Retin a
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Mon Mar 24, 2008 4:54 pm

I've got a question. What is the difference in Retin A and Differin? I thought Differin was retin a but when I looked it up it doesn't say it is. And can you use Differin with another retinol? I am using Differin for my adult acne but I also want to use retinol for aging skin. Can anyone help me with my confusion?

free skin care · Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:46 pm

RetinA is tretinoin or retinoic acid. Retinoic acid is a natural substance in the sense that it occurs naturally in your skin. Retinol is converted in a two step process to retinoic acid so it should thoeretically have the same benefits of RetinA. However, in my opinion most studies and anecdotal evidence do not support the claim that retinol is as effective as RetinA. Differin is a synthetic retinoid named adapalene.

Retinoic acid and adapalene are both retinoids but their effects on the retinoic acid receptors in the skin are not exactly the same. If I recall correctly retinoic acid activates all three of the RAR receptors while adapalene only effects two of the RAR receptors.

Theoretically adapalene should have anti aging benefits but unlike tretinoin it does not have studies to support any anti-aging claims.

In my opinion you are better off going with RetinA or Tazorac if you want "proven" antiaging benefits. However, Differin is substantially milder than either Tazorac or RetinA. So if your skin cannot tolerate the other retinoids then maybe the Differin and Retinol route might be worth pursuing (or just Differin if the combination proves to be too much). Going with RetinA or Tazorac instead of Differin and Retinol will probably save you money too.

If you do decide to use both Differin and Retinol do not use them at the same time. There are no studies that I am aware of which show that using them together is detrimental but to be safe and to ensure effectiveness it would be best to alternate them.

Anecdotal evidence... I used Differin for 9 years and switched to RetinA a bit over a year ago. I am 40 now and have very young looking skin for my age. I have a feeling that sunscreen use since age 18 is a big factor in the condition of my skin but I also think that Differin helped too. It is possible that Differin is very helpful for anti-aging but the science is not there and at age 39 I decided that I wanted to go with what has the most evidence for effectiveness.

free skin care · Mon Mar 24, 2008 11:17 pm

I should add that Tazorac is not retinoic acid. It is tazorotene which is converted to tazarotenic acid. While it is not the same as RetinA it is a retinoid and does have proven anti-aging benefits. There is alot of debate over whether tretinoin or tazorotene is better but suffice to say that either would be a good choice from an anti-aging standpoint.

Tue Mar 25, 2008 8:40 am

Thanks Kitty! So, if I'm understanding correctly, I could just use Differin by itself and not add the retinol, and still see results? Since I just got my Differin refilled, I may wait until I run out and get some retin a. I can see that that would save me money to try some other things! But, now knowing that the retin a in Differin is synthetic I think the RetinA sounds better to me. I prefer the natural route better. I have never heard of Tazorac. Is that a prescription only product too?

free skin care · Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:24 am

My personal opinion (not adequately backed by studies in this case) is that Differin by itself should have antiaging benefits. Also, If you are hoping to achieve specific results such as a reduction in fine wrinkles or hyperpigmentaion you will be able to tell if Differin is working for these.

Strictly speaking there is no RetinA in Differin and when I used the word natural to describe RetinA I meant that retinoic acid naturally occurs in the body while Differin which is synthetic does not naturally occur in the body. Most would not consider RetinA to be natual in the sense that it is "all natural". Any RetinA formula is full of chemical ingredients. Also, applying RetinA topically creates an un-natural effect in the sense that the skin does not normally produce these quantities of retinoic acid.

Tazorac is a prescription only product. It has been around for awhile but is relatively new compared to RetinA.

Considering how expensive Differin is I don't blame you for wanting to use the refill that you just bought! If you do decide to switch to RetinA start out slow. I use the lowest strength of RetinA .025% and it took a while for my skin to adjust when I started using this. I know that Differin is .1% and it seems like it would be logical to just use .1% RetinA but RetinA is powerful stuff compared to Differin.

Keep us update on your retinoids routine!

Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:42 am

Oh, I see what you mean. The RetinA sounds better even though it is made with chemicals, since retinoic acid is naturally occuring in your body. Actually , my new Differin refill is the .3% strength. It's a new strength. So, I wonder how that would compare to the RetinA .025%?

So, do you just spot treat problem areas with the RetinA or do you put it all over your face? And would the Differin work to smooth scars and lighten them? I have a small surgical scar right on my cheek, where I had to have a cyst excised, and it bugs me to death!
Sad

free skin care · Tue Mar 25, 2008 11:24 am

This is a very interesting thread...Thanks for starting it scrappnmom!

Hi h.kitty---you said " I use the lowest strength of RetinA .025% and it took a while for my skin to adjust when I started using this. " I would like to know how you knew that our skin had adjusted to the Retin-A? And how would you know when to use a stronger Retin-A?
Thanks!

free skin care · Tue Mar 25, 2008 11:27 am

I am not at all familiar with the new strength of Differin to compare the .3 strength to .025% RetinA when it comes to irritation potential or anti-aging benefits. I may have to study this some more when I have the time.

Have you been using the .3 strength all along or is this newest refill the first time you will be using the .3 strength?

RetinA should be applied to the entire face if you are using it for anti-aging.

I cannot offer an informed opinion on whether Differin would work to treat scars. If you have some hyperpigmentation associated with the scar it may help with that but I do not know if it would smooth this type of scar.

Tue Mar 25, 2008 11:42 am

I've been using the .3% for a few months. I was just using the samples the derm gave me until now.

free skin care · Tue Mar 25, 2008 11:44 am

yeahyeah wrote:

This is a very interesting thread...Thanks for starting it scrappnmom!

Hi h.kitty---you said " I use the lowest strength of RetinA .025% and it took a while for my skin to adjust when I started using this. " I would like to know how you knew that our skin had adjusted to the Retin-A? And how would you know when to use a stronger Retin-A?
Thanks!

I knew that my skin had adjusted when I could use it everyday without experiencing any irritation or dryness. My skin had all the signs of healthy skin-irritation free, not as senstive, well hydrated, etc. I experienced mild irritation and flakiness when I switched to RetinA. I actually switched from Differin to Ziana (.025% tretinoin and clindamycin) and then from Ziana to RetinA cream and both times my skin experienced irritation and flakiness.

For me I do not plan on using a stronger form of RetinA. My thoughts are mixed on whether anyone needs to be using more than .25% RetinA on a long term basis. Personally I have very senstive skin and am surprised that my skin can even tolerate the lowest strength and doubt that it would tolerate the higher strengths.

As for stepping up to a higher strenght of RetinA...I am reluctant to discuss this because of my mixed feeling on whether this is necessary. If you are using the lower strenght and are not achieving the resluts that you desire then perhaps stepping up to a higher strenght would be okay especially if you are a tough skinned individual. There is some evidence that the additional benefits of the higher strenghts of RetinA come mostly from irritation. I do not know if this is true or not and think that it might depend on how well the product can penetrate an individuals skin. I guess that I just don't worry about it too much since I am happy with the .025% strength.

free skin care · Tue Mar 25, 2008 11:57 am

Thanks so much for the quick detailed reply h.kitty. I'm glad the Retin-A is working for you!
I only started Retin-A 0.025% last week and am already experiencing some purging (everyone I see has commented on my skin, asking me what's wrong with it and how come all of a sudden 3-4 pimples has now turned into 20 odd all over my face Sad

) but I read that Retin-A 0.1% is more suited for those with acne Confused

, so I just thought that maybe when I'm more used to the 0.025% I will try the higher strength. But now, I'm not so sure as I'd hate for my skin to go through this again.

Tue Mar 25, 2008 3:29 pm

The 0.1% is better for people with acne? Ooh, I didn't know that. Maybe after I finish this .3% Differin I might try that. I may need to check how the strengths compare with the .3% Differin first, because I don't want to overdo it. This was very helpful!

Thanks!

free skin care · Thu Apr 03, 2008 1:10 am

scrappnamon I think that yeahyeah was indicating that she thought that .1% RetinA was better for acne than the lower strengths. It seems to me that the .3% Differin would be indicated for moderate to severe acne while the .1% Differin would be indicated for mild to moderate acne. Obviously the .3 Differin is stronger than the .1 Differin.

I do think that we have to wonder about overtreating. If a smaller concentration of either RetinA or Differin could successfully treat the signs of aging or acne then is that enough? I have never subscribed to the more is better school of thought (unless the more is proven to be better Wink

).

Did your derm perscribe the .3% strength of Differin as a first step or had you already been trying to treat your acne with other meathods and he/she decided that you should try the .3% version? I am interested to know at what point derms decide that the .3% is appropriate to use instead of the .1%. For that matter I would love to know why some derms recommend Differin instead of RetinA or Tazorac....

yeahyeah...I don't know if it is appropriate to say that .1% RetinA is better suited for acne. I think this depends on the severity of the acne and the individual's skintype. My personal opinion on RetinA (not necessarily other retinoids) is to find the lowest strenght that achieves the results you desire in a reasonable time frame. You also have to keep in mind that treating acne may involve more than retinoids. So it is possible that you could go up to the highest strength of RetinA and still not resolve your acne issues. I knew that I could not go to a higher strenght of RetinA to solve my acne issues (my face would be in a perputual state of irritation if I went to .05 or .1 RetinA.) At this point I knew that I needed to consider adding other anti acne topicals.

Thu Apr 03, 2008 6:59 am

Kitty, I really don't know why my derm put me on the .3% differin. He had initially given me the .1% and I did ok but when I went back still having problems and needing a new script he gave me the .3%. He just said that sometimes adult acne was more difficult to treat. If I continue to do ok with this I may just keep using this. I don't want to get into something that is too strong for me and have a dry, flaky face.

free skin care · Sun Apr 06, 2008 6:45 pm

Thanks for explaining that further, h.kitty.

Just wondering when Retin-A start to work i.e. see the results- no more acne? I remember it was 8 weeks...or was it 8 months Confused

free skin care · Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:01 pm

My derm has me on the .3% Differin for breakouts as well as anti-aging benefits. I was on the lower Differin and when I was there last I asked for something stronger specifically for anti-aging, and that's when he upped me to the .3%. I've only gone up to this strength a couple of weeks ago, so it's too soon to see results. But I haven't had any irritation.

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