Retin A and Vitamin C, Serious Anti Aging Products?
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » Skin Care and Makeup Forum

Thu Mar 23, 2006 9:27 pm

Hello, I'm 31 and a silly smoker that spends a great deal of time in Gas Plants and Refineries. Needless to say, this has taken great tolls on my skin. In the last year I have adopted dermalogica products and have some improvement in skin clarity. However I have lines that must go!Can anyone please recomend what product names I should be using regarding vitamin C & Retin A. Im not the type to mess around with false promise products. Has anyone had serious results in anti aging?

pls advise, its most appreciated!

Fri Mar 24, 2006 1:08 am

Hello,
I can honestly say that after trying a wide range of products over very many years, the only products that have offered a dramatic improvement for me have been retin-A and topical Vitamin C.
Retin-A [or any tretinoin products in a high enough concentration] have had a consistent and noticeable effect on lines and wrinkles. My preference has been the liquid serum form as I found the retin-A cream too drying, and Renova too greasy.
Vitamin C has helped develop and maintain a healthy look to the skin. And of course, daily sunscreen.
Good luck!

free skin care · Fri Mar 24, 2006 5:47 am

I agree with the above, except I would add in AHA's, like MD Forte. I think RA, Vit C, AHA plus sunscreen are the "proven" things that work over time.

free skin care · Fri Mar 24, 2006 6:49 am

IF you want to ease into Retin-A use, you may want to start with Retinol (over-the-counter). I highly recommend Skinceuticals line. Retinol .05 and then working up to Retinol 1.0. Also they have wonderful Vitamin C serums. Serum 15 is my favorite!!

Another thing that I use for my lines (forehead and between the eyebrows) is Relax-a-line. It has done wonders for me. My lines are almost completely gone, which I contribute to the use of these 3 products:

- Skinceuticals Retinol .05 (every other night)
- Skinceuticals Serum 15 (every AM)
- Relax-a-line (forehead only; every AM & PM)

Hope that helps!

Lori

free skin care · Fri Mar 24, 2006 7:20 am

I have had good luck with eliminating wrinkles and I'm around 50. 2.5 years ago I looked my age or older, now I look at least 10 years younger than my age.

The most important thing was a low glycemic index diet and drinking plenty of water and green tea.

I also take Resveratrol and some other supplements.

Topicals have also helped. Glycolic acid peels with PSF O2 and copper peptides afterwards to heal have removed most of my lines.

I use 20% vit C serums (I've tried so many brands and think they're more or less the same except for texture (either glyceriny or watery). The C really helped with my skin texture and color eveness it is also supposed to help with sun damage (as I'm outside a lot I use this every morning).

I use Tazorac (a Retinoid) for adult acne and fine lines. It is very effective.

I use DMAE and Cellex-C skin tightening cream on my neck and have improved the tendency to sag (also use facial exercises).

I use PSF face cream (with MSM) which I have supplemented with Matrixyl. I have added Haloxyl to eye creams and lightened my undereyes.

These I think are the main good actors but I use many products so which does what is not completely clear (of course I also use a sunscreen). What is clear however was that 2.5 years ago I had blotchy, wrinkly skin. Now my skin is clear, I only have one visible fine line (no crows feet) my undereye area is lighter and firm and I've gotten rid of a facial mole with copper peptides.

I am a skeptic and would not have believed it was possible but what you eat and put on your face is important.

free skin care · Fri Mar 24, 2006 7:49 pm

agreen above.

I'm using Vivier C(10%+Kinetin)(will move to 20%) in the morning,love Vivier! , it makes my face looks so bright and clear.

I'm using Skinceuticals Retionl 0.5 before go to bed, it's not only my acne treatment but also reducing my pores on my nose.

Meanwhile, I'm going to try AHA as my alternative night treatment( MDF face lotion, contains 12% glycolic aid), because I want my face more smooth and clear.

Fri Mar 24, 2006 10:03 pm

Go with the vitamin C serum for sure! Most people see a visible difference, not to mention the invisible benefits that you get from it in terms of protection for your skin and reversal of some sun damage. If you want to stick with Dermalogica then they have good multi-vitamin power recovery capsules - little capsules that you can use once daily on your skin and that contain vit C, A, and E. They are quite expensive though. You could also get a good stable pure vitamin C serum - like Vivier for example.

Mon Aug 10, 2009 4:09 pm

I have been using Obagi Tretinoin .5% for almost a year, it has been good, however, it makes my skin very sensitive to the sun and I got brown spots. The only effective sunscreens are the physical ones (not the chemical), but they clog my pores and cause blackheads. basically, the sunscreen, which is necessary, negate my Tretinoin experience.

I just wonder what I should do. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciate.

free skin care · Mon Aug 10, 2009 7:42 pm

Jomin wrote:

I have been using Obagi Tretinoin .5% for almost a year, it has been good, however, it makes my skin very sensitive to the sun and I got brown spots. The only effective sunscreens are the physical ones (not the chemical), but they clog my pores and cause blackheads. basically, the sunscreen, which is necessary, negate my Tretinoin experience.

I just wonder what I should do. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciate.

You might want to try using a Vitamin C product in the morning (one that contains l-ascorbic acid) and you do need sunscreen and I agree the physical ones are the best. You might want to try Epicuren sunscreen or others on the forum like the Pratima sunscreen. I think it's just going to have to be trial and error until you find the right sunscreen.

Mon Aug 10, 2009 8:24 pm

Jom, thank you so much! I am checking those brands out.

free skin care · Mon Aug 10, 2009 9:07 pm

Jomin wrote:

I have been using Obagi Tretinoin .5% for almost a year, it has been good, however, it makes my skin very sensitive to the sun and I got brown spots. The only effective sunscreens are the physical ones (not the chemical), but they clog my pores and cause blackheads. basically, the sunscreen, which is necessary, negate my Tretinoin experience.

I just wonder what I should do. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciate.

Hi Jomin,
When are you using the tretinoin? It's my understanding that it's to be used only at night. If used in the a.m., it really will cause your skin to be hyper-sensitive to the sun.

Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:10 am

vitamin c is good!

free skin care · Tue Aug 11, 2009 5:56 am

I think Skinceuticals vit c serums are excellent. If your skin likes E I would recommend the CE.

For just vit c Garden of Wisdom offers an excellent value for vit c serums.

One thing to keep in mind is that water based c serums oxidize quickly so store them in the fridge to prolong their life.

free skin care · Tue Aug 11, 2009 6:01 pm

The Vivier vitamin C serums are relatively stable. They don't need refrigeration and they don't oxidize even at room temperature.

free skin care · Wed Aug 12, 2009 2:56 am

mom2tommax wrote:

IF you want to ease into Retin-A use, you may want to start with Retinol (over-the-counter). I highly recommend Skinceuticals line. Retinol .05 and then working up to Retinol 1.0. Also they have wonderful Vitamin C serums. Serum 15 is my favorite!!

Another thing that I use for my lines (forehead and between the eyebrows) is Relax-a-line. It has done wonders for me. My lines are almost completely gone, which I contribute to the use of these 3 products:

- Skinceuticals Retinol .05 (every other night)
- Skinceuticals Serum 15 (every AM)
- Relax-a-line (forehead only; every AM & PM)

Hope that helps!

Lori

may i know what is the brand for the last item?

free skin care · Wed Aug 12, 2009 5:49 am

I will agree that retin-a and C serum have been the most beneficial for my skin out of everything I have tried.
I was using Skinceuticals CE Ferulic and I did love it, but it gets to be a bit expensive so I've switched to Cellbone C23% Serum with Idebenone. Right now it's only $31 a bottle on special and I just love it. I think just as good as Skinceuticals. But C has really helped even out my skin tone and my skin looks less freckled and much brighter and youthful.
The retin-a has been such a blessing....at .05%, it has done an amazing job on my skin in only 5 months. Skin texture is smooth, pores smaller and it also has helped with the tone.

I started using AHA about a month ago and I see a nice change with that as well. Was using Walgreens 8% AHA cream and that has worked nicely. I just switched to Alpha Hydrox 12% soufflee the other day so we will see how that goes.

Just wondering though to all that use C and AHA.....can I apply my C serum in the AM and then layer my AHA over top of my C?

free skin care · Wed Aug 12, 2009 7:40 am

There should be no problem using your AHA over C serum. Just be sure to use your C serum first, on perfectly dry skin, and let it sit for about 15 minutes to absorb before adding any other products including AHAs.

You may also find that you can use your AHA at night. I have no problem with AHAs and an OTC retinoid, though I realize that Retin A is a good bit stronger and using both at the same time might be too irritating. The advantage of using the AHA at night is that, like Retin A, it causes sun sensitivity, which would be minimized if you used the AHA at night.

Keep us posted...

free skin care · Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:03 am

Yes, Vit. C and Retin-A are great products to have in your skincare routine. I use SkinCeuticals CE+Ferulic during the day and at night I use prescription Retin-A (Atralin Gel 0.05%). They both have made great improvements in my skin (I am 44). There is a flakey phase that you go through with the Retin-A, but after a few weeks, your skin will adjust.
Smile

free skin care · Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:18 am

Thanks Flit Very Happy

...wasn't sure about layering the AHA over the C so I was alternating days with C and AHA. Good to know that I can now apply it after the C if I wait a bit and will give it a go.

As far as the retin-a and AHA, I use retin .05% every night and will probably just stick to that alone. True, there is a flaky phase with that. I also experienced a lot of redness in patches around my mouth and it was tender for a while at the corners. That phase lasted me about a month. Aquaphor ointment at night on the corners of my lips (upon the recommendation of Riley Wink

) really helped me get through that irritated redness phase. Now I can fully apply retin every night without an issue. Believe it or not, I was able to apply retin directly under my eyes with no issues what so ever from the get go...that seems to be a sensitive area for many when starting retin and some can never tolerate it there ever.

Wed Aug 12, 2009 5:47 pm

Quote:

Hi Jomin,
When are you using the tretinoin? It's my understanding that it's to be used only at night.

Kim,

I only use tretinoin at night. I was fine in the winter and Fall, but it's the summer sun and humidity that cause my skin to disagree with the sunscreen. I am using Obagi C Rx C-Sunguard SPF 30. It's supposed to be light and not clogging pores, but I keep having black heads from it.

I tried Obagi professional C 15% for a while and I got tons of dark spots. Strange!

free skin care · Wed Aug 12, 2009 8:02 pm

Hi Jomin,
Don't know if this will help but I've been doing Obagi Nuderm and using NIA24 as my sunscreen. I have very oily skin but it has worked out well for me: no new sun spots and no clogged pores. Maybe worth a try??

Thu Feb 09, 2012 4:45 am

Well, the first tip I can give you is to stop smoking. You've probably been told a million times, it's hard I know! No matter what you do to fight anti-aging, the smoking will counteract that.

You might also want to try a glycolic peel, I know people swear by them! Also, I know it's weird but use products with Durian fruit in them, an amazing anti ager!

Hope this helps, and the best of luck!

PS. Don't forget sunscreen! Wear it every single day, even when it's dull and clouody out! Use it! Smile

* moderated to remove self-promotion

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.