Tretinoin - Break-out for less wrinkles? Fact or Fiction?
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Sun May 01, 2011 7:25 pm

I recently started using Tretinoin (better known as Retin-A) for wrinkles. I decided to do a little online research to see how long before I'd start seeing results. Much to my surprise, I read over 100 reviews stating that the first month (or longer) will include a horrible break out. Confused

Not sure why my doc didn't mention this.
So my question is -- if I'm not using this product for acne, will it cause acne anyway? Has anyone used this specifically for wrinkles and made it out alive (and by alive, I mean break-out free)?

The reviews did state that after a few months, everything is great - but these were all people who were using for acne, not wrinkles.

Would love to hear your experience...

free skin care · Sun May 01, 2011 7:34 pm

I think if you aren't prone to acne, you won't have a problem. However, there is an ingredient in some of the tretinoin products that can cause acne in some people.

Sun May 01, 2011 7:38 pm

[quote="rileygirl"]I think if you aren't prone to acne, you won't have a problem. However, there is an ingredient in some of the tretinoin products that can cause acne in some people.[/quote]

Do you know which ingredient? And is it in all versions or only certain brands? Thank you! Smile

free skin care · Sun May 01, 2011 11:12 pm

Isopropyl myristate is the main ingredient. It's found in the brand-name but sometimes the generics use it too.

free skin care · Sun May 01, 2011 11:59 pm

I have never had a breakout from Retin-A.

free skin care · Mon May 02, 2011 12:30 am

I did from the cream - it was awful. Pores that were not clogged before ended up very clogged.

Sun May 15, 2011 6:34 am

Hi I've just bought AIROL tretinoin, has anyone tried that? is it any good? I dont' have acne anymore so I'm wondering if I will have abreakout if I use the product since I use to have acne.

free skin care · Sun May 15, 2011 4:29 pm

i've been using Retin-A for a year for wrinkles and haven't found that it's been diminishing my wrinkles

free skin care · Mon May 16, 2011 5:24 am

When you say you've been using it for a year, that can meean many things. What strength were you using? what medium? How often were you using it etc?

BCgirl wrote:

i've been using Retin-A for a year for wrinkles and haven't found that it's been diminishing my wrinkles

free skin care · Mon May 16, 2011 7:14 am

Used it for many years -sorry to report it never did a thing for me except give me a constant battle with break-outs. Retin A, Renova - was a huge waste of my money and time.

Gidget

free skin care · Mon May 16, 2011 9:14 am

Gidget wrote:

Used it for many years -sorry to report it never did a thing for me except give me a constant battle with break-outs. Retin A, Renova - was a huge waste of my money and time.

Gidget

If you didn't have any visible wrinkles, you would not see that the Retin A did anything visible. However, it is proven to increase collagen production. So I would guess that by you using it for so many years, you actually prevented some wrinkles that would normally have formed! Very Happy

free skin care · Mon May 16, 2011 11:41 am

rileygirl wrote:

Gidget wrote:

Used it for many years -sorry to report it never did a thing for me except give me a constant battle with break-outs. Retin A, Renova - was a huge waste of my money and time.

Gidget

If you didn't have any visible wrinkles, you would not see that the Retin A did anything visible. However, it is proven to increase collagen production. So I would guess that by you using it for so many years, you actually prevented some wrinkles that would normally have formed! Very Happy

Possible in some areas of my face, but I do have some wrinkles that never budged one smidgen. It did give me a constant battle with breakouts, did nothing for blackheads on my nose area and just wasn't the product for me. I guess everything doesn't work for everyone even if "proven" to do so. Too bad for me as many love it! Crying or Very sad

Gidget

free skin care · Mon May 16, 2011 6:06 pm

Nope, if anything, it cleared up my very acne prone skin.

free skin care · Mon May 16, 2011 7:52 pm

I've used Retin A for 20 years. I don't recall it ever causing breakouts, sensitivity or irritation of any kind. I really think it depends on the individual user. Also, it may be worth noting that people who have experienced problems are the ones most likely to write reviews. Benefits from Retin A (renova, etc.) take a long time to appear. Annoying side effects, such as breakouts or irritation, generally appear quickly.

free skin care · Wed May 18, 2011 5:30 pm

Mine caused some massive irritation, but it was well worth it. Lasted a few weeks.

free skin care · Wed May 18, 2011 6:24 pm

Do you apply moisturizer after applying your RetinA or is Retin-A the only thing on your skin at night time?

free skin care · Wed May 18, 2011 7:16 pm

Retin-A will not cause breakouts if you do not have acne prone skin. However, if you do have acne-prone skin like I did, when I first started the Retin-A 0.1% gel from ADC, my initial breakout period lasted almost a month and after that I have had flawless, poreless, skin for over a year - it works to keep your skin clear and wrinkle free ONLY and ONLY if you consistently keep using it without stopping. However, once you stop and restart again, the breakouts may occur once more due to the tretinoin in Retin-A causing dermal debris to surface to the stratum corneum.

free skin care · Thu May 19, 2011 10:09 am

I just turned 26 yrs old as well...so i don't have wrinkles except for the really tiny ones starting to form around my eyes...i've been using retin-a .05 cream on my face and around my eyes to prevent wrinkles, i find the .05 to be a bit strong because it still causes dryness and flaking even after months of use so I went down to a .025 cream. I don't see a decrease in wrinkles....but I still keep on using it as a preventative for wrinkles. In the past year i've noticed very tiny wrinkles around my eyes that weren't there last year that has crept up (with the use of retin-a every night)...i guess wrinkles are inevitable even if you do use Retin-A...but sometimes I wonder if retin-a use around the eye area actually causes wrinkles to creep up faster

free skin care · Thu May 19, 2011 10:23 am

I used Retin-A Micro for a while and didn't have any breakouts, but my health insurance changed and it won't cover the Micro at the same rate now because there's no generic option. So I went back to using the regular cream... and DEFINITELY experienced some breakouts and majorly clogged pores. But after the first monthish they did seem to calm down, plus I'm a cheapskate now that we have a mortgage to pay. So I'm sticking with the low-price generic Retin-A for a while and seeing how it goes! Might go back to the micro if my acne worsens as summer draws closer. The cream's base is DEFINITELY more occlusive.

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