Tretinoin after 4 months...meh

[Coffeetree]

I've got a Skin and Me subscription for a tretinoin night cream.

I've given it four months but it's just...okay. Some flakiness which has died down. I tolerate it well with a nice day cream. No great glow or transformation.

Should I give it more time or just go back to the cheaper AHA? Any experiences?

[Mercurial123]

What strength Tret did they prescribe. It took 6 months to make a noticeable difference for me. I use 0.05%. I've been using it for years and love it. I buy mine on holiday from Thailand.

[Coffeetree]

Mine is .015%. That's quite low!

[dontgobaconmyheart]

If you've acclimated to it I'd email and ask them to up the amount and go from there.

I've always found them really helpful and responsive in that respect.

[madamecake]

I’d definitely ask if you can increase the strength. I only started to notice any results after moving (gradually!) up to 0.1 %. I use it nightly and would say sometimes I’m too glowy and just look greasy, but my skin tolerates it well and fine lines have definitely reduced.

[cocksstrideintheevening]

I'm on 0.12 since December and am now noticing a difference, don't need a foundation anymore, mine is dermatica, I have two other things in it too, azaelic acid and something else.

[cocksstrideintheevening]

0.012!

[thelinkisdead]

I have just upped mine (Dermatica) to 0.2 as my 0.1 was great but I still had the odd spot crop up (my retinoid is adapalene which targets breakouts as well as fine lines). I’ve had zero spots since upping the prescription but my skin has had to get used to it again (some burning, lots of flakiness and it’s only just rectifying after about 3 weeks). Once it’s settled, it’ll be perfectly smooth and I won’t need foundation (just a little touché eclait under my eyes). My skin has never been so clear and even. I think you need to up yours!

[Coffeetree]

Thanks everyone, I've just sent through that request to increase the percentage.

Top tip, if you go to cancel your subscription, they'll give you a discount!

[Mercurial123]

@thelinkisdead

I have just upped mine (Dermatica) to 0.2 as my 0.1 was great but I still had the odd spot crop up (my retinoid is adapalene which targets breakouts as well as fine lines). I’ve had zero spots since upping the prescription but my skin has had to get used to it again (some burning, lots of flakiness and it’s only just rectifying after about 3 weeks). Once it’s settled, it’ll be perfectly smooth and I won’t need foundation (just a little touché eclait under my eyes). My skin has never been so clear and even. I think you need to up yours!

I thought 0.1 was the highest?

[Donnashair]

I have cancelled mine and am going to try dermatica.

Skin and me said the highest they will go to is 0.009%. I don’t have sensitive skin or anything and can’t work out why they won’t go higher. I also think it’s quite expensive.

I have a months worth on the way, so when that’s almost up I will try dermatica.

Though I am tempted to try Geek and glow retinol as I love their Vit C serum

[superplumb]

Did nothing for me either. I used it for a year amd worked myself up to a strong strength. I now use geek and gorgeous retinol which is nice with no irritation. It's a dupe for medik8

[Keroppi]

Has anyone used Boots? Saw in store they prescribe retinol too now. I also didn't get much success from skin and me

[Bubblepanda]

Hi I have tried both Skin and Me and Dermatica. Dermatica was definitely my favorite and they were happy to increase my Tret when requested. I got lazy and didn't use it for a while, recently tried again and my skin wasn't happy and started to peel so I have asked them to reduce it temporarily. If you do want to give it a try I have a code VRGY (discounted for you but I also get a referral) I would definitely recommend it. They ask you to check in regularly and amend if needed. Good luck with it

[Cotswoldmama]

Tret takes a while to see results it's a long game I'd say at least 6 months. I'm with skin+me and I'm sticking to 0.027% I got up to 0.03% but found it too strong for my skin. I've heard of some people getting up to 0.06 with skin+me. But it's gradual or you'll get a lot of peeling and sensitivity. I've been with them for nearly 3 years now, it took a year to get to 0.03% but because my skin still has some sensitivity I've decided to stick to the prescription I'm on and not increase it. I read this interesting article about tret:

www.dearbrightly.com/blog/are-higher-strengths-of-tretinoin-always-better/

If anyone wants to try skin+me and get first month free just p&p £3.50 here's my code:

www.skinandme.com/?promocode=LAURENS5YP3

[PollyIndia]

I'm skin and me and I'm 0.1% tret. I'm actually on a pause for a bit as I had lots to use up and a bottle of the Caroline Hirons skin rocks retinol too. I also didn't see very obvious results with skin and me tbh, even on 0.1%. But maybe my expectations were too high!

[lindyloo57]

I use tret I buy abroad, I can't use on my neck as it's too irritating, so I brought the N07 retinol hand cream to use on my neck and chest thinking it will less strong then tret, well its rubbish, I've had no reaction, I expected a little, I would think there's no retinol in it at all, waste of money.

[CaptainMorgansMistress]

Has anyone using Tret had an issue with dry and sore eyes? Actual eyes not the skin around them?
I don’t use it in on my eye area but since moving up to 0.025% with dermatica my eyes are definitely much drier.

[So1invictus]

I'm on 0.05 (I think people are getting confused with their noughts btw!) and it took a good 6/8 months before I looked in the mirror and thought "god my skin looks great". It's not going to look 20 years younger on tret- it will just be the best skin FOR your age.
I never peeled or flaked but I had been using retinol for a few years first- 0.3 then going up to a 1%.

[So1invictus]

@lindyloo57

I use tret I buy abroad, I can't use on my neck as it's too irritating, so I brought the N07 retinol hand cream to use on my neck and chest thinking it will less strong then tret, well its rubbish, I've had no reaction, I expected a little, I would think there's no retinol in it at all, waste of money.

The N7 hand cream is 0.3 so entry level retinol.

[lindyloo57]

@So1invictus its just I would of expected a little irritation I couldn't even use the The ordinary one on my chest or neck.

[Rebel2]

@So1invictus

I'm on 0.05 (I think people are getting confused with their noughts btw!) and it took a good 6/8 months before I looked in the mirror and thought "god my skin looks great". It's not going to look 20 years younger on tret- it will just be the best skin FOR your age.
I never peeled or flaked but I had been using retinol for a few years first- 0.3 then going up to a 1%.

Definitely that

My skin is clear and no spots which is a miracle in itself but for me it's that it looks the same, as in no older than it did when I first started using skin and me

[doadeer]

Depends what you're using around it too. If you have enough hydrating products to give glow.

I alternate between 0.05 and 0.1 - I don't like 0.1 over the winter when it's really cold as my skin gets dry.

What else do you use in your routine?

[thelinkisdead]

Definitely not confusing my noughts: 0.3% adapalene which is a retinoid

[doadeer]

I believe Tretinoin only goes to 0.1.

Adapalene is a different form of vitamin A. I thought this was used more to treat acne prone skin and Tret is for anti aging?

[Coffeetree]

@doadeer

Depends what you're using around it too. If you have enough hydrating products to give glow.

I alternate between 0.05 and 0.1 - I don't like 0.1 over the winter when it's really cold as my skin gets dry.

What else do you use in your routine?

I use nivea soft and olive oil, sometimes petroleum jelly if it's really cold out.

Thanks for all this feedback. Yes I think my percentage is too low. We'll see if they up it. Otherwise I'll cancel and see if I can buy it from abroad.