Retin A .05 and Vitamin C serum skin reaction
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » Skin Care and Makeup Forum

Thu Nov 04, 2010 8:10 am

Hello everyone,

13 years ago my derm prescribed retin A for my acne (didn't work, had to go on accutane)and my skin tolerated well. I only had the normal reaction of redness and flaking. I'm now 27 and thought I would give it a go as an anti aging product.

I applied it for the first time 2 nights ago after OCM and 20 min after skinceuticals vit c e ferulic dupe. My skin was fine all day yesterday and I did my regular night time routine of OCM, Vit c serum, hyaluronic acid serum and moisturizer.

This morning however, as soon as I applied vit c serum I got an allergic reaction. My skin turned red with welts and flakiness along my jaw line, it's also really itchy.

Anyone know what could have cause this? The vit c is not oxidized and nothing changed apart from the addition of retin a. Is this a case of too much too soon?

My pharmacist gave me Avene skin recovery calming cream to use for now.

PS Generally my skin is mildly sensitive but this is ridicuolous! I had a 'reaction' to glycolic acid a few weeks ago that I posted about on this forum.

free skin care · Thu Nov 04, 2010 9:48 am

Once your skin is back to normal, maybe try the Retin A on its own at night without the C underneath. I would try that and see if it is a reaction to the RA or if it is a reaction by the combo of the products.

free skin care · Thu Nov 04, 2010 10:11 am

Hi Katrosier

I would think it is the initial irritation from the Retin A making your skin extra sensitive at the moment. Vit C serums are low pH and have the potential to be irritating on sensitive skin.

Try laying off the Vit C until you are able to handle the Retin A?

I get the burning from Vit C when I am easing into retinoids myself. Smile

free skin care · Thu Nov 04, 2010 10:32 am

My skin was sensitive to Vit.C serum when I first started on Retin A.
Quit using the C serum until your skin settles and you're more used to the RA and then use your C serum in a.m. instead.

Thu Nov 04, 2010 4:12 pm

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I don't want my vit c serum to oxidize in the mean time..can I refridgerate it?

my skin looks better but still itchy. I can't help scratching Sad

free skin care · Thu Nov 04, 2010 4:47 pm

rileygirl wrote:

Once your skin is back to normal, maybe try the Retin A on its own at night without the C underneath. I would try that and see if it is a reaction to the RA or if it is a reaction by the combo of the products.

I agree and would apply vitamin C every third day and gradually increase to every other day, and so on.

free skin care · Thu Nov 04, 2010 6:25 pm

This is very interesting to me because I had a very similar experience and could never figure out what the exact cause was. I had been through approximately 12 weeks of Obagi NuDerm and had used SC CE+Ferulic on occasion between toner and Clear with no adverse reaction. Then I ran out of the CE Ferulic and started using the CEF Phloretin for a couple of days. The first day my skin began to feel rough later that evening, was a little itchy but no redness. I just thought it was congestion or something. Next day applied again and a few hours later I had a severe rash, some were almost blistering. It was so severe that rather than being individual inflamed pores, all the pores swelled into one another to create a giant mass/mask of inflammation. It was very itchy, hot and red. I went to the derm next day and even he made a comment how bad it was and by that time, it had faded a bit after I applied some cortisone. After the rash went away, I was left with some pretty large milia in a few areas. I stopped Obagi for about a month testing the CEF Phloretin on my inner arm with various obagi products (Clear, Blender, Exfoderm, Retin A) but could never reproduce the same reaction. Eventually I gave alway the Phloretin and when I restarted obagi, I bought the CE Ferulic thinking I was safe with that since no prior reaction. Wrong. I applied it one day and experienced the same roughness and realizing I was on my way to a rash, stopped continued use before it became a full blown rash.

I still have yet to figure out what the vitamin C was reacting to.

free skin care · Thu Nov 04, 2010 8:32 pm

its_kristy wrote:

This is very interesting to me because I had a very similar experience and could never figure out what the exact cause was. I had been through approximately 12 weeks of Obagi NuDerm and had used SC CE+Ferulic on occasion between toner and Clear with no adverse reaction. Then I ran out of the CE Ferulic and started using the CEF Phloretin for a couple of days. The first day my skin began to feel rough later that evening, was a little itchy but no redness. I just thought it was congestion or something. Next day applied again and a few hours later I had a severe rash, some were almost blistering. It was so severe that rather than being individual inflamed pores, all the pores swelled into one another to create a giant mass/mask of inflammation. It was very itchy, hot and red. I went to the derm next day and even he made a comment how bad it was and by that time, it had faded a bit after I applied some cortisone. After the rash went away, I was left with some pretty large milia in a few areas. I stopped Obagi for about a month testing the CEF Phloretin on my inner arm with various obagi products (Clear, Blender, Exfoderm, Retin A) but could never reproduce the same reaction. Eventually I gave alway the Phloretin and when I restarted obagi, I bought the CE Ferulic thinking I was safe with that since no prior reaction. Wrong. I applied it one day and experienced the same roughness and realizing I was on my way to a rash, stopped continued use before it became a full blown rash.

I still have yet to figure out what the vitamin C was reacting to.

Kristy, so even the CEF is causing that reaction now? Were you applying both the CEF and the Phoretin in the day or at night?

Fri Nov 05, 2010 3:02 am

its_kristy: I'm sorry this happened to you too. Now I'm too scared to use vit c lol

Today my skin is less itchy, but it's still dry, hard and flakey. It looks more like someone's cracked heels than facial skin Sad

free skin care · Sat Nov 06, 2010 5:58 pm

rileygirl wrote:

its_kristy wrote:

This is very interesting to me because I had a very similar experience and could never figure out what the exact cause was. I had been through approximately 12 weeks of Obagi NuDerm and had used SC CE+Ferulic on occasion between toner and Clear with no adverse reaction. Then I ran out of the CE Ferulic and started using the CEF Phloretin for a couple of days. The first day my skin began to feel rough later that evening, was a little itchy but no redness. I just thought it was congestion or something. Next day applied again and a few hours later I had a severe rash, some were almost blistering. It was so severe that rather than being individual inflamed pores, all the pores swelled into one another to create a giant mass/mask of inflammation. It was very itchy, hot and red. I went to the derm next day and even he made a comment how bad it was and by that time, it had faded a bit after I applied some cortisone. After the rash went away, I was left with some pretty large milia in a few areas. I stopped Obagi for about a month testing the CEF Phloretin on my inner arm with various obagi products (Clear, Blender, Exfoderm, Retin A) but could never reproduce the same reaction. Eventually I gave alway the Phloretin and when I restarted obagi, I bought the CE Ferulic thinking I was safe with that since no prior reaction. Wrong. I applied it one day and experienced the same roughness and realizing I was on my way to a rash, stopped continued use before it became a full blown rash.

I still have yet to figure out what the vitamin C was reacting to.

Kristy, so even the CEF is causing that reaction now? Were you applying both the CEF and the Phoretin in the day or at night?

The CEF doesn't cause a reaction for me when I don't use any of the Obagi products, but both the CEF and the Phloretin do when I use them with the Obagi routine. I was using the CEF randomly in the am or the pm but when I had the reactions, it was with the am Obagi routine. I can use the CEF on my off days but not directly with the Obagi products (though still don't which one(s)).I don't know if the Phloretin would give me a rash--I gave it away and haven't repurchased.

free skin care · Sat Nov 06, 2010 6:14 pm

In the thread named " Vit C burns like fire" I wrote about my reaction to Vit C. My skin flashes and becomes rough whenever I apply Vit C in conjunction with a heavy use of Retin A. I do not use Vit C serums if I applied Retin A the night before.

So, its_kristy, I suppose you are in the same boat now. Confused

Sun Nov 07, 2010 5:13 am

oops wrong thread!

Sun Nov 07, 2010 5:24 am

I'm peeling and flaking worse than when I did my glycolic peel lol Even though I haven't applied RA nor Vit c since the reaction.

I think once I work my way up to daily applications of RA, I'll reintroduce the vit c.Wish my skin would grow up and take what I give it like a man darn it!

Automatic Message

If this is your first visit to the EDS Forums please take the time to register. Registration is required for you to post on the forums. Registration will also give you the ability to track messages of interest, send private messages to other users, participate in Gift Certificates draws and enjoy automatic discounts for shopping at our online store. Registration is free and takes just a few seconds to complete.

Click Here to join our community.

If you are already a registered member on the forums, please login to gain full access to the site.