Shereene IdrissBoard Certified Derm, Founder and Chief Nerd

Where to start with Tretinoin and Retinol #shorts

4 May 2023 · 1 min

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Short skincare advice (YouTube Short) by Shereene Idriss explaining that over-the-counter retinol is less aggressive than prescription tretinoin because retinol requires activation in the skin while tretinoin is active on application. Recommends a 'start low and slow' approach: begin with the lowest-strength OTC retinol, apply 4–6 nights/week and, as tolerance builds, increase strength and frequency to nightly use before transitioning to prescription tretinoin. Emphasizes that if a person cannot tolerate low-strength retinol, they likely will not tolerate tretinoin.

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Tretinoin is not for everyone. And if you want to start on the tretinoin bandwagon, make sure you've been at least on the retinol bandwagon. What do I mean by that? Over the counter retinols are less aggressive than their prescription counterpart because they need to get activated on your skin. Once you're applying a prescription tretinoin, it's already active on your skin. So if your skin is not able to tolerate the over the counter version, chances are you're not going to tolerate the prescription. So start low and slow with the over the counters at the lowest percentage. If you are a novice or you just don't know where. If you're able to use that over the counter low strength retinol 4, 5, 6 times a week at night, go up on the strength until you can use it every night and then jump to prescription.