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Tretinoin is one of a category of medications called retinoids. It’s a form of vitamin A that acts on the skin by increasing skin cell production and turnover. Tretinoin boosts the exfoliation process, causing your skin cells to slough off and regenerate more quickly.
Topical tretinoin has a variety of uses in skin care products. Because it acts to increase cell production and slough off the outermost layer of skin cells, tretinoin is great for revealing an overall healthier complexion and more youthful skin with an even complexion.
Tretinoin specifically can reduce the appearance of dark spots, liver spots, melasma, and hyperpigmentation. It is useful in treating sun damage in general to the face and neck and gives the skin a brighter, more uniform, and youthful color.
It is also used to treat acne by expelling comedones or clogged and infected pores. Rough, irritated skin flakes off and a healthier complexion is left in its place.
Because tretinoin promotes skin cell regeneration, it's also one of the best anti-aging ingredients out there.
Tretinoin comes with many skincare benefits, but it also has many drawbacks.
Because tretinoin works by sloughing off skin cells and regenerating new ones quickly, when you first start using it, you will likely have patches of redness, irritation, and flaky skin. If you have acne, it may look and feel worse for a week or two because there have been blemishes and pore blockages forming in the deepest layers of your skin that are coming to the surface. People with skin sensitivities can experience severe irritation, redness, inflammation, and burning. It may take up to 8-12 weeks before your skin starts to look more healthy and youthful.
Another drawback to tretinoin is that it makes your skin more sensitive to sunlight and sunburn. Tretinoin is also not approved for use in anyone under 18 or for women who are pregnant or breast-feeding.
Because of the many drawbacks of tretinoin, it's only available via dermatologists' prescription or telemedicine brands, making it harder to get.
This unfortunate name comes from the craft tissue called crepe paper, which is thin and wrinkled. Crepey skin, therefore, refers to skin that is thin and wrinkled in appearance. Crepey skin typically appears as we age and our skin loses its ability to hold moisture to stay plump and firm. We also lose our ability to produce as much collagen as we age, which also contributes to thinner, less pliable skin. The likelihood of your skin becoming crepey as you age is determined, in part, by genetics as well. Smart skincare routines and lifestyle changes can help prevent areas of thin skin from becoming crepey in appearance.
To prevent crepey skin caused by sun damage, it’s best to moisturize daily and wear sunscreen. Additionally, antioxidants protect the skin from free radicals that damage cells and speed up aging. Ingredients and nutrients like rosehip oil, jojoba oil, peptides, red tea extract, retinol/vitamin A, coenzyme Q10, alpha-hydroxy acide and salicylic acid are all beneficial for preventing and reducing wrinkles. Collagen, ingredients that boost the production of collagen like vitamin C, and moisture barriers are all useful in plumping the skin and making skin firmer and tighter.
tretinoin may be effective for crepey skin, but there are many other factors that may affect whether this ingredient would work on your skin or if there are better ingredients that may work for you. Take this skin quiz to find the best ingredients for your skin and build your skincare routine.
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