For aging skin, dermatologists like to prescribe tretinoin and retinoic acid (Retin-A, Renova, Refissa) that is "100 times" as potent as the retinol-containing products sold without prescription, Jacob says. "Tretinoin works better because it has a stronger capability of preventing the breakdown of collagen," she says.
Because retinoids help your skin make more collagen, they soften wrinkles and fine lines. They also stimulate new blood vessels, which can give your skin a rosy color. Retinoids also help fade age spots and smooth rough patches. Tretinoin (Retin-A) is a popular prescription choice for aging skin.
Don't start Retin-A.
Since mature skin is naturally dry anyway, most women over 70 who have never used it before will need to avoid the Retin A.
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.
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.
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.
"You can use tretinoin or [over-the-counter] retinols forever."
Retin-A achieves a very important goal in anti-aging treatments: it helps boost collagen levels in the skin. Collagen provides skin with firmness and elasticity, but as you age, your cells produce less collagen, allowing wrinkling and sagging to occur.
Doctors generally recommend using no more than a pea-size dab for the entire face. They advise using the product once every three nights (or once a week if skin feels irritated) for a couple of weeks, then every other night, eventually working up to every night if the skin can handle it.
Used regularly, retinol will also firm and smooth the skin under and around your eye.
ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 21 -- Topical vitamin A (retinol) may improve fine wrinkles, collagen deficiency, and atrophy in the fragile skin of elderly patients.
Topical vitamin A–based drugs called retinoids—the most used and most studied anti-aging compounds— may reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Tretinoin, under the brand name Retin-A, was the first retinoid.
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.
It's absolutely important for everybody.” Dakar says that retinol is one of the most essential ingredients for slowing the process of aging in adults and helping erase acne scarring in teenagers, and that her product Retinu was created after meticulous research and development.
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).
Yes. It's perfectly safe to use a moisturizer with tretinoin. In fact, tretinoin without moisturizer is generally not recommended. Many dermatologists advise their patients to moisturize while using it to reduce their chance of developing dry, peeling skin.
Although they work in similar ways, retinol is not the same as Retin-A. Some may call retinol an over-the-counter version of Retin-A, but they aren't interchangeable. Technically, retinol and Retin-A do the same thing.
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.
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).
Even though tretinoin topical creams are great for treating acne, acne scars, fine lines, wrinkles, and skin discolorations, they can still cause side effects, just like any other medication. Here are some of the most common tretinoin side effects: Blistering.
After 4-6 weeks, your skin will get used to tretinoin and will begin to be noticeably smoother and more even. A lot of the initial irritation will settle down and true “retinization” of your skin is in full force.
Retinoids sink into your skin and stimulate the production of new skin cells, which speeds up exfoliation, increases collagen production, brightens scars and dark marks, smooths fine lines and wrinkles, and, yes, destroys acne. Oh, and it can also make you look 60 years old when you're 78, apparently.
Retinol, salicylic acid, glycolic acid—all effective ingredients that can improve the look and feel of your complexion. But they can lead to irritation, and when used too close to your delicate eye area, that irritation can lead to bags.