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. Tretinoin is also known as retinoic acid.
1% tretinoin. Most anti-aging studies show that the best results usually come from moderate strength tretinoin creams, such as those that contain . 05% tretinoin.
Tretinoin strength studies
Later studies evaluated Tretinoin 0.05%. While both were equally effective over a one year period, Tretinoin 0.1% was able to achieve cosmetic improvement in 6 months while 0.05% required closer to 12 months.
Tretinoin is a topical medication applied directly to the area with fine lines and wrinkles, usually at bedtime. Wash your hands and face with a mild, unmedicated cleanser and water. Wait 20–30 minutes to make sure that your skin is thoroughly dry before applying the medication.
Tretinoin usually comes in three strengths, 0.025%, 0.05%, and 0.1%. The stronger 0.05% and 0.1% creams are usually used to treat the appearance of wrinkles. The 0.1% cream may have better results for some people, but it can be harsher, so if your skin is sensitive, you may find the 0.05% cream is best for you.
Tretinoin has been proven to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It is considered the gold standard treatment for photoaging and is the only treatment shown to repair the effects of photoaging (helps to treat and prevent age spots).
Another study from 1990, which lasted for 12 weeks, showed “significant improvements in fine wrinkling around the eyes, crease lines around the mouth and cheeks, wrinkling on the dorsum of the hands and yellow discoloration” after treatment with tretinoin 0.05 percent cream when compared with placebo.
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.
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.
“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.”
If you're using topical tretinoin to reduce wrinkles, discoloration, age spots, and/or rough feeling skin, it can take 3–4 months or up to six months before you see results. If you stop using the medication or are inconsistent with your treatment, any improvements you see may disappear over time.
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.
005% (low strength) tretinoin cream, which provides an optimal combination of effectiveness and tolerable side effects for most patients. If this cream isn't effective, your doctor might recommend switching to a stronger tretinoin cream.
Adults younger than 50 years of age—Apply to the affected area(s) of the skin once a day, at bedtime. Adults 50 years of age and older—Use and dose must be determined by your doctor.
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.
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.
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.
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 and Retinol Have Different Strengths
As the stronger substance, tretinoin is a more effective substance when treating conditions such as acne and is an ideal choice for those with oily or highly-tolerant skin. It also has substantial anti-wrinkle properties.
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.
Generally, it is fine to use tretinoin every night, but you may not want to because of the initial side effects, especially when you first start. You should only use tretinoin as prescribed to avoid significant skin irritation, redness, and other side effects.
Tretinoin is used to treat acne or other skin diseases as determined by your doctor. It works partly by keeping skin pores clear. One of the tretinoin creams is used to treat fine wrinkles, dark spots, or rough skin on the face caused by the damaging rays of the sun.
Wrinkles, a natural part of aging, are most prominent on sun-exposed skin, such as the face, neck, hands and forearms. Although genetics mainly determine skin structure and texture, sun exposure is a major cause of wrinkles, especially for people with light skin. Pollutants and smoking also contribute to wrinkling.