Comments on: Why Not to Use Retinol and Alpha Hydroxy Acids Together

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Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:20:03 +0000

[...] Why Not to Use Retinoids and Alpha Hydroxy Acids Together [...]

By: Curt

Curt — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:44:23 +0000

Hi. I see a question/response that indicates that alpha hydroxy acids will inactivate retinol when the two are used together. I wonder if beta hydroxy acids will inactivate retin a when the two are used together?

By: How Do I Use a Retinoid and AHAs/BHAs Together? - FutureDerm.com

How Do I Use a Retinoid and AHAs/BHAs Together? - FutureDerm.com — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:23:10 +0000

[...] received a lot of questions asking this very question. And no wonder readers are concerned: it has been recently established that combining AHAs/BHAs with retinoids (some of the most pote…. To find out how to obtain the benefits of both, I consulted the site of Dr. Leslie Baumann, [...]

By: Joyce

Joyce — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 06:39:10 +0000

Ok, alpha hydroxy acids should not be used with retinol. Sometimes, I use salicylic acid for cleansing. Plus, I always use benzoyl peroxide and adapalene at night for acne. It’s all right to use those ingredients daily, right?

By: jac

jac — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 12:17:54 +0000

thank goodness for you nicki! i have been doing AHA during the day and Retin A at night for about a week. my skin already looks better. only thing is, my skin is only a little bit dry. i was expecting rawness. i think i want a higher dosage of retin a. when i was younger and treating acne, my skin burned and was raw. it was definitiely harsher. the retin a i am using is .025%. i think i want 1%. what do you recommend?

my aha product is 10% and ph level of 3 i think. i want higher concentrations on both! which aha products are the best?

do you receommend a rotating facial brush? how much cleansing is too much? i wear make-up everyday.

last concern. pores. i know there is nothing i can do, but thought i might ask. can i do anything to shrink them?

By: Kevin Katechis

Kevin Katechis — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 12:18:23 +0000

As a rule of thumb, retinol just does not work well with any other actives. That is why it is really bad to see an A with other active ingredients (I see alot of multi-vitamin products with A,C + E…this is bad). However, that doesn’t mean you can’t use other products when using a retinoid. The best scenario is retinoid at night and all other products in the morning. If that just doesn’t fit your lifestyle, then you can apply the retinoid and then wait 15 to 30 minutes to apply the other products.

There are a lot of studies that suggest that you should use an AHA or BHA with a retinoid to gain maximum effect of both products. Just don’t use them at the same time. I think my ultimate scenario is to use a retinoid nightly and a AHA or BHA once a week to enhance penetration. However, if you are treating acne, you may need the BHA more often.

By: Curer

Curer — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 22:32:24 +0000

Thanks allot Nicki, i have been doing so with the AHA morning time and Retin-A micro night time every other day for few weeks now and my skin is looking very nice better than usual.
so maybe its not a bad idea. and of course Sunscreen is a big big must.
thank you again for the great effort you put and healthy skin we have following your tips

By: sofi76

sofi76 — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 15:34:33 +0000

thanks for answering my previous question so quickly. I guess I have been obsessed lately with retinols and also trying to get the most out of them. I have read that using AHA’s in the morning is ok (can’t remember where?) but sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen- of course. I have even read that if you use a benzoyl peroxide product you can wait at least 1/2 hour and still use retinol effectively. Thanks for all your well research info.

By: futurederm

futurederm — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 15:04:42 +0000

Hi Curer,

Thanks for your question.

I honestly don’t know the “official” answer to this one, as I have never read it anywhere. Taking my best educated guess, I would say that using AHA in the morning and retinol in the evening should be fine. I say this in particular because benzoyl peroxide and retinol are also incompatible, and I have read dermatologist recommendations for using benzoyl peroxide in the morning and retinol at night.

You may want to ask an already-licensed dermatologist, just to be sure.

I hope that this helped!
-Nicki

By: Curer

Curer — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 07:27:46 +0000

Hello Nicki, thanks for all these reviews and information.
Regarding Retinol and AHA, what if i use them on different times ? i use the Peter Thomas Roth unwrinkle peel pads which is full of AHA in the morning and then i use the Retin A mico at night every other night.
will the AHA used in the morning inactivate the Retin-A used at night ?
thank you dear.