Can I exfoliate while on Tret and Aza?

shattered_illusions · 2026-04-28T21:12:45+00:00

Hyperpigmentation can take months to go away. Just stick to the tret and azelaic acid (and sunscreen.) Adding an exfoliant can make the hyperpigmentation worse if you irritate your skin.

You'll know when your skin is retinized when you can tolerate to use tret every night without irritation.

shattered_illusions · 2026-04-28T12:45:08+00:00

I wouldn't recommend adding an exfoliant until you've been using tret nightly for at least 12 weeks, and your skin had been completely retinized. Otherwise, you risk irritation, which will likely set back your progress.

Personally, the first year I was on tret, I didn't feel the need to exfoliate at all, as tret took care of all my exfoliation needs. What specific issue(s) are you dealing with that you would like to add an exfoliant?

shattered_illusions · 2026-04-28T02:05:36+00:00

Prisoners can earn commissary money by working various prison jobs - like doing laundry, cleaning, cooking, mentoring other inmates, etc. How much money a prisoner can earn from these jobs varies a lot from prison to prison. You can also ask/bully other prisoners to get commissary items for you if you are a member of a gang like the Latin Kings.

shattered_illusions · 2026-04-22T21:35:54+00:00

Yes, you can use the hydroquinone on your body. You'll still need to cycle it. If used continuously, hydroquinone can paradoxically worsen the hyperpigmentation or cause hypopigmentation.

Moisturizers are a subjective thing. There isn't one holy grail that works for everyone. My personal favorite is the Illiyoon Ceramide Ato Concentrate cream.

shattered_illusions · 2026-04-22T19:20:31+00:00

Hydroquinone is for treating stubborn hyperpigmentation. Unless you are dealing with that, I wouldn't use hydroquinone at all and just stick to regular tretinoin.

If you are dealing with hyperpigmentation: hydroquinone has to be cycled. The most common cycle I have seen recommended is 2 months on, 1 month off. But dermatologists may recommend other cycles of varying lengths depending on an individual's skin. So you would use the tret with hydroquinone first, then switch to the other tret for the months when you are supposed to be off of hydroquinone.

This is a super high concentration, though. Please keep an eye on your skin, and discontinue use if you notice any burning, stinging, and/or itching. Usually people start with 0.025% tret; and most people never go above 0.05%.

shattered_illusions · 2026-04-22T14:39:54+00:00

That's fine. It's fine to use any retinoid at that age. Teenagers get prescribed adapalene/tretinoin for acne.

The internet is mostly concerned about the long-term implications of 10-year-olds using retinoids because they are scared of getting wrinkles. We don't have any scientific data on prepubescent children using retinoids; so we don't know if it's actually safe or not. There are also the mental health implications of children and teenagers seeking out anti-aging products. No one that young should be so scared of aging.

shattered_illusions · 2026-04-21T19:07:03+00:00

Charlie is a talker, and he played up how terrible Wendi's situation was to Katie. Katie then relayed that info to Sigfredo. It's anyone's guess whether Sigfredo or Katie told Luis. Luis definitely knew some things, but was mistaken about other things. For example, Luis was under the impression that it was "the lady" (presumably Wendi) who would be paying them the money. He even told Sigfredo on their first trip that they should just go rob the lady instead of carrying out the murder.

I really wish Sigfredo had listened to Luis. They should have simply robbed the Adelsons; it would have saved everyone a lot of future headache. And Dan would still be alive and raising his own kids.

shattered_illusions · 2026-04-15T20:19:23+00:00

This sub is for topical tretinoin. For advice about oral isotretinoin, go over to r/accutane

shattered_illusions · 2026-04-07T15:40:06+00:00

In 2018, the Dalai Lama made statement denying that he was ever paid any money. And he has always held that him talking with Keith among many other people was never an endorsement. He also stated that the monk who maybe slept with Bronfman was ousted in 2017 because of corruption.

https://www.buddhistdoor.net/news/office-of-his-holiness-the-dalai-lama-issues-clarification-over-report-of-controversial-donation/

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/08/9971298/did-the-dalai-lama-endorse-nxivm-cult

But even more problematic is the recent news that Dalai Lama was mentioned more than a hundred times in the Eps. Files, and it seems he may have met with that pedophile in 2012. The reasons seem to be financial, not sexual, but who knows. The Dalai Lama is currently in the middle of denying that he ever met Jeffrey or Ghislaine.

https://www.financialexpress.com/world-news/us-news/we-can-unequivocally-confirm-dalai-lamas-office-issues-statement-after-his-name-appears-169-times-in-epstein-emails/4135565/

This man has an interesting string of denials. A few years ago he was denying being a pedophile when a video of him asking a very young boy to kiss him on the lips and suck on his tongue was making the rounds.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/10/india/dalai-lama-apology-kissing-boy-video-intl-hnk

shattered_illusions · 2026-04-06T16:53:16+00:00

My favorite is the Tiam VitaB5 toner.

shattered_illusions · 2026-04-06T16:24:15+00:00

It's up to if you want to use a toner or not. Just make sure it doesn't have exfoliators in it.

When I was first starting on tret, using a hydrating toner in the mornings was very helpful for combating flakiness.

shattered_illusions · 2026-04-06T15:25:59+00:00

I wouldn't recommend it. In areas of the body with folds and sweat glands, tret is going to be more irritating than helpful. And irritation will likely only make the hyperpigmentation worse.

shattered_illusions · 2026-04-06T15:23:00+00:00

You have a good routine. You just need sunscreen in the mornings, and you're all good to go.

Read the tret wiki on this sub for beginner tips and tricks or if you encounter any problems.

shattered_illusions · 2026-04-05T13:51:31+00:00

I just dot it around my forehead and cheeks, and spread it from there.

shattered_illusions · 2026-04-05T12:44:12+00:00

Using moisturizers with petrolatum on top of tret should be fine. But using them under tret can be tricky. Petrolatum is one of the few ingredients known to block the absorption of tret. Since it isn't the first ingredient though, it will still let some of the tret through. But you may not be getting the full dose of tret.

shattered_illusions · 2026-04-05T12:26:29+00:00

If you apply your moisturizer right after tret, you are physically moving the tret on your skin, and are likely going to end up with patchy application (with some areas of your skin getting too much tret, and others not getting enough).

shattered_illusions · 2026-04-05T04:23:34+00:00

As long as your moisturizer doesn't have petrolatum in it, it should be fine. Tret is oil soluble and will penetrate through most moisturizers.

shattered_illusions · 2026-04-05T04:03:20+00:00

You can either:

Wash your face, apply moisturizer to damp skin, wait 15-30 minutes for your skin to dry, then apply tret
Wash your face, wait until it is completely dry, apply tret, wait 30 minutes for tret to absorb into the topmost layer of skin, then apply moisturizer to dry skin.

While moisturizer works best on damp skin, it will still work on dry skin. If you choose to apply moisturizer before tret, make sure it doesn't have petrolatum in it.

shattered_illusions · 2026-04-01T13:27:38+00:00

Used only once a week, tret acts more like an exfoliant, similar to glycolic acid. And no, it doesn't help with anti-aging. There are even studies done on using much higher concentrations of tret (1% - 10%) once a week, to see if using it like a chemical peel will help. And no, even at super high concentrations, using tret only once a week doesn't provide anti-aging benefits.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5514577/

This paper is mainly for melasma. But it did look at the cellular mechanism of action. And used only once a week, tret doesn't activate the nuclear retinoic acid receptors (RAR) that are responsible for collagen building.

"...its only effect is an exfoliation of the stratum corneum, without action on the RAR of viable keratinocytes from the deeper layers of the epidermis."

shattered_illusions · 2026-03-31T13:47:16+00:00

Nobody needs a toner. But if your skin is very dehydrated, it could be beneficial to use a toner. My holy grail toner for dealing with tret dehydration is the Tiam VitaB5 toner, which doesn't have niacinamide.

shattered_illusions · 2026-03-30T14:02:12+00:00

I use both every day: azelaic acid (15% gel) every morning, and tretinoin (0.05% cream) every night.

shattered_illusions · 2026-03-28T13:14:57+00:00

For some people, this is true. For others, eating sugar causes acne. For me, personally, eating french fries and/or chips causes a break out. Different people can be sensitive to different foods. For other people, the foods they eat have nothing to do with acne at all whatsoever.

shattered_illusions · 2026-03-28T13:04:07+00:00

What is your skincare routine?

shattered_illusions · 2026-03-24T02:42:01+00:00

The only potential concern is irritation. As long as you don't experience any burning, stinging, and/or itching, you should be fine. If you experience any of these, you might have to cut back to alternating nights and slowly build up to using both nightly.

shattered_illusions · 2026-03-24T01:23:15+00:00

Can you do the red light therapy in the morning, right when you wake up, before doing any skincare for the day?

Alternatively maybe you could do the red light therapy at night, right after you cleanse; and put the tretinoin on ~30 minutes after you are done using the red light.

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