dermo cleanser made me look like a teenager. I never had so many spots.
After I stopped using it it slowly went back to normal.

I would try a rich face cream with ceramides as that helps to build up your skin barrier and also niacinamide as that does the same.

I should add that Dermatica started me on Tretinoin 0.025% / Hydroquinone 4% cream and after a month of every other day I am moving to daily

Very interested as I’m using Epiduo for acne - it’s not gone but definitely helps - but had been thinking about trying Skin+Me again.

Last time I used Skin+Me I think there was some small positive effect but then once it hit winter I was getting dry skin and peeling (I never have this!) so stopped. I don’t remember what my spots were like though.

I cannot use vit c together with tretinoin, together they irritate my skin too much. Cut it out and see if it makes a difference?

I've seen on here that some people just can't get on with Dermatica and once they make the switch to Skin&Me they get on much better with it ( and vice versa).