Retin A for Blackhead?
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Fri Jan 07, 2011 2:45 pm

Hi~!First time user!!
I have been bothered by blackhead for years and recently, I ordered 1 tube of retin a gel (0.1%) from alldaychemist and hoping it will help me in someway.
It saids on the description that it may take 3 to 4 months before improvement is observed.
I follow the direction strictly and 've been using it for one and half a month right now.
No improvement is observed so far.

anyone used retin a for blackhead? should i wait for another month or so?
or is retin a sold by alldaychemist genuine?

free skin care · Fri Jan 07, 2011 3:05 pm

was there any peeling?

Fri Jan 07, 2011 4:15 pm

For the first few days, i experienced redness, irritating, and peeling.

But right now, the only one reaction is peeling(moderate amount).

Can retin a really treat blackhead?
how long does it take in general?

free skin care · Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:44 am

Retin A is a peel so i think it would peel n peel out/off the blackheads.
...."Blackheads, also known as open comedones, are follicles that have a wider than normal opening. They are filled with plugs of sebum and sloughed-off cells and have undergone a chemical reaction resulting in the oxidation of melanin. This gives the material in the follicle the typical black color"
...." Tretinoin is a derivative of vitamin A and works by increasing cell turnover and reducing the "stickiness" of the sloughed cells."

[b]Do a search for "blackheads retin a reviews" you will get some good insight there too.
i would say use it until the tube finishes and hen give salicylic acid and mandelic acid(creams containing it) a try.[/b]

free skin care · Sat Jan 08, 2011 11:22 am

I've been using retin a for almost two years. I had very stubborn blackheads on my nose that were resistant to everything -- including retin a. I finally had them removed by an esthetician and with consistent use of ra, they haven't returned.

free skin care · Sat Jan 08, 2011 11:47 am

The Retin A from ADC is definately "genuine". It will most likely take 6 months to see good results from Retin A. There is no quick fix in skin care so be patient. I would find yourself a good quality facial cleanser. I use and would highly recommend Diana Yvonne's Rose hip cleanser. It is "clean" with no detergents to damage your skin barrier and the ph is perfect. Good luck. Greg

free skin care · Sat Jan 08, 2011 3:24 pm

I'm no expert, but I would think that the best thing to do, especially with stubborn blackheads, is first to have them removed, or remove them yourself - gently using ocm, or more invasively using some other kind of method of extraction. Then you can "treat" the skin by keeping it clean and well exfoliated using all these products so as not to allow the pores to get gummed up and blackheads to "set up shop" again.
Does this not seem right? I think using products to unglue all the gunk would be long & time consuming work.
Just my 2 cents.

free skin care · Sun Jan 09, 2011 3:43 pm

grhawk wrote:

The Retin A from ADC is definately "genuine". It will most likely take 6 months to see good results from Retin A. There is no quick fix in skin care so be patient. I would find yourself a good quality facial cleanser. I use and would highly recommend Diana Yvonne's Rose hip cleanser. It is "clean" with no detergents to damage your skin barrier and the ph is perfect. Good luck. Greg

\\

I've tried MANY cleansers over the years and keep coming back to Diane Yvonne's Rose Hip Cleanser as well.

I don't think Retin A will get rid of a blackhead. Do you exfoliate in addition or just use that?

free skin care · Sun Jan 09, 2011 6:00 pm

retinaforblackhead wrote:

Hi~!First time user!!
I have been bothered by blackhead for years and recently, I ordered 1 tube of retin a gel (0.1%) from alldaychemist and hoping it will help me in someway.
It saids on the description that it may take 3 to 4 months before improvement is observed.
I follow the direction strictly and 've been using it for one and half a month right now.
No improvement is observed so far.

anyone used retin a for blackhead? should i wait for another month or so?
or is retin a sold by alldaychemist genuine?

Never used retin A period. For your blackheads though, the only thing that would work as far as I know, is beta hydroxy acid. A very good product that is formulated to work is by Paulas Choice on the internet. Just google the name and see what comes up. Good luck!

free skin care · Sun Jan 09, 2011 8:20 pm

Paula's choice BHA active ingredient is 2% salicylic acid.So if you find something that has salicylic acid would be fine.Since your skin s somewhat used to the peeling a high % should be fine but its always better to start out with the lower%.I notice peopl selling 20% online

free skin care · Mon Jan 10, 2011 12:44 pm

Tretinoin cream (.05%) has been amazing on my blackheads, as has 2% BHA (Paula's Choice is a great choice, as is Neutrogena 3-in-1 Acne stress control hydrating treatment).

The tretinoin plumps up the middle layer of skin with collagen, kind of forcing the blackheads out from the inside; by contrast the 2% BHA seems to dissolve the little beasties from the outside.

free skin care · Mon Jan 10, 2011 2:13 pm

SusieQ wrote:

retinaforblackhead wrote:

Hi~!First time user!!
I have been bothered by blackhead for years and recently, I ordered 1 tube of retin a gel (0.1%) from alldaychemist and hoping it will help me in someway.
It saids on the description that it may take 3 to 4 months before improvement is observed.
I follow the direction strictly and 've been using it for one and half a month right now.
No improvement is observed so far.

anyone used retin a for blackhead? should i wait for another month or so?
or is retin a sold by alldaychemist genuine?

Never used retin A period. For your blackheads though, the only thing that would work as far as I know, is beta hydroxy acid. A very good product that is formulated to work is by Paulas Choice on the internet. Just google the name and see what comes up. Good luck!

I think some people use mandelic acid too which is technically an alpha hydroxy acid. Dianayvonne dot com has that and other bha's for sale too. There is a really good thread on the subject at theskincareboard dot com. Greg

free skin care · Mon Jan 10, 2011 2:20 pm

Well Retin A never did nothing for my black heads. Even afer more than a year of use. How ever I Beleive it help in my process on not getting them back.

I had them removed with a few treatments of glycolic peals and after I kept on having my skin cleaned 3 times a years on top of what I do at home.
It is a lot of work to get ride of those black heads and a lot of work not to have them come back. You always have to keep watching those little buggers Mad

free skin care · Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:28 pm

i handle my blackheads with pore strip, it's hurt, but effective

free skin care · Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:59 pm

dongss_1999 wrote:

i handle my blackheads with pore strip, it's hurt, but effective

Pores strips can make pores even worse in the long run. Besides, blackheads come back after a few days.IMHO, it's much better to treat them with a chemical exfoliator ( like BHA or retinoic acid).

Tue Jan 11, 2011 9:31 pm

kims wrote:

I've been using retin a for almost two years. I had very stubborn blackheads on my nose that were resistant to everything -- including retin a. I finally had them removed by an esthetician and with consistent use of ra, they haven't returned.

is ra expensive?

Tue Jan 11, 2011 9:36 pm

4sons wrote:

grhawk wrote:

The Retin A from ADC is definately "genuine". It will most likely take 6 months to see good results from Retin A. There is no quick fix in skin care so be patient. I would find yourself a good quality facial cleanser. I use and would highly recommend Diana Yvonne's Rose hip cleanser. It is "clean" with no detergents to damage your skin barrier and the ph is perfect. Good luck. Greg

\\

I've tried MANY cleansers over the years and keep coming back to Diane Yvonne's Rose Hip Cleanser as well.

I don't think Retin A will get rid of a blackhead. Do you exfoliate in addition or just use that?

Thanks for the advise.
I am currently using cleansers from paula's choice. it's gentle and no detergent.

Yeah, i used to exfoliate using BHA. but since using retin-a, i stop exfoliating cause afrain it would be too irritating.

Tue Jan 11, 2011 9:39 pm

rockhugger wrote:

Tretinoin cream (.05%) has been amazing on my blackheads, as has 2% BHA (Paula's Choice is a great choice, as is Neutrogena 3-in-1 Acne stress control hydrating treatment).

The tretinoin plumps up the middle layer of skin with collagen, kind of forcing the blackheads out from the inside; by contrast the 2% BHA seems to dissolve the little beasties from the outside.

Yeah, I used to be a regular user of BHA from paulaschoice(for a year), and didn't see any results(but my skin is less oily).
Thats why i decided to try retin-a.
Should I apply both?

Tue Jan 11, 2011 9:42 pm

chantrelle99 wrote:

Well Retin A never did nothing for my black heads. Even afer more than a year of use. How ever I Beleive it help in my process on not getting them back.

I had them removed with a few treatments of glycolic peals and after I kept on having my skin cleaned 3 times a years on top of what I do at home.
It is a lot of work to get ride of those black heads and a lot of work not to have them come back. You always have to keep watching those little buggers Mad

thanks for the advice!
Where did you get those treaments? "...my skin cleaned 3 times a year"??

Tue Jan 11, 2011 9:43 pm

RussianSunshine wrote:

dongss_1999 wrote:

i handle my blackheads with pore strip, it's hurt, but effective

Pores strips can make pores even worse in the long run. Besides, blackheads come back after a few days.IMHO, it's much better to treat them with a chemical exfoliator ( like BHA or retinoic acid).

Totally agree.
but no progress yet~ Sad

free skin care · Wed Jan 12, 2011 5:05 am

About the Glycolic acid peals (6 treatments) I got those done at the spa. I believe there were around 20% glycolic but she starts with a lower % for the 2 or 3 first treatments. She also was doing black head extractions at the same times. I really got a good results out of it.
About my skin being cleaned 3 times a year I meant a deep cleaning at the spa. And of course I have a daily routine to kept the results.

free skin care · Wed Jan 12, 2011 11:29 am

NEOSTRATA CITRIATE TREATMENT SYSTEM
Is an at home peel that had 20% AHA that should cost less than going to a derm to have it done
8 X NeoStrata Citriate Solution pads
2 X NeoStrata Bionic Face Cream 10g
1 X NeoStrata Facial Cleanser 15ml

you cleanse,peel,cleanse, moisturize.
The bionic face cream is really great i have read very good reviews online for it.'moisturize the skin while visibly reducing lines, wrinkles and other signs of photo aging.'

Thu Jan 13, 2011 11:14 am

Atiyya wrote:

NEOSTRATA CITRIATE TREATMENT SYSTEM
Is an at home peel that had 20% AHA that should cost less than going to a derm to have it done
8 X NeoStrata Citriate Solution pads
2 X NeoStrata Bionic Face Cream 10g
1 X NeoStrata Facial Cleanser 15ml

you cleanse,peel,cleanse, moisturize.
The bionic face cream is really great i have read very good reviews online for it.'moisturize the skin while visibly reducing lines, wrinkles and other signs of photo aging.'

does it work for blackheads?
I am more concerned of treating blackheads.

free skin care · Thu Jan 13, 2011 11:45 am

retinaforblackhead wrote:

rockhugger wrote:

Tretinoin cream (.05%) has been amazing on my blackheads, as has 2% BHA (Paula's Choice is a great choice, as is Neutrogena 3-in-1 Acne stress control hydrating treatment).

The tretinoin plumps up the middle layer of skin with collagen, kind of forcing the blackheads out from the inside; by contrast the 2% BHA seems to dissolve the little beasties from the outside.

Yeah, I used to be a regular user of BHA from paulaschoice(for a year), and didn't see any results(but my skin is less oily).
Thats why i decided to try retin-a.
Should I apply both?

Yes, less oily skin is a common effect of BHA, and that should help with the blackheads. After an extraction, BHA or RA should prevent them from filling up again so fast or so big.

If you use both, try maybe alternating nights or RA at night and BHA in the morning. And of course, be alert for signs of irritation telling you to back off of either. I can't use BHA much now that I'm using RA regularly. HTH

free skin care · Thu Jan 13, 2011 2:35 pm

Sure it will work its an AHA(ALPHA HYDROXY ACID) which is used for cell turnover,peel you could give it a try.As chantrelle99 said she got the same % as a treatment at a professional and it helped.
you can also google "AHA for blackheads" and you will get reviews.Seems most are good.

retinaforblackhead wrote:

does it work for blackheads?
I am more concerned of treating blackheads.

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