Dear Dr. Seckel,I heard about your fabulous new book “Save Your Face” and can’t wait to get a copy of it! I had a general question regarding skin creams. Since turning forty 2 years ago I have been using a glycolic acid cream (10%) on my face, thinking it was superior to tretinoin because I would get a little tingling feeling when applying it. I noticed you spoke about tretinoin as the best cream for facial wrinkles, but how do the alpha hydroxy acids, like glycolic acid, compare? Should I switch to RetinA? Thanks for any info you can provide! Loriann from Billerica, MA
Dear Loriann,Thank you for the email!
The alpha hydroxy acids, including glycolic acid are excellent anti-aging skin products and I use them on everyone for skin rejuvenation, skin exfoliation, and wrinkle removal. I would keep using the one you use.
The tretinoins-RetinA and Tazarotine are a bit more powerful skin rejuvenation creams, provide deeper skin exfoliation, migrate into the dermis and stimulate new collagen, but are irritating and less well tolerated by patients.
Vitamin C serum is also excellent and well tolerated by people with sensitive skin and can be used in conjunction with the glycolic acid products.
I would stay with what you are using. You can try to add a vitamin C serum (L form) to your daily regimen. Vitamin C, E, and A should also be in your sun block-they triple the effectiveness of sun block
The only reason to change to a tretinoin would be if you have had precancerous lesions such as Actinic Keratoses on your facial skin, as the tretinoin’s powerful skin exfoliation effect and promotion of new epithelial cell growth are beneficial under these circumstances. Under these circumstances I would of course recommend that you were under the care of a board certified Dermatologist or Plastic Surgeon.
To learn more about prevention of facial aging and skin rejuvenation visit my Boston Plastic Surgery Practice, contact me or read Save Your Face.
Boston, Massachusetts
Peabody, Massachusetts