Questions for Retin-A users

dollgal · ‎03-01-2015

Hello - I started Trentinoin (Retin-A) a week ago in a low dose of 0.025%. I have not had any flaking, peeling or redness so I am wondering if I am not using it correctly or the dose is too low. I wanted to start out slowly but maybe this is too low and slow.

I cleanse my face at night, wait until it is completely dry, then use a very small amount of Retin-A all over my face. I wait 15 to 20 minutes then I apply my moisturizer. Should I not be moisturizing afterwards?

In the morning I use Kaplans 1 minute Diamond Daily Facial scrub, then Philospophy When Hope is Not Enough serum, followed by my sunscreen.

Am I using too many moisturizing products? My skin is not usually sensitive but I did expect to have some flaking.

World Traveler · ‎02-02-2015

@SilleeMee will probably stop by and answer your questions. She knows a lot about Retin-A and do's/dont's.

SilleeMee · ‎05-22-2016

@World Traveler

Thanks! for saying so.

SilleeMee · ‎05-22-2016

@dollgal

I would say you are doing just fine for starters. Just b/c you are not experiencing flaking and redness doesn't mean the RA is not working. It is working but at a dose where your skin can handle it. The goal is to get to highest strength possible w/o irritation and use it everyday. Try applying just the RA alone, w/o the moisturizer, and see how that goes. Then you could go up to the 0.05% and use that intermittently and still use the 0.025 on the other nights until the 0.025% is all used up. A little bit of dryness and flaking is okay but if it's extremely that way with redness then you could back off and use it less frequently until your skin adjusts.

Flaking and dryness are side-effects of using RA and those effects should not be your goals. The anti-aging benefits of using RA happen deeper in the skin and not on the surface. RA works best when you use it everyday. If you can't use it everyday b/c of irritation then use a lower dose and/or with moisturizer.

LuvmyLab · ‎06-07-2010

@dollgal Everything you are doing is exactly what I do. I would wait a few weeks and if you are still not having any peeling or flaking you may be able to increase the percentage of the retin A. I also started slowly but did have some flaking, no redness. Once I adjusted to that the doctor increased my dosage and I was fine.