Retin-A: Stories

I use the generic tretinoin. It took a long time to notice results (months), so get comfortable with the idea of using it for a while. It made my skin peel quite a bit with some redness when I first started, but once my skin adjusted to it after 8 weeks or so, those symptoms subsided. After several months, I realized that I NEVER got pimples anymore. EVER. My blackheads were notiably better. I used to be obsessed with my blackheads and I realized that, while they werent gone, man, they were better. Nothing else (and I've tried it all ladies) treated blackheads like this.

A few thoughts -
* It wont treat existing sun spots, at least it didnt for me. If you have broken capillarie or sun spots, get yourself a few IPLs, then get on RetinA. They are different issues, so dont get confused and think that RetinA will solve all your problems. It was great for me (I am taking a break now for IPL treatments), but it wasnt a cure-all.

* I recently read that sun exposure deactivates the active ingredient, tretinoin, so you are supposed to put it on at night. I was unaware of this, so when I resume my tretinoin regime after completing IPL treatments, I will be sure to put it on at night rather than in the morning. Maybe I will get even better results.

I have been using Retin-A for a long time now. According to Paula Begoun, RetinA (a Vitamin A derivative) is one of the few proven creams that can actually make your skin behave like younger skin (ie turn back the clock). She says that she thinks it should be a part of a normal skin care routine. It encourages cell turnover and is great for destroying any trace of acne (which I really didnt have too much before), but it makes me peel a great deal. So much so that I wonder if it is worth it. My skin is also more sensitive to products (I would never dream of using a fragranced skin cream these days). I am going to consider switching to every other day or trying RetinA Micro, which I have read is better tolerated by people who are sensitive to RetinA.

I would like to amend something I wrote above about blackheads. I was just plain wrong and I want to be sure to mention it so as not to give anyone false hopes. The issue was that I was confusing blackheads for sebaceous filaments, which are apparently normal and impossible to get rid of. I never had raised, black eruptions; I had a trillion little dots that were slightly darker than the surrounding skin and filled with sebum. Apparently, these are called sebaceous filaments and can become blackheads, but are otherwise normal and impossible to rid one's self of.