4 replies to this topic

[Briana Jones]

I am on a -ret gel 0.05% and I know that people say benzoyl peroxide and tretinoin cancel each other out if used together, but what if i just use a benzoyl peroxide cleanser instead of a treatment/gel? Like, wash my face with the benzoyl wash in the morning, moisturize. Then at night, benzoyl peroxide wash, wait an hour, a-ret gel, then moisturize 15 minutes-30 minutes later?

[Kin92]

You could, but medicated cleansers aren't really effective at all. Using a gentle non medicated wash will help with irritation and/or redness/peeling from tretinoin. Medicated cleansers are washed off before the medicine ,BP/SA, can work

[Jazzy17]

This is what i'm doing now BP wash with retin-A 0.1% barely a week in so far just so much dryness and peeling and i dont have a moisturizer right now its pretty unbearable to deal with but i will have to until i get some type of moisturizer supposed to be on this regime for two months and see how it goes

[Lakestone Park]

I got the same question because i got this Acne-Free Cleanser foam cleanser with Micro-Benzoyl Peroxide that says: "Typical Benzoyl Peroxide molecules are too big to fit into pores. AcneFree's Benzoyl Peroxide is 60x smaller to immediately absorb deep inside pores and kill 99% of acne bacteria on contact. And it keeps working even after you have rinsed off so the medication keeps working for hours...etc"

Now will it just cancel each other out or are they now working together since the BP is technically not some layer of gel under my Tazorac. ???

[Green Gables]

I am on a -ret gel 0.05% and I know that people say benzoyl peroxide and tretinoin cancel each other out if used together, but what if i just use a benzoyl peroxide cleanser instead of a treatment/gel? Like, wash my face with the benzoyl wash in the morning, moisturize. Then at night, benzoyl peroxide wash, wait an hour, a-ret gel, then moisturize 15 minutes-30 minutes later?

You could, but I believe the pamphlet for tretinoin tells you not to use any of the following while using tretinoin: sulfur, glycolic acid, salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide. Tretinoin is pretty harsh on the skin, and BP's free radical mechanism actually SLOWS healing of the skin. While on tretinoin you want your skin to heal as fast and correctly as possible. I definitely wouldn't mess that up by slathering on a BP cleanser.

If you need an antibacterial, got a topical antibiotic like clindamyacin or minocycline.

Edited by Green Gables, 27 August 2012 - 12:18 PM.