Tretinoin WORKS

[ngsk8]

I'm seing a growing trend on tretinoin bashing treads, which have no founding reason.

Tretinoin works wonders, people just have to learn how to use:

At night:
1. Cleanse your skin
2. Apply light weight moisturizer - I use neutrogena hydroboost, the one without fragrance
3. Apply niancinamide serum (optional but it's cheap af and it's synergenic with tret, helping boosting collagen - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8389214/)
4. Apply tret (pea ammount to the WHOLE face)
5. Wait for half an hour or so
6. Apply heavier moisturizer - I use Hada Labo perfect gel as I find it provides my skin with the perfect ammount of moisture

The cue here is to apply tret with the "sandwich method": moisturizer + tret + moisturizer

Morning:
1. Cleanse your skin
2. Hylauronic acid serum (any will do really)
3. Mattifying moisturizer + spf or Mattifying spf - I go for a mattifying one because while I enjoy the glow tret gives, I find it a bit too much sometimes, thus applying mattifying particles reduces it a little and makes it more natural and aesthethic imo

What to expect - during your first and second month your skin will purge, BUT, in the end, it will work and you will thank me for it. It goes without saying but perfect skin does indeed increase your attractiveness by a lot.

Bonus - tret WILL give you red undertones, specially if you are light colored, since it stimulates blood flow and slightly irritates your skin, giving it a reddish appearance (bear in mind, your skin will probably be too red during the first 2 months, but then it subsides and you will be left with a pink/redish undertone which is actually nice).


What dose should I use? -If you're just starting, start low, 0.25% for the first 2 months, maybe applying it once every other night for the first 2 weeks, then ramp it up (eventually after a few more months feels free to slowly upgrade it to 0.5%). This is so your skin doesn't end up fucked up from tret, which is what happens to most people that end up giving up on it.

Why? You have small retinoid receptors on your skin that push tret inside the cells, where it actually does it's magic. In the beginning, your retinoid receptors will be way too small, thus it will take more time for tret to reach its action point (inside the cells), and, thus, since it will be sitting on the skin for a longer time, it will actually cause heavy irritation. As the time goes by, your retinoid receptors will adapt and grow larger, making tret flow to its action point faster and thus you will experience less irritation.


Feel free to ask any questions

 

[Lawton88]

Any way to prevent the gay glow many people get from it.

 

[Deleted member 16515]

Any way to prevent the gay glow many people get from it.

he literally said that you should apply mattifying moisturizer

 

[Lawton88]

he literally said that you should apply mattifying moisturizer

Moisturizer would magnify the glow I think.

 

[ngsk8]

Any way to prevent the gay glow many people get from it.

Mattifying moisturizer it's the trick. Bear in mind you will still glow a bit (which is actually nice), but not nearly as much as before.

 

[Lawton88]

Mattifying moisturizer it's the trick. Bear in mind you will still glow a bit (which is actually nice), but not nearly as much as before.

So you will have less glow than if not using any type of moisturizer or just less glow than with non mattifying moisturizers?

 

[Deleted member 16515]

Moisturizer would magnify the glow I think.

normal moisturizer, yes.
mattifying moisturizer, no.

 

[ngsk8]

Moisturizer would magnify the glow I thinkMatti

So you will have less glow than if not using any type of moisturizer or just less glow than with non mattifying moisturizers?

While on tret you have to moisturizer. If you do not apply any moisturizer your skin will overcompensate and produce excess oil to combat the dryness caused by tret. This excess oil will make your skin much shinier than any kind of moisturizer will. And it will not be nearly as effective as a good moisturizer. Basically you will be left with heavily dry patches of peeling skin intercalated with shiny - do not look at me I will go blind - ones.

Basically, you will glow less with a mattifying moisturizer than without any kind of moisturizer, yes.

 

[looksseg]

It’s controversy the use of moustouriser, because your skin reduce natural hydration while on it, then long term is bad

 

[Mouthbreath]

Is it necessary to cleanse and moisturize your skin twice a day? I've been doing once a day or even less and that worked as well

 

[ngsk8]

It’s controversy the use of moustouriser, because your skin reduce natural hydration while on it, then long term is bad

It’s controversy the use of moustouriser, because your skin reduce natural hydration while on it, then long term is bad

Most people will not tolerate tret without moisturizer. Besides, if you decide to stop using moisturizer your skin will resume its natural hydratation process once again after a couple of days.

 

[ngsk8]

Is it necessary to cleanse and moisturize your skin twice a day? I've been doing once a day or even less and that worked as well

I cleanse twice a day because I do apply many creams/serums. You might get away cleansing once a day if your routine is shorter. If your routine is working for you there is no need to change it.

Let me question you tho: how long have you been using tret? Is it peeling in any part? Does it feel tight or just perfectly moist?

 

[Deleted member 25586]

What matifying moisturizer do you use?

Good thread tho, been using tret for 1-2 years and it’s amazing

 

[looksseg]

Most people will not tolerate tret without moisturizer. Besides, if you decide to stop using moisturizer your skin will resume its natural hydratation process once again after a couple of days.

In my case I tolerate well, so in this case shouldn’t be a problem, right?

 

[ngsk8]

In my case I tolerate well, so in this case shouldn’t be a problem, right?

If it's working and you are not all red/you skin is flaking and or tight, then it should be fine. If at any moment you start feeling your skin getting tighter please make sure to moistureze, otherwise your skin barrier will be compromised and you will have to take a break from tretinoin until it is repaired (which can be a couple of weeks)

 

[ngsk8]

What matifying moisturizer do you use?

Good thread tho, been using tret for 1-2 years and it’s amazing

I use Eucerin mattifying fluid, makes me matt for a good 10hours or so.
Yeah, tret is amazing, truly a god send

 

[KingBetaTut]

0.05 tres does nothing for me. Even differin was stronger

 

[ngsk8]

0.05 tres does nothing for me. Even differin was stronger

That's odd. I used differin for a whole year before switching to tret 0.05 and did notice a big difference right away in sensitivity/dryness. After a couple of months my skin improved even further than with differin. This is the general scientific consensus anyway.
Ramp it up for the 1%

 

[looksseg]

I also don’t feel nothing with 0.05, even not moisturizing, my skin sometimes is a bit more red, but that’s all

 

[MrOrion]

Tret has been a godsend for me, started out slowly and never purged. Retards here start by applying 0.1 every night and then complain about their skin becoming red and flaking off

 

[Crusile]

indeed, tret makes skin look RETARDED looking and you use mattifying makeup to cover it up.
A legit advice is to use azelic acid, (AA) is a powder which resembles the effect of matte makeup powders

 

[ngsk8]

indeed, tret makes skin look RETARDED looking and you use mattifying makeup to cover it up.
A legit advice is to use azelic acid, (AA) is a powder which resembles the effect of matte makeup powders

-> Tret + AA might increase sensitivity for people which are already experiencing sensitivity to tret alone.
-> mattifying moisturizer =/= make up
-> Tret does not make your skin look retarded.

So tell me, you're applying AA n the morning, Im assuming? Basically as a mttifying powder?

 

[RAITEIII]

I got to a point I'd blast retin a right and left with no moisturizer and was just fine

 

[Sondern]

I'm seing a growing trend on tretinoin bashing treads, which have no founding reason.

Tretinoin works wonders, people just have to learn how to use:

At night:
1. Cleanse your skin
2. Apply light weight moisturizer - I use neutrogena hydroboost, the one without fragrance
3. Apply niancinamide serum (optional but it's cheap af and it's synergenic with tret, helping boosting collagen - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8389214/)
4. Apply tret (pea ammount to the WHOLE face)
5. Wait for half an hour or so
6. Apply heavier moisturizer - I use Hada Labo perfect gel as I find it provides my skin with the perfect ammount of moisture

The cue here is to apply tret with the "sandwich method": moisturizer + tret + moisturizer

Morning:
1. Cleanse your skin
2. Hylauronic acid serum (any will do really)
3. Mattifying moisturizer + spf or Mattifying spf - I go for a mattifying one because while I enjoy the glow tret gives, I find it a bit too much sometimes, thus applying mattifying particles reduces it a little and makes it more natural and aesthethic imo

What to expect - during your first and second month your skin will purge, BUT, in the end, it will work and you will thank me for it. It goes without saying but perfect skin does indeed increase your attractiveness by a lot.

Bonus - tret WILL give you red undertones, specially if you are light colored, since it stimulates blood flow and slightly irritates your skin, giving it a reddish appearance (bear in mind, your skin will probably be too red during the first 2 months, but then it subsides and you will be left with a pink/redish undertone which is actually nice).


What dose should I use? -If you're just starting, start low, 0.25% for the first 2 months, maybe applying it once every other night for the first 2 weeks, then ramp it up (eventually after a few more months feels free to slowly upgrade it to 0.5%). This is so your skin doesn't end up fucked up from tret, which is what happens to most people that end up giving up on it.

Why? You have small retinoid receptors on your skin that push tret inside the cells, where it actually does it's magic. In the beginning, your retinoid receptors will be way too small, thus it will take more time for tret to reach its action point (inside the cells), and, thus, since it will be sitting on the skin for a longer time, it will actually cause heavy irritation. As the time goes by, your retinoid receptors will adapt and grow larger, making tret flow to its action point faster and thus you will experience less irritation.


Feel free to ask any questions

i apply a ton of tret to my face. should I use less? why only a pea size

 

[ngsk8]

I got to a point I'd blast retin a right and left with no moisturizer and was just fine

This is mostly for people experiencing dryness/sensitive skin while on tret.
As I explained, your retinoid receptors have grown largers and thus you are experiencing less and less irritation. Which is good.
Keep going!

 

[ngsk8]

i apply a ton of tret to my face. should I use less? why only a pea size

A pea size ammount is enough to cover the whole face. No need to apply more, it will only cause more and more irritation

 

[Deleted member 22623]

Been on tret 0.25 for 3 months~ now.. The only issue is that I want to get fraxel and co2 laser, which my dermatologist said I could under no circumstance get while being on tret.

I also bought a Silk'n Facetite device which emits RF and infra red light, and I used it like 3 times (so far without problems)... But tbh I'm scared to continue using it while on tret.

So now I'm in a position where I have to decide, which is not easy.

 

[ngsk8]

Been on tret 0.25 for 3 months~ now.. The only issue is that I want to get fraxel and co2 laser, which my dermatologist said I could under no circumstance get while being on tret.

I also bought a Silk'n Facetite device which emits RF and infra red light, and I used it like 3 times (so far without problems)... But tbh I'm scared to continue using it while on tret.

So now I'm in a position where I have to decide, which is not easy.

Fraxel and co2 for scars, I suppose? Tret will not be nearly a effective as those at removing scars. I'd say drop it for a month or so beforehand, then resume it when your doc says its okey

 

[Deleted member 25544]

The tretinoin era was 3-4 years ago on this forum. Literally everyone talked about it back then.

There is already hundreds of threads about it.

I used it for about a year, all it did was fuck up my skin, then i had to go on accutane thanks to it
Using alot of skincare products will do more worse than good if you are already acne prone.

If you want good skin quality. DIET and EXERCISE is the answer together with a simple moisturizer. Don't expect for your skin to look good if ur not living a healthy lifestyle. No amount of skincare products can make up for it.

 

[ngsk8]

The tretinoin era was 3-4 years ago on this forum. Literally everyone talked about it back then.

There is already hundreds of threads about it.

I used it for about a year, all it did was fuck up my skin, then i had to go on accutane thanks to it
Using alot of skincare products will do more worse than good if you are already acne prone.

If you want good skin quality. DIET and EXERCISE is the answer together with a simple moisturizer.

Ah okey! Let's disregard years of scientific research then

 

[Deleted member 24712]

The tretinoin era was 3-4 years ago on this forum. Literally everyone talked about it back then.

There is already hundreds of threads about it.

I used it for about a year, all it did was fuck up my skin, then i had to go on accutane thanks to it
Using alot of skincare products will do more worse than good if you are already acne prone.

If you want good skin quality. DIET and EXERCISE is the answer together with a simple moisturizer. Don't expect for your skin to look good if ur not living a healthy lifestyle. No amount of skincare products can make up for it.

tbh i just cut out all processed foods and sugary drinks and my acne is 90% gone
it rlly do be ab diet

 

[Deleted member 22623]

Fraxel and co2 for scars, I suppose? Tret will not be nearly a effective as those at removing scars. I'd say drop it for a month or so beforehand, then resume it when your doc says its okey

Tbh I'm gonna ease out of retinoids all together. Probably won't hop back on. I'd like to be able to have more freedom such as using my Facetite device, EMS, IR treatments etc. There's just a lot of stuff you lock yourself out of if you're on tret permanently.

I got to say, I would recommend being on tret for a while to just about anyone. I am very confident that tret helped me clear up the last of my acne. And that's all I wanted, really.

 

[ngsk8]

tbh i just cut out all processed foods and sugary drinks and my acne is 90% gone
it rlly do be ab diet

Eating and living healthy is good advice for people to have healthy skin. But for many it is not enough.

 

[Deleted member 25544]

Ah okey! Let's disregard years of scientific research then

There is a higher chance that your skin will look even worse in the end when using that many skincare products if you are already sensitive. Which means the "purging" state will never end.

When using tretinoin it is mandatory that you use sunscreen on your face, otherwise the opposite will happen. You will age faster. Sunscreen could also potentially cause skin issues. And along with that you have to use a cleanser & moisturizer.

If you already have genetically perfect skin, perhaps you wont face any issues in the long run. But there is a reason why the tretinoin era on this forum was just a phase.

Just Keep It Simple

 

[ngsk8]

Tbh I'm gonna ease out of retinoids all together. Probably won't hop back on. I'd like to be able to have more freedom such as using my Facetite device, EMS, IR treatments etc. There's just a lot of stuff you lock yourself out of if you're on tret permanently.

I got to say, I would recommend being on tret for a while to just about anyone. I am very confident that tret helped me clear up the last of my acne. And that's all I wanted, really.

While tret is very effective for acne, I use it mostly for collagen as I'm growing older and want to keep my youth skin for as long as possible. It's a very effective way to boost collagen. It's a choice you have to make, which treatments will give you more collagen/younger skin? Hard to tell for certain, but honestly I rather go for tret, it has 30+ years of scientific research backing it up.

 

[Deleted member 22623]

While tret is very effective for acne, I use it mostly for collagen as I'm growing older and want to keep my youth skin for as long as possible. It's a very effective way to boost collagen. It's a choice you have to make, which treatments will give you more collagen/younger skin? Hard to tell for certain, but honestly I rather go for tret, it has 30+ years of scientific research backing it up.

Indeed. I do believe that tret is very effective and it's also relatively inexpensive compared to other treatments.

However, Looksmaxxing is also about experimenting and exploring different avenues. So while I've been happy with my time on tret, I want to see how efficient these other (albeit more expensive) treatments are. If they yield lackluster results, I will consider hopping back on tret.

 

[ngsk8]

There is a higher chance that your skin will look even worse in the end when using that many skincare products if you are already sensitive. Which means the "purging" state will never end.

When using tretinoin it is mandatory that you use sunscreen on your face, otherwise the opposite will happen. You will age faster. Sunscreen could also potentially cause skin issues. And along with that you have to use a cleanser & moisturizer.

If you already have genetically perfect skin, perhaps you wont face any issues in the long run. But there is a reason why the tretinoin era on this forum was just a phase.

Just Keep It Simple

While I agree with what you are saying, nowadays information is very much easly acessible for every one - https://www.skincarisma.com/ingredient-analyzer

Here you can type in the ingredients the product you want to buy has. And it has detailed information about every single one.
For example, I have sensitivity to Malassezia, fungal acne, there are some key ingredients I have to skip, and that site highlights them. Other ingredients that may cause sensitivities/acne/breakouts/hormonal disruptions, are also signalized.

This is how I built my routine and for the past 6 months I have achieved perfect skin

 

[ngsk8]

Indeed. I do believe that tret is very effective and it's also relatively inexpensive compared to other treatments.

However, Looksmaxxing is also about experimenting and exploring different avenues. So while I've been happy with my time on tret, I want to see how efficient these other (albeit more expensive) treatments are. If they yield lackluster results, I will consider hopping back on tret.

If your results are good make sure to report back

 

[Deleted member 25715]

Any way to prevent the gay glow many people get from it.

jfl at sacrificing clear skin cause of "muh gay glow"

 

[Skywalker]

super good thread OP thx
did any of u found out that tretinoin solved the facial redness pb/rozacea or if not what else did it for u?
ive read exfoliating and cleansing more than 1 a day is a no no if u have rozacea?

 

[ngsk8]

super good thread OP thx
did any of u found out that tretinoin solved the facial redness pb/rozacea or if not what else did it for u?
ive read exfoliating and cleansing more than 1 a day is a no no if u have rozacea?

I have no experience with rozacea, sorry. But if you end up trying anyway, make sure you follow this protocol, and maybe go for differin for the first 2 months or so and only then switch to tret 0.25. You don't want to ruin your skin barrear, specially with rozacea

 

[russwestbrook]

I have no experience with rozacea, sorry. But if you end up trying anyway, make sure you follow this protocol, and maybe go for differin for the first 2 months or so and only then switch to tret 0.25. You don't want to ruin your skin barrear, specially with rozacea

been on 0.05 for last 3 months daily and skin hasnt improved at all. any advice?

 

[Deleted member 20370]

used it for 3-4 months, did almost nothing for me, very disappointing

 

[ngsk8]

been on 0.05 for last 3 months daily and skin hasnt improved at all. any advice?

Hasn't improved from the starting point or hasn't improved from the purge?

 

[ascension!]

Thoughts on using Urea-containing moisturizing cream b4 and after 0,025% tret?

These are my skin care product amounts

 

[ngsk8]

Thoughts on using Urea-containing moisturizing cream b4 and after 0,025% tret?
View attachment 2100681
These are my skin care product amounts

Personally I use hada labo perfect gel, which has urea, after tret. I wouldnt use it before as It is too thick and might interfere with tret absorption.
I would chose a lighter moisturizer to apply before tret. After tret sure, it makes sense to go for urea as it very moisturizing

 

[ascension!]

Personally I use hada labo perfect gel, which has urea, after tret. I wouldnt use it before as It is too thick and might interfere with tret absorption.
I would chose a lighter moisturizer to apply before tret. After tret sure, it makes sense to go for urea as it very moisturizing

Any reccommendations for light-weight moisturizers?

 

[ngsk8]

Any reccommendations for light-weight moisturizers?

Neutrogena hydro boost gel is pretty good

 

[Zain202]

Yes I use tretinoin 0.05% from skinorac for my skin and it definitely works. I use SPF's in the morning and tret in the night every day and it's awesome.