Tretinoin Cream Vs Tretinoin Gel
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free skin care · Thu May 14, 2009 10:47 pm

I was wondering which is better Tretinoin cream vs gel? I was using the cream for awhile until I found out that isoproply myristate causes pore clogging. The gel contains alcohol which isn't good for your skin either. So which one is the best to use?

I'm using the generic brand maybe the non generic brand doesn't have those ingredients? Razz

free skin care · Fri May 15, 2009 4:14 am

The gel is supposedly for oily skin types, but for many people it can really speed up the so called awkward effects (peeling, redness etc). However the exception to this is the microgel, which works brilliantly but is usually in quite high strenghts (0.1% for example). This releases the tretinoin gradually throughout the night, so your skin doesn't get an immediate whack of the 0.1%).

The cream is supposed to be good for dry skin types, but many have reported that they still need to apply a moisturiser a good half hour after its application.

Those ingredients although are in the Retin A formations usually are not in a big quality to do damage to skin (but this depends on the individual), but actually Retin A in itself encourages cell turnover so I am not sure that I could see it clogging pores unless it was mixed with something else.

Sat May 16, 2009 7:09 am

I'm not sure what eactly is good for your skin type, but I'll tell you the Tretinoin Cream was HORRIBLE for my skin. It was red, and peeling all over. I actually had resonable sizes of skin coming off. So I went to my esthitician and she said never to use it. Those were just my experiences Smile

free skin care · Sat May 16, 2009 11:42 am

bitsyrhea wrote:

I'm not sure what eactly is good for your skin type, but I'll tell you the Tretinoin Cream was HORRIBLE for my skin. It was red, and peeling all over. I actually had resonable sizes of skin coming off. So I went to my esthitician and she said never to use it. Those were just my experiences Smile

What did your dermatologist say - and were you applying the prescription retinoids in accordance with his or her instructions?

free skin care · Sat May 16, 2009 1:44 pm

Some people need to start with a retinoid ever 3 days then graduate to 2 days and eventually every day. Some people can only use it every second day at the most. Other options include using a lower strength or buffering it by using a moisturizer underneath. It is hard to use just a pea size sometimes but it really is enough.

Sat May 16, 2009 4:48 pm

I've used both and personally i like the gel better. However, i feel it's easier to apply the cream. My doc recommends the cream over the gel.

free skin care · Sat May 16, 2009 6:35 pm

Technically, the gel-based tretinion product is better than cream-based one. But for some users, the gel version is also easier to cause uncormfort. I believe the cream one should be considered initially.

Sat May 16, 2009 7:22 pm

You might also look into tazorac, another retinoid. I use the cream form 1% strength with great results and no peeling or other side effects. You only need a pea sized amount. To aid in spreading, I apply a bit of serum or moisturizer to my face first, and then the tazorac.

free skin care · Sat May 16, 2009 11:59 pm

I've tried both and for now I'm sticking with the cream.

The gel is too drying for me.

Also... for the gel you have to wait 20 minutes after washing your face before applying it (or else it's even MORE irritant!) so that's too much work for me.

Sun May 17, 2009 5:57 am

SugarFreeSheila wrote:

bitsyrhea wrote:

I'm not sure what eactly is good for your skin type, but I'll tell you the Tretinoin Cream was HORRIBLE for my skin. It was red, and peeling all over. I actually had resonable sizes of skin coming off. So I went to my esthitician and she said never to use it. Those were just my experiences Smile

What did your dermatologist say - and were you applying the prescription retinoids in accordance with his or her instructions?

I'm not sure what a prescription retinoid is, but all the prescription came with was one little tube, and I used it once a day, at night. So I did do what the instructions said.
And she said that they give out Tretinoin Cream to everyone although it only works with very few people.

free skin care · Sun May 17, 2009 7:06 am

bitsyrhea wrote:

I'm not sure what a prescription retinoid is, but all the prescription came with was one little tube, and I used it once a day, at night. So I did do what the instructions said.
And she said that they give out Tretinoin Cream to everyone although it only works with very few people.

Mmmm I don't know why your aesthetistician said that but... in fact research shows the opposite.

Retinoids (tretinoin) is the active that has the most research behind it to back up the claim that it is an "anti-aging" active. It works on most people in fact, and in the ones that doesn't work, it's usually due to sensitive skin.

As people have said here, the thing is that you have to try slowly.

When I first started using retinoids (I have sensitive skin) I was not careful and I basically burned my skin!

So then my dermatologist started me with 0.001 every other day... working up to every day. Then I switched to 0.004, then to 0.025 and now I'm using 0.05 daily with no problem. It took me a long time to get used to it but it's worth it!

free skin care · Sun May 17, 2009 8:50 pm

Hi Bitsyrhea,
I know you said you had issues with acne on another thread and I was just wondering what your "plan of attack" is at this point. You said that Retin A didn't work for you, but it seems you were having some normal reactions: redness, dry skin, and peeling. What percent were you using? Also, what about Tazorac? My personal opinion is that the cream forms of Retin A might be a little easier to apply while the gel could be too drying for some people. Either way, I think it's excellent for both acne and anti-aging.

Josee: I agree with you, too. Sometimes we need to start out slowly with a lower percent and then move up as our skin adjusts. I'm currently using 0.05% Retin A with the Obagi Nuderm program.

free skin care · Mon May 18, 2009 7:38 am

alexol wrote:

Technically, the gel-based tretinion product is better than cream-based one. But for some users, the gel version is also easier to cause uncormfort. I believe the cream one should be considered initially.

Hi, could you explain why the gel-based product is better since the gel-based and the cream-based had the same absorption rate?

Thanks!

free skin care · Mon May 18, 2009 8:29 am

I've used generic tretinoin gel before and I didn't like the texture at all. Its consistency is like that of jello, and very difficult to spread evenly. It was very drying as I had to wait more than an hour before applying a moisturizer on top, or else it would "pill up" when mixed with anything. All in all, I think the cream form is much easier to use. HTH!

free skin care · Tue May 19, 2009 4:33 am

I think for someone just starting out in the world of retinoids should start out with an over the counter retinol like Green Cream etc...

I used Lv3 and 6 for several months and a few months on Skinceuticals 1% before starting out on retin .05% cream....my skin transitioned great to the retin-a (sans a few peelies and redness around my mouth which lasted a few weeks) and I believe using the OTC retinols were the reason behind that. I could even use retin under my eyes and every night from the get go.

Also....rileygirl suggested I use Aquaphor ointment in the mouth corners because I was getting irritation there. Now, I put a coating of that on my lips before my retin and voila! No more irritation there.....

I had heard too that gel was more for oily skin people...I have dry skin so I bought the cream instead. Would like to try the 1% retin someday, but I see alldaychemist only sells the 1 in gel.......

free skin care · Tue May 19, 2009 4:46 am

bren21 wrote:

I had heard too that gel was more for oily skin people...I have dry skin so I bought the cream instead. Would like to try the 1% retin someday, but I see alldaychemist only sells the 1 in gel.......

The thing with the 0.1 Retin-A is that it is not more collagen-inducing than the 0.05. So, unless you have acne, it really won't do much more to your skin except irritate it.

free skin care · Tue May 19, 2009 5:24 am

Josee wrote:

bren21 wrote:

I had heard too that gel was more for oily skin people...I have dry skin so I bought the cream instead. Would like to try the 1% retin someday, but I see alldaychemist only sells the 1 in gel.......

The thing with the 0.1 Retin-A is that it is not more collagen-inducing than the 0.05. So, unless you have acne, it really won't do much more to your skin except irritate it.

Good to know! Thanks for the info....I guess I don't need it then and will stick with the .05% which is working great for me.....

Wed Jun 23, 2010 11:16 pm

I just got the tretinoin medicine in the mail. It says tretinoin gel USP, 0.05% 20 g on the outside, but when i squeezed it out of the tube, it was a yellow-ish color. All of the gels that I have used have been clear. I need the gel, not the cream and I can not tell if I have the right thing. If anyone has had the gel or cream, can you tell me what color they are each supposed to be? ALSO: I looked at a PDF chart and it said that the tretinoin cream is 0.05% and 20 (g) while all of the gels are 0.0025%, 0.001%, etc. Hopefully you can tell me what color the gel is, and what color the cream is, and which one I have. Thanks for your help!

free skin care · Thu Jun 24, 2010 1:55 am

It depends on what agents are used with the particular brand your using, but I've had clear gels, cloudy gels and yellowish gels too so its not unheard of. Different brands mix it with different substances. I queried the yellowish colour with my derm too believing it was probably out of date, but she said that it was absolutely fine and was that particular brand's ingredients (Think it was Johnson & Johnson).

bornxtoxrun wrote:

I just got the tretinoin medicine in the mail. It says tretinoin gel USP, 0.05% 20 g on the outside, but when i squeezed it out of the tube, it was a yellow-ish color. All of the gels that I have used have been clear. I need the gel, not the cream and I can not tell if I have the right thing. If anyone has had the gel or cream, can you tell me what color they are each supposed to be? ALSO: I looked at a PDF chart and it said that the tretinoin cream is 0.05% and 20 (g) while all of the gels are 0.0025%, 0.001%, etc. Hopefully you can tell me what color the gel is, and what color the cream is, and which one I have. Thanks for your help!

free skin care · Thu Jun 24, 2010 1:57 am

The gel is definitely available at 0.1% but I don't think you can get that online, but you can get the micro 0.1% which I actually think is better as although it realises 0.1% it does so gradually through the night rather than overpowering the skin all at once with 0.1%.

bornxtoxrun wrote:

ALSO: I looked at a PDF chart and it said that the tretinoin cream is 0.05% and 20 (g) while all of the gels are 0.0025%, 0.001%, etc. Hopefully you can tell me what color the gel is, and what color the cream is, and which one I have. Thanks for your help!

free skin care · Thu Jun 24, 2010 3:14 am

TheresaMary wrote:

The gel is definitely available at 0.1% but I don't think you can get that online, but you can get the micro 0.1% which I actually think is better as although it realises 0.1% it does so gradually through the night rather than overpowering the skin all at once with 0.1%.

bornxtoxrun wrote:

ALSO: I looked at a PDF chart and it said that the tretinoin cream is 0.05% and 20 (g) while all of the gels are 0.0025%, 0.001%, etc. Hopefully you can tell me what color the gel is, and what color the cream is, and which one I have. Thanks for your help!

You can buy 0.1% Gel on line from Alldaychemist.

free skin care · Thu Jun 24, 2010 5:35 am

I couldnt use retin-a cream or gel. I then tried tazorac cream and its been excellent for me for several years. More recently I'm giving Atralin a try. So far I like it alot but not sure if I like it better then tazorac cream.

Thu Jun 24, 2010 1:11 pm

TheresaMary wrote:

It depends on what agents are used with the particular brand your using, but I've had clear gels, cloudy gels and yellowish gels too so its not unheard of. Different brands mix it with different substances. I queried the yellowish colour with my derm too believing it was probably out of date, but she said that it was absolutely fine and was that particular brand's ingredients (Think it was Johnson & Johnson).

bornxtoxrun wrote:

I just got the tretinoin medicine in the mail. It says tretinoin gel USP, 0.05% 20 g on the outside, but when i squeezed it out of the tube, it was a yellow-ish color. All of the gels that I have used have been clear. I need the gel, not the cream and I can not tell if I have the right thing. If anyone has had the gel or cream, can you tell me what color they are each supposed to be? ALSO: I looked at a PDF chart and it said that the tretinoin cream is 0.05% and 20 (g) while all of the gels are 0.0025%, 0.001%, etc. Hopefully you can tell me what color the gel is, and what color the cream is, and which one I have. Thanks for your help!

Thanks for helping clear that up! I will give my tretinoin gel a try and hope that it is the right stuff. Very Happy

free skin care · Thu Jun 24, 2010 10:47 pm

The thing with the 0.1 Retin-A is that it is not more collagen-inducing than the 0.05. So, unless you have acne, it really won't do much more to your skin except irritate it.[/quote]

Oh I mix 0.1% Stivea cream with my daily moisturiser thinking it would dilute it, will there be difference. In fact I found it works less irritating if i mix retin-a with moisturiser and apply it at one go than apply the same amount of retin-a & moisturier hours later separately.

free skin care · Mon Jun 28, 2010 4:53 pm

I've tried both products and I find that cream is easily absorbed by the skin unlike gel. Cream can be applied evenly while gel not so.

It also does not matter whether you are using a generic brand or not.

It is best to use a pea-size amount and not so much.

SkinCareJunkie wrote:

I was wondering which is better Tretinoin cream vs gel? I was using the cream for awhile until I found out that isoproply myristate causes pore clogging. The gel contains alcohol which isn't good for your skin either. So which one is the best to use?

I'm using the generic brand maybe the non generic brand doesn't have those ingredients? Razz

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