If I mix moisturizer with my Retin-A am I getting the full prescription strength and benefits of Retin A? (Photo)

Hi MCH3!There is nothing wrong with mixing RetinA with a little moisturizer. You will get full effects of it if you do not mix it, however it sounds like your skin is reacting with it more than you would like it to. Judging by the products you are using, I would say the RetinA combined with the Glycolic Acid cream is too much for your skin. They are both exfoliating agents, which your skin doesn't need both nightly. I would play around with the usage. Try alternating the nights you use RetinA and Glycolic acid cream. Or skip one of them all together. Or use RetinA one night and two nights later, the glycolic acid cream. Either way, I would back off of the usage until your skin calms down a bit. Vitamin C is always a great thing to use in the morning, so continue with that! 

I prefer more gentle retinoid creams like Retinoid Repair RR cream and its use with Elevase Moisture Booster, an Opti-Ceramide cream for deep moisturization and hydration and Spectrase, which is a wide spectrum sun block (SPF 50+) to prevent sun damage and irritation. See link below. Combining them does not reduce effectiveness.
H Karamanoukian MD FACS