Not at the same time of course. I have a stockpile of tretenoin on my dresser, and I was thinking about using it as a night cream. Im currently using Epiduo Forte during the day (which is killing 95% of my acne) and 10% aha at night. With my acne well under control, Im looking to do something more for my scars, The aha is working pretty well, but I was thinking about experimenting with aha one night, then an off night, then a tretenoin night. Good or bad idea?
My dermatologist prescribed me Ziana, which contains 0.025% tretinoin (Retin-A), and recommended I use a benzoyl peroxide face wash. I'm not a doctor, so I don't want to give you the go-ahead and say it's safe, but I wanted to share that my dermatologist had me use a product with tretinoin/Retin-A in it and a benzoyl peroxide wash at the same time, so I would imagine it's fine (like I said though, I'm not a doctor!). Good luck 🙂
Go for it, Quan!
We're actually doing something pretty similar. My son is doing the Acne.Org Regimen (2.5% BP morning and night), and applying tretinoin (.05%) over the top of the BP and moisturizer at night. He's been doing this add-on treatment for the last 3-4 weeks (out of 15...he began the Regimen back in December) and seems to be working well, even for red marks and PIH. His cheeks are noticeably clearer and smoother. All his cystic acne is gone.
Once he sees his derm in mid-April, and gets off of minocycline 100 mgs (only 3 weeks left of his 3-month course), we're going to keep using tretinoin but only every other night, and AHA+ the other nights. Yes, it's fine to alternate these 2 treatments (don't use together though!) and this may possibly work even better for acne scars and PIH than using either treatment alone...we look forward to trying the same thing!
In the past, using BP and tretinoin together was not recommended, as there was concern that BP would break down the active ingredients in tretinoin. Now studies are showing that this is not the case, and derms can feel comfortable prescribing both. Here's an article that talks about this: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2958193/
However, I would not mix BP and tretinoin and apply together, as the combo would likely be very strong and cause excessive irritation. Instead, wait at least an hour after applying Epiduo or anything that contains BP, before applying a pea-size amount of tretinoin. Since you use Epiduo only during the day, you're good to go. I also would not use tretinoin during the day, as it is known that UV rays will deactivate tretinoin, so it should only be used at night.
Hope this is helpful! 