Style & Beauty
Tretinoin after 4 months...meh
Coffeetree · 14/03/2023 08:17
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?
So1invictus · 15/03/2023 06:33
doadeer · 14/03/2023 22:40
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?
That's right. 0.1 Tret is the highest percentage. I've heard Nadine Baggott talk about being able to use that percentage but the lower percentages tbh very much hold their own.
Adapalene 0.1 is (give or take) equivalent to 0.05% Tret.
@thelinkisdead I didn't mean you, I meant posters thinking they were on very high doses of tret.
Unfortunately some less than transparent manufacturers also like us to think their products contain more "retinol" than they actually do.
Rules of thumb-
If the product doesn't give you a percentage, it's probably not enough to make a huge difference.
0.3% is the most common decent enough entry grade percentage of retinol
If a product is granactive retinoid you need to divide the percentage by about 10 to get the actual percentage of active ingredient. The Ordinary were buggers for this- 2% etc on the bottle, then you realised it's granactive so really 0.2. (after being called out by various beauty and skincare writers they've now changed the wording on their packaging to be more honest)
Tret- nearest thing to pure Vitamin A. Lots of noughts on the tube.
TheOGCCL · 15/03/2023 09:24
Tret is just such a long game. When I first started it, about four years ago, I’d read that you might start to see a difference after a skin cycle or two, so 6-12 weeks. That didn’t happen to me at all, it took a year to see a difference and to get my regime right. And longer to see the full effects. I went through all sorts of stages, peeling but also a waxiness and excessive oiliness. I think some people would have given it up. I thought I already had quite good skin but when I compare my skin then to my skin now it’s dramatically different, and it’s also that it hasn’t deteriorated over that period. I really rate Dermatica, though I have also used Retirides from Spain.
Domesticdrama · 15/03/2023 14:12
Mercurial123 · 14/03/2023 10:06
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.
I'm also going to Thailand and want to buy some Tretinoin. I'm not in the UK so can't get a Skin and Me subscription. I currently use Differin with contains the retinoid Adapalene, so maybe my skin can also handle 0.05% but I'm not sure.
Mercurial123 · 15/03/2023 16:16
Domesticdrama · 15/03/2023 14:12
I'm also going to Thailand and want to buy some Tretinoin. I'm not in the UK so can't get a Skin and Me subscription. I currently use Differin with contains the retinoid Adapalene, so maybe my skin can also handle 0.05% but I'm not sure.
Mercurial123 · 14/03/2023 10:06
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.
Boots sell 0.025 and 0.05. They used to sell RetinA but now it's just a generic Tret.
Isabelle70 · 15/03/2023 17:31
I use Dermatica for my rosacea treatment and I am really pleased with the service and the condition of my skin.
I would like to see if I can change mine for a bit of anti-ageing and I will ask when I next do my set of photos. If you would like to try the first month for free, I have a code.
Head to www.dermatica.co.uk and checkout with code 3LW935
www.dermatica.co.uk/referrer/3LW935
Mine always lasts at least 5 weeks so I defer each subscription for a week.
1Wanda1 · 15/03/2023 18:13
I was with Skin & Me for 6 months, months 3-6 was on 0.015% tret, which I tolerated well and didn't seem to make any difference. Asked them twice to increase the concentration, which they declined, so I cancelled. I'm going to Spain soon and will buy the 0.025% in pharmacy there instead.
Coffeetree · 15/03/2023 18:53
Mercurial123 · 15/03/2023 16:16
Boots sell 0.025 and 0.05. They used to sell RetinA but now it's just a generic Tret.
Domesticdrama · 15/03/2023 14:12
I'm also going to Thailand and want to buy some Tretinoin. I'm not in the UK so can't get a Skin and Me subscription. I currently use Differin with contains the retinoid Adapalene, so maybe my skin can also handle 0.05% but I'm not sure.
Mercurial123 · 14/03/2023 10:06
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.
Boots sells Tret? Not over the counter, surely?
Coffeetree · 15/03/2023 18:55
1Wanda1 · 15/03/2023 18:13
I was with Skin & Me for 6 months, months 3-6 was on 0.015% tret, which I tolerated well and didn't seem to make any difference. Asked them twice to increase the concentration, which they declined, so I cancelled. I'm going to Spain soon and will buy the 0.025% in pharmacy there instead.
It's funny you say that, just yesterday when I asked to increase they initially declined, even though I sent them a photo of my face looking fine (as in, not peeling).
I wrote again asking them to reconsider, so they upped it to .02 but told me to be careful.
DoloresDelEriba · 15/03/2023 19:03
I've had Dermatica and Tret from an Andorra pharmacy online. Takes a little while to come but it's the real deal. I quite like the Dermatica one as it had Tretinoin, Niacinamide and Azelaic Acid which helped with fine lines but I also have a lot of sun damage, melasma etc and it was good for that. The pure tret (Retirides) is better for lines. But you do have to stick with it. And wear sunblock every day or you will end up with worse aging issues than before! If you google Andorra retirides it will come up. About £35 a tube, but last ages. Different strengths. Start low. Lots on youtube about Tret/retinol.
Mercurial123 · 16/03/2023 12:19
Coffeetree · 15/03/2023 18:53
Boots sells Tret? Not over the counter, surely?
Mercurial123 · 15/03/2023 16:16
Boots sell 0.025 and 0.05. They used to sell RetinA but now it's just a generic Tret.
Domesticdrama · 15/03/2023 14:12
I'm also going to Thailand and want to buy some Tretinoin. I'm not in the UK so can't get a Skin and Me subscription. I currently use Differin with contains the retinoid Adapalene, so maybe my skin can also handle 0.05% but I'm not sure.
Mercurial123 · 14/03/2023 10:06
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.
They do in Thailand.
MissHavishamsMouldyOldCake · 16/03/2023 12:31
It's a long game as a pp said. I started using tret in 2015. The subscription services didn't exist then so I bought some in Spain, started on the 0.025 strength and used that for two or three years before moving up to 0.05 and then on to 0.1. I'd give it more time if I were you, OP.
Slowgrowingelm · 16/03/2023 14:58
It’s a long term thing though isn’t it? I’ve been using it for about 10 years (retinoids first, then obagi tret, now skin + me). I recently caught up with friends from school, first time in many, many years. My skin looks amazing by comparison.
They are all in a small town, they don’t ‘do’ anything to their faces - I use botox - we’re all almost 50. I was quite shocked actually, I think of myself as usually looking quite tired and worn out most of the time but there was a marked difference in skin quality between us all.
KittytheHare · 16/03/2023 15:10
Ancientdecs · 15/03/2023 17:43
Sorry to hijack, would anyone know if the boots offerings are available in ROI as well? Am desperate to try tret but can't figure out how to get it over here, dermatica and skin & me don't ship to ROI.
@Ancientdecs I’m in Rep of Ireland also, and successfully got tret from this crowd. Delivery was €10 so in future I’ll order a few tubes together. Tret itself was €19. Very efficient service.
Ancientdecs · 19/03/2023 11:14
KittytheHare · 16/03/2023 15:10
@Ancientdecs I’m in Rep of Ireland also, and successfully got tret from this crowd. Delivery was €10 so in future I’ll order a few tubes together. Tret itself was €19. Very efficient service.
Ancientdecs · 15/03/2023 17:43
Sorry to hijack, would anyone know if the boots offerings are available in ROI as well? Am desperate to try tret but can't figure out how to get it over here, dermatica and skin & me don't ship to ROI.
Thank you so much!!!
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