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Many people ask about Retin A. What is it? Is it an effective chemical exfoliator? When and with what can it be used? In this episode of DermTV, Dr. Schultz explains what Retin A is and compares and contrasts it to other chemical exfoliators, including glycolic acid.
Transcript
Hello! I am Dr. Neal Schultz and welcome to the Dermtv. Today, I'd like to talk to you about Retin-A and tell you what it is, what it's used for, and what some of the issues or side effects are that some people experience when they use it. Retin-A is a brand name for a drug called tretinoin, and tretinoin is a derivative of Vitamin-A and it's really the acid form of Vitamin-A, so another name for Retin-A is retinoic acid. It's a fairly versatile prescription medication which is used both to treat acne and to treat photoaging. Both of those treatments are based on Retin-A's ability to increase cell turnover which is really what all exfoliants do. In the treatment of acne, its exfoliation powers, just like other exfoliants result in extrusions of the clogs in the follicles or actually dissolves the clogs to make them come out easier and also they help to prevent more clogging of more follicles. When treating photoaging, it again works like other exfoliants, first in helping to remove the dead cells from the surface of the epidermis, which makes the skin look brighter, more lustrous and more even, also helps to remove some of the dead cells that have extra browns in them. So it helps to correct brown pigmentation and like most other exfoliants, it sends a message to the dermis to fibroblasts to wake up and make some more collagen and when that happens, it helps to fill in fine lines and wrinkles. Some people who use Retin-A do experience side effects though and the most common one is irritation and flaking and that's because it's a fairly potent, strong medicine. To help reduce that irritation, it was reformulated into what's called Retin-A Micro and in the micro form it's encapsulated in these little spheres that are time release capsules so it releases the active ingredient, which causes the potential irritation. It releases that ingredient more slowly and helps to avoid the irritation. Anybody who uses Retin-A can become more sensitive to the sun which means you more easily get a sunburn so of course you need to have strict sun protection with sunscreen. In addition, people who have used Retin-A for a prolonged period of time can increase the appearance of some small broken capillaries in their skin. And lastly, because Retin-A can have potential harmful effects to a forming fetus, you can't use Retin-A if you're pregnant. Retin-A, like all other forms of tretinoin like Avita, Yanova and Renova, should be used only under the direction and by prescription from a physician. Retin-A is a fairly good exfoliant, but as chemical exfoliants go, I prefer glycolic acid because I find it to be more versatile, more effective, and have fewer side effects. Please join me again at DermTv.com. If you have a question, please send me by visiting DermTv.com/question.
