This is my second check-in after I started with Tretinoin in July last year – let’s see how things developed in my Treinoin update: what I learned.
What happened so far
- First installment: I started with Tret and this happened.
I started with Tret for various reasons: ostensibly because I wanted to streamline my skincare routine and save money. THAT backfired spectacularly, because my first months with Tret proved that my skin needed more than less with Tret. I also disliked the whole thing enormously, because I felt like all joy was sucked out of my skincare routine when I had to fix more and more issues that arose with Tret.
What I’m doing right now
I still follow the skincare routine I posted here, which is basically me throwing all the ceramides and panthenol at my skin, while cutting out everything potentially sensitizing other than Tret. I use Tret every third day in my PM routine, in a ‘retinol sandwich’. I still suffer from sensitivity around my mouth especially, and my numerous outbreaks drove me crazy. Until…
Problem 1: sensitivity around my lips.
Can someone please yell at me? Because I feel I should yell at myself, but that’s weird. So. One evening, I realized that after I applied Tret lovingly and carefully on my skin, leaving out the area around my lips, I then would immediately dip the same finger into my lipmask and basically apply a mix of Tret residue and lip mask on my lips. Yes, really. And what’s worse is that it took me about 5 months to realize that. I mean!!!!!!!
Problem 2: outbreaks
Since summer, I had the worst series of outbreaks ever, and it drove me insane. I first attributed that to a seriously disturbed skin barrier, but then, in a throwaway remark, I saw someone mention their acne outbreak since they took high amounts of Vitamin B12.
Not getting too deeply into that, but I was prescribed a mix of B-Vitamins by my doctor in summer, and I didn’t even realize that some B-Vitamins can seriously disturb your skin’s microbiome and lead to acne outbreaks. Since then, I’ve minimized the amount of B12 I’m taking and lo and behold, my skin’s gotten better. It’s great to know that a) my skin barrier isn’t as broken as I have thought and b) that there’s a different reason than Tret for my outbreaks.
Surprising discoveries and helpful advice
Unsurprisingly, Michelle’s videos on retinoids (one, two, three) proved to be a treasure trove of helpful info. If you want to understand the science behind retinoids, those are for your.
My biggest discovery, though, was both slugging and Tret as a spot treatment. Everybody and their mother knows that Tret shouldn’t work as a spot treatment. Tret needs time to work, and won’t change your spots overnight in the manner of, say, BPO. The thing for me is that while BPO works great on those deep spots of cystic acne, it also gives me something like a chemical burn whenever I use it. Tret, with its propensity for a quicker cell-turnover, doesn’t lead to that much sensitivity and redness for me when I use it on a spot. It does shrink it, though, when I use it a few days regularly. Make of that what you will.
The biggest change in my Tret journey was slugging, though. It absolutely changed my skin: dryness? We don’t know her! Glow? Back again!
I use a somewhat surprising product for slugging, though – The Ordinary’s Beta-Glucan Moisturizer. That’s because I don’t like the feeling of Vaseline on my skin, but love Korean overnight masks. And the Beta-Glucan Moisturizer did remind me of my old fave, cosrx’s propolis overnight mask. I still love the refreshing, cooling feeling when I apply the gel to my skin (over my regular moisturizer), and I wake up in the morning with nourished, smooth skin.
The view ahead
While I feel that I’ve managed to live with Tret, it’s still not something I enjoy. My Tret skincare routine lacks all the joy that my former routines gave me. Unfortunatly, Tret also hasn’t done anything for my hyperpigmentation or firmness of my skin. I’ve decided to stick with it until July to make it 12 months, and then evaluate again. If it doesn’t do anything for my skin by then, I’m going back to my former routine with retinol, Vitamin C etc.
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