A Little Poem
I know this pretty woman
Who looks so friggin’ great
She has that kind of skin
That one could never hate
She looks 15 years younger
Than her actual age
Although technically not a pro
She’s a dermatological sage
She hasn’t pumped her face full of Botox
And doesn’t go under the knife
She doesn’t look crazy scary
Like a plastic-faced Housewife
So I asked her for anti-aging tips
I said “Give them to me all!”
She responded with three words
“Go get retinol.”
Who hasn’t heard of retinol? It’s one of the only proven anti-agers out there. (The real term is retinoid, and prescription retinoids contain retinoic acid, which is the strongest, purest form of the Vitamin A derivative. Retinol is the name for the non-prescription retinoids that convert into retinoic acid once they are on the skin. But was easier to rhyme with “retinol” and people are more familiar with that, so bear with me.) I don’t see myself as someone who will take drastic measures to look young, but I’m all about doing whatever I can now to look as good as possible in the future. I want 60 Year Old Allison to look more like a 45 Year Old Allison. I am consistent with my skincare regimen, I don’t smoke, I eat clean, I exercise regularly and I take supplements, all of which I believe make a big difference in slowing down visible signs of aging. But I have known for a while that retinoids help diminish and prevent fine lines and collagen loss, so I’ve been thinking about it for a few years.
When the woman I mentioned in my poem–which I’m sure will win some kind of literary award–told me that she had started to use a retinoid 10+ years earlier, I knew I had to start. (We’ll call this woman S.) Her skin looks amazing, not just for her age but for any age. I’m confident that no one who is reading this would ever guess her real age, something that I hope happens to me. After S. told me her secret, I went to my dermatologist with a well rehearsed speech about why I needed a retinoid cream. Before I even got to the second sentence of my presentation, my derm wrote me the prescription without question.
Although I got my Trentinoin (brand name) prescription in the summer, I waited until October to start using it. Most derms agree that retinoids can make your skin sensitive to the sun, and although I always wear sunscreen on my face, I didn’t want to risk a reaction.
I have an awesome holistic doctor, Dr. Abbas Qutab, who I swear knows everything about the body and its reactions. He is about 20 years ahead of the Western medicine community–although he does get called in to teach and lecture for them–and I have complete trust in him. If he tells me to take something or to avoid it, I listen. When I asked him about topical retinoid prescription cream, he said it was not harmful.
Once I had the okay from Dr. Qutab and the summer months (sadly) came to an end, I knew it was time to try my Trentinoin. I did a patch test first on my arm and gave it a few days. No reaction. And so I began.
My derm had told me to use it every three nights, so I did. I applied it mainly to where I could see fine lines–on my forehead and around my mouth. My skin was okay the first few times I did that, but soon I started seeing slight redness on my forehead. I spoke to S. who told me I really should apply it to my whole face and cover it with a thin layer of moisturizer if I thought the Trentinoin was irritating my skin. (Just wait 20 minutes to apply the moisturizer so it doesn’t dilute the cream.) My derm had not given me any such advice, so I’m glad S. helped me out. Once I started applying it to my whole face and following it with a thin layer of moisturizer (which I later switched out with Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil) the redness was gone. After three months, I increased usage to every other day and have not experienced any redness since. *Update from January 2019: I now use it almost every night, and it’s working out great.*
I have noticed minimal peeling, mainly on my nose, chin and cheeks. To be fair, my skin always peels a little in the winter, so I’m not 100% I can attribute it to the Trentinion. But let’s say it is. The peeling is not noticeable and only happens once in a while. Other than that, my skin looks great! It definitely looks more glowy and I do think my fine lines have decreased a little. But I also think a lot of what Retinol does is preventative, so I don’t expect to see huge results. I just expect that it will semi-freeze my face in time 🙂
Other than staying out of the sun, there are a few things you might want to avoid if you decide to use a retinoid. I stopped using any skincare other than my cleanser, sunscreen and daily moisturizer when I started on Trentinoin. I didn’t know how the ingredients in other products might interact, and I knew prescription skincare products contain stronger ingredients. Also, Trentinoin was already doing what I used some of the other products for. It exfoliates and prevents signs of aging, and I was still cleansing, moisturizing and uses sunscreen, so I didn’t feel I needed too much else. And although I’m sure some derms would disagree with me on this, as many are into product layering, I intuitively felt the Trentinoin would be most effective on its own, at least at first. S. backs me up on this theory.
You should also wait 20 minutes post-cleansing to apply any retinoid. Cleansing removes the acid mantle (a thin, acidic barrier on your skin that protects it from bacteria), which makes your skin temporary more susceptible to irritants. If you apply a retinoid right after cleansing, there is a good chance your skin will get irritated. Also, even if your skin feels dry to the touch, it probably still has some microscopic water droplets on it for a few minutes after cleansing. Those little droplets could dilute the retinoid, making it less effective.
I think all pros agree that retinoids and waxing don’t mix. Because retinoids exfoliate, which takes off a layer of dead skin, waxing–which also takes that layer off with the hair–over that is too irritating. Tweezing and threading are okay because they remove hair only. Facial hair bleaching is also not recommended, as the ingredients don’t interact well with retinoids.
If you do a patch test first, avoid potential irritants, stay out of the sun, ease into it and use your retinoid cream consistently, it is my experience (and the experience of many others) that this stuff works. There are great products in the skincare world that can moisturize, exfoliate, brighten, etc. But I think for serious anti-aging results, prescription retinoids are the way to go.
Have a beautiful day 🙂
A Pretty Addiction 