Tretinoin to Treat Thinned Skin
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Wed May 25, 2011 2:12 pm

Hi everyone,

This is my first post...For many months from late 2009 until mid 2010, I used over the counter 1% hydrocortisone cream all over my body, except for on my face and chest. I was trying to treat a condition with my adrenal glands by supplementing my cortisol levels with the cream. I used the cream on a different "zone" of my body each day, so each zone got a rest for many days before being subjected to the hydrocortisone/steroid cream again, but I was using a relatively large amount (25 mg per day, most of the time) on a relatively small area of skin, such that the skin was saturated on the days of application. The treatment ended up not being very helpful for my adrenal glands, and I discontinued it after maybe 8 months or so.

It wasn't until after I stopped, and I don't know if it's because the effects didn't show up until later or if it was due to weight loss that helped to uncover the problem, but I can now see that in some areas of my body (upper arms, arm pits, stomach, groin, area above my knees), my skin has been thinned from what it was previously. I don't have stretch marks, but it's definitely thinner in these areas, and it's almost a year since I've stopped using the steroid cream. I'm very upset about this, especially the situation with my arms, as they are a very noticeable part of my body. I live in Florida and often wear sleeveless clothing. My arms seem to have aged about 15 years in less than one year. Sad

I've done some research, and the most promising treatment I've come across for my situation seems to be tretinoin (or maybe Tazorac too). I have some 0.1% gel, and I plan on ordering a bunch more (0.05% cream) from alldaychemist. My question is, can anyone tell me if it's safe to use tretinoin on other areas of the body in addition to the face. I plan on using it on my face too, but I wanted to find out if I could safely use it on my upper arms, arm pits, upper knees, groin, and stomach...all at the same time. I was able to find some information via google that indicated that Tazorac is not appropriate for large areas, however, I haven't been able to find out about tretinoin.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Smile

free skin care · Wed May 25, 2011 2:34 pm

I do not think Tretinoin is safe for large areas either. I would definitely check with your doctor or derm before you do that just to be on the safe side.

Wed May 25, 2011 5:00 pm

rileygirl wrote:

I do not think Tretinoin is safe for large areas either. I would definitely check with your doctor or derm before you do that just to be on the safe side.

Thanks, but if I had the ability to see a doctor, I wouldn't be posing the question here Smile

free skin care · Thu May 26, 2011 2:42 am

Briteside, MANY people who ask questions here have the ability to see a doctor. Riley was just trying to help. Your response was glib and quite rude.

free skin care · Thu May 26, 2011 3:55 am

Briteside your response was a little uncalled for and rude.

Besides, Retin A thins the top layer of skin, so I'm not so sure if your skin has thinned drastically that I'd recommend retin A to you. Also I wouldn't start out with a high strength like 0.1% on those areas where the skin is thinned as you might over challenge it. I'm not so sure that a cream could effectively help you out with the adrenals - I would suspect medication or diet would be the best way of treating that. Did you get that sorted in the end? Adrenal fatigue is a huge issue for so many of us in these times. Also you mention weightloss (thats the bain of my life too) as thats really huge and definitely does effect the body too and sometimes I think the skin needs time to snap back.

free skin care · Thu May 26, 2011 5:02 am

I would suggest you look into niacinamide. And drop the tretinoin idea.

For a drugstore solution, there is a Cetaphil Restoraderm moisturizer that contains niacinamide. Or you can look into the DIY section in this forum.

I used to use steroid creams for eczema, and the Aderma Exomega Cream helped with side effects I got. This also has niacinamide but has parabens. (Not sure what your stand is on parabens.)

Also sunscreen in the day.

Still, it would be better for you to get a professional opinion from a doc. You really wouldn't want to damage your skin further by messing around on your own again. Good luck! Smile

free skin care · Thu May 26, 2011 9:54 am

Hydrocortisone is known to thin skin. That's why directions on packages say to only use for 3 days in a row.

I would not recommend using a tretinoin for this situation.

Instead - use copper peptide creams. They have been know to thicken skin and return damaged skin back to a healthier condition. Look for CPs from Skin Biology. Give them a call for recommendations as to which of their CPs would work best for you. CPs are a much healthier way to get rid of damage from skin (and are great for getting rid of some wrinkles to boot!). I use them to firm my skin and get compliments all the time on how young I look. I credit CPs for that. CPs also improved a condition call Polkioderma of Civette on my chest (that nothing else could).

Thu May 26, 2011 9:58 am

circus wrote:

I would suggest you look into niacinamide. And drop the tretinoin idea.

For a drugstore solution, there is a Cetaphil Restoraderm moisturizer that contains niacinamide. Or you can look into the DIY section in this forum.

I used to use steroid creams for eczema, and the Aderma Exomega Cream helped with side effects I got. This also has niacinamide but has parabens. (Not sure what your stand is on parabens.)

Also sunscreen in the day.

Still, it would be better for you to get a professional opinion from a doc. You really wouldn't want to damage your skin further by messing around on your own again. Good luck! Smile

Thanks for the information, Circus...

Did you have noticeable skin damage from the steroid cream that has actually been reversed (or partially reversed) with niacinamide?

Thu May 26, 2011 10:11 am

foxe wrote:

Hydrocortisone is known to thin skin. That's why directions on packages say to only use for 3 days in a row.

I would not recommend using a tretinoin for this situation.

Instead - use copper peptide creams. They have been know to thicken skin and return damaged skin back to a healthier condition. Look for CPs from Skin Biology. Give them a call for recommendations as to which of their CPs would work best for you. CPs are a much healthier way to get rid of damage from skin (and are great for getting rid of some wrinkles to boot!). I use them to firm my skin and get compliments all the time on how young I look. I credit CPs for that. CPs also improved a condition call Polkioderma of Civette on my chest (that nothing else could).

Thank you, Foxe....Hydorcortisone is horrible...I will not touch it again. I thought I was being very careful by rotating areas of application...I never used it in one spot for more than a day at a time, there was more than a ten day break between applications, and what I used was only 1%. I didn't think I was taking a serious risk. If I has only known...I'm very upset about it at this point.

No one seems to like my tretinoin idea Wink

..I didn't think it was risky, assuming that you can deal with the irritation.

Thu May 26, 2011 10:28 am

TheresaMary wrote:

Briteside your response was a little uncalled for and rude.

Besides, Retin A thins the top layer of skin, so I'm not so sure if your skin has thinned drastically that I'd recommend retin A to you. Also I wouldn't start out with a high strength like 0.1% on those areas where the skin is thinned as you might over challenge it. I'm not so sure that a cream could effectively help you out with the adrenals - I would suspect medication or diet would be the best way of treating that. Did you get that sorted in the end? Adrenal fatigue is a huge issue for so many of us in these times. Also you mention weightloss (thats the bain of my life too) as thats really huge and definitely does effect the body too and sometimes I think the skin needs time to snap back.

Thank you for the response, MaryTheresa. I didn't intend to be rude with my doctor comment. If I could talk to a doctor about tretinoin though, I wouldn't be asking about it here. I'm sorry if the comment offended. I know I should talk to a doctor. I was hoping for substantive responses though, which have since come about, and I appreciate that.

There is a Yahoo health group that advocates the used of hydrocortisone cream (and the oral variety) to treat adrenal fatigue. It sounded like a great idea at the time, but I have since warned the people on that group about the consequences I suffered. I was surprised at how few seemed to care about the risk involved. I'm now using pregnenolone to treat my adrenals, and I've actually been feeling much better with no noticeable side effects. As for the weight loss, it wasn't a huge amount (maybe 15-20 pounds), and I gained it from the hydrocortisone cream! I don't think it was enough to really stretch out my skin. But I think that extra fat camouflaged the fact that my skin was thinning with the hydrocortisone cream, such that I didn't notice the thinning until that fat went away.

free skin care · Thu May 26, 2011 12:34 pm

briteside wrote:

circus wrote:

I would suggest you look into niacinamide. And drop the tretinoin idea.

For a drugstore solution, there is a Cetaphil Restoraderm moisturizer that contains niacinamide. Or you can look into the DIY section in this forum.

I used to use steroid creams for eczema, and the Aderma Exomega Cream helped with side effects I got. This also has niacinamide but has parabens. (Not sure what your stand is on parabens.)

Also sunscreen in the day.

Still, it would be better for you to get a professional opinion from a doc. You really wouldn't want to damage your skin further by messing around on your own again. Good luck! Smile

Thanks for the information, Circus...

Did you have noticeable skin damage from the steroid cream that has actually been reversed (or partially reversed) with niacinamide?

Hi I've used steroid creams on off for 20+ years before I decided to stop. (Had to stop actually.) I would say it is an 80% improvement. Skin is definitely more "resilient" and less sensitive. I used to, but now don't require the use of a moisturizer daily. The remaining 20% is because of veins that are faintly visible. But it's not that bad cos skin is not as dry/thin/wrinkle-y as before.

Niacinamide is basically anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and helps with skin barrier function (moisturization).

Here's some info:
http://www.dsm.com/en_US/downloads/dnpsa/Niacinamide_PC.pdf
http://www.pgdermatology.com/downloads/documents/PG-Niancinamide-FINAL-090105.pdf

Dr Leslie Baumann also recommends niacinamide for helping with irritation from tretinoin. Hths! Smile

Thu May 26, 2011 1:05 pm

circus wrote:

briteside wrote:

circus wrote:

I would suggest you look into niacinamide. And drop the tretinoin idea.

For a drugstore solution, there is a Cetaphil Restoraderm moisturizer that contains niacinamide. Or you can look into the DIY section in this forum.

I used to use steroid creams for eczema, and the Aderma Exomega Cream helped with side effects I got. This also has niacinamide but has parabens. (Not sure what your stand is on parabens.)

Also sunscreen in the day.

Still, it would be better for you to get a professional opinion from a doc. You really wouldn't want to damage your skin further by messing around on your own again. Good luck! Smile

Thanks for the information, Circus...

Did you have noticeable skin damage from the steroid cream that has actually been reversed (or partially reversed) with niacinamide?

Hi I've used steroid creams on off for 20+ years before I decided to stop. (Had to stop actually.) I would say it is an 80% improvement. Skin is definitely more "resilient" and less sensitive. I used to, but now don't require the use of a moisturizer daily. The remaining 20% is because of veins that are faintly visible. But it's not that bad cos skin is not as dry/thin/wrinkle-y as before.

Niacinamide is basically anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and helps with skin barrier function (moisturization).

Dr Leslie Baumann also recommends niacinamide for helping with irritation from tretinoin. Hths! Smile

Thank you, Circus!

I hope I'm not too annoying with my questions, but money is tight, and I want to feel like there's a good probability of success before I start investing in products.

Would you say you had significant thinning of your skin from your steroid cream use? I would think you would have after 20 years, but I just want to confirm. If so, you think the niacinamide actually thickened your skin? If that's the case, how long would you say it took to notice an improvement?

I actually took oral niacinamide for a while since the time my skin problem arose, and it didn't seem to help, but maybe I need the topical version to help my skin.

Thank you again!

free skin care · Thu May 26, 2011 1:46 pm

Hi briteside

Yes, I did have significant thinning of skin from steroid use. The niacinamide did help thicken but it's not a complete recovery, I still can see veins. I do think it would be unrealistic to expect a 100% reversal though.

I think it was about 1 year before I realised my skin was better. But then during that time I was still dealing with intermittent eczema flare-ups. That probably impeded progress.

I also find omega-3 supplements to be very helpful. At high dosages it is moisturizing for dry skin. At low dosages it helps with skin being too reactive/sensitive.

If money is a problem, there are lots of people buying niacinamide powder to make their own toner. Smile

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