Is .025% Retin-A More Than Sufficient?
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Wed Aug 10, 2011 4:06 pm

For the purposes of wrinkles and fine lines, is Retin-A .025% gel as effect as the .1%?

I have rosacea and it seems like the .1% would be more irritating, but curious if the .025% strength is more than sufficient for noticeable results.

free skin care · Wed Aug 10, 2011 4:08 pm

I think so. It helped with my cystic acne.

Wed Aug 10, 2011 4:12 pm

Good to hear; are you still using the .025%?

Skincare wrote:

I think so. It helped with my cystic acne.

free skin care · Wed Aug 10, 2011 4:14 pm

Wed Aug 10, 2011 4:28 pm

So the .1% version is simply stronger for acne purposes?

Skincare wrote:

Yes

free skin care · Wed Aug 10, 2011 5:06 pm

I've been using generic tretinoin .025 for a few weeks and I get flaking but not irritation. But I only use it 3x week. When the flaking stops, I'll try using it daily to see what happens.

free skin care · Wed Aug 10, 2011 8:14 pm

I remember reading somewhere here that there really is no difference between the various strengths on your skin and that they're actually quite unnecessary. If the search system was working properly (grrr) I'd look for the thread for you. (actually, if anyone could find it, I'd be interested in reading it again to make sure I hadn't misunderstood)

However, I recently went up to .04 from .025 just because when I made my initial purchase I bought several tubes at once all in different strengths since I thought I'd need to "progress". I don't know if its the strength, the formulation or perhaps the length of time its been overall (9 months), but my skin is LOVING this new tube. All of a sudden my skin looks more even toned and my pores look tiny! Fingers crossed my skin's not just enjoying all the warm weather and extra fruit!
FYI I probably use it 4 nights a week just because I get too sleepy(!) to apply it every night.

free skin care · Thu Aug 11, 2011 12:01 am

If you're unsatisfied because you're not seeing as much flaking as you'd like, you should actually be grateful! Lots of people suffer from the flakies and end up giving it up because it's just too irritating. Just because you're not getting a side effect, it doesn't mean it's not working. In fact, it's probably working great. However, if you do see an increase in fine lines over time or no improvement after a year, THEN you should consider something stronger. Otherwise, no flakes = good

Thu Aug 11, 2011 3:28 am

Keep posted if you would and let me know how it works for you.

SoftSkin wrote:

I've been using generic tretinoin .025 for a few weeks and I get flaking but not irritation. But I only use it 3x week. When the flaking stops, I'll try using it daily to see what happens.

Thu Aug 11, 2011 3:30 am

Meaning .025% should still yield good results?

oasisjc wrote:

If you're unsatisfied because you're not seeing as much flaking as you'd like, you should actually be grateful! Lots of people suffer from the flakies and end up giving it up because it's just too irritating. Just because you're not getting a side effect, it doesn't mean it's not working. In fact, it's probably working great. However, if you do see an increase in fine lines over time or no improvement after a year, THEN you should consider something stronger. Otherwise, no flakes = good

free skin care · Thu Aug 11, 2011 3:32 am

I guess it depends on your skin. I have sensitive skin but it takes very well to Retin-A. I was started off on the 0.05% cream and did not notice any effect so the doctor upped me to the 0.1% cream. I used it for a month before my skin started to show a little flaking, especially around the sides of the nose. So I stopped for a while. I guess the effect accumulates.

free skin care · Thu Aug 11, 2011 5:46 am

You can take a look at this study that was done between the 0.1% and 0.025%.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7544967

free skin care · Thu Aug 11, 2011 5:48 am

I have to agree it depends on your skin as everyone reacts differently. Some people can only tolerate .25% and even then it's already harsh enough. I tolerated the .5% easily and thought I would get even better results going up to 1%. In the end the constant redness and dryness made any progress I had achieved when using the .5% worst, so I dropped the strength down.

free skin care · Thu Aug 11, 2011 6:11 am

I have been putting on .05 Rentin A on my acne for a week and it didn't make a difference at all they just stayed the same Sad

I am going to stop and try aloe vera as i heard Retin A is only effective for getting rid of blemishes

Thu Aug 11, 2011 3:19 pm

Sensitive skin here too, but drys out easily due to the rosacea. Just realize my dermatologist prescribed the Micro .04%.

chloes wrote:

I guess it depends on your skin. I have sensitive skin but it takes very well to Retin-A. I was started off on the 0.05% cream and did not notice any effect so the doctor upped me to the 0.1% cream. I used it for a month before my skin started to show a little flaking, especially around the sides of the nose. So I stopped for a while. I guess the effect accumulates.

free skin care · Thu Aug 11, 2011 7:27 pm

If you will end up with pretty much the same results using the 0.05% as you do with the 0.025% then surely it's better to use the lower strength? You wouldn't have as bad a time of it with all the uglies either.

If I wasn't getting on so well with my 0.05% cream and my skin hadn't acclimatised to this strength, I would definitely consider moving down to the 0.025%, I may even order a couple of tubes of the 0.025% next time I reorder my retin a.

Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:54 am

rileygirl wrote:

You can take a look at this study that was done between the 0.01% and 0.025%.

Hello everybody, long time lurker here, first time poster.
I saw the link you posted rileygirl, and thought it would be good to share with you all another study I found out on NCBI that states that a lower % of tretinoin is better.
Their conclusion was:

Quote:

"Results Topical RA regardless of concentration increased type I procollagen expression in human skin in vivo after 2 weeks.
However, only 0·01% RA continuously increased type I procollagen expression up to 8 weeks.
After 4 weeks, significant infiltrations of macrophages and neutrophils were observed in 0·025% and 0·05% RA-treated skin, and procollagen expression had returned to baseline.
Conclusions Excessive RA-induced inflammation might prevent collagen accumulation in aged skin despite the positive effect of RA on collagen production."

I got a little bit scared, so I now only use 0.01%. I understand tha OP uses it for acne purposes, but maybe this is something to consider too.

Please check it out: the address is the same that you posted but with number /21623752

(can't post links yet!).

HTH! This post sure is a mess Very Happy

please, forgive my English - greetings from Argentina.

Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:33 am

Acne? No, wrinkles and fine lines.

MimiBurn wrote:

rileygirl wrote:

You can take a look at this study that was done between the 0.01% and 0.025%.

I understand tha OP uses it for acne purposes, but maybe this is something to consider too.

Sat Aug 13, 2011 12:01 am

lawnboy wrote:

Acne? No, wrinkles and fine lines.

MimiBurn wrote:

rileygirl wrote:

You can take a look at this study that was done between the 0.01% and 0.025%.

I understand tha OP uses it for acne purposes, but maybe this is something to consider too.

Sorry!

got confused! Anyways, hope that link help you choose Smile

free skin care · Sat Aug 13, 2011 12:32 am

lawnboy wrote:

Meaning .025% should still yield good results?

oasisjc wrote:

If you're unsatisfied because you're not seeing as much flaking as you'd like, you should actually be grateful! Lots of people suffer from the flakies and end up giving it up because it's just too irritating. Just because you're not getting a side effect, it doesn't mean it's not working. In fact, it's probably working great. However, if you do see an increase in fine lines over time or no improvement after a year, THEN you should consider something stronger. Otherwise, no flakes = good

Yes, at 0.025%, it should work fine. Just keep track of how your skin is reacting to it, and if you're still getting wrinkles/fine lines, then you can consider stepping up a notch

free skin care · Sat Aug 13, 2011 12:33 am

joti wrote:

I have been putting on .05 Rentin A on my acne for a week and it didn't make a difference at all they just stayed the same Sad

I am going to stop and try aloe vera as i heard Retin A is only effective for getting rid of blemishes

A week is not enough to help diminish your acne. Rarely anything will be able to get rid of acne within a week. Retin-A requires AT LEAST 7-12 weeks to show any effect, but the results it produces is incredible if your skin can tolerate the side effects

Sat Aug 13, 2011 5:07 am

Seems that I was actually prescribed the .4% Micro; any idea how that compared to the .025% which I believe is not the Micro version?

oasisjc wrote:

lawnboy wrote:

Meaning .025% should still yield good results?

oasisjc wrote:

If you're unsatisfied because you're not seeing as much flaking as you'd like, you should actually be grateful! Lots of people suffer from the flakies and end up giving it up because it's just too irritating. Just because you're not getting a side effect, it doesn't mean it's not working. In fact, it's probably working great. However, if you do see an increase in fine lines over time or no improvement after a year, THEN you should consider something stronger. Otherwise, no flakes = good

Yes, at 0.025%, it should work fine. Just keep track of how your skin is reacting to it, and if you're still getting wrinkles/fine lines, then you can consider stepping up a notch

free skin care · Sat Aug 13, 2011 6:02 am

MimiBurn wrote:

Hello everybody, long time lurker here, first time poster.
I saw the link you posted rileygirl, and thought it would be good to share with you all another study I found out on NCBI that states that a lower % of tretinoin is better.

Hi, MimiBurn! That is pretty much the conclusion from the link I posted, as well. The lower strength is just fine, in other words.

Per the link I posted:

RESULTS:

Both 0.1% and 0.025% tretinoin produced statistically significant overall improvement in photoaging of the face compared with vehicle; there were no clinically or statistically significant differences in efficacy between the two concentrations of tretinoin. After 48 weeks, 0.1% and 0.025% tretinoin produced similar statistically significant epidermal thickening (by 30% and 28%, respectively) compared with vehicle (11% decrease) and increased vascularity (by 100% and 89%, respectively) compared with vehicle (9% decrease). By various analyses, irritant side effects (erythema and scaling) were statistically significantly greater with 0.1% tretinoin than with 0.025% tretinoin. No significant changes occurred in any immunologic markers when tretinoin and vehicle treatments were compared.
CONCLUSIONS:

Tretinoin 0.1% and 0.025% produce similar clinical and histologic changes in patients with photoaging, despite significantly greater incidence of irritation with the higher concentration. The separation between clinical improvement and irritation suggests that mechanisms other than irritation dominate tretinoin-induced repair of photoaging in humans. Very Happy

free skin care · Sat Aug 13, 2011 9:41 am

lawnboy wrote:

Seems that I was actually prescribed the .4% Micro; any idea how that compared to the .025% which I believe is not the Micro version?

oasisjc wrote:

lawnboy wrote:

Meaning .025% should still yield good results?

oasisjc wrote:

If you're unsatisfied because you're not seeing as much flaking as you'd like, you should actually be grateful! Lots of people suffer from the flakies and end up giving it up because it's just too irritating. Just because you're not getting a side effect, it doesn't mean it's not working. In fact, it's probably working great. However, if you do see an increase in fine lines over time or no improvement after a year, THEN you should consider something stronger. Otherwise, no flakes = good

Yes, at 0.025%, it should work fine. Just keep track of how your skin is reacting to it, and if you're still getting wrinkles/fine lines, then you can consider stepping up a notch

Micro is generally prescribed for those with acne because its formulation allows the tretinoin to be released slowly over time to reduce irritation. It still provides effects against wrinkles/fine lines although people who are concerned with this usually go for the gel or cream. Are you acne-prone?

Sat Aug 13, 2011 10:22 am

rileygirl wrote:

MimiBurn wrote:

Hello everybody, long time lurker here, first time poster.
I saw the link you posted rileygirl, and thought it would be good to share with you all another study I found out on NCBI that states that a lower % of tretinoin is better.

Hi, MimiBurn! That is pretty much the conclusion from the link I posted, as well. The lower strength is just fine, in other words.

Per the link I posted:

RESULTS:

Both 0.1% and 0.025% tretinoin produced statistically significant overall improvement in photoaging of the face compared with vehicle; there were no clinically or statistically significant differences in efficacy between the two concentrations of tretinoin. After 48 weeks, 0.1% and 0.025% tretinoin produced similar statistically significant epidermal thickening (by 30% and 28%, respectively) compared with vehicle (11% decrease) and increased vascularity (by 100% and 89%, respectively) compared with vehicle (9% decrease). By various analyses, irritant side effects (erythema and scaling) were statistically significantly greater with 0.1% tretinoin than with 0.025% tretinoin. No significant changes occurred in any immunologic markers when tretinoin and vehicle treatments were compared.
CONCLUSIONS:

Tretinoin 0.1% and 0.025% produce similar clinical and histologic changes in patients with photoaging, despite significantly greater incidence of irritation with the higher concentration. The separation between clinical improvement and irritation suggests that mechanisms other than irritation dominate tretinoin-induced repair of photoaging in humans. Very Happy

Yeap, but the other study states than even 0.25% could not be good. Only 0.1% Shock

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