Beauty

[wvumountiefan]

I’m curios as to what your using, and what are your thoughts on the most effective one without needing a prescription? 🙂

[JeanLouiseFinch]

I’ve been using Mad Hippie Vitamin A Serum for awhile now. It’s not as strong as prescription Retin A, but better than retinol because it’s already bioavailable without needing the metabolic conversion steps required for retinol to be received by the skin.  And, BTW, those conversion steps weaken the retinol in the process. For that reason, I personally don’t think retinol is that great of an ingredient, not to mention where it usually appears on an ingredient list.

[Texasmouse]

I use a prescription .05% tretinoin cream that I got from my dermatologist but I've also bought it online without a prescription from alldaychemist dot com.

[cddh]

Check out beautypedia.com.  She gives a lot of information on all prices of products.  She does sell her own but she is honest, I believe, in reviewing other brands.

[SilleeMee]

I use .05 tretinoin from ADC, no Rx needed there. Before that I started with Paula's Choice 1% retinol. A good quality 1% retinol equates to approx to a .02% tretinoin. But beware, it's not quite that simple. OTC retinols come in so many different strengths, containers and delivery systems. OTC products are not standardized as you find with Rx products...and there lies the biggest concern. Just because an OTC retinol says it contains 1% doesn't mean it is as effective as all other 1% retinol products. When it comes to OTC retinol the delivery system makes all the difference and that can drive the cost.

ETA-

Retinol will never work as good as tretinoin b/c tret is a very unique drug that is designed to do much more than any OTC retinol can do. Tretinoin reacts with special receptors in the skin where only tretinoin can reach. No other retinoid has the ability to do that.

[all]

I do ADC also. I'm in my early 40s and have been doing it (tret) for 15 years. I have great skin. Use it on face, neck, etc.

[GenXmuse]

I use retin-a at the lowest strength of .020 because my skin is very sensitive and rosacea prone. 

[Icegoddess]

I use the PTR one that goes on special on the Q every so often.  I know it's not as good as Retin-A, but that's okay with me at the moment.  I would be willing to try the stronger version of the PTR one if it came on special, but not rushing to get on the Retin-A.  All the precautions and the extra time to properly apply is more than I care to add to my routine.

[Longhorn Gal]

I get Tretinoin cream .05% from TaraSkinCare.  I do have a question for anyone who can answer.  Is the cream or gel better?  On TSC they have the Tretinion Gel in .05, .025, or .1%.  Just wondering which delivery system is better for wrinkles?  

[JeanLouiseFinch]

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@Longhorn Gal wrote:

I get Tretinoin cream .05% from TaraSkinCare.  I do have a question for anyone who can answer.  Is the cream or gel better?  On TSC they have the Tretinion Gel in .05, .025, or .1%.  Just wondering which delivery system is better for wrinkles?  

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@Longhorn Gal I'm pretty sure the user chooses the cream or gel based on their particular skin type - cream for normal and gel for oily.