Mantra of the skin care guru - RETIN-A
I have said it many times before - the most important product to place on your skin is RETIN-A. From a young age, everyone interested in staying and looking young should use Retin-A. Forget all those expensive moisturizers like strivectin, creme de la mer, sisely and clinique, RETIN-A is the real deal.
What does Retin-A do?
1-Exfoliates the dead layers of skin, making your skin look and feel more healthy.
2-Reduces your risk for skin cancer.
3-Disperses melanin granules - this means that brown spots gradually disappear leaving a smooth looking complexion.
4- It stimulates the production of collagen in the dermis- this makes your skin thicker and softems or eliminates the crepey look of your skin as you get older.
5- Reduces the enzymes that breakdown elastin- this is the protein in your skin that makes it supple. Notthing we know of will increase elasticity, so slowing the loss of it with age is the next best thing.
6-Helps reduce acne
So why doesn’t everyone use it?
Retin-A can make your skin red and very flaky if you use it too aggressively. This molting of your face makes people quit using it before the benefits are realized. Also, a face habituates to Retin-A. This means that if you use the same amount, day after day, after a while it won’t have any effect any longer.
So the Keys to using Retin-A effectively are;
1- Start at the lowest dose available.
2-Start every third evening before you go to bed. If you wake up in the morning and you are not red or flaking, then move up to every other night. Continue this regimen until you are applying it every night without skin changes in the morning. At this point, use it for three more weeks and then move up to the next higher concentration. The doses I prescribe to my own patient are Retinol-30, Retinol-60, Retin-A 0.02%, Retin-A 0.04% )in order of increasing concentration. I will also prescribe Renova (Retin-A in a moisturizing emollient). There are cream and gel forms that are usefuls for different skin types.
3- After 48 weeks of use, I will give my patients a three month hiatus, switching to an alpha hydroxy acid. This gives their skin a chance to forget about Retin-A, and then I can start all over at the lowest dose with similar results.
Several Warnings:
1- Retin-A makes you sun sensitive, so stay out of the sun or use sunblock(zinc oxide) and a hat at all times.
2-The results will sometimes not become apparent because if you look as good as you did last year, you may think that it isn’t working. But keep in mind that if you didn’t use Retin-A that you would simply look a year older.
If you would like more information on Retin-A or would like an evaluation for looking and feeling younger, give me a call to arrange an appointment. 212-583-1200
Tags: Acne, Clinique, Creme de la Mer, Fine Lines, Renova, Retin-A, Sisely, Strivectin, Wrinkles
