They say beauty is pain, but nothing could have prepared me for the suffering I experienced when I first started taking tretinoin.
It’s one thing to read all about the potential side effects of anti-aging drugs, but it’s another to experience all the hairballs, acne, and redness (did I mention the non-stop burning sensation?) firsthand.
Tretinoin is a synthetic vitamin C used to treat acne and is touted to have more powerful anti-aging effects than retinol.
Combining Torrent with a good moisturizer is the biggest key to combating those uncomfortable (and literal) growing pains during the first few months of use.
I apply tretinoin after my moisturizer as the last step in my night routine, but the tingling is constant even when I’m hydrating.
When even water was making my skin sting, I discovered a $16 beauty product that beats the $68 Drunk Elephant product.
One of the only products that has soothed my skin is the Bonajour Green Tea Water Cream.
Glide the watery moisturizer onto your face and pat it on, and you’ll immediately feel your raw epidermis soothe.
Next, apply a thicker, more occlusive moisturizer.
Now, my skin is at its most fragile ever so it can’t handle the products I used to rely on, like The Ordinary’s Natural Moisturizing Factors moisturizer.
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Most of the creams I tried before buying Bonajour had to be washed off my face quickly because of the burns.
Scented face creams were also completely out of the question, and anything with added fragrances or essential oils seemed to cause a similar reaction.
The main ingredient that I suspect made a huge difference in the burns of Bonadur cream (and that other moisturizers I’ve tried have failed) is green tea.
The fragrance-free, alcohol-free formula cools and soothes my irritated skin. I found it to be a great alternative to the expensive Drunk Elephant moisturizer.
One of the dangers of starting tretinoin for skincare addicts is damaging the skin barrier.
Anti-aging treatments are effective, but powerful. That’s why experts recommend that beginners start slow and layer moisturizer before and after application.
In preparation for my tretinoin journey, I was looking into moisturizing products like Drunk Elephant’s $69 Protini Polypeptide Cream.
I realized I only needed a few core products with really great features.
Nancy Jean
This cult-favorite beauty product is touted as the gold standard as it boasts nine peptides that bind moisture to the skin.
However, I found Bonajour to be much more cost effective.
At only $16, it contains six peptides and several antioxidants to strengthen the health of my weakened skin at a fraction of the price of Drunk Elephant.
The more affordable Bonajour has twice the amount of product compared to Drunk Elephant’s 1.69-ounce tub.
As a skincare enthusiast, I’m always changing up my routine, but when I started training, I realized I needed to get back to basics.
Due to the powerful over-the-counter medications, dealing with it must be at the center of your daily life.
I realized I only needed a few core products with really great features.
Of the many products I’ve tried, even those that met the initial criteria of “no burning” left me dissatisfied with many things.
It turns out that the effects of torrenting are unpredictable. At 3:07 p.m. on Tuesday, just when she thinks she has it under control, her skin starts to burn erratically.
You’ll wake up on Wednesday with flawless skin. Thursday? Your makeup will pill, crack, and frankly look like a mess.
So the biggest indicator of how well a moisturizer is working for me was how well it holds up to the cosmetic test.
With Bonajour, my makeup doesn’t pill and I get less random burns.
I didn’t need a $69 cream to do the basic job of moisturizing when Bonajour did the same thing for less than a quarter of the price.
And thank God too. You don’t need a wallet because you don’t need to hurt as much as your skin.
