Retin A and DIY Vitamin C Serum
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free skin care · Tue May 22, 2012 4:17 am

I have been using retin A since January 2012. I have been using 0.025% without hardly any peelines even at the beginning. I did try odd nights with 0.05% but have found one night is ok but 2 or 3 nights of this and i then peel and my face feels tight.... to me it also looks more wrnikly when it does this. So i revert back to 0.025%. Am i better to stop on the lower strength of 0.025% permanently and not have the peelies and tightness and if so will this be effective. My concerns are bad lines around the eyes and lips. I put the retin a on my crows feet but i only put a dab along the tear trough line not directly under my eye even though this is where the crepiness is very bad (that and my crows feet).Up until now this is all i have been using as a treatment. I have just introduced a DIY vitamin C serum from a link someone sent me on here. This is my third day using it. It does make my skin feel more hydrated but it has made my eye wrinkles far worse. This is the recipe i follow DIY Vit C Serum Recipes

Formula needs to be between 10% & 20% to be effective

1. Dissolve 1gram of L-ascorbic acid in 5 ml of water (preferably distilled), in small glass container using a stirrer. Make sure it is fully dissolved before proceeding to next step.
2. Add 5 ml of glycerin and mix.
3. Put in a sealed jar, (not clear glass as this allows light in, and light degrades vitamin C.) Store in cool dry place.

I would be grateful for any advice as i really can not bear more crepiness under my eyes tthan what i already have. I find it hard to fave people as it is

Many thanks

Sally

free skin care · Tue May 22, 2012 4:20 am

Sorry i just wanted to add that i do eat fruit and vegetables and i drink between 3 and 4 litres of boiled water a day. Although this has not always been the case (well with the water) but i have to have this every day now as i have stomach problems

free skin care · Tue May 22, 2012 9:54 am

It's been my understanding that there's absolutely no need to go up in strength with retin-A in order for it to be effective.
And you don't need to use the vit c every day - you can alternate it every other day with your retin-a or use it every 2 or 3 days.

And try not to pay too much attention to any existing flaws in your skin as you use all this stuff. They just seem far worse to you than they actually are - it's like that for us all.

From what you've described, for the most part it sounds like your skin is responding really well to the treatments! You're one of the LUCKY ones, salster68 - which means that you'll be seeing some great results down the road.

Wed May 23, 2012 10:45 am

Go to YouTube & search for DIY CEF Vitamin C Skin Serum for Beginners

Quote:

See how to make an economical, effective and elegant skin serum with vitamin C, vitamin E, and ferulic acid.
Ingredients:
1 bottle ReCverin C TM or ReCverin 50/50 TM from
1/8 tsp ferulic acid
18 drops vitamin E oil
18 drops polysorbate 80
(from a supplier of ingredients for DIY skin care like Lotioncrafter or Skin Essentials Actives)

It's a little bit long winded but its good info on your own DIY Serum, hope it helps.

free skin care · Wed May 23, 2012 11:16 am

Worsening crepiness might indicate dehydration, plumper skin can simply indicate better hydration and/ or low grade inflammation. Many skins cannot tolerate Retin-A or the acidity of an L-AA serum let alone both together. Are you testing the pH of your L-AA serum? Maybe switch to a gentler form of C such as AA2G or MAP? What are you using to cleanse and moisturise?

free skin care · Sun May 27, 2012 11:46 pm

Hi Thank you for your replies

Firefox i use Garnier cleanser and toner. I seem to be doing ok with the Retin A especially the low strength and my skin seems to tolerate this pretty much most of the time. I did use Pure skin vitamin C (and retin A together) a few years ago and it seemed ok then but for cost and also to be using fresh vitamin c it was recommended on here i made my own. I have only just introduced the vitamin c as i wanted to allow my skin to adjust to the retin a for a few months first.

Fri Jul 19, 2013 1:54 am

Hi syster68,
I thought I would share a few thoughts that might help. It is just my thoughts, so please don't take it as this is the solution. Just my thoughts.
With the Retin A, my skin also has tough time with it as I began at strong strength 0.1% and my skin never got use to it and was red often and my chin seemed worst and chapped and red. I saw my dermatologist and she is pretty young and up to date with research. Although I asked her for the .05% and we decided to try this strength every other day and I have had better results.( After lights are out and if I am still awake in 20 minutes( I read from several sources that you need to wait at least 20 minutes before applying anything else.) I apply a small layer of sweet almond oil and this really made my skin smooth in the morning .) However, the interesting thing is that she said that research now is showing that it stays for 72 hours and that if I had problem with every other night she said I could use it every three days. I just wanted share that thought.
Also, I heard many stories about why your skin under/around your eyes wrinkles when using the retin a. Personally I simply don't use it under/near my eyes as I too noticed wrinkles when using it there. However, one girl had an interesting experience. Her doctor was soooo conservative that he had her start on a very low dosage and when it came to the eye area, he had her apply it once a month for a couple of months and then once every three weeks and so on. She said she thought he was anal and the protocol was a waste. She shared after she completed the protocol he recommended she had no challenges when applying to eye area and thought his approach made sense after all. Again this is something I read on posts so I am not recommended it just sharing. However, you may want to try the low strength every third day and see how your skin reacts. I am of the believe that everyones skin is different in what helps and how much and perhaps there are some who simply cant tolerate it. I would listen to my skin and if it is looking worst you may want to examine with your MD Derm. some other plan of action to have the best skin possible for your skin type. I just found listening to my body and skin is invaluable! Good luck and just wanted to share a few thought. Hope they help. Smile

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