Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, it is especially important to avoid using the following skin products on the same area as tretinoin: Any other topical acne product or skin product containing a peeling agent (eg, benzoyl peroxide, resorcinol, salicylic acid, or sulfur).
While tretinoin and niacinamide can be used together, it's important to introduce each ingredient gradually and use caution to avoid any adverse reactions. It's generally recommended to use tretinoin at night and niacinamide in the morning to avoid any potential conflicts between the two ingredients.
Using Tretinoin Correctly
The best time to use Tretinoin is at night. This is because light can degrade Tretinoin and make it less effective. Even more importantly, your skin regenerates the most at night and so your skills will get the maximum benefits from Tretinoin when it is applied during this period.
Tretinoin reduces visible skin ageing and salicylic acid is a BHA that exfoliates the skin, clears pores and fights breakouts. They work well in combination to treat acne-prone skin. Although many dermatologists recommend that you use your retinoid at night and your BHA for the daytime to protect your skin barrier.
Tretinoin should always be paired with a moisturizer and sunscreen with a SPF 50. In addition to these two items, you can also pair it up with Vitamin C (applied before your sunscreen in the morning) and hyaluronic acid or niacinamide 10 minutes after applying your tretinoin cream.
Vitamin B3 or Niacinamide is a common choice for compounding with Tretinoin due to its skin brightening and pore tightening properties.
Tretinoin is best combined with other topical creams including antioxidants, niacinamide & targeted skin care products.
Hyaluronic acid can also be used in combination with Clindamycin gel and Tretinoin when treating acne because it helps moisturize the skin. Hyaluronic acid can be combined with almost all other skin care ingredients because it helps to hydrate, plump, and protect the skin.
Dennis Gross recommends if you choose to combine your tretinoin with AHAs/BHAs! These two *can* be used together for even stronger results, but it's important to always listen to your skin and look out for ANY excessive dryness or irritation!
When you first start using tretinoin, you may start with a lower percentage that you apply just two or three times a week. After two weeks, if your skin is adjusting well to the tretinoin, you can consider increasing use to every night as tolerated.
Option one: The sandwich technique
In this method we sandwich tretinoin between two layers of moisturiser. This buffers your skin from tretinoin and slows down the release. After washing your face, apply a layer of moisturiser. Allow it to dry down for 5-10 minutes.
One of the best ways to adjust to tretinoin is to start off applying it every other night until your skin adjusts. Tretinoin is a long term treatment, so there isn't any pressure to start using it every night right away.
Moisturizer first, wait, then tretinoin: Apply your moisturizer, wait at least 15 minutes to allow it to absorb, and then proceed with tretinoin to avoid irritation. Then it's 'lights out'. Follow the tretinoin skincare routine steps below in this guide to build a regimen that will work for your complexion.
What happens if you stop using tretinoin for acne? For many, tretinoin is highly effective at treating acne, but it's still possible to experience breakouts once you stop using it.
Don't combine retinol with alpha or beta hydroxy acids, benzoyl peroxide, vitamin C, and other retinols or retinoids. Don't skip sunscreen Retinols are usually used as part of nighttime skincare routines, but even when they're applied at night, they can lead to lingering sun sensitivity.
Avoid other topical retinoids, and skin care products containing retinol, with tretinoin. You may also want to avoid salicylic acid, glycolic acid, and erythromycin gel (Erthygel), as these ingredients and products can cause dryness.
Purge & Progress (Weeks 2-8): This period can see an uptick in breakouts as Tretinoin accelerates cell turnover. While disheartening, this is temporary and normal. Your doctor can help you get through this by adjusting your protocol.
Hyaluronic acid and tretinoin tend to balance each other. While tretinoin can sometimes be drying,¹⁰ hyaluronic acid acts as a moisturizing humectant,¹¹ helping to alleviate potential adverse effects. These findings suggest that using hyaluronic acid and tretinoin together can be a beneficial skincare strategy.
Do you have to wash tretinoin off in the morning? Yes, it's advisable to cleanse your face in the morning to remove the tretinoin before applying your morning skincare products and sunscreen.
Some people may notice that this side effect goes away within a few weeks of use, while others may have flaky skin for up to two months. Regardless of how long it takes to subside, tretinoin peeling is temporary and will go away once your skin gets used to the product.
Specifically, we recommend using niacinamide in the morning and tretinoin in the evening. You also don't want to start using these two products at the same time. If you do have a reaction to one or the other, introducing them separately can help you determine which may be causing the issue.
Sandwich method- Step 1 - on clean face apply your ceramide moisturizer, wait for a few minutes until it is completely absorbed in your skin. Step 2 - apply your Tretinoin, I'm using 0.025% here. Step 3 - apply another layer of your ceramide moisturizer.
According to the FDA drug labeled guidelines, the most common adverse effects in topically administered tretinoin are the following: pruritus, skin pain, skin/subcutaneous irritation, erythema, and pharyngitis.
“During the skin purge, your skin speeds up the cell turnover faster than it's used to so the substances clogging your pores get pushed to the surface of your skin faster, so you may experience slight inflammation, contributing to additional breakouts,” says Dr. Fernandez.