Used retin-a under the eyes. Regret! Any suggestions?
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free skin care · Tue Feb 26, 2008 7:14 am

Hmmm ... I was experimenting with a little retin-a under the eyes and it has not been successful. The whole area is now very dry and "tight" - with a little flaking thrown in for good measure. Sad

I've been hydrating with gentle moisturisers but I am going to have to give my entire eye area some extra tender loving care over the next couple of weeks. Has anyone had a similar experience and, if so, are there any suggestions as to how to best proceed?

Thanks in advance.

free skin care · Tue Feb 26, 2008 7:25 am

I always use Retin A right around, up to, my eyes. I even, often, use it on my eyelids without peeling or irritation. Most of my fine lines are in the eye area and that is what I figure I am using Retin A for.

Whenever I do experience peeling/irritation from overdoing Retin A I don't put anything on the irritated areas, other than Emu oil, jojoba oil, and HA serum. That usually clears up the peelies in a few days.

free skin care · Tue Feb 26, 2008 7:41 am

just stop using th retin-a and use something very hydrating eye cream , then after it stops peeling use the rein-a buffered with an eye cream

free skin care · Tue Feb 26, 2008 8:03 am

I did exactly the same thing a few weeks ago and my under eye area was looking really bad becuase I had used a gel based retin a 0.1% on that area. Some of the posters on here suggested rose hip seed oil which really worked to restore the lipids in the skin.
The I just used green cream 6 under my eyes instead of medical grade retin a and it seems to work really well. I have now went back to using a cream based retin a 0.5% every other night or so and that seems to work fine.
I do think that the Retin does make things look worse at times but over all it does improve lines under the eyes. I am thinking of getting a full sized green cream 6 to use under the eye as that was really pretty good and had no ill effects.

free skin care · Tue Feb 26, 2008 12:02 pm

I would recommend emu oil or Obagi Action & Obagi Tolereen blended together. Both should provide quick relief but the Obagi products mixed should completely correct your problem with 48 hours.

Retin-A prescription information cautions against using this near the eye area (particularly the eyelids). If you are going to attempt using it near the eye area, great care must be taken and it would be best to limit use to the outer eye area targeting crows feet. Renova would also be a better choice for using near the mouth, corners of the nose & area's of the eye. While Renova is exactly the same as Retin-A it is made up in a different base. The Renova base is much more moisturizing and actually a better product for treating wrinkles rather than acne.

free skin care · Tue Feb 26, 2008 12:40 pm

Thanks for the really helpful suggestions. I do have Renova and I'm kicking myself for not using that instead.

I'm in the UK and can't get Obagi products easily. And while I've read many good things about emu oil, I am vegetarian so couldn't it's off limits for me.

I shall investigate those two Obagi products that you recommended, Fairlady, to see if I can substitute anything else for the same *quick* corrective result, because that's what I want!

Thanks again for the advice, ladies.

free skin care · Tue Feb 26, 2008 2:35 pm

Graceless_lady:

Sorry didn't realize you had difficulty purchasing Obagi. Perhaps you could try:

Hydrocortisone 0.5% (Key ingredient in Tolereen)

mixed with

Glycerin & Aloe (active ingredients in Action - although, this product does include a rather long list of ingredients, this might just do it)

free skin care · Wed Feb 27, 2008 6:10 am

I use retinol instead and it works wonderful

free skin care · Wed Feb 27, 2008 8:43 am

fairlady, thank you for checking the ingredients for me. I saw your response just before I went to be last night, and I happened to have all three ingredients here at home. So I mixed some vegetable glycerin with water, then added a small dab of hydrocortisone gel (I didn't have the cream) and some aloe vera. And voila! This morning, my eyes no longer felt "tight" and they are considerably less crepey than they were yesterday. I am convinced it was the glycerin in particular that helped ... no matter what moisturisers or oils I'd been putting on the area, nothing seemed to work. It would soak it up but then seem dry again almost immediately. This cocktail was the ultra-hydration first aid that I required, and I am extremely grateful for this very specific and helpful advice. Thank you so much. Smile

I am now wondering if glycerin mixed with water is possibly a long-term option for moisturing my under-eye area. Has anyone else used it? My only concern is that it does seem a bit heavy and might cause milia to form.

free skin care · Wed Feb 27, 2008 2:07 pm

I did exactly the same thing with retin-a to my under eyes while using Obagi Nu-Derm. After about a week of nightly applications I looked at least 10 yrs older - not the look I was going for.
It got to the point where the only thing that provided any relief was Vaseline. I used it every night for about 2 weeks (destroyed at least 2 pillow cases) but everything finally went back to normal. Needless to say lesson learned.

free skin care · Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:51 am

fairlady wrote:

Graceless_lady:

Sorry didn't realize you had difficulty purchasing Obagi. Perhaps you could try:

Hydrocortisone 0.5% (Key ingredient in Tolereen)

mixed with

Glycerin & Aloe (active ingredients in Action - although, this product does include a rather long list of ingredients, this might just do it)

After two nights of following this suggestion, my problem has been resolved. Got to say it again, thank you to fairlady.

I feel fortunate that I had a bottle of vegetable glycerin in the house. I'd seen some very positive reviews about it on MUA (mixed with water, it is an inexpensive and effective moisturiser) - so I'd ordered it a couple of weeks back from a health food supplier. I am very impressed with it - can't believe how, combined with the aloe vera and hydrocortisone (which I used very, very sparingly), it completely corrected my problem so quickly. Like Alley posted, I felt that area looked 10 years older and I was feeling quite despondent about it.

So, the moral of my tale of woe:
1. Anyone thinking of embarking on using retin-a under the eyes, proceed with caution.
2. Vegetable Glycerin is a very valuable addition to the skincare arsenal.
3. The EDS oracles come through again!

Sun Jan 01, 2012 3:33 pm

I am using all the products under my eyes and above my eyes, down to the eyelid and it looks horrible right now, (week 3 Obagi nu-derm, retin-a 0.1%, Obagi RX-C Serum-Hydroquinone 4%). I am counting on it to work. I'm just wondering if you gave it enough time to work? I still think it should get much worst before it gets better. I'm seeing my dermatologist for the first time tomorrow just as a formality. I feel like I need medical backing to make sure I don't completely screw up my skin. I will ask her as well. Question

So far, I am ecstatic about the change in most areas of my face. My eyes, neck and chest are the worst but I'm patient. I find that the Obagi Elastiderm is extremely cooling and hydrating. I put it on my eyes, around my mouth and neck, when I feel really tight and my skin is flaking. I had recently purchased the NeoCutis - Lumiere Eye Cream, Journee Face Lotion, and Bio-Creme, plus I still had some Skinmedica TNS Essential Serum and Recovery Complex. I'm holding off on those until I feel like my skin is ready to heal. I also need guidance as to when to put on what and in what sequence. I will never stop using the Obagi Nu-Derm/Retin-A combo but I'm hoping to incorporate the TNS? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm certainly not wealthy by no means but I will save up for skincare. I'm 45 and starting to move into the midlife thing. Laughing

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