Readers of The No-Nonsense Beauty Blog have sent in some really interesting questions about Retin A and you may have missed the answers in the comments. These questions showed that there are so many details about Retin A that can spell the difference between getting the results you want and just giving up using it.
1. Can I use Retin A on my neck?
Absolutely! It will take longer to see improvement and it won’t be as dramatic as on the face, but it certainly will help. Use a little pea size dab, about the size you use on your face.
2. Can I use both hyaluronic acid and Retin A?
Again, yes. There are actually two forms of hyaluronic acid– one that is injected into lines to smooth out the face and the other is added to creams as a super moisturizer. Both can be used with Retin A. In face, hyaluronic acid is one of my go-to moisturizer ingredients. Its highly effective in attracting and holding moisture and never irritating.
3. Can Retin A stop working?
It can seem like that. The skin actually needs to get used to Retin A in order to be able to use it every night. Over time you won’t see the more dramatic differences you did in the first few months of use, but trust me, under the skin good things are happening. Retin A will still be stimulating collagen, thickening the skin layers, and encouraging circulation. If you stop using it, you will see that you will start losing the benefits.
4. What type of moisturizer should I use with Retin A?
Short answer, the richest one your skin can tolorate. In the first six months on Retin A avoid a moisturizer with AHA’s like glycolic acid, peppermint and vitamin C, all of which can be too irritating on skin just starting to use Retin A. As time progresses these ingredients can actually work with Retin A to deliver more results.
5. Which should I apply first– moisturizer or Retin A?
After washing your face, wait at least 10 minutes, then apply your Retin A. Then wait another 10 minutes for it to absorb, then spread on your moisturizer. You want to give the Retin A full access to your skin and a layer of moisturizer can interfere with absorption.
Got more questions abou about Retin A? Please email me and I’ll find the answers. Success or failure with Retin A seems to depend on mastering details that doctors often don’t mention.
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Thank you for your post….
Can Retin A be fully integrated with night time routine eg Retin A first then serum then moisturiser? I vary the things I use and at the moment I’m trying Decleor Ylang Ylang and Neroli balms; they feel like vaseline but really sink in to moisturise and I read can be really good for acne. Just worried the texture may rub away the Retin A, or will it have absorbed enough if I wait before applying?
Oh, layering is one of my favorite topics. THe important things to remember here is that the skin is designed to protect essential organs and keep stuff out.. Its actually very difficult to pass thru the layers of the skin– and that’s the way its supposed to work. If you pile on too many products, nothing will be able to get where it needs to go. I don’t use more than two treatment products at the same time and I wait at least 30 minutes between applications. You can apply Retin A and top it with moisturizing creams. I would be concerned about putting on Retin A, a serum and then a moisturizer. Too much. If you like the benefits of the serum, I would use Retin A on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. and the serum directly on the skin on on Tuesday, Thursday and Sat. Top both serum and Retin A with your balm of choice–one at a time. And I love the fragrance of Ylang Ylang. During the day, just make sure that your moisturizer has at least a30SPF. I’d love to hear how this works for you.
Can I use Retin A around my eyes?
Terri
All by itself Retin A cannot be used around the eyes. However a combo of Retin A, a low dose steroid and hydroquinone to lighten dark circles has been sucessfully used under the eyes. However even this combo cannot be used on the lids or under te brow bone– the fear being it could drift into the eye itelf. This combo Retin A has been formulated into a product called Triluma. However for some reason, Triluma was temporarily discontinued and no word on when it will be available again. I now use a 1% Retinol from Skinceuticals around my eyes– which is equal to a .025% Retin A. I use it below my eyes and found it works very well.
can i mix retin a with my moisturizer?will it work? i use a pea size amount of retin a and a pea size of moisturizer and mix them togheter (on my hand) and then i aply them on my face… but i don’t know if it has the same effect or not… can you please help me? and i have one more question for you if you don’t mind… why do we have to wait 10 min after washing our face before aplying retin a ? thanks alot ,magda( excuse my english i hope you can understand me… i am from romania …)
Hi Magda.
THese are two very good questions:
1. You should put on the Retin A first, wait a few minutes for the skin to absorb it and then apply the moisturizer on top. If you mix the two together, you can make it harder for the Retin A to work on the skin. And remember, only use Retin A at night since it makes your skin extra sensitive to the sun.
2. You need to wait at least 10 minutes after washing the skin because you’re just taken off the top layer of oil and dead skin cells. The skin is now more vulnerable to irritation from Retin A.
And you write English beautifully. Hugs, Deb
thank you so much ,Deb! you helped me alot! magda
I recently read an article in Allure magazine and one of the subjects of it was Retin A. A famous dermatologist,David E Bank MD,stated that it is better to apply Retin A immediately after washing as the warmth in the skin helps Retin A penetrate even better.It makes sense,but personally,I would only do this if you have become completely acclimated to it.
Wow, I wonder if he ever personally tried that. Maybe if you are using a very low dose, have used it for years, and its not cold windy weather would that be a comfortable way to use Retin A.
I understand there are certain ingredients in some mositurizers that decease the effectiveness of Retin A. Do you know what they are?
I am not aware of ingrdients that decrease effectivness of Retin A but there are a number of ingrdeints that don’t work well with it. These include alcohol, exfoliating grains, vitamin C and glycolic acid which all can be irritating– and Retin A can be very irritating all by itself. I will look into ingrdients which lessen Retin A’s value. THis is a great question and thanks so much for briging it up.
Does Retin-A still work if after washing my face I don’t wait 10 minutes to apply? I am not worried about irritation, I am just wondering if the good effects of Retin-A are lessened.
Retin A will still work well if you use it right after washing your face. Its the irritation that’s the problem. The skin gets red and becomes dry and flaky. After time, the skin has become use to Retin A, the irritation potential lessens.
I have been using it for months now and my skin doesn’t get irritated, I guess my skin has tolerance to Retin-A,
I have another question, if I use 0.5 Retin-A instead of 1% Retin-A, will the 1% do more no matter what, or can I achieve the same results with 0.5 % even if it takes longer?
Thanks you answering my question
If your skin doesn’t react to Retin A,even if you applying it after washing, you could try to stepping up to stronger skin care. You can use scrubbing grains a few times a week or a cleansing brush like Clarisonic to get more activity into your skin care. Alternatively you can step up to a stronger Retin A for better results.
Actually I don’t like 1%, I don’t get irritation, itchiness or redness but my skin flakes very bad, plus I find it extremely sticky, it is this weird thick yellow gel, I almost feel like I am putting glue on my face or honey, and its like so shiney greasy I hate it, it smells like alcohol too so I wondering if that’s bad, but I do not have this problem with 0.5 for whatever reason it is not sticky or greasy or like glue and it dries with a “matte finish” so I would like to stick to 0.5 BUT ONLY if I can achieve good results, so I was just wondering ifd it is possible to get decent results from a lower strengh.
Wow that sounds awful! I actually had a similar experience with a 1% unbranded Retin A that I got from Canada. WHat kind do you have? And regarding irritation, flaking of the skin is under the ” irritation” umbrella so your skin is certainly reacting to the 1%. Maybe another brand?
Johnson & Johnson, but Im not sure why the 0.5 is a white gel that absorbs fast while the 1% a yellow sticky gel, I started with 0.25 and then went up but I didn’t expect the gel of the 1% to be so different.
WHat about the 1% cream?
both are Johnson & Johnson
Been using retin a .025 (gel form) for months now. No irritation at all, a little flaking sometimes but not recently (flaking is usually a sign of using to much i know)
So 2 things
Can use us AHA at the same time as retin a? which goes first?how long to wait
Should i be using a moisturizer while using retin a? My am vitamin c serum is really moisturizing so i dont bother. But i know come summer i need a sunscreen right? What type is best for retin a use?
Such good questions: 1) If your skin is tolorating Retin A well, you can use AhA’s in the form of a cleanser or nighttime moisturizer. Before going to sleep, put on Retin A, wait about 5 minutes for it to absorb a bit, then top it with Retin A. 2) Except for oily/acne prone skin, a moisturizer is always helpful when using Retin A. If you seem to be tolorating well, you can use the vitamin C moisturizer on top of Retin A. BUT you should wear a sunscreen year round! This is especially important since both Retin A and AHA’s increase your sensitivity to sundamage. I would look for a moisturizer with a 30SPF. I like Neutrogena for Sensitive Skin and Aveeno Ultra Calming Daily Moisturizer. Let me know what you decide to do.
Thanks!
I’ll opt for the Neutrogena for Sensitive Skin as it looks pretty good.
Its a great formula because it uses a physical screen( zinc) rather than a chemical screen which can be irritating.
I’m currently using Atralin .05% and love it. My questin is if I use a good moisturizer do I still need to avoid the sun as much as possible? What if I go to the beach, can I get a tan?
Without a sunscreen, a moisturizer simply helps the skin to hydrate. Remember up to age 60 about 80% of all the changes that we see as aging, are actually signs of sundamage. In addition using Retin A products make your skin MORE sensitive to sundamage. Real tanning is very harmful to the skin– and if you want a nice healthy glow, you can pay a quick visit to a spray tan booth. I think the results are natural, beautiful and best of all don’t damge the skin like a day at the beach. Sorry to be such a buzz kill about the sun.
Hello, do you think it is fine to use Retin-A during the summer? or should I completely avoid it? I live in Florida and the sun is terrible during summer months, I do not care about getting a tan (I have red hair and very fair skin) so I don’t even bother and I use sunscreen with spf of 70 (neutrogena sheer liquid), I do not want any sun damage but I heard sun exposure during Retin-A would defeat the anti aging purpose, so is it still okay to use as long as I am careful? should I lower the dose to 0.25? is Glycolic acid just as bad for the summer?
You have raised several great points. Since you already live in an area which is sunny pretty much year round, I don’t think summer would make much of a difference. A low concentration of Retin A, especially in a cream base, would certainly reduce risk of problems. Your 70 SPF is wonderful and its great you use it year round. To lower risk of irritation even further, I would use an extremely gentle cleanser like Cetaphil and avoid other irritants like glycolic acid, AHA’s, exfoliating cleansers and even alcohol based toners. FInally, you can wear sun protective clothing including a wide brimmed hat with an SPF. Its wonderful you are so on top of the risk factors!