Retin A for pigmentation

[satinbaby]

Hi all,...

Just needed a little info plz i will try and start at the beginning but dont want it to be too long winded!!!
Basically for yrs roughly 8 my mum has had pigmentation on her face i have always described it as Chloasma, she thought it was caused when she went skiing she tried simple things at first.. natural products with whitening agents, microdermabrasion tghen went onto, peels but nothing seemed to work she spent alot of £££ the whole time i kept telling her to go to the GP and see what they say but she had signed up wth a skin specialist for a course of products Obagi i think they were... And she didnt want to go whilst trying this... anyway the whole time up to then id worked in salons until 2yrs ago when i started on my own... mum then had more facials as im based at home and 2 months ago i noticed that the pigmentation was slightly different on her forehead and practically begged her to go to the docs to make sure there wasnt an underlying problem... Along she went and they refered her to a skin specialist at the hospital whom she went to see Monday ...

They asked her all her history and it turns out its been caused by the contraception pill all thoses yrs ago she was only on it 4 yrs...
So they have prescribed 0.25% i just wondered if anyone has had any experience with this product and the results and the side effects as i put it on the back of my hand and its like alcahol gel takes your breath away!
Im sure its going to dry her out!! I have only heard of it as an anti-ageing product!

Thanks in advance
Oh ps they have took before and after pics and she has another appoint in 4 months to see if there is any difference !
xxxxxxx

 

[marie111]

from what I know of Retin A it burns away at your skin removing a layer, I know a lot of bodybuilders use it for acne scarring, cher apparently uses it for her skin, doctors can prescribe it for stretch marks.
Its a product that has to be used carefully, i'm not sure of that percentage, sounds like a high one.
You can buy facial products with Retin A in them but obviously they will only have a very small percentage in them.
i don't think you can buy it in this country but you can in America.
It will be interesting to see if it works for your mum.

 

[satinbaby]

Thanks Marie! Thats a help.. Yes it is high as i say it took my breath away!
Sounds like a miracle product acnes scaring, stretch marks and pigmentation...... But at what cost?? Im interested in the side effects im sure it will dry her out..... She will be hitting Aqueous cream if it gets too dry!!! Horrible stuff Aqueous cream! like butter!! xxxxx

 

[marie111]

Without a doubt it will dry her skin out, think they recommend if it itches/gets too dry to use it every other day or longer inbetween.

 

[essentia]

I was prescribed Retin A years ago for acne. I would only use it sparingly and be careful in the environment . It did sensitise my skin and I got small broken capilleries from using it - so be very careful when in sun and harsh winds. Always use a sunblock. Ranges like Nimue offer very good solutions to pigmentation so check them out.

 

[nenee]

hi ya

ive suffered with chloasma for over 10 yrs and believe me iv tried everything out there and they dont work!!

Iv tried high strength retin A and ended up with dry irritated skin!

tried peels(some can make it worse as the top layer is removed resulting in more uv penetration and if not used a high spf it then brings out the pigmentation worse, and some can cause more darkening of the pigmentation.

tried glycolic acid, vit c creams etc etc which do not lighten it.

i have a skin specialist friend who uses lasers and states some lasers can make it worse, chloasma is very deep in the underlying layers of the skin un like sun spots thats why the creams do not work effectively cause they can not penetrate enough.

what works for me is keeping the sun no where near my face which then lightens it naturally. i use a 50 spf in the summer and hats, and 15 spf to 30 spf in the winter and i NEVER sun bath, in fact i havent for over 10 years, even 30 minutes in the sun with a bare face will un do all the hard work iv done in 10 years and bring it right back to the surface.

i use environs vit c and retin a(not too high a dose) for anti aging and st tropez tan on my face so i dont look too pale.

i believe the bleaching cream hydroquinine creams can work BUT in some cases can cause skin cancer later on and irritation and too white a skin(they are perscription only) i think they are banned off the shelf due to this??

if there was a cure for chloasma, i would of found it by now believe me, the only thing that keeps it un noticeable is keeping out of the sun and a high spf so it fades over time and then keeping it that way, and of course no contraceptive pill for me only other methods

hope this helps

nenee

 

[satinbaby]

Hi all thankyou so much everyone for your info my mum is half jamaican so quite dark anyway so she has never sunbathed or anything like that and uses very high spf its a nightmare and she is very self-conseous of it... Shes tried all these vitamin / whitening ranges Matis/ Nimue etc with no joy..
Anyway i will keep you informed on the retin A front!!
xxxxxx

 

[daisyl]

Prescription Retin A (Tretinoin) is a great topical medication if used correctly. The percentage your mum has been prescribed is actually very low (I prescribe it quite often). Of course she will initially have some reaction - dryness, irritation, erythema - which is to be expected.

She MUST only apply at night after cleansing. NO OTHER MOISTURISERS ETC SHOULD BE APPLIED AT THE SAME TIME - very important!

A high broad spectrum SPF must be worn in daytime. This is long term - no instants. x

(important to add - OTC vit a and other cosmeceuticals containing retinol are NOT the same and should not be compared with - totally different ) X

 

[Pebbles#1]

If your mum has been on a course of Obagi she may already have used Tretinoin (retin A).
I recently used a course of Obagi, it was to help with fine lines/wrinkles and pigmentation. The course involves the use of Tretinoin and Hydroquinine amongst other things. A lot of people find they can not tolerate the use of Tretinoin and the skin can become very sore, red and peel. Also the dermatologist told me the down side is it thins the skin, making you more susceptible to skin damage in the future so you must use a high factor sun cream even in the winter months. As I have said, your mum may have already used it when using Obagi. I`m sure I haven`t got confused, but I thought the derm` told me it was the Hydroquinine that helped with pigmentation by bleaching the skin.
If your mum is being monitored I`m sure she`ll be fine.

 

[satinbaby]

Hi all... She did the Obagi through a cosmetic surgery clinic privately years ago.. I think there was a little difference actually but it was private and she paid a high price for the time of the chap and the products... She is now NHS so its prescription price !!!
The doc at ther hospital said it wont be an over night miracle and there may be many others to try until they find the one that works for her.
I spoke to her this morning and i think already there is effects as she said her serum tingled when she put it on this morning and usually theres nothing felt so see how we go thankyou everyone for all your info x