Tretinoin Help Needed
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » Skincare Tools & Do-It-Yourself Skincare

Wed Dec 17, 2014 5:59 am

Hi, I am looking for some advice regarding my use of tretinoin. I started using it in August 2013. It was fine, I used it every other day and I had no redness or flaking or irritation at all. By April, people were complimenting me on my wonderful skin and saying how young I looked. I cut back on my use, as I got lazy. In July I started using it again every other day like I was before. This time my skin got red, flaky and very dry. It lasted for ages. I stopped using it until my skin cleared up. I started using it again in October and my skin is terrible.

I have a red, itchy neck which is incredibly painful. My eyes are red and sore, I look like I have red panada eyes. Also I have deep lines under my eyes.

I have not used the tretinoin for two weeks now, but I did wear makeup out at the weekend and this have brought the redness and pain back.

Is this permanent? How can I treat this?

I have only used tretinoin 0.025%, and only used a very small amount each time.

I would really appreciate any advice or help that you can give me.

Thank you.

free skin care · Wed Dec 17, 2014 7:43 am

Sagey take a breath and stop worrying. Am I right in thinking you are self medicating with Retin A rather than working with a derm?

Now the thing is with Retin A you are supposed to work up to using it nightly (or every other night depending on whose viewpoint you believe). So where you had a break and stopped using it, and then started up using it every night may have been part of the issue here. Secondly, the redness, peeling, flaking etc doesn’t happen at the same time for everyone. For some people it doesn’t happen till they have used it a few years. One thing that is a must that you don’t mention is sun protection. Even if you are indoors all day, UVA and UVB rays can penetrate windows etc so the capacity for your skin to be more damaged is still high – even in winter months.

Now you sound like your skin is irritated and that wasn’t helped by your make up. For now I would try and make your skin as comfortable as possible without exposing it to makeup and or retin A. Instead use a gentle cleanser and moisturise using a healing and nutritious oil like rosehip oil for example (which has vit A, and C and E) etc. Allow your skin to get back to its former healthy self before you attempt anything else on it, and then do so sensibly. Starting out again nightly after you had a break isn’t sensible.

Wed Dec 17, 2014 12:53 pm

Thank you.

I am self prescribing.

I do use suncream, factor 50 and I use it daily.

I was thinking of leaving off the Retin A until February at the earliest, and then reintroduce slowly.

Thank you for your help. I will give my skin a break and hope it wont look to bad for Christmas.

free skin care · Wed Dec 17, 2014 2:28 pm

Hi Sagey,

Did you change anything else in your routine during the time you too a break from tretinoin? Several years ago I took a break from tretinoin and when I started tretinoin again I found that the moisturizer which had been working fine when I was not using tretinoin now irritated my skin. I changed moisturizers and the irritation disappeared.

Or are you using a different form of tretinoin? I have been using the stuff for years without any problems and recently I decided to add Renova to alternate with Refissa. My skin does fine with Refissa and regular tretinoin cream but the Revova irritated my skin despite the fact that it is lower strength than Refissa or RetinA cream .05%. I think sometimes we can have reactions to the inactive ingredients.

HK

Thu Jan 01, 2015 3:11 pm

Thanks for the reply HK,

No, nothing else changed and it was the same brand (infact the same tube) that I was using when I got the original problem in August.

I have not been using it since I first posted, my eyes have been red and flaky at times and quite painful, but mostly they look fine.

My neck, on the other hand, looks like someone is continually strangling me, and has done so for months.

free skin care · Fri Jan 02, 2015 3:54 pm

Sagey,

I am wondering if you might be allergic to an ingredient in one or more of you skincare products. If it were the tretinoin causing the problem and you stopped using it weeks ago then the redness should have subsided which makes me think you are either using something too strong and irritating for you sensitized skin or that you are allergic to something you are using.

What is your current routine?

HK

PS-allergies to ingredients can develop over time after using a product with no problems for months or years

Sat Jan 03, 2015 4:07 am

My routine is pretty basic.

I wash my face with plain water, and use sweet almond oil as a moisturizer. Since October, I have also been using E45 for the redness and dryness on my neck.

My eyes have cleared up now, they were flaky but not red last week and now the flakiness has gone.

My neck still has redness and is itchy, and has been like that since August really.

I would like to use the retin a again as it made my skin so smooth and soft.

free skin care · Mon Jan 05, 2015 3:09 pm

I had to google the E45 since I had never heard of it before. Overall your routine looks harmless. Although the E45 has lanolin and I have heard different opinions as to whether this can be allergenic. But then again whey would they put it in a cream for eczema prone skin it it were problematic? I think I remember reading that there are superpure varieties that don't have the allergens but would have to double check this.

You mentioned that you used SPF 50 Suncream. What sunscreen are you using?

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