Retin A is craaaaazy...Peeling, redness solutions
- Thread starter sparklyred
- Start date
When u are using Retin A just stay away from from the sun. I remember my aesthetician asking me to stay away from Retin A based creams when I was getting laser hair removal on my face cos it makes the skin very sensitive. You should try hydroxy acid based products instead.They work better. I use a IASO Blemish care set of booster,toner and emulsion in that order and it really helped to clear my skin.
Hope it works out for you. I've tried Dr. Jart BB tinted creams and still prefer eltamd. EltaMD has different formulations so I suggest looking at the ingredients and reviews to see which would be better for you. I've purchased from skinstore, lovelyskin, and dermstore. There are many reviews there.
Just looked at eltamd from the derm store. I am going to try the tinted sunscreen one. Do you think I would also need a moisturizer? I would love if they had an all in one type of formula.
There are 3 tinted versions - UV Daily, UV Clear, and UV Physical. I use UV Daily tinted version and it's hydrating enough for me that I don't need a moisturizer. I'll use cetaphil on dry patches. UV Daily contains hyaluronic acid which increases hydration so that's probably the one you want. UV Clear is more for acne-prone skin. The tint is darker than Dr. Jart Radiance BB cream and closer to shade of Premium BB cream. Hope that helps.
Thank you for such a thorough review. It was very helpful and I am ready to now order.
Letting the Retin A to absorb is the key- so putting anything "over" it until it does is deluding it. Unfortunately, you don't even know how much. My Dr. Did suggest "cutting" ( deluding) it with my moisturizer when I started with too strong, and just temporarily. If your skin is really flaky use baby diaper cream with zinc oxide to ease it.
I always dilute mine with cream and I still peel
Also use avene cicalfate to help it heal from the peeling
I have been using EltaMD for a few weeks and love it! It is so easy to reapply. Even my 10 year old DD liked the tint. We were in Disney and I brought it to the parks with me daily. Thanks again for the recommendation.
You're very welcome. Glad you like it. I think it's the reason why my foundation goes on so smoothly. If I am out all day in the sun like at the pool or beach, I'll use the sport version - it's a bit shinier because it's water resistance but still nice and fragrance-free.
Another vote for EltaMD! I was a die hard fan of Sishiedo Urban defense sunblock for years, until I try the EltaMD tinted version. It is not as hydrating as Sishiedo, but the difference is very minimal and the price difference well justify it. Make sure your face is hydrated before apply, or you might end up flaking.
I'm going on my 5th week of Retin a .05%. This past week I started getting the flaky red skin. Not too bad, just made me a little self conscious at work. Yesterday my face was super flaky. Last night in the shower I lightly washed my face with Cerave face wash and a lot of the flaky skin came off from the light "scrubbing" of my finger tips. I didn't apply Retin A last night or the night before, because the redness seemed to be at the point where it was getting worse each day. Today, my son had a soccer game so I applied a liberal amount of Cerave Facial moisturizing lotion SPF 30 as well as LaRoche Posay face sunblock SPF 45. I wore a hat, because I knew I would be out in the sun for at least 1.5 hours. I could feel my face starting to sting a bit during the game. Now that I'm home my face is blotchier than it was this morning. I would say it looks like parts of my face are red and almost look rash-y, but not itchy at all, and only minimal flakiness.
My face feels tighter, not too tight though. Not really painful either, just more tender. My sisters did remark that, to them, it looks like I'm having an allergic reaction. However, to me (aside from the tightness of my skin in places- cheeks and forehead mostly) I don't really feel anything. I've had allergic reactions to products before and this feels nothing like that. Is this just part of the Retin a process? And if so, how long will it last? Days? Weeks? It's not that it's bothering me so much. It's just that I'm really hoping the redness dies down before I go to work on Monday.
I should also mention that I apply my Retin a between 3-4 times a week, and prior to the .05% I'm using now, I was using .04% microgel for a year but it didn't really seem to do anything for my skin.
My face feels tighter, not too tight though. Not really painful either, just more tender. My sisters did remark that, to them, it looks like I'm having an allergic reaction. However, to me (aside from the tightness of my skin in places- cheeks and forehead mostly) I don't really feel anything. I've had allergic reactions to products before and this feels nothing like that. Is this just part of the Retin a process? And if so, how long will it last? Days? Weeks? It's not that it's bothering me so much. It's just that I'm really hoping the redness dies down before I go to work on Monday.
I should also mention that I apply my Retin a between 3-4 times a week, and prior to the .05% I'm using now, I was using .04% microgel for a year but it didn't really seem to do anything for my skin.
I'm going on my 5th week of Retin a .05%. This past week I started getting the flaky red skin. Not too bad, just made me a little self conscious at work. Yesterday my face was super flaky. Last night in the shower I lightly washed my face with Cerave face wash and a lot of the flaky skin came off from the light "scrubbing" of my finger tips. I didn't apply Retin A last night or the night before, because the redness seemed to be at the point where it was getting worse each day. Today, my son had a soccer game so I applied a liberal amount of Cerave Facial moisturizing lotion SPF 30 as well as LaRoche Posay face sunblock SPF 45. I wore a hat, because I knew I would be out in the sun for at least 1.5 hours. I could feel my face starting to sting a bit during the game. Now that I'm home my face is blotchier than it was this morning. I would say it looks like parts of my face are red and almost look rash-y, but not itchy at all, and only minimal flakiness.
My face feels tighter, not too tight though. Not really painful either, just more tender. My sisters did remark that, to them, it looks like I'm having an allergic reaction. However, to me (aside from the tightness of my skin in places- cheeks and forehead mostly) I don't really feel anything. I've had allergic reactions to products before and this feels nothing like that. Is this just part of the Retin a process? And if so, how long will it last? Days? Weeks? It's not that it's bothering me so much. It's just that I'm really hoping the redness dies down before I go to work on Monday.
I should also mention that I apply my Retin a between 3-4 times a week, and prior to the .05% I'm using now, I was using .04% microgel for a year but it didn't really seem to do anything for my skin.
Could this be the exfoliation phase and your skin is super sensitive? I think this is why many people stop using. Doesn't seem to have the typical signs of allergic reaction. I would wait several days before reapplying, use sunscreen during day and good moisturizer at night. When you start back, you could put moisturizer on first, wait 20 minutes, then apply retinA. This cuts the strength down. I would call dermatologist if it gets worse.
I am still using it and get flakiness on occasion. On the worse areas typically around my mouth, I use a moisturizer and I don't use retinA there.
Good luck.
Thank you! I think you might be right, in that I'm going through the exfoliation phase. Woke up this morning and my face was soooooo tight! Still some redness and blotchy patches, though not as bad as yesterday, so that's good. I washed my face and have been slathering moisturizer on throughout the day!
Do you think my moisturizer with SPF 30 is enough protection against UV sensitivity? Or should I continue to apply my LaRoche Posay SPF 45 in addition to the moisturizer?