How quickly did you notice a difference with tretinoin?

[HermioneWeasley]

Because I started last week (0.025% I think) and I’ve used it twice and I feel like my skin looks better already,

I assumed it would take weeks if not months to see a difference.

same strength, about 4 weeks and I can see a difference in skin texture and some sun damage. When I wear foundation my skin looks good.

Usually skin looks worse in the first few weeks as you tend to get sone purging/redness/dryness. Ive been using it for years and years now but I think it took a couple of months to see real, noticeable difference.

What brand is worth getting?

Over a year and I'm not sure I can see a difference. It's no worse though, so maybe that is all I can hope for.

I wouldn't know where to start with this. I have some starter retinol serum but would love an affordable tretinoin recommendation.

About 4 weeks for me. Im
about 2 yrs in and on .1%

I was with Klira but moved to Uncouth as half the price. Pay £24pm. Have a referral code if wanted .

I was similar in that I started noticing a difference in skin texture in particular basically immediately. I'm still in the early stages (about 3 weeks in) and continuing to see gradual improvement. I have had some purging and dry skin as well though, which hopefully is going to subside soon.

Same here 😬 I peel every couple of months, too - then I have to stop using it for a week or so while lying to everyone that I have eczema. The week off results in renewed wrinkles, and here we go again.

My face aged so incredibly quickly, though, I expect it would be a lot worse if I weren't using tret. Some days it really does look significantly smoother. Then it peels again ...

I dont think this should be happening, especially not after so long. What strength are you using? You would be better using the lowest strength, switching to 2-3 times a week and using the sandwich method. Ive never had peeling like this and have been using Tret for 10 years

I buy Tretin cream direct from All Day Chemist. Its $5 a 30g tube but you do pay quite high p&p, about $20. I buy in bulk along with Azaleic Acid and its massively cheaper. I couldn't justify the £25 a month or so that Skin & Me and suchlike were charging and I prefer the TretinA formulation. I had been using Tretinoin for years though so I knew what I was doing and what my optimum strength was. It might be worth getting the low price intro offers with Skin &Me or Dermalogica then switching to direct buying when you know how your skin copes.

Thank you for replying, I will have a look at Dermalogica as I have used their products before. I do have sensitive skin. X

Thanks everyone for your replies

I'm up to 0.1% but have dropped back down to 0.5% this month (I'm peeling now). My ME-CFS does bring intermittent skin symptoms; I suspect the two things don't play well together! I've reduced my other skincare right down to olive oil and water, currently having issues with sunscreen too.

I probably ought to stop the tret - but want to slow down the wrinkling! Planning a slow & gentle deep cleanse tomorrow. Wish me luck 😖

0.1 is pretty high and more strength isnt necessarily better with tretinoin. The goal is to use the highest strength that your skin can comfortably tolerate long term. Its sounds like you're spending a lot of time with an impaired skin barrier which will be undoing all the work of the Tret and could make your skin much worse
Research has found that:
0.025%, 0.05%, and 0.1% tretinoin all improve photoaging and acne. 0.1% may work a little faster but the difference isn't dramatic over years. Its the continuity that counts not the strength. Id honestly try going back to 0.025 after you repair your skin barrier. LRP Cicaplast is good for this.

I would recommend using the lowest strength of 0.025% if you have sensitive skin - the higher strength doesn’t automatically give better results.

There was a study done showing very little difference in the results between 0.1% and 0.025% after almost a year of use, but the group using the high strength reported more irritation.

Just as an aside, dont forget to use it on the back of your hands as well as face and neck. My hands had started ageing quite a bit and the tret transformed them in a matter of days.