Check with your doctor if skin irritation becomes severe or if your acne does not improve within 8 to 12 weeks. Avoid using any topical medicine on the same area within 1 hour before or after using tretinoin.
Otherwise, tretinoin may not work properly or skin irritation might occur. Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, it is especially important to avoid using the following skin products on the same area as tretinoin:. Using these products along with tretinoin may cause mild to severe irritation of the skin.
Although skin irritation can occur, some doctors sometimes allow benzoyl peroxide to be used with tretinoin to treat acne. Usually tretinoin is applied at night so that it does not cause a problem with any other topical products that you might use during the day.
Check with your doctor before using topical medicines with tretinoin. During the first 6 months of use, avoid overexposing the treated areas to sunlight, wind, or cold weather. The skin will be more prone to sunburn, dryness, or irritation, especially during the first 2 or 3 weeks.
However, you should not stop using this medicine unless the skin irritation becomes too severe. Do not use a sunlamp. To help tretinoin work properly, regularly use sunscreen or sunblocking lotions with a sun protection factor SPF of at least Also, wear protective clothing and hats, and apply creams, lotions, or moisturizers often.
Check with your doctor at any time your skin becomes too dry and irritated. Your doctor can help you choose the right skin products for you to reduce skin dryness and irritation and may include the following:. Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects.
Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention. Some side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine.
Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects. Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for VerywellHealth. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data.
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Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns? Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. As a topical cream, tretinoin is an easy, convenient medication to take over the long term. Over the course of three, six, 12 or 24 months, you can keep track of your results from tretinoin and assess whether the treatment is worth continuing. As your skin improves, your healthcare provider might also recommend adjusting your tretinoin dosage over time to provide continual benefits.
Interested in using tretinoin to treat and prevent acne? From minor outbreaks to severe, painful cystic acne, tretinoin is highly effective at removing facial acne and preventing it from returning. Our Complete Guide to Using Tretinoin for Acne covers everything you need to know about how you can use tretinoin for acne treatment and prevention, from choosing the right tretinoin cream or gel to applying topical tretinoin to your skin.
Our guide to tretinoin for cystic acne also covers how tretinoin can be used along with antibiotics to treat outbreaks of inflamed, infected cystic acne. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The information contained herein is not a substitute for and should never be relied upon for professional medical advice. Do not use more of it, do not use it more often, and do not use it for a longer time than your doctor ordered.
To do so may cause irritation of the skin. This medicine should come with a patient information leaflet. Read and follow these instructions carefully. Ask your doctor if you have any questions.
Do not use this medicine in or around the eyes or lips, or inside of the nose. Spread the medicine away from these areas when applying. If it accidentally gets on these areas, wash with water at once. Before applying tretinoin, wash the skin with a mild soap or cleanser and warm water by using the tips of your fingers.
Then gently pat dry. Do not scrub your face with a sponge or washcloth. Wait 20 to 30 minutes before applying this medicine to make sure the skin is completely dry.
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