In simple terms, tretinoin not only produces an improvement in skin quality and a reduction in wrinkles in short-term studies -- it's also highly effective at reducing wrinkles, discoloration and other signs of aging when used over the long term.
Tretinoin is one of the most effective medications available for reducing wrinkles and improving your skin texture. Used in combination with other skin care products, tretinoin can give your skin a more youthful appearance and reverse many aspects of the skin aging process.
“Someone using tretinoin (the generic name for Retin-A) would be crazy to go out in the sun without protection,” Voorhees says. “You could end up with more wrinkles than you would have had without Retin-A.”
“This will make your skin look older and accentuate wrinkles” — which is probably not what you're going for when you start using the stuff. And there's no question that retinol makes your skin more sensitive to the sun.
Many scientific studies have been done on this medication, and medical experts agree that it offers promising anti-aging benefits to the skin. Tretinoin has been proven to prevent, reduce, and treat wrinkles. It also helps to treat and prevent age spots.
First, the answer is yes, retinol can make wrinkles worse, especially when you first start using it. What is happening is a drying effect, and one can get epidermal sliding from separation from the dermis.
Tretinoin Works Best as a Long-Term Treatment
Long-term studies of tretinoin tend to show the most dramatic results, with people experiencing significant reductions in the appearance of fine wrinkling, coarse wrinkling, skin laxity and other signs of photoaging.
Does Retin-A (tretinoin) help reverse skin aging? Yes. Retin-A, whose active ingredient is tretinoin, has been shown to have positive effects on both the deeper collagen layers of your skin as well as the upper most layer that is comprised of skin cells.
If you stop using the medication or are inconsistent with your treatment, any improvements you see may disappear over time. Always use the product as prescribed by your healthcare provider (Rodan, 2016).
If you use tretinoin daily as directed, a single 20g tube of tretinoin cream should last for between two and three months, resulting in an approximate cost of about $15 to $25 per month.
Tretinoin is a medication used to treat acne and sun-damaged skin. It can't erase deep wrinkles, but it can help improve the appearance of surface wrinkles, fine lines, and darks spots.
Retinoids help mitigate those issues in a variety of ways. They thicken the epidermis through increased cell proliferation at the top level. They increase the production of natural chemicals (such as hyaluronic acid) in your skin that keep it plump and moist.
Tretinoin works best when used within a skin care program that includes protecting the treated skin from the sun. However, it does not completely or permanently erase these skin problems or greatly improve more obvious changes in the skin, such as deep wrinkles caused by the sun or the natural aging process.
For anti-aging purposes, you can start preventatively in your 20s. While over-the-counter retinol can help mild acne, many people with breakouts will need a prescription. Prescription retinoids, including oral isotretinoin and topical tretinoin, are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ages 12 and up.
Other people may have to use tretinoin longer to eliminate stubborn skin problems like dark spots or wrinkles. Most people stop taking tretinoin when their skin clears up or if it isn't working after trying it for a while. A dermatologist is the best person to ask about when to start or stop taking tretinoin.
Tretinoin minimizes pore appearance by increasing cell turnover and boosting exfoliation, which clears debris in the pores and allows pores to shrink back to their normal size.
Commonly reported side effects of tretinoin include: pleural effusion, dyspnea, edema, fever, hypotension, leukocytosis, weight gain, headache, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, increased liver enzymes, nausea, visual disturbance, and vomiting.
Tretinoin is an anti-cancer ("antineoplastic" or "cytotoxic") chemotherapy drug. Tretinoin is classified as a "retinoid." (For more detail, see "How Tretinoin Works" section below).
Conclusion: Long-term treatment with tretinoin emollient cream 0.05% is safe and effective in subjects with moderate to severe facial photodamage.
Retin-A contains the active ingredient, Tretinoin, a naturally occurring form of vitamin A. It works by speeding up the skin's metabolism to promote cellular turnover. It increases the production of elastin, collagen, and hyaluronic acid, a natural moisturizer in the skin.
After 6 months. At 6 months, your skin continues to improve with new collagen in place and fresh blood vessels to bring in skin nutrients. Looking at your skin, it would appear more smooth and firm.
On the whole, it's best to think of botox as a treatment for wrinkles that are apparent with moving facial muscles (smiling, furrowing your brow, frowning) while tretinoin can help treat the fine lines and sun spots resulting from UV exposure.
Use just a pea-sized portion.
This is enough for your face. Dab a bit from this portion onto your forehead, cheeks, and chin, then smooth it around. Use another pea-sized portion for your neck or chest if you need to apply in those areas, too.
But tretinoin, another form of vitamin A, may be the most effective ingredient to firm the skin on your neck and face. Since 1984, multiple studies on animals and people show that tretinoin can firm your skin and increase collagen production to the point where sagging skin becomes less noticeable.