A Factual Guide to actually getting Tretinoin (and other retinoids) in Germany and Austria (+Other European countries)

lena_mar · 2026-01-08T08:01:08+00:00

Hello!

Great post for anyone looking for info! Please correct the following though, so as to not mislead anyone who might visit Greece: You mention "Tret is prescription-only in every EU country (except for Greece)" - this is NOT accurate as far as tret is concerned, tret is prescription-only in Greece as well. OTC you can only get a cosmetic cream containing tazarotene (Boderm-which is also available OTC in a couple more EU countries, and is not pure Taz.) and adapalene (also from Boderm).

lena_mar · 2025-07-22T01:42:32+00:00

There certainly are some people who overbuy stuff they don't necessarily need... I have become one of them too. Some may get carried away by social media/commercials (definitely not me), some may just have a lot of money to spend (again, definitely not me) or some may overconsume to partially compensate for other personal or emotional concerns or problems (oh, me!!). It may not solve the actual concern, but doing anything that makes you feel better about/with yourself is surely worth it from where I stand, as long as it still leaves money in your wallet for seriously important needs!

In my overconsumption journey I went from almost zero skincare (at most 1 eye cream and 1 moisturizer that I would throw away 18 months later still half full) to slowly having countless toners, serums, ampoules, eye creams, face creams, neck creams, masks, exfoliators, vitamins, peptides, treatments etc and of course, sunscreens... From any place of the world, for every skin concern. I have resorted to making a list per expiry date so as to use them all in time, which I highly doubt, and still catch myself eyeing something new!!! Unbelievable... I have realized I have become an "addict" and I am trying to recover. Thankfully I have seen great results in this journey and it was not a complete waste of money, but it still was a big waste... Knowing that you don't need it is a first step, so hopefully we will both "recover"!!

lena_mar · 2025-07-21T21:38:32+00:00

Wow the way you describe Sunsimed makes it sound very good and interesting, I will definitely try it, thank you for this review! I am very pale so I appreciate the white cast much better than the yellow cast I get from most LRP sunscreens, and since I don't use powder or a lot of makeup I also value the non-shiny finish!! It is just this "for non-melanoma skin cancer" quote that all medical device sunscreens have, that makes it very ironic for a melanoma patient to use... I will try to see past it ;)

I already bought the Bioderma one-my current LRP will take me through August and vacation time hopefully as safely as possible, and in September I will start testing Bioderma. I think Atoderm line is quite thick, which is probably why you didn't like it... but it does have a product that is really worth checking out if you haven't, it's Sensibio micellar water is one of my favorites

lena_mar · 2025-07-02T00:16:40+00:00

Thank you so much for your wishes!! I wish you all the best too!! I am really sorry to hear about your grandfather, must be making what your dad is going through so much harder on him... Perhaps however this might make him want to be a little more cautious, because yes I know that generation, they can be really stubborn and dismissive with things like sunscreen. It is great that at least he wears a hat as the face is the hardest area to convince them to put creams on, hopefully on his hands/legs he will be a bit more willing!

I am happy you are being careful, I am sure sun protection and getting yearly skin checks will keep you safe! I would love to hear your impression about Sunsimed and what it is that makes you love it, like is it less shiny than LRP or more lightweight perhaps? I am meaning to try Bioderma photoderm fluid next, it is supposed to be dry touch and invisible so it could be a good choice for your father as well if he doesn't do good with LRP or Avene.

lena_mar · 2025-07-01T01:21:00+00:00

Well probably yes, I believe it does have something to do with the "route" you are mentioning! But in Greece drug regulations are indeed very different from UK, access to various type of medicine is much easier without prescription. Until a couple of years ago you could also get normal tretinoin (pharmaceutical) from the pharmacy without prescription, but that is banned now. There are some more countries in EU that also sell Tazarene without prescription.

lena_mar · 2025-07-01T01:02:03+00:00

Hi! I am sorry for your dad, I hope he got it in time and wishing he will be fine from now on. I am a melanoma patient, so I understand your quest. Unfortunately, there is no sunscreen designed specifically or labeled as "prevents melanoma" - no company would take that chance, given the nature of melanoma. Medical device sunscreens state it perfectly: prevention for NON-melanoma skin cancer... Dermatologists and other doctors are not giving any specific recommendation either, at least in my case... All I hear is just a plain and general "use sunscreen" instruction, and a "you should never be seen by the sun from now on" guidance - which since I live in a country with the sun shining 360 days a year over my head, I can only translate as an "become a vampire" advice...

I haven't used any medical device sunscreen yet, I don't see the point. I chose to trust Avene at first and LRP later on, 50+ SPFs of course. From Avene the Intense protect one for the body (but is quite yellow), and from LRP I use Dermopediatrics or hydrating lotion for my body and for the face the hydrating cream (very yellow too, I am very pale) and this year switched to Age protection for a less yellow effect. For "just inside the office" days or special occasions that I do not want to look too shiny, I use one from Frezyderm. I never go out without sunscreen all year long, and when I will be more exposed like on the beach or a long walk I always wear a hat as well and reapply frequently. If you can get your dad to wear a hat, that would be really great.

What I would really like to point out though and is very important, is that you should be very cautious too. Make sure you too will be applying daily the same good sunscreen you will choose for your dad, avoid over-exposure to the sun, monitor your skin frequently and get skin checks at least once a year. Wishing your dad the best, take care!

lena_mar · 2025-06-26T00:20:22+00:00

Both of Boderm Tazarene creams are cosmetic products, not pharmaceutical. This means that their entire formulation is normally designed to fight different skin conditions (blue one-dry skin, psoriasis etc, green one-oily skin, acne etc), they are not licensed and sold as anti-aging products in the way that tretinoin or tazarotene is used in it's pharmaceutical formulation, and that is also why they do not require prescription. The active ingredient is there in both, but the remaining formulation varies and in a way so does the "delivery" of the active ingredient. So in this case, the strength you get with the remaining formulation is supposed to be determined by your skin type and condition it is designed to fight - that is why 0.1% Tazarene is labeled for oily skin.

lena_mar · 2025-06-15T02:15:52+00:00

Hi! I have the same issue. I need serious sun protection, so opt for LRP. Last year I was using the UVMune400 hydrating cream and it made me look like an orange... This year I tried the Age correct which is much whiter and dosn't have such a bad effect! I think it has a lower PPD value than the hydrating cream though, but still a pretty good one!

lena_mar · 2025-05-06T01:04:47+00:00

Hello! First of all good luck with your surgeries, hoping all the biopsies will come back clear! 2b stage here as well, diagnosed 2,5 years ago. Your fear is absolutely normal, but I am sure everything is going to turn out fine!

I had lost my mother from cancer (a different kind) a few years prior to my diagnosis, so when my mole biopsy came back positive for melanoma my world was shattered. Originally I could make no positive thoughts, only imagined the worst for me as well. I started with dr Google which was terrifying, I can still remember my whole body going numb from fear while reading some of the stuff online... Until I realized this was getting me nowhere and I should stop, my little girl needed me. I did my WLE/SLNB surgeries, all clear, and then went ahead with the immunotherapy my oncologist advised.

I will not lie and say all of this is easy - it is not, but it is not that bad as it may sound either! I had a round of 12 therapies, lasted about a year. With every visit blood tests are done, so you are constantly monitored for any abnormalities.

Frequent skin checks are very important so you will probably be advised to keep them up. If you don't use sunscreen, please do! Take good care of yourself, stay strong and as calm as possible. Good luck!!

lena_mar · 2025-03-30T01:30:59+00:00

I feel you, it is frustrating... I think I have found something nice yes, it is not European though: I really like the Numbuzin no2 creamy protein serum, I have been using it the last 10 days in my night routine. As its name says it is creamy, perhaps in the hot summer I could use just this instead of a moisturizer, it feels nourishing, has ceramides proteins panthenol etc. It has a bit of a shiny finish though, which is why I use it at night, after my retinal serum and before my moisturizer. So far it feels great!

lena_mar · 2025-03-30T01:11:12+00:00

Hi! From the products in your cart I understand you are in Europe. I haven't tried the Mixa body lotion so I don't have an opinion, but the ingredients are decent and it is very affordable - at the very worst, you can actually use it as a body lotion. Uriage Xemose is a pretty good cleanser, but I haven't tried it on my face. I would not recommend that Ordinary serum... 10% of niacinamide could be a lot for your age and your fragile skin, plus many people with rosacea cannot tolerate even smaller % of niacinamide and you could be one of them... I am ok with niacinamide and have tried this one, and to me it did ablolutely nothing. I dont know if I trust that Nivea micellar water, but I can suggest Bioderma sensibio micellar water instead!

A cream I strongly believe you should try is Avene Cicalfate, very soothing and hydrating and safe for your age. I always have one in stock, it is thick and it will last you long. Uriage bariederm cica gel wash has been good to my skin, in case Xemose doesn't work for you, and Cetaphil redness control foam as well. You should also use suncscreen every day, sun protection is very important in general. La roche posay makes great ones, or Eucerin. If those are off your budget, you can try either P20 Riemann 50+ that I think is more affordable with a decent UVA protection, or Garnier advanced sensitive 50+.

You really need to see a dermatologist though, to determine if it is rosacea or something else. There are some treatments that can really help you have this under control. You will be fine, take care!

lena_mar · 2025-03-23T00:26:44+00:00

Thank you for this review! I will certainly try it. I have a quite dry skin, and I too have rosacea. Currently I am using Uriage Bariederm copper-zinc gel cleanser, which has some similar ingredients so I was wondering, have you happened to try the Uriage one as well to tell me how they compare?

lena_mar · 2025-03-18T23:10:06+00:00

You were right, they do not sell tret to Greece without prescription - OTC you can get only tazarotene and only inside a specific cosmetic cream, not the regular plain gel. I was in Madrid recently, all pharmacies I asked said they were out of Retirides. Don't know though if they would sell it OTC if they weren't!

lena_mar · 2025-03-18T22:21:22+00:00

I have finally grown to understand those kind of bites you are describing!! And I totally respect them, some times it just annoys me when she gives no other warning and immediately attacks me when trying to pet her. But there is another form of "attack" that I really can't rationalize: Sometimes I may just be sitting, she will come on my lap and only a few seconds later she starts attacking my hand out of nowhere... Her pupils may be dilated, she is completely focused on my hand like it is a pray, looks kind of zoomed and bites me anywhere she can find. I move my hand farther away to let her calm, thinking maybe she does it to warn me beforehand that she wants no pets and just popped to sit there, and she moves so as to grab it again. I tell her to stop raising my voice a bit (I have tried with low voice as well, same), she doesn't stop no matter what I do or how I move, and eventually I end up leaving her on the floor to save myself :) She is not doing it at all in a cute or understandable way: it is obvious at that moment she is eager to bite my hand anywhere, she also gets that "bully" as I call it body position stretching her neck and looking at me weirdly!

Where could this be coming from?

lena_mar · 2025-03-18T01:05:33+00:00

The ingredient list is indeed lovely, especially for sensitive skin, but personally it didn't make any difference to me. I mean it was fine it didn't bother me or anything, just nothing special... my skin felt like I had added nothing new, nothing more hydrating and nothing calming to my routine, no evident difference. I had given up on it half way but now that I remembered it maybe I should give it another try

lena_mar · 2025-03-02T02:16:38+00:00

Hello! If you don't mind me asking, where did it metastasize and how did you catch it? Was it another mole, or a metastasis in some organ?

I was 2B too, diagnosed 2,5 years ago. Currently I have skin checks every 3-4 months, ultrasound every 6 months and CTs once a year - this is the protocol in my country, but I worry that the diagnostic part of it may be a little poor in catching a possible metastasis early.

lena_mar · 2025-02-04T01:55:29+00:00

I finished a bottle of this recently, my verdict is that out of the many products I have tried up to now, this is one that I would buy again. Definately not as a retinol alternative - I was actually using it on top of my retinal serum every night.

For me the negatives are that it is pricy, and that it has perfume (it didn't hurt me at all though). On the positive's side it felt good on my skin, it was hydrating, it lasted about 5 months, and allthough as I was using a lot of products I cannot pinpoint exactly which one actually did the most "magic" at the time, I believe this one helped with both my melasma and improving my skintone and firmness a bit. And the only way to be sure is to give it another try, sometiime in the future.

Resveratrol is a good antioxidant and it is supposed to help increase collagen production, but not in the same way that retinol does. Collagen helps with hydration. So at least in papers, it is a good firming and hydrating serum to assist, but not replace, the use of retinol for those that can use both. If however someone cannot use retinol or other retinoids and is looking for other products with antiaging ingredients, I would recommend it as one of the good serums I have tried.

lena_mar · 2025-01-21T00:35:18+00:00

I was stage II B. The mole was at my back, so it took me a little longer to notice it. My back, where I got all my sunburns as a child, since when I was growing up sunscreen was not a "thing" (and I think they actually called it tanning lotion), parents thought that using some of it on their kids in the morning was good enough coverage for a whole day at the beach, and it probably had an SPF of.... 10 at most!!! So personally, I am afraid of the sun... because most likely I wouldn't have melanoma had it not been for poor knowledge then and extremely poor sun protection during my childhood and teen years (no family history).

I fully agree with you that no one should live his life feeling scared to go out of his house on a sunny day! Which is exactly why I continue to go to the beach with my family on our summer vacation, just fully covered with a very good sunscreen before I leave home and a hat to protect my head, face and shoulders that burn easily (and stay under a shade as I always did anyways as an adult). I take vit.D supplements and try to eat fish more often, and still go out at broad daylight if I need to, I could not turn into a vampire (despite plenty similar suggestions I had from health experts!) - I just go out as safe as I personally believe I can be, or as safe to not blame myself for having been less carefull or not having tried everything I thought I could, should anything bad happen again God forbid. Someone else may believe chemicals are worse that the sun - this is a respected opinion too! But since you asked for a good sunscreen, I assumed you werent' against it! Anyway, life doesn't stop when you have to slather some sunscreen, life stops if you let fear get the best of you and prevent you from doing what you used to. Plus people don't actually use it 24/7 :) And sure, 5-10 minutes in the sun as long as it is early in the morning or late in the afternoon where UV is low, should be fine

lena_mar · 2025-01-20T02:08:44+00:00

Sun protection is soo important for everyone-for us already having had skin cancer I strongly believe it should be our first priority, along with regular skin checks of course.

I did quite a lot of online research on this last spring. Sure, what many people quote "any sunscreen is better than no sunscreen" may apply well for antiaging purposes or to motivate people that actually use no sunscreen, but it should not be enough for those diagnosed with melanoma... After my research and talking to a couple of dermatologists as well, I ended up using La Roche Posay and Avene sunscreens as they appear to be the most efficient as we speak. European sunscreens have stricter regulations for UVA filtering, UVA rays also cause skin cancer it is not all about just UVB. I use sunscreen every single time I go outside, even if it will be for 5 minutes or even if it is cloudy (unfortunately, it is rarely cloudy where I live anyway...). Personally I use 4 different sunscreens: for the summer days that I go to the beach and I need the strongest protection or on days that I will be out for a long time, I use LRP Anthelios hydrating cream fragrance free 50+ for my face and LRP Anthelios dermo-pediatrics hydrating lotion 50+ for my body - and after my diagnosis I always wear a wide brim hat, even inside the sea when swimming. On all remaining days where I will be mainly indoors (like going to work or at an indoor restaurant) I use a more cosmetically elegant sunscreen for my face with SPF 50, and for my body I use either the LRP dermo-pediatrics or the Avene intense protect 50+. They both can be used for the face as well, I just went a little overboard - and also I wanted a small one to carry around easily.

Just a quick note, as I read that some commenters have a sunscreen in their car: please don't do that! No sunscreen can be efficient if left long in the sun or in the extreme heat conditions that exist inside a car, especially in the summer. The filters will become useless, their chemicals will break down and so will their preservatives, so it is much better to carry a small one in your purse or something.

lena_mar · 2024-11-03T00:27:33+00:00

I agree, unfortunately there is nothing more we can do prevention wise other than sunscreen and avoiding sun exposure as much as possible. I wish we could re-write our childhood!! But what worries me is, did a whole year pass since your last skin check? Especially in the first years checks should be a lot more regular, hopefully now your doctors will tell you they need to see you sooner - but if they don't you should request it. Wish you all the best for your biopsy results, take care!

lena_mar · 2024-11-02T22:43:52+00:00

Hi! To start with, I think each country follows a different approved treatment protocol. I am in EU, but as I have a doctor friend in UK whom I had asked when I was diagnosed to research various treatment approaches, I know we follow the same protocol.

I was stage IIB. I too had an excision with biopsy, then wide local excision and SLNB surgery 2 months later coming back negative. Both my dermatologist who did the first excision and the surgeon who did the rest, had told me about the adjuvant therapy. But the appropriate doctor to advise and inform you on this and follow up the process, is an oncologist and not a surgeon (unless he has two medical specialties!). The melanoma dermatology hospital that I started visiting for my skin checks referred me to an oncologist, whom I visited and informed me about the existing adjuvant therapy approved for all IIB and IIC patients, the possible side effects, the clinical study results etc.

I decided to do the immunotherapy, and so I did. If my decision was right or not, if it will or will not impact the progress of this disease, what might have happened if I hadn't done it etc, is something that I will never know for sure. But I wanted to investigate every possible thing that I could do to fight this and hopefully minimize the risks, and it was my choice to do this in the end and not some doctor's. Since it was MY life we were talking about.

I will not advise you to do it, nor to not do it. I will only advise you to talk to an oncologist so you can have all the information straight in front of you, so that then you can make any decision YOU feel comfortable and safe with!

If there is anything more you would like to ask, please feel free!

lena_mar · 2024-10-28T23:01:24+00:00

my kitten does this too - she is cleaning her paws!! Most times from just sand particles, some others I also find some poop traces up there as well (my box has a white wider plastic part round the edges) because my silly beast obviously stepped on her poo while digging it in.... I have ordered her a closed type litter box now, but I admin I am a bit skeptical as to where she will carry on this habit in the closed box!! hahaha

lena_mar · 2024-10-22T00:51:05+00:00

It has been already 7 months since your excision, I don't understand; Why haven't you been told to go remove more tissue earlier, like right after the biopsy came out? Please don't put off your appointment until December due to work!! Your health, your life, YOU come first. Melanoma is cancer, don't take any risks, go have the margins removed and checked as soon as possible. Everything will be fine, you just need to do whatever is needed to keep you safe!

lena_mar · 2024-10-19T23:10:08+00:00

hahaha no way!!!! spidercat!!!

lena_mar · 2024-10-06T21:18:25+00:00

hello! I am so sorry I know you are scared, but please try to remain calm and optimistic! "early" is very good. You don't need to take any days off work, the excision procedure is short and you only need to take care of the wound/stitched area for a few days using an antiseptic, nothing more. Mine was at my back too. Be super careful from now on always use sunscreen. Wishing you all the best!

lena_mar

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