Beauty Bug begs an answer: I’m currently reading Free Gift with Purchase, by Jean Godfrey-June, the beauty editor for Lucky. The books says that Retin-A helps with wrinkles and Beauty Bug wants the Beauty Brains to comment. Does Retin-A really get rid of wrinkles?
The Left Brain responds:
What is Retin-A
Retin-A is the brand name of a prescription drug called Tretinoin which is a derivative of vitamin A. In 1971, the FDA approved the topical application of Tretinoin to treat acne and sun damaged skin. This drug works by irritating the skin, which triggers the basal layer to produce fresh skin cells, thus increasing cell turnover. (Mmmm, turnover!) As new cells more rapidly replace the old ones, the skin takes on a younger, smoother appearance. So it does work, but there are a few issues you should be aware of.
5 Things You Need to Know About Retin-A
1) It’s a prescription drug so you can only get it from your doctor.
2) It doesn’t work over night. Wrinkles start to decrease or disappear after three to six months.
3) Some of the drug is absorbed into the body and may cause problems with pregnancy.
4) It can be so irritating that it burns and causes redness.
5) While it does help reduce wrinkles that doesn’t mean it gets rid of ALL your wrinkles. As they say, results will vary.
The Brains Bottom Line: Unlike so many wrinkle creams, this drug has been proven to really do something (despite the issues cited above.) And don’t fall for the claims of other products that are really just regular cosmetics with Vitamin A derivatives.
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi, Beauty Brains. Great blog! Thanks for visiting mine. I’ll be back to read more soon!
My dermatologist prescribes me tretinoin, and so I use it every night for acne. But I heard that tretinoin may thin the skin out, so it’s often combined with hydrocortisone (or some kind of steroid, I forgot which exactly) to counter tretinoin’s thinning effect. Is this true? I don’t want to be thinning my skin out in the long run! And what effect can thinning facial skin have?
This is a response to Sandra about skin thinning. I use a thick cream product that is 10% glycolic acid (sorry, can’t remember the brand, but it was over the counter), and was warned by the lady at the pharmacy that it can also cause skin thinning. This doesn’t mean that it will eat your face off! You can apply this product over and over, as long as you don’t get irritated by it.
What this DOES mean is that it causes dead layers of skin to fall away (I don’t notice anything, physically, although this can cause redness for some.) Because of this, glycolic acid can essentially give you age spots over time, because you are exposing more of your fresh, baby skin to the sun, instead of having those practically invisible layers of old skin to help protect it.
I imagine that physically having glycolic acid, or a product like tretinoin, on your skin while simultaneously being in the sun might essentially act as a magnifying glass. As such, I don’t wear the product on my face during the day, and put a suntan lotion for babies (SPF 50, it has Elmo on the bottle!) under my make-up. The effects of the product on my skin, however – smoother, less acne, shorter duration of a pimple, reduced scarring – are well worth any “thinning.”
Interesting…
Please also be aware of the potential for hair loss. I am a pre-med student (desire to become a derm.) and have suffered from acne since my teens. I recently used Retin-A Micro before trying Differin and noticed hair loss. As mentioned, results and side effects vary person to person. I was not aware of this however, and wanted to fully inform those who read the article.
”And don’t fall for the claims of other products that are really just regular cosmetics with Vitamin A derivatives.”
I don’t get it. In this article:
http://thebeautybrains.com/2007/05/24/finally-an-affordable-wrinkle-treatment-that-works/
you say vitamin A and retinol CAN help and now you say it’s useless :S
Can you clarify this for me please?
We didn’t say it was useless. We said that the things you buy in the store that are not prescriptions use vitamin A derivatives that don’t work. Vitamin A & Retinol do work. The derivatives of these compounds haven’t been shown to work.
Can I use Tretinoin Cream around the eye area if I mix it with a moisturizer? I have lots of fine lines forming around my eye and I heard that would help.
This is a response to the guy using retin a and a topical steroid cream. Please be aware that topical steroid creams DEFINATELY have a thinning effect on the skin and whilst using retin a which makes skin hypersensitive this could further damage you skin. Redness and swelling of skin is normal with the use of retin a treatment but if it gets bad enough that you need a topical steroid cream all you have to do if apply it every Other night. DO NOT USE BOTH TOPICAL STEROID CREAM AND RETIN A TOGETHER and make sure to use a natural calming moisturiser and sunblock during the day whilst using Retin A
I guess I don’t really understand what “skin thinning” is. To me, it sounds more serious than redness or irritation. It seems like it would make the skin look old, which defeats nthe whole purpose. I’m confused.
no cream can cure wrinkles permanently , or fillers are temporary , if you want that baby soft skin permanentaly , theres only one way to get it……pranayam and yoga belive me else every thing is rubbish and wast of money…
its takes years 2 cure wrinkles permanently around 4-5 years but cure is for last long till u die…after doin this pranayam a person even die with a young skin, …….if u wana know about this technique you can contact me , my id is gvarun7@yahoo.com
regular yoga not only remove your wrinkles permanent but also make you look sexier day by day……awasome