The GA was prescribed by a derm, and I’ve been using it for a couple of years to treat hyperpigmentation. I’m thinking of stopping the GA, because while it helped in the initial months, I haven’t seen further improvement in the last year. So I think I’ve hit a ceiling on returns.
I’m hoping retinol will help with the hyperpigmentation, in addition to providing anti-ageing benefits.
Onto my questions:
Should I stop the Vit C in the morning, as I start the retinol? Or continue using.
I will stop the GA before I start Retinol. Does there need to be any number of days of gap in between?
Suggestions for concentration and brand of retinol to go with? I am considering TO 0.2% in squalene, Deconstruct 0.2%, or The Minimalist 0.3%. I’m thinking of going with either Deconstruct or Minimalist, as TO is expensive. For what it’s worth, my skin is pretty resilient and not sensitive, so I think these concentrations should be manageable.
How many times a week should I start on? I was thinking every other day.
Should I apply Retinol on dry skin, or use the sandwich method (small amount of moisturizer before the retinol and then again after).
Vitamin C in the morning is perfectly fine if you incorporate retinol in you night routine, using Vit C in the night also before retinol is perfectly fine if you want that additionally and skin can tolerate it
You don’t need to stop using GA to start retinol but introduce it to your skin on alternate days from the GA because both can be very irritating together.
I think 0.3% is a pretty good introductionary level for retinol starting out, then go up gradually as skin begins to adjust and like it
You could do every other day yes to start with, personally i went the same route as you starting with GA first and then incorporating retinol to routine later then i reduced the days with GA eventually compared to retinol so usually ill do GA like twice a week now and retinol for the rest of the nights as my skin loves it more.
This is also very much depending on what your skin can tolerate as you said you skin is pretty resilient so u could probably try without sandwiching at the low concentration of 0.3% retinol. Actives absorb better on damp skin i always put mine on as my PM routine is : Cleanse, Vit C followed up with retinol on damp skin + moisturize to lock in.
Lastly i would say there is a lot of misinfo on what you can and can’t do where people are projecting their own skincare issues onto other people who have a completely different tolerance outside of the generally accepted rules. A good reference video i would take a quick look at for you is this one :
Thank you very much for the detailed responses! So you think I can continue using the GA and just swap it out for Retinol on alternate days? Or is it advisable to pause GA for a few days, while I make sure that retinol isn’t irritating my skin? Once the retinol settles in, I can reintroduce the GA…
I am just thinking that it might be safer to go this route
I think both options you mentioned are valid, since you already know you can tolerate GA and have it in your normal routine you could just alternate to retinol for a couple days a week to start and see how your skin feels about it, also taking a few days pause from GA all together and then testing retinol for some nights is fully a safe way to also to see how your skin feels, with retinol sometimes the irriation doesn’t show up right away and theres a possibility of some minor skin purging also but that sometimes can take days to show up and at that point you will know it is the retinol.
Don’t however be scared off from using it if you get minor reactions because that is perfectly normal in the more sensitive areas when you start out, you can always mitigate this by doing the sandwich method by moisturizing - retinol - moisturzing should some minor sensitivity occur. Starting out with a low concentration retinol most people get little to no side effects though so you will be fine i think.
I use everything but vitamin C.
I started with retinol 1 evening per week, then 2, now I can use it every night if I want to. I cleanse with a micellar and leave my skin moist, then I apply GA which is 7%, I let it dry up with some Hyaluronic serum, then I apply Retinol - not an extreme one mind you, and then maybe Omega Water Cream after.
Vit C, hyaluronic, moisturizer, and then SPF50 are fine for mornings.
I hate the feel of squalene and it tends to ball up on me.
Retinol is always applied dry, as wet application makes it too strong.
You can put it above the dried-in moisturizer at first, so it’s not full effect right off the bat.