Retin A: Patient Information

Something that most people dread is acne. It left untreated, it can impair your social life and make you question your self worth. You don't want to be hiding behind layers of concealer forever! You want to wake up and have a fresh, clear face...you want skin completely acne-free. Well, if you have visited your doctor lately and he/she prescribed you Retin-A (Tretinoin), or if you're thinking of asking about this product, he following information is beneficial to you.

Retin-A comes in a cream and gel form. The cream for comes in different strengths, which are 0.025%, 0.05%, and 0.1%. The gel comes in strengths of 0.025% and 0.01%. The Micro-sphere gel (Retin-A Micro) comes in 0.04% and 0.01%. Retin-A is, of course, used topically.

To use this product, first you must wash your hands before applying this product. Before you apply Retin-A, make sure to wash the affected area with a mild soap and dry gently. Don't use anything abrasive or harsh, be gentle. Wait twenty-thirty minutes before applying Retin-A. Apply Retin-A once a day at bedtime. Use only enough to cover the affected area lightly. (Remember, a little goes a long way! You don't have to cake the stuff on there!) After you apply Retin-A on your skin, wash your hands thoroughly to remove any residue from your hands.

The way that Retin-A is believed to work is like this: the tretinoin (which is the trans-retinoic acid) is thought to decrease the cohesiveness of follicular epithelial cells and decrease micro-comedone formulation. Tretinoin also stimulates mitotic activity and increases turnover of follicular epithelial cells, causing extrusion of the comdedones. Retin-A Micro uses patented acrylates copolymer porous micro-spheres to enable inclusion of the active ingredient, tretinoin, in an aqueous gel. In other words, Retin-A works by increasing skin cell turnover (death and replacement), promoting the extrusion (the act of forcing out) of the plugged material in the follicle. It also prevents the formation of new comedones, which is a good equation to healthy, acne-free skin.

While taking Retin-A, avoid using topical agents that have a drying effect. Don't use anything with alcohol, astringents, spices, lime, sulfur, resorcinol, or salicylic acid on your face. If you do, irritation, redness, and drying will occur. Also, when using Retin-A, don't frequent tanning beds, or expose yourself to any unnecessary sunlight. These things can cause premature burning. Keep Retin-A away from your mouth, eyes, the sensitive areas of the nose (the sides of them), and mucous membranes. If you're a person has eczema, use with caution on your skin. If you're pregnant or nursing mother, be very careful when using Retin-A. When using Retin-A, your skin may become red, edematous, blistered, or crusted. Also, peeling and flaking are bound to occur. These side effects will become less bothersome and frequent as time goes along. Something that I should mention is that if you're a smoker, don't smoke while applying Retin-A. Retin-A is very flammable, so be careful. If you plan to have hair removed by waxing, especially of the upper lip, stop the tretinoin 3-4 weeks prior to the treatment. Otherwise, you may be left with a sore area which could heal with a brown spot.

It may take six to nine weeks to see a difference. A little positive side effect of using Retin-A is that it can reduce the appearance of wrinkles. There's nothing wrong with that! As long as you're patient and willing to comply with the proper usage of Retin-A, you'