Retin A Cream

What is Acne Vulgaris? How is it caused?

Harmonal changes bring in a whole lot of transformation in teenagers, including their facial skin. The excess oil secreted by facial skin along with dead skin is clogged with hair follicles. It takes the form of blackheads, whiteheads or pimples and subsequent scarring. This is called acne! During the period of puberty in both sexes acne is triggered by sudden rush of hormones such as testosterone. This in turn leads to excessive growth of bacterium called Propionibacterium. Acne marred face creates embarrassment in teenagers and even leads to anxiety, reduced self confidence and in extreme cases causes depression and even suicidal thoughts!

Types of Acne

Acne can grip you in various parts of body especially at places where most sebaceous glands are located like face, neck, chest and back. With men it is mostly near and around the nose where you find blackheads and whiteheads appearing thick and fast. Acne in the form of papules (small pink to reddish brown bumps), pustules (pus-filled lesions), nodules and cysts (deeper pus-filled lesions) are nightmarish and devastatingly ugly. They can result in permanent scars that can appear to be depressions in your facial skin or hyper-pigmentation which is dark red or brown flat marks appearing in place of acne lesions. You simply hate to live with acne and desperately want to get rid of it at the earliest possible!

Retin A Cream, the best solution for acne!

Retino A is the most popular and commonly used Tretinoin cream in India to treat Acne vulgaris, acne scar treatment and sun-damaged skin in both men and women. It comes in 0.025% and 0.05% Tretinoin (acid form of Vitamin A). The same cream is available as Retin A and Retisol – A in other countries. In India Retino-A is a prescription ointment and it has to be used in consultation with skin specialist (Dermatologist) to keep away from unwanted side effects. Retin AC gel combines an anti-biotic Clindamycin 1% and Tretinoin 0.025%. Then you also have another variant Yugard cream which is milder, retinol containing alternative with less irritation, redness and peeling potential.

How good is Retin A Cream in treating Acne?

The drug is a proven overall and spot treatment for cystic acne – those below the skin bumps that remain there for days together. A small amount of Retin-A on the spot suppresses the cyst while it is still below the skin. This avoids scarring from a popped pimple. Avoid excess use of Retino-A on a single spot as it can burn the skin in that area and cause a dark spot. Use cotton swab or scoop out a minuscule amount of Retin-A and gently press over the pimple. Loss of collagen during the healing of pimples results in depressed acne scars. Tretinoin, the main active ingredient of Retin-A fills up pitted acne scars over time. It also increases the production of collagen under the skin that results in plumping action. This gets you rid of wrinkles as well. Retin-A is thus beneficial as an anti-aging treatment cream.

Method of use of Retin A Cream

Self-medication should be avoided with Retin -A. Reach your dermatologist who would in all likelihood put you on lowest dose initially. This is to help your skin build tolerance slowly. To begin with you need to be aware of the burning sensation of the medicine if you may be just starting out with the therapy for the first time.

• Begin with washing your face with a good cleanser. Wait for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Use a thin layer of Retin-A half a pea sized amount and gently apply to your whole face.
• Avoid using on cuts and open wounds.
• Avoid areas around eyes and eyelids
• Use it every 3nights and slowly increase the frequency
• Skipping an odd couple of days is fine.
• If your skin feels dry put some moisturizer on it
• Before moving out in sun, protect your face with sunscreen.

Precautions and side effects of Retin A Cream

You may experience an initial breakout phase when your entire face will be covered with pimples as some users have reported. Do not panic as it is temporary and will vanish by its own in a couple of weeks. But if it persists beyond two weeks stop using Retin -A and contact your skin specialist.

Take the following precautions:

• Use the ointment only at night
• Never forget to use sunscreen during day time while moving out.
• Avoid using exfoliating cleansers, toners, moisturisers, whitening treatments, scrubs or peels. Retin -A makes your facial skin extremely sensitive to anything so using the above remedies can further spoil your skin.
• Observe if any signs of hypo-pigmentation occur. Stop using the ointment till it fades away.
• If swelling of the skin occurs it means you are not using the cream appropriately or using it too often. Stop till the swelling subsides.
• Do not increase the percentage of Tretinoin before knowing whether your skin can tolerate the lower percentage.
• The medicine is likely to cause excessive skin peeling. So use a gentle moisturizer to hide and heal the flaking
• Avoid makeup that has Salicylic acid or any other in-built acne treatment compound
• Use baby oil of any brand or gentle makeup remover to remove your makeup