Using Retin-a Cream/gel In Face For A More Youthful Skin
- Thread starter Oriol
- Start date
Yes. It does work but its a long process and there is an initial period in which I call the ugly stage. Its when you are first adjusting to it. Generally your skin will look even worse than before you started. This can sometimes last months which is why most people end up dropping it when they start looking like sh*t. Its different with everyone but most of the time you will initially have some skin peeling, redness, irritation dry skin and breakouts sometimes including cystic acne (even if you dont previously suffer from acne). But this passes. The best way to use it is to begin slowly and use it EOD then work yourself up to everynight once you feel you are tolerating it more. Always use it at night as it makes you ultra sensitive to the sun so you MUST wear a sunscreen of at least 30SPF and avoid too much direct sunlight or you will end up damaging your skin more. You will need a really good moisturiser when using it.
If you want to avoid some of the irritation then lay a very thin layer of moisturiser on your cleansed skin before applying it. This does not ruin the effectiveness. Dont apply directly to the eye area. Once applied you can put moisturiser over top and spread around the eye area which in turn will spread some of it without having to apply it directly. A pea sized amount will do your whole face. Less is more with Retin A.
If you want to go one step further use a Vitamin C serum in the mornings, it increases collagen production. But IMO you are better to make your own as L-Absorbic acid is very unstable and generally most products you buy will have been sitting on a warehouse shelf for ages and therefore by the time you get it it has partly oxidised. Also for best effectiveness the PH of the serum should be 2-3. I have brought various brands over the years and have PH tested them and found them to be quite high - which pretty much makes them useless. I have been making my own for over a year now and found it to be more effective than anything ive ever brought, and at a fraction of the price once you have the ingredients (I also sell it to my friends which helps recover the cost). Im happy to share how to make a good one if its something you are interested in.
Also a very cheap way to get better skin is Aloe Vera - not putting it on your face, but by eating the gel found inside the leaf. It increases collegen production - if you google it you will find the study done on it. (Dont ever eat one you buy from a shop as regardless of what they say they are NEVER pure and always have a preservative) You only need to eat about 2gm, which is next to nothing. A decent plant can last you a long time, I fillet mine, remove the aloe latex with a papertowel and cut the gel into the right weight, and store it in the fridge back in the skin of the plant wrapped in clingwrap.
I realise your question was just about Retin A but thought that other info may be of use to you. If you have any questions id be happy to help. Personally I dont want to age (even tho its inevitable) so its something I have spent alot of time researching.
If its wrinkles you are wanting to get rid of then try botox lol. Ive been using it (only round my eyes) as a preventative for about 5 years. It works very well.
If you want to avoid some of the irritation then lay a very thin layer of moisturiser on your cleansed skin before applying it. This does not ruin the effectiveness. Dont apply directly to the eye area. Once applied you can put moisturiser over top and spread around the eye area which in turn will spread some of it without having to apply it directly. A pea sized amount will do your whole face. Less is more with Retin A.
If you want to go one step further use a Vitamin C serum in the mornings, it increases collagen production. But IMO you are better to make your own as L-Absorbic acid is very unstable and generally most products you buy will have been sitting on a warehouse shelf for ages and therefore by the time you get it it has partly oxidised. Also for best effectiveness the PH of the serum should be 2-3. I have brought various brands over the years and have PH tested them and found them to be quite high - which pretty much makes them useless. I have been making my own for over a year now and found it to be more effective than anything ive ever brought, and at a fraction of the price once you have the ingredients (I also sell it to my friends which helps recover the cost). Im happy to share how to make a good one if its something you are interested in.
Also a very cheap way to get better skin is Aloe Vera - not putting it on your face, but by eating the gel found inside the leaf. It increases collegen production - if you google it you will find the study done on it. (Dont ever eat one you buy from a shop as regardless of what they say they are NEVER pure and always have a preservative) You only need to eat about 2gm, which is next to nothing. A decent plant can last you a long time, I fillet mine, remove the aloe latex with a papertowel and cut the gel into the right weight, and store it in the fridge back in the skin of the plant wrapped in clingwrap.
I realise your question was just about Retin A but thought that other info may be of use to you. If you have any questions id be happy to help. Personally I dont want to age (even tho its inevitable) so its something I have spent alot of time researching.
If its wrinkles you are wanting to get rid of then try botox lol. Ive been using it (only round my eyes) as a preventative for about 5 years. It works very well.
No problem. Nutrition, health, exercise and skin care are my strong areas - unfortunetly hairloss isnt yet lmao I wish it was the other way round!!Thanks a lot for the time and effort to write all of that, it's a great post. I've also read many great things about using antioxidants like Vitamin C for example.
I'll send you a PM as soon as i have the time to do it
One thing I did forget to mention which is probably the most vital part is diet. Its probably the most biggest contributors in having awesome skin. And yip good as PM whenever, ive been on here a bit more frequently lately since my hair has gotten worse! Theres alot of smart people on here lol
Bigbone
Established Member
- Reaction score
- 141
Where do you get your retin-a from? I've found it on alldaychemist, but I'm not sure if its legit?
If you are referring to the one brand named Retino-A on their site I would say its your call. Tretinoin is the active ingredient in all of them they just have different brand names, like mine in the pic is an Australian one. The one on that site is quite expensive too, its only 20gm tubes. Mines 50gm and it only cost $5NZD ($3.50USD). But I get a prescription for it. Its actually an acne medication but most doctors will prescribe it to you if you are honest that you are using it for anti-aging as its well documented. 1 tube will last probably 3 months or more for me (50gm).
The one on that site is an Indian brand I think from a google search. Its probably all good but just me personally I wouldnt risk it because if its not legit and it does damage then Id be pretty pissed off. Also it doesnt work too well for everyone so do your research before starting it if you havent used it before. Theres alot of forums with peoples reports on side effects etc. And don't use it if you are a smoker.
Bigbone
Established Member
- Reaction score
- 141
I've looked it up before and it's not available in my country anymore, I don't know why. There is one cream that contains 0,025% tretinoin and klindamycin (I don't know that this is), to battle acne. The brand name is Acnatac if you want to look it up.
Like you said, I'm worried to order it from India, but there is no other way for me to get it.
Klindamycin is an anti-biotic. Im no doctor but I dont like the idea of constantly using an anti-biotic day after day when I dont need it so again thats your call. But I guess your stuck if you cant get it any other way.
In regards to the Retino-A brand, check out this
http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=43398
Someone asked the same thing. And I agree completely that if you dont get some sort of irritation at the beginning from it then its probably fake. When I started the redness was within a few days and then I had peeling near the corners of my nose and my chin and started breaking out with quite a few large ugly acne spots within about 2 weeks (and I had no acne to begin with).
Also if you read that whole post, ignore the comment about upping to the .1%. Studies have shown the .05% to be as effective has the .1%.
.025% is maybe a good starting point if you do decide to get that one but .05% is better. I started straight out on the .05%, probably why it hit be real bad in the beginning.
After reading that post I think maybe you are safe to at least trial the stuff on the alldaychemist site as they didnt report any bad effects, just that it did f*** all.