Retin-A Cream: For Acne Scars and More

In the best case, an acne breakout causes minor discomfort and temporary embarrassment. In the worst case, the acne is severe enough to leave scars. What can you do? Simple. Serious acne requires serious acne medicine. Retin-A is one such acne treatment. In addition to it's ability to treat an active acne episode, Retin-A cream has shown some effectiveness in treating acne scars that already exist. But that's just the beginning of the solution. Using a Retin-A cream for acne scars is one thing, finding the right Retin-A cream for acne scars is another.

It probably sounds more confusing than it is. Retin-A is also known as Tretinoin, Avita, or Renova. Tretinoin is the generic name of the drug, Retin-A, Avita, and Renova are brand names. Essentially, they all do the same thing - increase the rate at which your skin renews itself. If you are treating an active acne outbreak, this brings whatever is clogging your pores to the surface sooner and you may see an improvement relatively quickly. But if you are using a Retin-A cream for acne scars, it can take up to 6 - 9 weeks to see a noticeable difference - in some cases, even longer.

Where Do You Get Retin-A Cream?

Retin-A is available in concentrations ranging from 0.025% to 0.05% and is available by prescription from your dermatologist. During the initial stages, you may experience some side effects, the most common being skin irritation. This is to be expected though - this is strong stuff! But don't give up just yet - there are a few things you can to improve the situation while your skin adjusts.

In the beginning, you only apply Retin-A every other night or every 3rd night. The flaking and irritation side effects are usually the worst in the first 2 weeks of treatment. As your skin gradually adjusts, you can apply it more often. Also, consider applying your moisturizer (oil-free of course!) more frequently. Retin-A can be very dying and this will help. With a little perseverance, your skin will improve, and your acne problem will be a thing of the past.