Skincare

[Anonymous]

My dermatologist put me on tretinoin cream to use at night for my acne. With all my night time skincare products (cleanser, toner, moisturizer and night time oil), I don't know when to apply the tretinoin. My first thought would be apply it at the very end, but then I think that the oil should be the last thing I apply. Help! what order to I apply my skincare and when do I apply my dermatologist prescription??

[snoflakefaerie]

@Anonymous I would say if you don’t need to buffer the Tretinoin, apply once your skin is dry after your toner. If you find your skin is getting too dried out or flaking, you can apply your moisturizer first. Regardless, I would use oil last. I typically wait 10-20 minutes between my steps on nights when I use tret. You can also start out buffering it, and then move to using it after toning once your skin gets used to it.

I have had some facial oils break me out badly, and others were really wonderful, so I think it just depends on your skin. But if you continue to have break outs after using tretinoin for a few months, I would re-examine your moisturizer and oil.

Hopefully your derm explained to you, but please start off using the tret slowly (1-2x a week), don’t use an acid toner before it, and make sure you’re using an SPF 30+ daily, even in the winter. Hope it works for you; it has really helped my skin.

[curlychiquita]

If you have bad acne (I have bad acne), facial oils are not you friend.  Some beauty gurus claim oils don't cause acne, but for me they certainly do - they just combine with the oils already produced by my skin and clog everything.  I would just moisturize after the Tretinoin and then skip the facial oil altogether.

[TrysBeautyItems]

@AnonymousUnidentified Some derms say after moisturizer use the retinol, some say before. However, wait 30 minutes until skin is completely dry before using retinol, less irritation. Some say after moisturizer, since moisturizer can act as a barrier. Toner, depending which, you may want to skip could aid in drying the skin out too much.

Best call your derm and ask, tell them your exact products as well. And remember spf daily and ease into usage.

[RGbrown]

@AnonymousUnidentified

Your tretinoin would go between your toner and your moisturizer. The basic rule of thumb is cleanse/tone/treat/moisturize. HTH!