Retinoids Can Help Treat Common Skin Care Issues

For nearly 50 years, retinoids have provided skin care specialists in Wilsonville with an effective answer to so many skin care problems. While retinoids, sadly, don’t prove effective on every type of skin care problem, they’ve been shown to offer incredible results on a few very common issues. Let’s take a look at a few of the issues our skin care specialists in Wilsonville can treat with the use of retinoids.

Acne

If you struggle with moderate to severe acne that just won’t clear up no matter the different remedies you try, a retinoid could provide the help you’ve been looking for. When applied to the skin, retinoids work to help unclog pores, thereby enabling other medicated gels and creams to become more effective.

Unclogging pores also helps to reduce acne breakouts by preventing dead cells from clogging your pores. By reducing breakouts and clearing up acne, retinoids can reduce the risk of develop acne scars.

When taken as a pill, retinoids can help your skin to reduce the amount of oil it produces, and to limit the growth of bacteria that results in inflammation and acne breakouts.

To apply a retinoid, smooth a small pea-sized amount of cream over your skin once a day and let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes before washing your face. When you first start using a retinoid, you may begin to notice peeling skin, redness, or your acne actually becoming worse. This is all perfectly normal, but you can minimize any early side effects by using the cream on alternating days until your skin gets used to it.

Wrinkles

The first retinoid approved by the FDA to treat wrinkles was tretinoin, a prescription retinoid that works by stimulating the body to produce more collagen. Tretinoin also helps to stimulate blood vessel in the skin to provide a rosy appearance, help fade age spots, and to reduce skin spots.

Some studies even suggest that tretinoin may help to prevent more serious effects from prolonged sun exposure.

Unfortunately, many over-the-counter retinoids are not as effective at eliminating wrinkles as prescription tretinoin, but they can help improve the appearance of skin damaged by ultraviolet light.

To reduce wrinkles, apply tretinoin or another retinoid to your face, hands, neck, chest, and forearms at least two times a week. You’ll need to remain patient, as it can take between 3 to 6 months of regular use before you start to see any noticeable improvements. The best results usually don’t start to appear until between 6 months and a year.

Psoriasis

Studies have found that retinoids can help to slow the growth of skin cells in psoriasis patients. Most patients will need to apply a small amount to each sore once a day before going to bed. Frequently, the use of a retinoid cream will be paired with a steroid treatment when dealing with psoriasis.

Warts

Our skin care specialists in Wilsonville may prescribe retinoids for warts, especially when other types of treatments have failed to produce results. Retinoid creams have been shown to help prevent cell growth in warts.

When using a retinoid for the removal of warts, make sure to follow your doctor’s instructions for how to apply the medication to your skin. It may take several months of using a cream before you start to notice any results. Retinoid treatments work the best on flat warts that develop on the back of hands.

Side Effects

Though the use of retinoids offers a lot of potential for helping to clear up common skin care problems, they do come with some risks. These can include:

• Irritation and dryness
• Changes to skin color
• Sunlight sensitivity
• Blistering, swelling, or redness

 

Talk with our team at Valley View Dermatology to see if retinoids are right for you.