The researchers concluded that tretinoin is an “effective, noninvasive treatment of atrophic acne scars without causing disturbing side-effects.” A review of treatments for acne scarring also mentions tretinoin, although not as a treatment for scars.
Tretinoin for acne scars
Tretinoin can also be used to decrease the appearance of acne scarring. Since tretinoin speeds up cell turnover on your skin, it can encourage new cell growth at the site of your scarring.
One of the most impactful and clinically applicable articles of 2019 in dermatology is entitled, "The Role of Topical Retinoids in Prevention and Treatment of Atrophic Acne Scarring: Understanding the Importance of Early Effective Treatment," by Tan et al.
If the acne scar isn't very deep, topical treatments such as tretinoin topical (commonly known as Retin-A), microdermabrasion, or chemical peels may work to minimize the appearance of scars. These treatments remove the outermost layer of the skin and promote collagen production.
In some cases, soft tissue fillers, such as collagen or fat, can be injected under the skin or into indented scars to fill them out. Injections of botulinum toxin, or Botox, also may be used around acnes scars to relax the skin, reduce puckering and improve the skin's overall appearance.
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.
A topical retinoid or retinol can also be applied to the skin pre-surgically to speed wound healing by increasing keratinization (skin forming) and collagen production. Several convincing studies have shown that pretreatment with tretinoin cream, a type of retinoid, speeds wound healing1-2.
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).
Results: The silicone gel and tretinoin cream effectively prevented hypertrophic scars and keloids and improved scar effects in the two treatment groups compared with those in the control group.
You may notice tretinoin starting to work within 2 to 3 weeks, but it can take 6 weeks or more to experience the full benefit. If you don't see improvement within 12 weeks, or if you have significant improvement and wonder if you should start using it less frequently, talk to your doctor.
Many tretinoin users experience a “purge” during the first several weeks of treatment. During this period, acne — the very problem tretinoin is supposed to treat — often gets worse, resulting in everything from the occasional whitehead to severe breakouts.
Retinol and tretinoin are both retinoids, which means they are compounds that come from vitamin A. They're both commonly used in topical creams to treat a number of skin conditions. Though they're similar, tretinoin is more concentrated than retinol.
Widely used to treat acne and anti-aging, tretinoin can also help to reduce the appearance of skin discoloration and hyperpigmentation — common conditions in which some patches of skin become darker than the rest of the skin, typically on the face, neck, hands, shoulders and other areas of the body that typically get a ...
As a retinoid, tretinoin may enhance wound healing by its effect on cell division and differentiation. The use of tretinoin increases epidermal thickness and cell turnover, which may lead to faster reepithelialization. It also stimulates angiogenesis in the superficial dermis.
Retinoids are derived from vitamin A and are often touted as a solution for people that suffer from acne or hyperpigmentation. But for scar treatment, retinoids can be ideal for helping to remove texture.
Results: The silicone gel and tretinoin cream effectively prevented hypertrophic scars and keloids and improved scar effects in the two treatment groups compared with those in the control group.
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.
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 is an anti-cancer ("antineoplastic" or "cytotoxic") chemotherapy drug. Tretinoin is classified as a "retinoid." (For more detail, see "How Tretinoin Works" section below).
Atrophic scars are characterized as a sunken area on a person's skin, often looking pitted. In many cases atrophic scars are caused by collagen destruction as the result of experiencing inflammatory conditions such as acne or chickenpox. Atrophic scars can also be caused by accident, surgery or genetic disorders.
The pathogenesis of atrophic acne scarring is most likely related to inflammatory mediators and enzymatic degradation of collagen fibers and subcutaneous fat. The most basic and practical system divides atrophic acne scars into three main types: ice pick, rolling, and boxcar scars.
The most effective way to camouflage hypertrophic or atrophic scars is through the use of shading as previ- ously mentioned. The underlying principle is that light areas project and dark areas recede.
The researchers found that when the subjects used tretinoin cream for acne scars consistently, 79 percent of the participants showed flattened acne scarring. The treatment was most effective on younger acne scars, as well as with narrow, indented icepick scars.