Broken skin barrier/Tret/photo

[twiddlingthumbs69]

Be warned. This is me with a broken skin barrier after using Tret.

Started on 0.5% then moved up to 1% after five months.

At first I thought it was just skin sensitivity and as I was seeing good results I continued.

Two weeks ago I woke up like this.

It's sore, weeping and scabby. I can't tolerate anything on it apart from Epaderm.

Tried using Vaseline but that seemed to make it more crusty.

Obviously I stopped using Tret for 2 weeks and gradually it calmed down. The redness was still there but the skin was dry.

Started using 0.5% last night but literally just round my eyes and it's totally flared up again.

So, the moral of the story is, if you're getting excessive stinging or acne like spots after 5 months, stop using Tret for a while. I didn't get any initial purging when I first started so thought I was tolerating it well. Lesson learned.

I won't use tret now until my skin is fully healed. Which is a bummer as I was seeing really good results.

Just thought I'd put this out there

I won't use tret now until my skin is fully healed.
I don't know what tret is really. Only heard of it on here. But surely if you've reacted this much then never using it again might be a better idea than just letting it heal then cracking on again

Were you on a subscription like Dermatica , who advise and monitor you, or were you doing your own thing? I found 0.1% too strong , and I use it 4-5 nights a week followed by moisturiser.
if the skin starts getting sore I use Sudocrem or Vaseline and don’t use the tret for a while.

I'd be complaining very strongly to your provider, that percentage is ridiculously high to start on.

You also should avoid using it around your lips and eyes because it migrates

It states very clearly not to use around the eyes and lips as this could happen.

@Bignanna yes it's from Dermatica. Entirely my fault, I can't blame anyone else.

Was going really well with it then this happened.

Strangely enough it seemed to all go wrong when I started using Cicalfate but that's just a coincidence.

Will cut right back now

@GreyBlackBay I did initial start using skin and me at a far lower rate before moving up to 0.5. I've been using tret for a year but only moved up to 0.01% four months ago

I've never heard of it. What is it used for? Not eczema I'm guessing.

Skin texture, wrinkles, lines, ageing

Ouch that looks quite the flare up, you must be feeling fed up OP. I know nothing about using tret myself, but Ive heard it can be harsh.

I can recommend the blue Doublebase cream to help with healing your skin and repairing the barrier. It's a wonder cream and I've been using it on my face following a skin flare up.

It a vitamin A derivative, a stronger form of retinol. Its used to reduce wrinkles and stop new ones forming, acne reduction basically most things that are involved in ageing.

It does need to be treated with kid gloves though. I've bee using it for around 28 months and still have days off.

I think this a good reminder that it's not something you can just buy and apply. You're not supposed to use it around the eyes or lips and you need to use at least a factor 30 daily, most people use a factor 50 as it gives factor 30 if you don't use enough.

I've cancelled my subs as I'm happy with my skin now and I still have about 4 containers waiting to be used.

@SingingSands yes, feel really down at the moment. Looks awful so feel really ugly. I've got quite a big day tomorrow as well so praying it goes down a bit.
Thanks for the tip with the Doublebase, I haven't heard of that particular variety of it before, will get it right now x

@CharlotteCChapel you're absolutely right!
Although I was religious in using SPF50 I completely ignored the warning signs, thinking "it'll be fine" HA! Such an idiot!

I had this happen on my chest when I went from using the ordinary retinol for a year, then brought ( retrieves) from Spain, 0.05 , I still can't tolerate it on my chest now after 3 years, so just don't use it there, just on my face.

Dermatica is very good at monitoring progress with tret, I tried the 0.1, found it too strong, then went back to 0.05%. They ask for photos to assess every 3 months and give advice if needed. Until the higher dose is tried, it’s impossible to know if it’s going to be tolerated. I would also advise OP not to use too much- two pumps of tret is enough for the whole face.

So sorry to see/hear this! As someone who has used Tretinoin for years, I can assure you that as a starting strength, 0.5% is just much too strong for most people’s skin! No wonder your skin is so unhappy. Many cannot even tolerate this high prescription after longterm, continuous use. Your skin will settle, obviously, but be pretty sore and miserable in the mean time. Please don’t give up on Tretinoin, as at the right strength and avoiding areas you find to be hyper sensitive to it (eg the whole eye orbital area, nostrils, mouth and upper lip in some cases such as your own) you will definitely get the results you want. You could restart once your skin is back to normal on 0.1% and just be consistent and patient for results. I started low, and years later (with a healthy, sturdy skin barrier) I’m now up to 0.8% tret… still lower than yours, but with zero problems. We are all different and your provider, Dermatica, will surely adjust. My advice when skin feels even a tiny bit sensitive or uncomfortable to a retinoid formula is to miss a day or two, add more moisture and then restart, but definitely at a much lower strength that your skin can tolerate. I use Monderma and am very happy with their follow up. Good luck.

A good moisturiser with urea on that once the flare up has gone down would be good too. I've been using The Ordinary HA Factors with photoceramides. It's a bit porridge like but it calmed down dry patches straight away. It has 5% urea (dry heel creams have 10% urea) so it is very moisturising and healing.

That looks so sore, I feel so sorry for you. (No advice as am wizened hag)

OP dermatica don't offer tret of 1% that would be crazy high. They only offer between 0.015 - 0.1%

@Luminousalumnus yep sorry, got my percentages mixed up, I meant 0.01%

@BlackCat25 I did actually start on 0.0025%. ( think my decimals are mixed up, but the lowest anyway)
I've built up to 0.01% over a year.
I'm stopping completely now for the time being.

Pharmacist has given me some antibiotic cream as the scabs are yellow so will see how that goes.

You're right though, in hindsight that strength was too high but it's the speed my skin fell to bits that amazed me, literally overnight.

…also apologies here! Typed the percentages in my previous post in error and meant; try starting at 0.01% Tret (I’m at 0.08% after several years - not boasting! My skin tolerates it very well). I’m definitely not on 0.8%!!

@BlackCat25 it's made mathematicians of all of us 😂

@twiddlingthumbs69 not sure you're up for any new moisturiser suggestions, but La Roche Posay Cicaplast Baume has been a lifesaver for me when I've messed up my skin barrier - it was the only cream that didn't sting and helped a lot with healing

@lovehatesummer thank you. I've actually got some, just terrified to use it. Will give it a few days then go back to that. It is lovely and soothing