Retin-a darkening skin
I've been using a retin-a liquid (0.5%, I know, heavy stuff, but it's cheap)
on my cheeks, under my eyes and up around my temples. It's done wonders to
cut down on the acne popping up, as well as blackheads, but it's also caused
my skin to redden a bit and flake a lot, even though I've tried cutting back
and moisturizing. The problem I'm seeing now, though, is that there is a
definite difference between the skin everywhere this has been applied and
the skin everywhere else. The applied-to areas seem to have larger pores
(or at least the skin's texture is not so smooth), and it's a shade darker.
Even with the moisturizing (which I'm doing plenty of), and even though the
skin feels smooth, when I move it to talk or smile it looks
wrinkly/stretched/craggy. Part of this is, I'm sure, the accentuated
natural lines/stretching of the skin due to the darkened color.
Question is, is this normal? I'm assuming I've overdone it a bit (even
though I hear of retin-a making people red and flakey all the time even in
milder cream forms). I'm mainly concerned about the darkening, as it seemed
to die down once but has flared up again even without using the liquid so
much that I'm turning red. Does you skin eventually adjust, or should I
just cut way back to a much gentler concentration? Is this
stretched-thin/craggy look a result of overdoing, even though I've
moisturized the hell out of my skin there? (Even _with_ the moisturizing
I'm seeing about 90% less acne.)
-You've just given your skin a bit of a battering, which is sort of the point
of Retin-A -- it increases cellular turnover, like a mini chemical peel.
Your skin with smooth/even out given a rest from retin-a (you can't just
match quantities of retin-a with moisturizer to make everything better).
Nothing to worry about in the long run, but might be wise to cut down if ya
wanna get rid of the redness.
-You are using a good sunblock religiously, aren't you? Exposing your
exfoliated skin to the sun without a good sunblock on it can cause the
problem you describe. Get a good
facial sunblock, at least SPF 30, and don't go out without it on each and
every time! NO EXCEPTIONS! It doesn't take much exposure to the sun to
cause problems these days, especially when your skin is being exfoliated by
RetinA or Glycolic Acid peels or any other exfoliation process!