An introduction to Tretinoin for Acne

What is tretinoin and what is it used for?

Tretinoin is a prescription-strength retinoid used for the treatment of acne, melasma, scars and skin ageing. It’s a Vitamin A derivative and in the UK known under the brandname Vesanoid.

Topical tretinoin has been shown to increase production of type I collagen by 80% in photoaged skin. It’s also shown to reduce wrinkles, improve skin smootheness, prevent collagen degradation and improve wound healing. A systematic review concluded that topical tretinoin improves photoageing; considering it the primary drug for the treatment of aged skin.

Tretinoin is available in a cream and gel, and can be bought in various concentrations: 0.025%, 0.05% and 0.1%.

How does tretinoin work?

Retinoids work by increasing the turnover rate of skin cells. It does this by causing mild irritation to the skin, causing the cells to divide and die more rapidly. Tretinoin is an effective acne treatment since it prevents new pimples from forming, and increases the turnover rate of skin cells.

Tretinoin is also an effective treatment to help slow down the ageing process. Skin ageing happens for a variety of reasons, including sun damage (photoageing), environmental factors, loss of collagen, and genetics. Tretinoin’s ability to speed up the cell turnover process help minimize the visible signs of ageing, making it an effective treatment.

Is retinol the same as tretinoin?

Although they work in similar ways, retinol is not the same as tretinoin. Some may call retinol an over-the-counter version of tretinoin, but they aren’t interchangeable.

Technically, retinol and tretinoin do the same thing. But retinol is much weaker than Tretinoin because it first has to be converted into retinoic acid in order to be used by the skin. Tretinoin is retinoic acid, so it can be used directly by the skin as soon as it’s applied.

As such, tretinoin is much more powerful than retinol. Even the lowest strength tretinoin is stronger than the highest strength retinol product. With tretinoin results can be seen in six to eight weeks, whereas retinol requires at least six months of continues use to notice results.

Where and how can I buy tretinoin?

Tretinoin is a prescription-only medicine and dispensed by a pharmacy. This applies to here in the United Kingdom but also in most other countries such as The Netherlands, France, Spain etc.

Tretinoin can be bought online through MENSCRIPT, an Online Health Clinic for men. They issue prescriptions to male patients in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands based on an online assessement. All you have to do is to answer a set of questions about your health and medical history. A physician from MENSCRIPT will then review your answers and issues a prescription if necessary and ships the treatment to your home address.

For more information about tretinoin and how to buy it you can visit the MENSCRIPT website: buy tretinoin online