I Confess: I Love Topical Retinoids!
I still get blackheads on my chin and nose, and I hate them! Yet, for some reason I love looking at them in larger-than-life perspective with my magnifying mirror. My husband used to tell me to throw the mirror away. I told him I did, but to be honest, it really has been hiding in a drawer and comes out for special occasions. He told me that the key to getting rid of the blackheads is to use topical retinoids. I didn’t believe it could really work but decided to give it a shot.
Using a topical retinoid was not an easy task for me. You need to use them the right way, which was a challenge since I don’t always follow directions the way I should. I was instructed to use only a pea sized amount every other night to get my skin used to it. But how could such a small amount do anything? If a little could work, then a lot must work better, right? Why put it on every other night, if applying it every night might clear my skin up even quicker?
Well, what a disaster my theories turned out to be! I guess I should have listened to the dermatologist, even if I was married to him. My face became irritated, and my skin started to peel all over. This wasn’t even the worst part. My husband saw my red face and gave me that “I told you so” look and started laughing.
So I held off for a while to let my face cool down. After a few weeks I decided to restart my retinoid adventure. This time, I promised myself (and my husband) that I would follow the rules like a good girl. And I did. A year (and four different progressively stronger retinoids) later, I can’t believe that my chin is almost perfect. My nose isn’t quite there yet, but I can definitely see a big improvement. Apparently your nose has one of the highest concentration of oil glands on your body, and it’s a really tough place to clear up.
I love my topical retinoid and have faith that one day my nose will look as good as my chin. But while I wait, occasionally I still find myself secretly pulling out the magnifying mirror to obsess!
I, too, have a love affair going with retinol. I use it more for it's wrinkle fighting properties, I think it may be the closest thing to a "cure-all" the beauty industry has!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to hear more about how you use your treatment: over/under moisturizer, with other treatments, etc...I've researched a bit myself and it seem every Derm has a different opinion on the matter, so I'd love to hear what you have to say :)
I moisturize first and apply the retinoid after. Helps prevent irritation.
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