Retin-A -- I've changed my mind about it

I'm 58 years old and my face had been holding up well over the years, up until about three years ago, when some fine lines showed up and a bit of drooping on either side of my mouth, and the typical signs of aging in the neck. I have fair but normal skin (as far as oiliness to dryness) and an unconventional approach to face care -- I never use moisturizers because I think moisturizers do nothing for wrinkles. I keep my face clean by washing it with regular soap once a day. Back at age 56 I started doing at home peels about once a month. Didn't see much difference after several months so I added in Retinol (Green Cream 9). Didn't see much difference with the Green Cream + peels so I added derma needling into the mix. I finally started noticing a slight improvement, but not a lot. So, eight weeks ago I stopped the Retinol Cream and switched to .1% Retin-A. Well, within about four weeks it seemed like everything I'd been doing for the past two and a half years finally started kicking in. The Retin-A really is potent and makes things happen! My face got tighter and now fine lines are softer. So, now I'm just doing two things: derma needling every ten days and Retin-A every night. My advice would be, don't let the initial peeling phase of Retin-A daunt you. It's a drag but if you want to have a good face in your older years you have to suffer a little.

P.S. After I do my needling, I immediately put the Retin-A on and smoosh it into the skin. I don't follow with a moisturizer. Retin A works by irritating your skin and challenging it to renew, so my advice would be to try to lay off the moisturizers unless you absolutely need them.