experiences with retin-a?

[karbo]

where should i buy it from? anyone have negative experiences? can it make things worse? what type should i buy first and how do i apply?
tbh ngl

 

[Deleted member 4310]

Curious about this too, do you need a prescription for it?

 

[chadpreetinthemaking]

Pretty sure you can buy online

 

[her]

you probably need a prescription to buy it, but you can buy it without a prescription on ALLDAYCHEMIST

buy the lowest strength (0.025%) and stick with it for at least some weeks, then start using 0.05%, stick with it for a while, and if you want you can start using 0.1%, but i don't know if it has benefits over 0.05%

 

[benignice]

where should i buy it from? anyone have negative experiences? can it make things worse? what type should i buy first and how do i apply?
tbh ngl

Somewhere reputable, depends on where you live.
Can't speak to any negative experiences, some people do have issues with it but I don't personally. Usual negative experiences are skin sensitivity, dryness, scaling, itchiness, sun sensitivity, and sometimes an initial flare up if it's being used to treat acne.
What kind of thing are you using it for? Acne or aging?
Retin A is a brand name for Tretinoin, there's other brands available too. If by what type you mean what strength? Lowest first, so probably 0.025%. If your skin can handle that regularly then move up.

Curious about this too, do you need a prescription for it?

Not sure about elsewhere, but in the USA, UK and Australia it's prescription only.

but i don't know if it has benefits over 0.05%

There's some debate about this. It seems to be that 0.05% will do the same in the long run but 0.1% will get you there quicker (just with more irritation and sensitivity).

 

[benignice]

Do u apply it daily, and do u mix it with a moisturizer?

At first, no, not daily. Maybe twice a week, see how your skin handles it. If you're good, up it to maybe every two days, then every other day, then if you can, go to every day. The name of the game here is to go slow- if you go too fast your skin will just get massively irritated then you'll have to stop completely and start from the beginning again.
As far as mixing it with moisturiser, you can, it'll 'buffer' it so the irritation will be minimised. You don't have to, but it's definitely an option.

 

[Golden Glass]

First of all thanks for taking your time and explaining everything, I really appreciate it. I'm just starting to take care of my skin and didnt know where to start so I'll definitely screenshot your post to remember.

What else would you recommend for nice skin? Lastly is there a particular sunscreen u would recommend, I cant choose b/w physical or chemical sunscreen.

Thanks bro

You should watch Astrosky’s Glass Skin video on YouTube. He includes a simple weekly routine that involves using Retin-A

 

[Noodlewhore]

Retin A is good but it's not a miracle cure for collagen
Just stick with it and you will delay the Collagen Reaper

 

[prgfromnl]

Yeah i used retin- 5-6 times a week for 2,5 months and my skin was red af

Not doing that shit again

 

[benignice]

No probs, this skin stuff is kind of my wheelhouse. If you have any other questions, just let me know.

I'll copy and paste one of my other answers because this is the basic generic advice:
Products will vary according to your specific needs. If you're under 25-30 and don't have acne, then a hardcore retinoid is damn near pointless. In short, cleanse your skin with a cleanser that is made for what you need (I'd be very hesitant to recommend anything that's overly foamy), some form of exfoliant- I personally prefer chemical or enzymatic to physical but that's your call, hyaluronic acid is often a god send, some form of vitamin C (although there's some debate as to whether topical vitamin C is necessary if you have enough in your diet), maybe niacinamide, a simple moisturiser, and for the love of all things holy and unholy, SPF. It's important to note that the product recommendations will change depending on your skin and what you want to deal with, these are the basics.

In terms of physical vs chemical SPF, it's very much an individual thing. Some people have issues with physical sunscreens and so swear by chemical sunscreens whereas others are the opposite. I would more look at the texture and the formulation as a whole instead of the physical vs chemical issue (unless you have a problem with specific ingredients)- ie, how emollient would you like the formula. Also if you have darker skin, chemical might be the best option since physical sunscreens are notorious for their white cast.

Yeah i used retin- 5-6 times a week for 2,5 months and my skin was red af

Not doing that shit again

What strength were you using?
If you're still interested in retinoids, instead of Retin A you might want to look into retinal, retinol, or retinyl esters (such as retinyl palmitate).

 

[Noodlewhore]

his skin looks insane so i'll def go ahead and watch that video


how long have u been using retin a for?

about 10 years but I have a prescription and my story is complicated
I also had three cycles of Accutane, and lots of other stuff done to my face to correct scars and signs from cystic acne. I even did around 40 laser sessions but were mostly fractional lasers so no the strong CO2 ablative lasers (even though I also had that), but still they helped a lot for collagen
I'm 29yo and people think I'm in my early 20's

 

[Noodlewhore]

I used so many things and did so many treatments throughout the years...

Well just telling some:
-Accutane
-Laser (mostly Fractional laser both ablative and non ablative, and a couple of CO2 ablative but fractional)
-Subcision
-Fillers (Restylane and Belotero)
-Microneedling both professional and at home with the Derminator
-Radiofrequency
-TCA Cross
-TCA Peel (I bought it the 35% strength with 0,5 PH that they sold only to practitioners from a pharmacy LMAO)
-Salicydic acid peel
-Vitamin C serum
-Copper peptides serum
-Face Detergents
-Retin A 0,05%
-Lots of different moisturizer creams
-Sunscreen (but only during the summer tbh)
-Niacid
-Ecc

What did the biggest impact for collagen? Of course lasers by a large margin, especially the fully ablative non fractional, but they are very expensive (2,000€ at least/per session) and it takes two full weeks for recovery
TCA Peels is also effective but is dangerous at the potency I have and would definitely not recommend anybody to DIY unless very expert
Retin A is good as a consistent treatments to delay the Collagen Reaper, I use it every night and I can tell whenever I don't use it because in the morning my skin looks worse

 

[Noodlewhore]

holy shit dude i got way way more than i asked for but in a good way lol, i'll definitely screenshot this post and start doing research on all these things.

I know you mentioned copper peptides serum but have you heard of Copper peptide GHK-Cu or have u previously tried it?

is that the one from owndoc? If it's the blue one yeah I've been using it for 3 years at least....it's actually the GHK-Cu type I use
Pretty good especially for healing skin after microneedling and other procedures (redness goes away faster)
For collagen Retin A is better though, much better
And laser are way better than Retin A, but only the ablative ones....the non ablative ones are just a waste of money

 

[Noodlewhore]

what strength retin-a would you recommend for a beginner and how often a week?
Same with ablative laser treatments (assuming money wasn't a issue), how woften would you get them done?

I use the 0,05% every night and I don't even get any redness but my skin is really used to that
I still would recommend the 0,05% to a beginner but maybe twice per week to let the skin get used to it and you should expect some redness nonetheless. After it gets used to it, do it every night

As for the laser, the fully ablative non fractional one can be done once per year if you had all the money in this world, but even once in a lifetime would still be amazing ...it's really strong if done with the right settings (high potency, low density), one session will bombard your skin with tons of collagen. Nothing come close to that

It's important you get the resurfacing CO2 ablative one though.....there are many lasers and if you're a novice you may find dermatologists opting for the safest (but almost useless) fractional laser that cost much less.....

 

[Feanor]

Somewhere reputable, depends on where you live.
Can't speak to any negative experiences, some people do have issues with it but I don't personally. Usual negative experiences are skin sensitivity, dryness, scaling, itchiness, sun sensitivity, and sometimes an initial flare up if it's being used to treat acne.
What kind of thing are you using it for? Acne or aging?
Retin A is a brand name for Tretinoin, there's other brands available too. If by what type you mean what strength? Lowest first, so probably 0.025%. If your skin can handle that regularly then move up.



Not sure about elsewhere, but in the USA, UK and Australia it's prescription only.



There's some debate about this. It seems to be that 0.05% will do the same in the long run but 0.1% will get you there quicker (just with more irritation and sensitivity).

is there anything you can tell us about tretinoin and vitamin A absorption or toxicity?

 

[benignice]

is there anything you can tell us about tretinoin and vitamin A absorption or toxicity?

You'd have to be using an obscene amount of tretinoin in order to experience hypervitaminosis A.