Have you ever looked at retinoid before and after photos and been jealous of the results? It can be easy to compare yourself and feel self-conscious of your skin. Luckily, you can use retinol or tretinoin to help.
Whether you choose something over the counter or get a prescription, retinoids can help many skin issues. You can use it to help with acne, aging, and even certain medical conditions.
Keep reading to learn about the medication and how using it can revitalize your skin.
What is Retinoid?
A retinoid is part of a group of medications that come from vitamin A. You can choose from a gel, cream, or liquid form, and you apply it after you wash your face. The medication can regulate transcription factors that are in the nucleus of various cells.
Retinoids will also signal cells to communicate with each other to bind nuclear receptors. That can help regulate skin cell growth.
While they mostly work on the skin, retinoids can also help other diseases. Fortunately, there are also multiple types of retinoids, so you can choose one that will give you the best results.
Topical Retinoids Available
You can find multiple types of topical retinoids to use. Each product can work slightly differently, so what works for one person may not work for another. Here are the different retinoids you can use:
- Tretinoin
- Retinol
- Adapalene
- Alitretinoin
- Bexarotene
- Tazarotene
You can find retinoids over the counter, or you can get a prescription. Prescription-strength retinoids can help in some cases, but you may want to try an over-the-counter option first. That way, you can see if it will help you.
Before choosing a retinoid, you should consider what you want to use it for. Then, you can choose a medication that will help you get clear, glowing skin.
What It Can Treat
The most common use for retinoids is to treat mild to moderate acne. A dermatologist can prescribe the medication for patients who can’t get results from other products. Retinoids such as tretinoin, retinol, adapalene, and tazarotene can help with acne.
However, retinoids can also help with fine lines and other signs of aging. Retinol and tretinoin are the best retinoids to treat fine wrinkles.
Tazarotene is an excellent retinoid to use to treat psoriasis, a condition where skin cells grow quickly and produce plaques. If a patient has psoriasis on their face, retinoids can be a suitable alternative to harsher steroid creams.
Retinoids can also help treat hyperpigmentation, which is when skin becomes darker than the area around it. Hyperpigmentation patients can use tretinoin or a retinol product to treat the condition.
Using retinoids can even help treat a couple of types of cancer. Bexarotene can help treat cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, which is when some white blood cells develop cancer. If a patient has Kaposi’s sarcoma, another form of cancer that is visible on the skin.
How It Works
When you apply a topical retinol product, it can help improve some collagen deficiency in the skin. As you look at retinoid before and after photos, you can see this difference because the skin can appear stronger and brighter.
While tretinoin is the most effective, all retinoids can help strengthen the skin and reduce or slow aging. The medication works with receptors in the nucleus of skin cells to produce procollagen. That helps block inflammatory mediators.
When it comes to treating acne, retinoids can help open pores. You can use a retinol serum with a topical antibiotic to clear out bacteria that result in acne. Then, the retinol product can help unclog pores that do have blockages, which can also help reduce acne.
For psoriasis patients, skin cells grow more quickly than in people without the condition. Using an over-the-counter or prescription retinoid can help temper this excess growth. The medication can help return the skin to normal.
Retinoids can work similarly to help treat pigmentary disorders. You can use them alone or with other topical treatments to treat the different skin pigmentation.
Side Effects
If you look at retinoid before and after photos and the after photo is from shortly after starting treatment, you may notice some visual side effects. Generally, side effects will occur when you use high doses of retinoids, but it’s important to consider the effects no matter your dosage.
When you first use retinol or a similar medication, you may notice some dry skin. Other potential side effects include redness, itching, and scaling or peeling. Fortunately, these side effects aren’t anything serious, and they will go away after a few weeks.
Now, there are some rarer side effects that affect less than 10% of patients. In some cases, you may notice an initial acne flareup or an eczema flare. Some people may experience swelling or discoloration. Photosensitivity and blistering can also occur.
When it comes to using retinol in pregnancy, it can be safe when treating acne. However, some birth defects can occur. If you want to use the medication while pregnant, discuss your situation with your doctor to weigh the benefits and risks.
Retinoid Before and After Photos
Understanding what retinoids are and how they work is important when reviewing retinoid before and after photos. You can find plenty of before and after photos online, so you can see how using tretinoin or retinol can help people with different cases.
Then, you can get an idea of how using something like tretinoin might help you. Whether you have acne, fine lines, or another problem, the medication may help your skin health.
No matter your goals, you should understand how retinoids can help your skin. You should also consider how retinoids play a role in your entire skincare routine. While retinol can help, you should combine it with a cleanser, moisturizer, and other products.
Consider a few ways that retinoids have helped people. Take a look at some before and after photos of people with these conditions. If you like what you see, you can ask your dermatologist about starting something like retinol.
Clearing Up Acne
Some people have had a lot of success using retinoids to treat and get rid of acne. If you have cystic acne or even a few pimples here and there, you can use tretinoin or retinol to help. You can go to a dermatologist or try a few over-the-counter options yourself.
In one case, a woman had acne all over her face. After about two years of using tretinoin, she was able to get clear skin. However, she did more than use the medication.
She incorporated it as part of her evening skincare routine. First, she used micellar water. Next, she would use a cucumber cleanser and a hydrating cleanser.
After the cleanser, she uses a toner to help get rid of any leftover grime that the cleanser didn’t get. At this point, she uses tretinoin to help treat acne. Then, she uses a peptide renewal product. Finally, she uses a lot of Aquaphor moisturizer.
Now, the right routine for you may vary depending on your current skin health and your goals. You may not use micellar water or toner. Or you may want to add something like CeraVe resurfacing retinol serum.
Consider working with a dermatologist to determine which products you should use. Then, you can create a system that helps you get rid of your acne.
Reducing Wrinkles
If you want to reduce fine lines and other signs of aging, consider how that can help you. Retin-A is a prescription retinol that can help with wrinkles sagging, and other issues. You can also use it to treat sun damage, which can also help with aging.
Retin-A can help smooth your skin and give it an even texture, thus reducing wrinkles. It may also reduce acne scars and dark marks on your skin. The medication will make your skin cells shed faster, and that can help reduce hyperpigmentation from those scars.
Over the course of five years, one woman used the prescription to reduce lines and wrinkles. While it can be hard to see the difference, her smile is bigger, and her skin is brighter in the after photos.
Her crows’ feet have also gotten smaller despite being older. The medication can help release skin wrinkles when the skin relaxes, so that can help reduce the appearance of wrinkles as well.
It’s also important to consider that results aren’t immediate. In this case, it took years to see changes in the skin. Still, you can see some small changes after a few months of using retinol or tretinoin.
After a few years, you may see quite a bit of change. But don’t stop using retinoids, because you may see even more results the longer you use the medication. While you will need a prescription for Retin-A, you can try other products over-the-counter before you can see your doctor.
Sensitive Skin
While retinoids can work well for some people, you may wonder if they’re right for you when you have sensitive skin. Fortunately, the right retinol serum or cream can help you. If you have sensitive skin, you may want to avoid prescription retinoids at first.
You don’t need to have the strongest retinoid out there to see some results. However, you should consider the ingredients before choosing a product. If you don’t see “retinol” in the ingredients, the product may use Retinyl Palmitate, which is less effective.
You should also look for opaque tubes with airtight seals. Retinol doesn’t handle light or oxygen well, so you need to protect it like you would your sensitive skin.
One woman used retinol at night and was able to get rid of thin lines around her eyebrows and on her forehead. At first, she used a lot of it all over her face but then had a lot of shedding. While that can be a good thing, your skin needs time to get used to the retinol.
She changed her routine and only used retinol on the troublesome parts of her face. After a week or so, her skin started looking better, and she noticed a new glow to her skin. Now, she doesn’t have the same lines as she once did.
The Benefits of Using Retinoids
You can find even more stories and retinoid before and after photos. But you should also consider the benefits of using retinoids.
Stimulate Collagen Production
As you age, your body stops producing as much collagen, which helps keep your skin smooth and looking young. Then, you can start to develop lines and wrinkles. Using retinol or tretinoin can help increase collagen production and help blood flow to the skin.
The collagen will help thicken the inner layer of your skin, which will help reduce wrinkles. Then, you can enjoy smooth skin again.
Help With Cell Turnover
Another change that occurs with age is that your body slows cell turnover. Increasing turnover can help you shed skin cells, which means you can get rid of dark spots and sun damage. However, using retinol can put you at risk of more sun damage.
Make sure you use sunscreen each day and save your retinol use for at night. That way, you can help your skin without damaging it more unnecessarily.
Improve Acne
While retinol and tretinoin can help with aging, they can also help people of any age who have acne. Retinol can help treat acne, whether it’s inflammatory or not. The medication can help reduce the appearance of pimples and other existing blemishes.
You can also use retinol to help keep new acne from developing. Retinol can slow down oil production on your skin, and that can reduce blockages and keep new pimples from appearing. However, you should use the medication long term to maintain those results.
Brighten Dull Skin
Many things can cause dull skin, from sun damage to stress to environmental pollution. By reducing melanin production, it can reduce skin discoloration. And because retinol can also help with cell turnover, it can make way for new, bright skin cells.
If you want to brighten your skin, include retinol as part of your overall skincare routine. Pair it with a gentle cleanser and a sunscreen, and give it a few weeks to see results.
Treat Certain Medical Conditions
If you have psoriasis, hyperpigmentation, or even cancer, you can treat it with retinol. While you may need to use other prescription treatments, it can help your skin at home.
Make sure you use the right type of retinoid so that it can best help your condition. That way, you can give your skin the best chance of healing.
Retinoid Solutions
If you see retinoid before and after photos and want those results for yourself, you have multiple options. You can consider your skin health and the problems you want to correct. Then, you can choose the right solution for your skin.
If you don’t know what to look for, here are a few examples of retinoids and other skin products that may help.
Admire My Skin Clinically Effective Retinoid Cream
The Clinically Effective Retinoid Cream from Admire My Skin contains 2.5% retinol, hyaluronic acid, and plant stem cells. You don’t need a prescription to get it, and it can help with aging and wrinkles. It also works with all skin types, so you can try it out.
This cream can help exfoliate the top layer of your skin. Then, it can help get rid of dead skin cells to help with your skin tone. It can also help reduce acne and other breakouts on your skin, and it will make your skin firm yet smooth.
You can apply it once a day to your face and neck, and it can work in as few as six weeks. Use one pump to start, but you can also use more if you have a larger affected area. Be sure to use a cleanser and dry your skin before you use the cream.
You can buy the product from Admire My Skin or from Amazon. It’s relatively affordable, so you don’t need a huge budget.
Admire My Skin Intense Hydration Collagen Cream
While it’s not a retinol cream, the Admire My Skin Intense Hydration Collagen Cream is another excellent addition to your routine. It can help reduce the appearance of wrinkles, and it may also help with your skin texture and tone.
The product contains hyaluronic acid, hydrolyzed collagen, and sea kelp bio ferment. It can reduce irritation and redness, and it can provide antioxidants to your skin. This cream will also help your body produce more collagen, and the formula can hydrate your skin.
After about three weeks, you may see an improvement. You can use it no matter your skin type, and you can use it both in the morning and at night.
If you want to help your skin but take it slow with retinol, this is a good option. It can still help your skin, but you don’t have to use the medication every day.
Admire My Skin Ultra Potent Brightening Serum
The Admire My Skin Ultra Potent Brightening Serum is another product that you can use with retinoids. It uses 2% hydroquinone, which can help treat age spots and hyperpigmentation. This serum can also brighten your skin and clear things up.
It can also help repair sun damage to your skin, and it can work in as few as four weeks. Along with hydroquinone, it contains salicylic acid, which can help treat acne. The vitamin C in the formula can also help thicken your skin and promote collagen production.
This serum isn’t a retinoid, but it can do similar things. You can rotate it with the other Admire My Skin products to help improve your skin tone and texture. Before you use it, do a spot test on your wrist to make sure you can tolerate it.
Then, you’ll need to use the serum every other day for up to 60 days. After that, you should take 30 days off, and you can use another product to help your skin in the meantime.
Glycolic Acid and Benzoyl Peroxide
You can also use products such as glycolic acid and benzoyl peroxide to help shed skin and treat acne, respectively. But don’t use too much of these products with retinoids so that you don’t accidentally make your skin worse.
Is Retinoid Right for You?
Looking at retinoid before and after photos, you can see how much it can improve your skin. Whether you want to get rid of wrinkles or treat your acne, you can use the medication. However, make sure you choose the right type for your skincare goals. You may also want to talk to your doctor to get a prescription. Either way, the medication may be an excellent solution to your skin problems.
