Hello Gorgeous!
I hope you enjoyed my post on RetinA (Tretinoin), last week. Today I want to focus on the difference between over-the-counter retinols and prescription strength retinoids. Some examples of OTC retinols are: ROC, Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair, Olay Regenerist Retinol24 to name a few. Examples of retinoids: are RetinA (Tretinoin), Tazorac (Tazarotene), and Differin (Adapalene). Many of my patients want to know if OTC retinols and prescription retinoids do the same thing? Theoretically, yes. However, our bodies do not make it easy for over-the-counter retinols to be nearly as effective as prescription strength retinoids.
Ok, without getting too science-y, let’s break this down. The main difference between prescription strength retinoids and OTC retinols is that our bodies have to convert the OTC formulations into retinoic acid, whereas retinoids are retinoic acid. This additional step makes the OTC products a little less effective and it takes longer to see results. But that being said, it also makes them less irritating (because your body isn’t converting all of the product to retinoic acid). The other thing to keep in mind is that over-the-counter formulations are not regulated in the same way as prescription strength versions. The cosmeceutical industry has zero regulations on their products. They can put whatever claim they want onto their labels without any scientific proof of those claims. On the other hand, a prescription retinoid is regulated by the FDA and has proven results over an extended period of time.
I am a firm believer in retinoids. As I mentioned in my last post, it’s a game-changer in your anti-aging arsenal. However, I do see the advantage of the OTC products being so readily available at any drug or grocery store. And hey, if anti-aging is your goal and a prescription strength retinoid is out of reach…you’re playing the long game anyway; so why not? I should also mention that there is one OTC retinoid that has been studied and proven to help with acne (not much evidence for anti-aging though). That product is Adapalene (also known as its brand name, Differin). So if you’re one of those sufferers of adult-acne and getting a prescription for RetinA isn’t in the cards, then I definitely recommend Differin.
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