Skincare Sunday: My Tips to Starting a Retinoid

To follow up my last Skincare Sunday where we learned all about retinoids, this week I wanted to share with you my tips for starting a retinoid. Starting a retinoid of any strength can be daunting. Peeling, redness, and sensitivity are extremely common side effects when using any retinoid topically.

After my 6-month Accutane treatment, my dermatologist prescribed me my first retinoid, a 0.025% Tretinoin cream. Since then I’ve fallen off the retinoid wagon several times. Every time I’ve had to start from zero again and have experienced the initial break out and irritation. Two years later, I have finally remained faithful to my retinoid for 6 months (and counting) and have made it over the hump of breakouts and irritation.

Thanks to my impatient past-self, I have a lot of experience with the initial retinoid purge. So I wanted to share my tips to help you get through the rough beginning and get to the good part of your retinoid journey.

If you want to start incorporating a retinoid into your skincare, here are my tips:

Start slow. You don’t want to jump from 0-100 when it comes to retinoids. Start at a low percentage of 0.025% every other night or every 3 nights, then slowly start using it every night. Then move up percentages as your skin grows accustomed to the treatment.
Only use the retinoid at night & wear SPF during the day. Retinoids can be deactivated by sunlight and also make your skin extremely sensitive to it. So skip the retinoid in the morning and slather on some SPF instead.
Stop using other “active ingredients”, unless a combination is prescribed to you by your dermatologist. You don’t want to mix things. Trust me, a cocktail of salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, and Retin-A will leave your face burning and red, not clear and flawless. TRUST ME. You can, however, use a different active ingredient in the morning when you’re not using the retinoid.
Find a gentle cleanser that nourishes the skin and doesn’t strip it.
Find a heavy duty moisturizer. I started using Ole Henriksen Truth C-Rush Brightening Gel Creme as my summer moisturizer and have noticed a big difference in the appearance of my acne scars.
Never, ever, never, ever, NEVER apply a retinoid to wet skin. Apply your moisturizer to wet skin, let it dry completely, and then apply a pea-size amount of your retinoid. Mixing the retinoid with water will intensify peeling.
Apply Aquaphor to places you do not want the retinoid to get. The corners of your mouth, the sides of your nostrils, and the corners of your eyes are extremely sensitive and on most people are prone to dryness. Between moisturizing and applying my retinoid, I always put Aquaphor on those places to protect them from the retinoid.
Be patient. It can take up to 6 months of consistent use to see the full benefits of the retinoid.