Heard the Rumour Tretinoin Causes Fat Loss? Us Too. Let’s Debunk it Now
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Jordan Samuel Pacitti is an aesthetician, skincare founder and regular Live That Glow columnist. He is a go-to source of beauty advice for skincare fans across the world. Here, he advises a reader on a common tretinoin myth.
Can tretinoin really cause fat loss? I keep seeing this on my TikTok but I thought tretinoin was make to make skin thicker?
Jordan says:
Tretinoin (tret) is one of the most well-studied ingredients in skincare, which is why it is always fascinating that certain myths surrounding it can continue to live and gain traction online.
A lot of the apprehension surrounding tret and vitamin A/retinol-based products is simply a result of people going in too strong and too fast with these active ingredients from the beginning. This can cause irritation, redness in certain skin tones, stinging, peeling, dryness and even an increase in breakouts.
A lot of people can feel like their skin is thinning, especially if they start having waves of these side effects; however, that is not really what is going on.
When you start using tret in a strength that your skin can tolerate while tip-toeing into usage (think 2-3 times a week spaced out, as opposed to every night), you will be able to stick with it and begin to experience its benefits. In the long term, one of the main benefits of tret is that it actually thickens, not thins, your skin!
As a prescription drug, it has been shown to help stimulate collagen and elastin in the dermis, the deep under layers of your skin, to create a thicker and fuller skin.
One thing that retinols can do is lightly thin the stratum corneum, the very outer layer of your skin. This is due to the fact that tret is turning over your skin cells more quickly and efficiently. This is something that you want to happen, as it will create a more refined and even appearance of the surface of your skin, all the while your dermis is becoming thicker.
The most important thing when introducing tret is to get the right strength from your doctor and start low and slow, noting that a higher percentage is not necessarily better.
Increasing both strength of your prescription and frequency of use should happen very slowly and methodically, and only after months of consistent use. This will help reduce side effects while helping to create a refined surface with a thick and healthy dermis.
Jordan Samuel Pacitti
Founder & CEO, Jordan Samuel Skin
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