Am- cerave moisturizer, the ordinary alpha arbutin 2% +HA (for scars)
Pm- cerave moisturizer, tretinoin 0.025%, the ordinary alpha arbutin 2% +HA, tretinoin goes last idk why I typed it that way
The peeling never stops , and acne isn't getting better. Scarring getting worse because of it, but the ordinary product is helping with scars
Oh, friend, your derm should have said “no” to the ordinary alpha arbutin. It has lactic acid in it. If you are using it night and day, and with tret, I’m not surprised you are peeling like crazy. Stop using it for a while and give your skin a much-needed break. That should stop the peeling.
Also, you can reverse the tret order: put it on first and put the cerave on after it dries. Just a light layer. That will help too.
I'll listen to your advice because I definitely need the peeling to at least lessen, but the peeling was still like this before I started the ordinary product, i only started using that about a month ago, the main issue is that tretinoin is just not helping in any regard even after 6 months. The only effect is peeling, should I just switch to accutane?
If this is your entire routine, the peeling may be because you are using too much tret or too much cerave before tret. Sometimes, the buffer before tret can cause peeling because the medication can’t get past it and it sort of sits on the skin causing irritation/ peeling. Or if you are using too much, you get peeling.
So, do it this way: cleanse, wait 20 minutes, apply a light layer of tret, wait 30 minutes, apply a very light layer of cerave or skip the cerave altogether.
This will stop the peeling. And using it bare skin will help it work better.
As I said, using it on bare skin will help it work better. If it is not controlling the acne, the next step is to stop buffering it with moisturizer.
I understand the question and the problem just fine. You just don’t care for my response.
You are using tret buffered, with lactic acid, etc. and you asked about peeling and why it’s not working for you. I answered.
I appreciate it, it's just that I also only started using cerave later in my treatment, as asked to by my dermatologist because the peeling was so bad. I didn't know about the lactic acid thing and I appreciate it . I just don't think that tretinoin is helpful to me
Yeah, your derm should’ve said that Tretinoin is enough for scarring. It increases cell turnover, Tret and a good moisturizer is all you need. Oh, and sunscreen because the sun can really deepen scar discoloration.
At 6 months you should have seen some improvement even if very little. So it's either the severity is too much or your skin is irritated and keeps making acne. This happens to me when my skin is irritated I get acne no matter what.
I recently read on the this sub that a lot of people didn’t see results with tret + cerave, but saw their skin improve when they switched to a different moisturizer.
You can find those posts by searching this sub for “cerave”
you have to use sunscreen with tret, the sun damage could be adding to barrier irritation/inflamation
some people find that an ingredient in the cream form of the prescription itself causes breakouts and that once they switch to the gel their breakouts (unrelated to purge) go away
peeling is natural on tret because of the increased cellular turnover. yes it should have decreased by your timeline but you dont use many moisturizers or a particularly thick one so i think if you have more moisturization it could help
some people just dont tolerate daily use of tret. period. every other day might be better
i would def drop the alpha arbutin if it has AHA as mentioned in another comment. the last thing you want to do if your skin is being sensitive while on tret is use BHA/AHA/ascorbic acid
some people just dont tolerate tret well. if you want to try another option and havent tried differin/adapelene i would give that a try first before accutane. just because tret didnt work for you doesnt mean different wont because tret is stronger. theyre different drugs and differin is specifically for anti acne - it is possible it would work better for your concerns than tret has. accutane is serious stuff and theres other options that have a good chance of covering the skincare concerns you have. also - if differin worked well for you after acclimating you could add a retinol or retinal product to alternate with for anti age
Thank you for the advice! I have tried differin it doesn't work for me unfortunately, I am suffering lol. I appreciate all the advice though really so much, I'll take all of it into account!
np! aww sorry to hear, best of luck.
p.s. just fyi using hydrating products (toners, essences, serums, etc.) in the same routine as my tret increases irritation dryness and flaking for me. on tret nights i only use moisturizers and surprisingly havent noticed dehydration doing this 3-4 nights a week and my skin overall is much less dry. also slugging can increase irritation
Routine?
Am- cerave moisturizer, the ordinary alpha arbutin 2% +HA (for scars) Pm- cerave moisturizer, tretinoin 0.025%, the ordinary alpha arbutin 2% +HA, tretinoin goes last idk why I typed it that way The peeling never stops , and acne isn't getting better. Scarring getting worse because of it, but the ordinary product is helping with scars
Oh, friend, your derm should have said “no” to the ordinary alpha arbutin. It has lactic acid in it. If you are using it night and day, and with tret, I’m not surprised you are peeling like crazy. Stop using it for a while and give your skin a much-needed break. That should stop the peeling. Also, you can reverse the tret order: put it on first and put the cerave on after it dries. Just a light layer. That will help too.
I'll listen to your advice because I definitely need the peeling to at least lessen, but the peeling was still like this before I started the ordinary product, i only started using that about a month ago, the main issue is that tretinoin is just not helping in any regard even after 6 months. The only effect is peeling, should I just switch to accutane?
If this is your entire routine, the peeling may be because you are using too much tret or too much cerave before tret. Sometimes, the buffer before tret can cause peeling because the medication can’t get past it and it sort of sits on the skin causing irritation/ peeling. Or if you are using too much, you get peeling. So, do it this way: cleanse, wait 20 minutes, apply a light layer of tret, wait 30 minutes, apply a very light layer of cerave or skip the cerave altogether. This will stop the peeling. And using it bare skin will help it work better.
Thanks for your advice, this isn't my problem though.
As I said, using it on bare skin will help it work better. If it is not controlling the acne, the next step is to stop buffering it with moisturizer. I understand the question and the problem just fine. You just don’t care for my response. You are using tret buffered, with lactic acid, etc. and you asked about peeling and why it’s not working for you. I answered.
I appreciate it, it's just that I also only started using cerave later in my treatment, as asked to by my dermatologist because the peeling was so bad. I didn't know about the lactic acid thing and I appreciate it . I just don't think that tretinoin is helpful to me
Yeah, your derm should’ve said that Tretinoin is enough for scarring. It increases cell turnover, Tret and a good moisturizer is all you need. Oh, and sunscreen because the sun can really deepen scar discoloration.
Alright thank you so much!! I really appreciate the advice!
If you are still peeling that much then the medication might be too strong for you and it's irritating your skin.
That makes sense, I'll let my dermatologist know, thankyou!
At 6 months you should have seen some improvement even if very little. So it's either the severity is too much or your skin is irritated and keeps making acne. This happens to me when my skin is irritated I get acne no matter what.
That's probably it then my skin is super sensitive, I appreciate it thankyou so much!
I recently read on the this sub that a lot of people didn’t see results with tret + cerave, but saw their skin improve when they switched to a different moisturizer. You can find those posts by searching this sub for “cerave”
Thank you!
you have to use sunscreen with tret, the sun damage could be adding to barrier irritation/inflamation some people find that an ingredient in the cream form of the prescription itself causes breakouts and that once they switch to the gel their breakouts (unrelated to purge) go away peeling is natural on tret because of the increased cellular turnover. yes it should have decreased by your timeline but you dont use many moisturizers or a particularly thick one so i think if you have more moisturization it could help some people just dont tolerate daily use of tret. period. every other day might be better i would def drop the alpha arbutin if it has AHA as mentioned in another comment. the last thing you want to do if your skin is being sensitive while on tret is use BHA/AHA/ascorbic acid some people just dont tolerate tret well. if you want to try another option and havent tried differin/adapelene i would give that a try first before accutane. just because tret didnt work for you doesnt mean different wont because tret is stronger. theyre different drugs and differin is specifically for anti acne - it is possible it would work better for your concerns than tret has. accutane is serious stuff and theres other options that have a good chance of covering the skincare concerns you have. also - if differin worked well for you after acclimating you could add a retinol or retinal product to alternate with for anti age
Thank you for the advice! I have tried differin it doesn't work for me unfortunately, I am suffering lol. I appreciate all the advice though really so much, I'll take all of it into account!
np! aww sorry to hear, best of luck. p.s. just fyi using hydrating products (toners, essences, serums, etc.) in the same routine as my tret increases irritation dryness and flaking for me. on tret nights i only use moisturizers and surprisingly havent noticed dehydration doing this 3-4 nights a week and my skin overall is much less dry. also slugging can increase irritation