Is my retin-a (retino-A) fake?
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Sat Aug 27, 2011 12:40 am

Hi, after reading these forums for a bit I ordered Retin-A from inhousepharmacy. I ordered the 0.05% Retino-A cream by Johnson & Johnson of India.
It arrived in a red 20g tube.
I would describe the cream inside as pearly white colored, with a slight odor. But here is the problem, I have been using it for 2 weeks so far and I have no burn / flaking / irritation..
In the past within couple of days of using retin-a I would feel that slight burn, and with this .. nothing. So does this mean this stuff is fake? Thanks in advance, J

free skin care · Sat Aug 27, 2011 4:33 am

If the active ingredient is Tretinoin it should be the real deal - Retin-A does have a pearlish tone and a slight smell, I'm not a fan of the smell, I find it really off-putting.

You may just have quite resilient skin and need a higher strength. I have a friend who was using the same strength as me - she was using it all over her face every night and it took a whole month before she got any peeling. Me on the other hand, I just use a tiny dab on a zit and I have major peeling for several days! Everyone is different.

free skin care · Sat Aug 27, 2011 4:52 am

jhillo wrote:

Hi, after reading these forums for a bit I ordered Retin-A from inhousepharmacy. I ordered the 0.05% Retino-A cream by Johnson & Johnson of India.
It arrived in a red 20g tube.
I would describe the cream inside as pearly white colored, with a slight odor. But here is the problem, I have been using it for 2 weeks so far and I have no burn / flaking / irritation..
In the past within couple of days of using retin-a I would feel that slight burn, and with this .. nothing. So does this mean this stuff is fake? Thanks in advance, J

Doubt it's fake, I use the same one but order direct from ADC. Possibly just different inactive ingredients to the tretinoin formulation you have been using so perhaps it is not as harsh?

free skin care · Sat Aug 27, 2011 8:09 am

When you purchase Retin-A your essentially buying Retinoic acid as it is the most affective form of retinol so as long as thats listed as the active then your getting the real deal Smile

free skin care · Sat Aug 27, 2011 9:10 am

I agree that I dought its fake. Irritation from retin-a has a way of sneaking up on you sometimes.

free skin care · Sat Aug 27, 2011 9:10 am

echoecho wrote:

When you purchase Retin-A your essentially buying Retinoic acid as it is the most affective form of retinol so as long as thats listed as the active then your getting the real deal Smile

Actually, that's not necessarily true. Some companies are very good at forging other products so that you can hardly tell the difference.

But regarding the original post, inhousepharmacy is pretty reliable. I doubt they would be selling fakes online, especially if they are a pharmacy. As for your lack of peeling, you should see it as a good thing. Many people peel and get very irritated skin and are often put off by it and stop using Retin-A. Your lack of peeling just means your skin is liking it and doesn't need anything else. You should only consider switching to a stronger one if you don't see any improvement in your lines

Sat Aug 27, 2011 10:25 am

How would you describe the smell? Mine smells a bit like "medicine cream". I don't know how to describe it. I'm kind of scared that I'm putting on some fake stuff that might harm my skin. Confused

free skin care · Sat Aug 27, 2011 8:17 pm

oasisjc wrote:

echoecho wrote:

When you purchase Retin-A your essentially buying Retinoic acid as it is the most affective form of retinol so as long as thats listed as the active then your getting the real deal Smile

Actually, that's not necessarily true. Some companies are very good at forging other products so that you can hardly tell the difference.

But regarding the original post, inhousepharmacy is pretty reliable. I doubt they would be selling fakes online, especially if they are a pharmacy. As for your lack of peeling, you should see it as a good thing. Many people peel and get very irritated skin and are often put off by it and stop using Retin-A. Your lack of peeling just means your skin is liking it and doesn't need anything else. You should only consider switching to a stronger one if you don't see any improvement in your lines

I dont see an improvement in my lines, so your probably right, it's time to switch it up a little.

free skin care · Sat Aug 27, 2011 10:28 pm

echoecho wrote:

oasisjc wrote:

echoecho wrote:

When you purchase Retin-A your essentially buying Retinoic acid as it is the most affective form of retinol so as long as thats listed as the active then your getting the real deal Smile

Actually, that's not necessarily true. Some companies are very good at forging other products so that you can hardly tell the difference.

But regarding the original post, inhousepharmacy is pretty reliable. I doubt they would be selling fakes online, especially if they are a pharmacy. As for your lack of peeling, you should see it as a good thing. Many people peel and get very irritated skin and are often put off by it and stop using Retin-A. Your lack of peeling just means your skin is liking it and doesn't need anything else. You should only consider switching to a stronger one if you don't see any improvement in your lines

I dont see an improvement in my lines, so your probably right, it's time to switch it up a little.

it is not easy to get the improvement even it is a real one..... thngs is not easy to change

free skin care · Sat Aug 27, 2011 10:32 pm

tinali0202 wrote:

it is not easy to get the improvement even it is a real one..... thngs is not easy to change

Yeah, I was going to add that it may take up to 1-2 years to see any real results. As long as your skin isn't getting WORSE, then you can keep using what you're using.

free skin care · Sun Aug 28, 2011 2:29 am

I don't think it's a fake either. The colour/ texture is consistent and the active ingredient should state Tretinoin. As you have already been using tretinoin for a long period of time your skin has acclimate, and therefore you are seeing less of the harsh side effects. I noticed with my skin that I stopped reacting to Retin A after a few months. My skin became more resilient and it was only when I increased to strength did I start to get all the peeling,flaking and redness again. I didn't find that increasing the strength increased the overall results. The lower strength .05% was just as effective.

Fri May 27, 2016 7:09 pm

jhillo, How did it turn out with your Retin-A? Still no skin reaction?

I ordered some Retin-A off ebay from England. Packaging, tube and paper information look real. But I've been waiting for the usual redness that develops from previously using Retin-A. Still nothing. That is why I suspect that I might have some counterfeit Retin-A. Might have to order from Mexico instead.

free skin care · Sat Aug 06, 2016 8:16 pm

jhillo wrote:

Hi, after reading these forums for a bit I ordered Retin-A from inhousepharmacy. I ordered the 0.05% Retino-A cream by Johnson & Johnson of India.
It arrived in a red 20g tube.
I would describe the cream inside as pearly white colored, with a slight odor. But here is the problem, I have been using it for 2 weeks so far and I have no burn / flaking / irritation..
In the past within couple of days of using retin-a I would feel that slight burn, and with this .. nothing. So does this mean this stuff is fake? Thanks in advance, J

Would it be okay to post a picture of the packaging? I'm curious.

free skin care · Sat Aug 06, 2016 8:16 pm

Glamcat wrote:

If the active ingredient is Tretinoin it should be the real deal - Retin-A does have a pearlish tone and a slight smell, I'm not a fan of the smell, I find it really off-putting.

You may just have quite resilient skin and need a higher strength. I have a friend who was using the same strength as me - she was using it all over her face every night and it took a whole month before she got any peeling. Me on the other hand, I just use a tiny dab on a zit and I have major peeling for several days! Everyone is different.

I agree!

free skin care · Sat Aug 06, 2016 8:17 pm

GreenThumb wrote:

jhillo, How did it turn out with your Retin-A? Still no skin reaction?

I ordered some Retin-A off ebay from England. Packaging, tube and paper information look real. But I've been waiting for the usual redness that develops from previously using Retin-A. Still nothing. That is why I suspect that I might have some counterfeit Retin-A. Might have to order from Mexico instead.

I also would like to know how things are coming along.

Can you post a picture of the packing of your retin-a?

Fri Nov 04, 2016 6:05 am

Hi I have just received some tretinoin 0.05% via eBay uk; I previously bought some from in house pharmacy but was a bit suspicious as the card got defrauded some how and wondered if it was them, but could have been a coincidence. I've tried to check this is genuine by checking out the outer packaging and tube nos correspond,which they do. I'll try it and let you know

Fri Nov 04, 2016 9:27 am

jhillo wrote:

Hi, after reading these forums for a bit I ordered Retin-A from inhousepharmacy. I ordered the 0.05% Retino-A cream by Johnson & Johnson of India.
It arrived in a red 20g tube.
I would describe the cream inside as pearly white colored, with a slight odor. But here is the problem, I have been using it for 2 weeks so far and I have no burn / flaking / irritation..
In the past within couple of days of using retin-a I would feel that slight burn, and with this .. nothing. So does this mean this stuff is fake? Thanks in advance, J

No peeling, flaking or sheddimg for me, here either.

Wed Jan 11, 2017 11:48 am

My friend recently bought fake Retin-A on Ebay. The Retin-A smells and looks the same but I don't think it is doing much, her skin (my skin too) is peeling and burning but there is no 'glow' - I have been using Retin A for 3 years so I know what to expect.

I used both retino-A and Retin-A from http://www.datemio.net/choose_nonc.php?q=Retin-A (the website I buy it from) which the later i got from online pharmacy. There is no different for me and I pretty sure Retino-A is also the real stuff.

Mon Jan 04, 2021 4:29 am

If the cream does not cause any slight burning sensation, then indeed, it is most likely a fake. Yet without this, in fact, acid is not acid at all.

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