Retin A and oil production

[206bear 0]

does it decrease ur oil production? seems like my skin is less oily since I've been using it

anyone has the same experience?

[Redsquirrel 0]

yeah i understand its supposed to make your skin less oily.

But to be honest i have noticed any real change in mine..

[747ben 0]

I have very oily skin, and when I was on Retin A (about 12 yrs ago) it did nothing to reduce my oil.

It didn't help my zits, either. Just made my face red. I had a red face AND zits.

[jaytek13 0]

It does, eventually. Like most things, it makes things worse before they get better, so if your oil production hasn't increased, then count yourself lucky. Just a little tip: Completely avoid the area around your lips and around your eyes. I wasn't doing that for a long time, and these areas would become so flaky throughout the day, especially after I ate something (with the muscle movement and all). It makes it much easier to handle.

On a side note, it didn't help my acne at all either. Although it did clear up a lot of the left-over redness and seemed to make my skin more refreshed looking after I stopped.

[abbylee 0]

Only Accutane and anti-androgens(spironolactone, some bcps) affect your oil production.

But retinoids can sorta dry out your skin, making it feel as if it's less oily.

[Carys 0]

LabGirl has a really great explanation for why your skin seems more oily on Retin-A, but I can't recount it here. Anyway, it does help your oily skin to feel even more oily, so Retin-A isn't the best choice if you're trying to combat excessively greasy skin.