Retin A / Renova
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Sun Mar 04, 2007 4:52 pm

Retin-A/Renova: Lots of Questions!

I am 46 and have (had) really decent skin. Other than some flesh colored moles and the sun damage most of my age group has...my skin was fine. I say was, because I made a trip to my dermatologist here and asked, what can I do to make my skin the best it can be? Maybe I should have been more specific....She advised Renova (.02%) and vitamin C serum...Suncreen and dont bother with any of this if you smoke or intend to go sit in the sun. Ok. I dont smoke and the sun is something I am currently willing to forego to keep looking younger than my drivers license says. So -
I start with the Renova...it stings it burns and my face starts to peel. The vitamin C serum in the AM (renova in the pm) BURNS even more...everything STINGS my face! (Except water) The stinging goes away and I am almost normal after 2 months of use. Then I decide to get a facial. Telling my facilist what I have been using etc. EVERYTHING STINGS! Later that day, I look like I have a sunburn, everywhere except around my eye area....I dont use the Renova there...but the circles that were not burned looking were much larger...in other words, I use the renova over some of the area around the eye, beyond the orbital bone. SO my questions are: any idea what happened? What can I do to make my face feel (and look) better...it feels crusty today (day after). Also, how long is it going to take until I see positive results from this regimen - I swear my lines and all are worse - much worse than before I started. I feel like I spent all this money and its not worth the discomfort etc. Anyone else experienced these problems?

free skin care · Sun Mar 04, 2007 4:57 pm

Yikes. Sorry to hear of your reactions to this stuff. I really don't know the answer to your question but Welcome to the forum & hopefully someone maybe able to give you some good advice. By the way luv your username. Smile

free skin care · Sun Mar 04, 2007 5:21 pm

this hasn't happened to me, but in general it's not recommended that you get facials when you're using prescription exfoliants. Apparently the skin is just to thin and sensitive to deal with all the different products and man-handling...I imagine your skin is just freaking out. Try stop using products except for something like emu oil to just protect your face while it heals. The first few months of prescriptions can be rough -- it sounds like you were starting to get used to it, and then the facial threw everything off.

Sun Mar 04, 2007 5:28 pm

Thanks for your suggestions! Emu oil, hadn't thought of that, but the health food place that will be open tomorrow has it! I have also recently subjected myself to Sculptra..and having those moles removed. My face has been thru alot!

Sun Mar 04, 2007 5:58 pm

loopylori wrote:

By the way luv your username. Smile

Thanks!User names are SO hard to come up with anymore - all the good ones are taken.

Ok, so I tried some Aveeno calming lotion (no sting there today) and also some Pevonia eye repair cream (no sting there either) and one other Rescue Masque by Pevonia that my esthetitian gave me. It's like an allergy test - we'll see which one does the best. Wink

free skin care · Sun Mar 04, 2007 6:47 pm

I'm wondering if your skin is getting enough hydration. Hydrated skin looks spongey and silky and feels velvetty (of course hydrated from the celular level).
You described your skin as looking crusty and the lines being worse.

Sounds like a hydration issue to me Neutral

Sun Mar 04, 2007 7:17 pm

SandraG wrote:

I'm wondering if your skin is getting enough hydration. Hydrated skin looks spongey and silky and feels velvetty (of course hydrated from the celular level).
You described your skin as looking crusty and the lines being worse.

Sounds like a hydration issue to me Neutral

I wonder the same thing. Before Renova, I was pretty normal/combo tzone. With the Renova, my skin either looks slick (during the day) when I feel like it needs more hydration or dry and cracking - especially around my mouth and chin. It feels like a no win situation, and all I want is the healthy skin I used to have. The texture is now more orange peel-y (not THAT bad, but looking that way) and irritated feeling. I just wonder when all the benefits I hear from using this product are going to start to show! I am going to take a couple of days off and then start back. I think the crusty situation is a direct result of my facial "burning" my tender skin...so it should peel...and then look great (I hope).

free skin care · Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:56 pm

You sound like me. My skin was fine before I started using Retin A pm daily and AHA in the am. LAter I also added L'ascorbic acid. My skin was very irritated, some days more than others. Like you, I had stinging when putting on anything. After three months I stopped everything for one week and now I use the tretinoin only twice weekly, no AHA and a non-acidc Vit C product and my skin is fine. I should have started slowly and not used the AHA in conjunction with the Retin A.

you will find these threads interesting!
http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=21268
http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=20546

free skin care · Mon Mar 05, 2007 8:03 am

BikerChic wrote:

Retin-A/Renova: Lots of Questions!

I am 46 and have (had) really decent skin. Other than some flesh colored moles and the sun damage most of my age group has...my skin was fine. I say was, because I made a trip to my dermatologist here and asked, what can I do to make my skin the best it can be? Maybe I should have been more specific....She advised Renova (.02%) and vitamin C serum...Suncreen and dont bother with any of this if you smoke or intend to go sit in the sun. Ok. I dont smoke and the sun is something I am currently willing to forego to keep looking younger than my drivers license says. So -
I start with the Renova...it stings it burns and my face starts to peel. The vitamin C serum in the AM (renova in the pm) BURNS even more...everything STINGS my face! (Except water) The stinging goes away and I am almost normal after 2 months of use. Then I decide to get a facial. Telling my facilist what I have been using etc. EVERYTHING STINGS! Later that day, I look like I have a sunburn, everywhere except around my eye area....I dont use the Renova there...but the circles that were not burned looking were much larger...in other words, I use the renova over some of the area around the eye, beyond the orbital bone. SO my questions are: any idea what happened? What can I do to make my face feel (and look) better...it feels crusty today (day after). Also, how long is it going to take until I see positive results from this regimen - I swear my lines and all are worse - much worse than before I started. I feel like I spent all this money and its not worth the discomfort etc. Anyone else experienced these problems?

When I was using Renova, Vit c serums were out of the question. I stopped Renova a few years ago and have found I can now use the Vit C serums. The Renova did improve my skin for a few years but after awhile it made my Rosacea worse.

free skin care · Mon Mar 05, 2007 11:57 am

When my face goes nuts, I take a few days of using products off. Very hard.

Mon Mar 05, 2007 9:44 pm

Monica34 - thanks so much for the links. I have done some reading on some other posts and wow! there is so much info out there it staggering to me. I felt like I was the only one with issues with the Renova and it seems like it works for some and not for others. I just figured if I barreled thru the discomfort, one day I would wake up with movie star quality skin. Not sure if that day is coming soon but it may be without the Renova~~

free skin care · Tue Mar 06, 2007 7:24 am

You could cut back to using the Renova only twice a week Smile

It works great for me. You will still keep getting the benefits and continue improving without the side effects.

Wed Mar 07, 2007 9:14 pm

Update! First of all thanks everyone for great suggestions, ideas and links. My skin is almost done peeling. I have not used the renova cream since last Thursday (2 nights before the infamous facial) and I used my IS Clinicals Moisturizer and for the FIRST TIME EVER it did not sting. OMG. I think that is progress. My skin hasn't "broken" out, but does still have some rough patches and light peeling. I have decided to give it a break and then slowly go back to the Renova. Slowly as in once a week for a while, then try twice and then every other day. People swear by the results but daggone - it's maddening! I see my derm in early May and I certainly plan to grill her on the regimen she prescribed.

Here's a question for those of you out there who know where I am coming from. I am leaving for overseas for a week (Germany to be exact)should I stop the Renova until I get back (that would be a 2 week break from it)and 2ndly, are there any european only products that anyone finds superior? I may post again to get answers to this!

Smile

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