In conclusion, topical tretinoin is an effective treatment for black patients with postinflammatory skin hyperpigmentation, and the severity of its side effects is similar to or less than that in white patients7-12.
Skin Discoloration
Tretinoin can fade spots on the face, evening out your skin tone and helping to hide the blotchy coloration that can affect many people's facial skin. In some cases, however, tretinoin can also cause small patches of skin to darken, producing noticeable skin discoloration.
Retinoids. Retinoids is considered to be a proven and effective treatment for African American skin. Retinoids such as Retin-A, Differin, and Tazorac are good choices for people with multiple skin concerns.
The short answer is yes, Retinol products can be as good for African American skin as it is for lighter skin tones. Retinol has a ton of anti-aging advantages, from minimizing dark spots to renewing collagen production.
Massage your face with nourishing oils -- sweet almond, coconut, olive and jojoba oils are good choices -- before going to bed. Black skin tends to be on the dry side, so allowing oils to soak into the skin overnight can contribute to glowing skin in the morning. Apply the oil to the skin using your fingertips.
Tretinoin Does Not “Bleach” Your Skin
Contrary to popular belief, tretinoin is not a “bleaching agent” or medicine designed specifically to lighten your skin tone. While tretinoin can even out patches of hyperpigmentation and cause a mild change in your skin tone, it doesn't affect melanin synthesis.
Tretinoin can help dark spots fade, allowing you to have a more even skin tone. It decreases the amount of melanin in your skin cells (Zasada, 2019). When used for discoloration, tretinoin is usually combined with other skin-lightening products, sometimes in the form of a chemical peel (Lawrence, 2021).
Topical application of tretinoin significantly lightens postinflammatory hyperpigmentation; to a clinically minimal but statistically significant degree, it also lightens normal skin in black persons.
Read below to find out how long it takes for tretinoin to work. Most people start to see the benefit of daily derm-grade retinoid use around 6 weeks. If used every 2-3 days, then it would take around 10 weeks to see. If only used once weekly, it may take up to 3 months to start seeing results.
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.
Tretinoin (Retin-A) is considered the first-line treatment for AN. When used regularly, it can help thin and lighten the skin in affected areas.
"You can use tretinoin or [over-the-counter] retinols forever."
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.
Since tretinoin works by preventing dead skin cells from clogging pores, it's effective at reducing all forms of acne, including comedones such as blackheads. By preventing clogged pores, tretinoin stops whiteheads and blackheads from developing in the first place.
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.
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. Tretinoin in several forms has been tested successfully as an effective way to treat acne scars.
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.
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).
Retinol also stimulates collagen production, which is another way it diminishes dark spots. “Collagen helps promote skin cell turnover, which helps peel and fade away dark spots,” says Dr.
Tretinoin is a more potent retinoid than retinol and will show results faster. While these active ingredients both combat signs of photoaging (aka wrinkles, rough skin, uneven skin tone, and enlarged pores), tretinoin-based products like Night Shift are more effective for fighting acne.
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.
Derived from vitamin A, retinoids — such as tretinoin (Retin-A, Renova, Avita) — that you apply to your skin may improve the appearance of stretch marks less than a few months old. Tretinoin, when it works, helps to rebuild a protein in the skin called collagen, making the stretch marks look more like your normal skin.
“If the retinol you're using is too strong for your skin causing inflammation, darker skin tones may have a higher risk of discoloration, or hyperpigmentation, from the use of it," she adds. Dr. Icecreamwala recommends starting with a retinol that is 0.3 or 0.5 percent.
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. It works by lightening the skin, replacing older skin with newer skin, and slowing down the way the body removes skin cells that may have been harmed by the sun.