Is Retin-A in Your Medicine Cabinet? Here’s Why It Should Be!
- Posted on: Jan 30 2018
Aging has been frustrating humans since ancient times. Just about everything has been tried over time; milk-baths, rose petals, urine . . . there’s so much more we could go on all day. Even today, we’ve got a sea of products sitting on store shelves, each saying they are better than the others. The complexity of choices can be utterly confusing. We need something with retinol, or retinoids; we need peptides. The thing is, there are a lot of good ingredients out there. One powerhouse that we cannot overlook is Retin-A.
Retin-A isn’t actually an ingredient, it is a prescription product that has been around for decades. It is a product that has been clinically studied and has been scientifically proven to achieve specific improvements in the skin. In this case, these include signs of sun damage, laxity, and wrinkles. Oh, and Retin-A also slows down the degradation of collagen.
Just What Is It?
It’s a big deal. Retin-A is a brand name of the generic drug Tretinoin. It is a form of vitamin A that is made synthetically and applied to the skin. The chemical behind all the magic here is retinoic acid. Is this the same as retinol? No. Retinol is a cousin to the prescription version, one that can be purchased over-the-counter due to its extremely low amount of active ingredient.
What Retin-A and Tretinoin do is facilitate cellular turnover. Cells die off and are replaced by new, healthy ones. When you apply prescription retinoic acid to the skin, this process accelerates. This aids in collagen production and the thickness of deeper tissues. As a result, lines and wrinkles diminish and the skin brightens. Skin rejuvenation takes time, with initial results appearing within 6 to 8 weeks.
What You Need to Know
Retin-A or another comparable prescription is not capable of the same type of improvement that occurs with cosmetic surgery like a facelift. What it can do is soften more obvious lines and wrinkles and optimize the skin by supporting collagen production. Therefore, it is a product that is great for prevention and early management.
Are you ready to correct the signs of aging? We have multiple ways to help you. To learn more about skin rejuvenation, call our Midtown Manhattan office at 212-391-8600.
Posted in: Skin Care
