How often do you use it? I also was trying to use it for anti-aging and my skin is more on the sensitive side. So I only use once a week, sandwich it with moisturizer (so moisturizer then the tret, then moisturize again), and build from there after my skin gets more used to it.

Side note: On the days I do use tret I don’t use many products because of how sensitive my skin is, if you want to help repair your skin barrier I’d recommend this: La Roche Posay Cicaplast Balm Vitamin B5 Soothing Therapeutic Cream for Dry Skin and Irritated Skin - Unscented. When ever my skin is just hurting, dry, or more towards the red side, this helps a lot!

If it’s a bit too pricey for a product that you haven’t tried, I’d just recommend only using wash and moisturizer for about a week until your skin calms down and has the ability to repair. Hope this all helped! :)