Kassouf recommends retinol topical creams to help reduce that crepey look. Retinols help restore skin's elasticity and thicken collagen (which gives our skin its structure) as well as elastin (which gives our skin its stretch).
Unfortunately, no at-home fix will reverse the look of crepey skin, but methods used by dermatologists can often vastly improve the look of your skin.
Waldorf, MD, director of laser and cosmetic dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital, recommends products with glycerin or hyaluronic acid to prevent or improve the appearance of crepey skin. These ingredients pull in and hold moisture so your skin stays hydrated and looks plump.
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.
The only skin care product that can truly provide a slight tightening effect with regular use is Retin A, or Tretinoin. This is because Vitamin A helps speed up skin cell turnover, helping to boost collagen production.
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.
Retinol and retinoids
There is data indicating that topical retinol combined with vitamin C is effective at replenishing skin elasticity. Prescription retinoids boost collagen production in the skin. They include tretinoin and retin-A.
“This will make your skin look older and accentuate wrinkles” — which is probably not what you're going for when you start using the stuff. And there's no question that retinol makes your skin more sensitive to the sun.
The difference between them is depth and speed! Retin-A penetrates immediately and into deeper layers of your skin to repair instantly. Retinol takes a while to penetrate and repair. They are both good quality anti-aging skin care products.
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.
Diet & Supplements
Hyaluronic acid, collagen peptides and other collagen-boosting vitamins are prevalent in supplement form. However, foods that boost your body's natural production of collagen may be more effective than supplements.
Stand with elbows at shoulder height and bent to 90 degrees, forearms parallel to the floor with 1 weight in each hand and palms facing down. Without moving your elbows, raise forearms perpendicular to the floor, palms now facing forward. Next, press the weights overhead, extending arms. Slowly reverse the move.
Retinoids reduce fine lines and wrinkles by increasing the production of collagen. They also stimulate the production of new blood vessels in the skin, which improves skin color. Additional benefits include fading age spots and softening rough patches of skin.
SkinCeuticals Retinol 1.0 Maximum Strength Refining Night Cream contains a concentration of 1% retinol, making it one of the more potent over-the-counter formulas on our list.
Additionally, Retin-A comes in a variety of strengths such as 0.25% (the lowest), 0.5% and 1.0 % (the strongest). You'll definitely want to start using the lowest dose once or twice a week.
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.
It might take two or three weeks of using Retin-A (treitinoin) to see any benefits. However, in some cases, it may take six weeks or more.
Who should skip retinol? “Retinols can be a beneficial addition for most skin types, but it isn't a one-size-fits-all approach,” Panzica says. Board certified dermatologist Zenovia Gabriel, MD, notes that “people with sensitive skin conditions like rosacea cannot tolerate really strong topicals like retinols.”
Retin-A does double duty in helping to boost collagen. According to research at Michigan, it has the potential to stop photoaging before it starts. “The retinoids prevent the rise of collagenase after UV exposure,” Dr. Voorhees said.
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.
On the whole, you should expect to see results from tretinoin after approximately three months of daily use, with more obvious and lasting results typically occurring from about six months to one year. It's important to remember that tretinoin is designed as a long-term treatment, not as a quick fix for wrinkles.
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.
Do not use this medicine in or around the eyes or lips, or inside of the nose. Spread the medicine away from these areas when applying. If it accidentally gets on these areas, wash with water at once. Before applying tretinoin, wash the skin with a mild soap or cleanser and warm water by using the tips of your fingers.
Skin Care for Smoker's Lines
The best results for lip lines will be with the use of retinol or one of its more powerful cousins like tretinoin (Retin-A). This puts the skin into overdrive and increases thickness and skin quality, and it plays well with the other modalities we discuss in this post.