Retinol: what is the point?

[NomNomNominativeDeterminism]

Is it worth persevering with over the counter retinol?

I used boots no.7 retinol night cream for a year and didn’t see any difference.

Then I used The Ordinary 2% retinoid emulsion for months and didn’t see any difference.

I really buy into the idea! But is there any point?
If you use it, what effect do you see? And what do you use?

I use the boots 1%, smoother blemish free skin, damps down all the brown patches I get from sun damage. I've very few lines despite being old. My skin has still sagged but then if course it might be better than it would have been without.

I’ve never used over the counter retinoids but if you want to see results either use a retinal (Medik8 is highly rated) or ideally, Tretinoin. I’ve used Dermatica for years and have definitely seen an improvement in my skin.

You need the proper prescription stuff, Tretinoin ,via Dermatica or Skin&Me or similar. The over the counter stuff is usually too weak to make a difference.

I’ve used prescription retinols for years. Over the counter isn’t strong enough in my opinion. But it’s a long term thing.

Thank you. Basic question - if you are in the UK, who prescribes it for you?

I use prescription tret. Aside from the fact it cleared my acne, the biggest difference is I don’t look any different after 5 years of using it. It’s been great for anti ageing

@NomNomNominativeDeterminism i use Dermatica. Happy to share a code that gives us both £10 credit. Your first months is only £2.90 and you can change the time between prescriptions - I think I have mine set at every 6 weeks.

https://www.dermatica.co.uk/referrer/MQ3RL7

If You do go down the tret route, take it very slowly as it is much more potent than retinols or retinals.

Unfortunately GPs wont prescribe it for anti ageing, so our only hope, apart from overpriced subscriptions, and online purchases from abroad which could be dodgy, is that it will be available over the counter in the U.K. the near future.

OTC retinols are atleast 10 times less effective than the prescription tret. So here is my routine that I follow with tretinoin:
Morning:
Using water to wash your face and micellar water
Sebamed clear face gel,
LRP spf
Evening:
LRP moisturizer,
Started with Tretinoin (0.025) from skinorac
Sebamed clear facial gel

Thank you all for advice. And thanks @TattiePants for the offer - I’m not ready to go down the subscription route yet.

I had terrible acne when I was younger, and nothing touched it, and eventually my GP prescribed me this new thing that was just coming in, to give it a try. I think it was Retin-A. There was nothing about building up tolerance. There may have been an instruction to use a small amount, but who ever did that? So I went back and said, no thanks, it’s making my face peel and burn and I have to wash it off so I can sleep.

It was the olden days and there was no internet to find out how things were supposed to work.

Does retinol make you more susceptible to uv damage? Sure I read this somewhere. Am too low maintenance for it but wish I could afford it!

Yes @Leoissun you need a strong SPF but that's a beauty basic anyway.

I think people get quite mixed up with retinol and retinoids, it's worth reading round the differences.

If you want to try Skin + Me, here’s my link (I get a credit and so do you, happy days)Link to skin and me

I’ve done all options. Used to get vitamin A from the doctor /nurse clinic I used for ipl sessions. That was 20 odd years ago. I’m not sure but I don’t think Tretinoin itself was that big initially so I was using whatever brand of vitamin A the derms/doctors sold at that time.

At some point I moved on to Obagi Tretinoin, once that was more prevalent. I started the online prescription service because I moved and it was inconvenient to get to the clinic. I’ve used both skin + me and dermatica.

I’ve recently gone back to obagi tretinoin as I like having full control over when I get it (I like the cost of the online prescribed retinoids but I would often forget to delay a delivery with skin + me and get sent a new one when I didn’t need it. The expiry date is far shorter than a tube of obagi so often I was paying for something I could no longer use).

I’ve been using the full strength for ages but I tend to only use it every 2 or 3 days.
Lots of dentists, dermatologist and skin clinics can prescribe it, as long as they have doctors working within the clinic. A lot of places that provide botox or laser services can prescribe it, if they stock a brand that sells it. I am in London though so maybe it’s easier to get here.

The prescription services are quite good, as they start you off very low so you can get used to it. I was too disorganised to manage the service but I wouldn’t dismiss it as an option if you can’t find anyone who can prescribe it. If you do try it don’t forget to wear your sunscreen. And as I said before - it’s a long term thing. I remember reading a comment by a surgeon, who had said ‘I can alway tell when a woman has been using vitamin A because of the quality of her skin’.

edited to add: once I’ve bought a tube from a clinic I can just drop in or phone to order a new tube, they have me on their system and I haven’t needed to see anyone to reorder.

You will have to use a SPF 50+ to protect your skin from UV, it's a must

I use Medik8 retinal. I started on number 3 and have built up, over probably 2 years, to number 10. I’m 46 and it’s definitely reduced my lines, brightened my skin and my boss at my new job thought I was a similar age to her - she’s 37, so I’m pretty happy with that.

I have used both dermatica and skin and me for the last 5 years, I have definitely seen an improvement in acne and fine lines . I like that the subscriptions build you up gradually - I still only used twice a week to begin with. I pause the subscriptions as I find a monthly tube actually lasts 2 months so at £25 a time I find it cost effective. Use a cheap vitamin c serum (any supermarket one) and spf 30 in the morning and a supermarket wash off cleanser at night so in all my routine is not too expensive .

What was the strength you were using?

They recommend you start on Crystal Retinal 3 which is 0.03% Retinal.

Retinal is stronger than Retinol.

I’ve built up to number 10 which is 0.1% Retinal. My next bottle will be number 20 which is 0.2%.

Their website is pretty good at explaining at all and recommending which number you start on. It’s not cheap, but I only use 1 pump per day and it lasts for ages.

Thanks for sharing. From when did you start?