Can you combine red light therapy with tretinoin? We’re not going to make you wait until the end of the article to find out, we’ll just tell you now. The answer is a resounding YES!
For those suffering from skin conditions like severe acne or skin that has been damaged by the sun, both tretinoin and red light therapy are great treatments. Combining those treatments can yield even greater results.
In this article, we’re going to walk you through the information you need about each of these therapies, and then give you five tips for how to use them together. Let’s get going!
Let’s get to know all about tretinoin
So what is tretinoin, anyway? It’s pretty simple, actually. It’s a form of compound that belongs to a family of compounds called “Retinoids.” These compounds are a derivative of vitamin A. Interestingly, the vitamin A used to create tretinoin can come from natural sources like liver or dairy products, or it can be synthetically produced.
Retinol is another product in the Retinoid family, and unlike tretinoin, it’s sold over the counter. According to this article, the “major difference between retinol vs tretinoin is that where tretinoin works directly with skin cells, retinol doesn’t actually affect the skin directly even though you put it right on the skin. It becomes absorbed and then goes through a metabolic process, using your skin’s natural enzymes to convert retinol to retinoic acid. That retinoic acid works directly with the skin.”
Tretinoin, on the other hand, requires a doctor’s prescription, and is used to treat skin that is prone to acne, or skin that has been damaged by the sun. Some people might use it to help the texture of their skin become smoother, or to treat hyperpigmentation as a skin-lightening agent.
The active compound in Tretinoin works by, essentially, increasing the speed at which your body’s skin cells are produced. Skin cells that would normally take between 40 to 56 days to regenerate can be shed more quickly and replaced with new skin cells. It also helps to unclog pores and keep them clear, reducing the factors that lead to acne.
A study showed that treatment with tretinoin gel for acne with randomized participants showed better improvement in the reduction of acne than the control group over a 12-week period
So, while it has been proven to work very well for some people, one must always be aware of side effects before starting to use any medication. According to the Mayo Clinic side effects of tretinoin might include the following:
Burning, itching, stinging, scaling, or redness of the skin
chapping or slight peeling of the skin (mild)
darkening of the skin
lightening of normal skin color
lightening of treated areas of dark skin
redness of skin (mild)
unusual dryness of skin (mild)
unusually warm skin (mild)
That said, if you suffer from acne or have skin that has been damaged as a result of exaggerated exposure to the sun, using tretinoin is definitely something worth talking over with your health professional.
How red light therapy helps your skin heal
Red-light therapy has been supporting skin treatment for many years now. It’s a non-invasive treatment that uses red light to kickstart “your body’s natural healing processes to increase circulation, promote collagen production, and calm inflammation.”
The reason red-light therapy is interesting to those using tretinoin is because it is already being used to treat skin disorders like acne, and signs of aging due to sun damage on one’s skin.
The main aspect that you’ll be interested in, is how red-light therapy increases the production of collagen, which, according to this article, is “responsible for providing structure and tone to all your body’s tissues and organs, including your skin.”
For sun damage, the treatment is often done in the morning as a kind of primer that prepares the skin for the day, reducing damage that might be caused by mid-day sun.
When treating acne, red-light therapy is used to increase one’s blood flow via the increased activity of nitric oxide. This helps to loosen the inner muscles within your blood vessels, which causes them to dilate. As a result, you end up with more oxygen and nutrients being received by your cells, giving your skin a chance to heal faster.
Five tips for getting best results from red light therapy and tretinoin
We can see that both red-light therapy and tretinoin are doing their jobs on their own and helping people to heal from their skin conditions, but what if one were to combine those therapies? Can combining red light therapy with tretinoin really help to heal your skin faster than if you were to use just one or the other?
Before you begin any treatments of any kind, make sure to speak with your healthcare professional. This is no exception.
Here are five ways that combining tretinoin treatment with red light therapy can help to maximize the benefits of both treatments, while also minimizing the potential side effects that accompany using tretinoin.
1. Ease into your tretinoin treatments
Oh, we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: with any new skin treatment, it’s important to start slowly. Not just because of potential side effects, but because you also need to give your skin the opportunity to get used to this new situation.
Sunlight can be a factor in the degradation of the product, so using it during the day may not be as effective.
Use the dosage your doctor recommends, otherwise it could lead to increased irritation and reduced effectiveness.
We want to build a strong foundation for adding red light therapy into the mix with a well-regulated tretinoin regimen.
2. Integrate red light therapy with tretinoin
Dr Alpana Mohta recommends that you use tretinoin at night before you go to bed and do your red light therapy sessions in the morning.
Your sessions can last anywhere between 10-20 minutes. You’ll have to experiment to find out what kind of timing is most useful for you, as results can vary depending upon the severity of one’s condition.
You may start to see accelerated healing at this point. Because red light therapy is effective at helping skin to regenerate, any damage caused by the amount of turnover in one’s cells that tretinoin causes may be mitigated by the red light treatments. You may notice your skin tone lightening and a smoother texture beginning to form.
Another way that red light therapy may help in the beginning is by easing the irritation that can be associated with using tretinoin. Red light therapy is effective as an anti-inflammatory, and you may start to notice that any redness or unease that might be caused by your tretinoin treatments is eased by the addition of the red light treatments.
You may find that the biggest benefit of adding red light therapy to tretinoin treatment is the ability to maintain your treatment longer, achieving better results over time.
3. Be mindful of treatment times
When you begin adding red light therapy, it’s best to do so by keeping your tretinoin applications at night, and adding red light therapy in the morning, as recommended by Dr. Abigail Waldman, a popular dermatologist.
The reason for staggering your treatments over different times of day is because your tretinoin treatment can cause some irritation to your skin. By waiting overnight before starting your red light therapy, you give it a chance to be less irritated and, therefore, more receptive to the treatment.
4. Protect your investment in tretinoin treatment
Tretinoin treatment, as we have learned already, can cause your skin to become incredibly sensitive. To help to combat these potential effects, Dr. Davin Lim recommends that you use a mild cleanser before beginning your treatments. You can find cleansers that are made for your specific skin type, so don’t be afraid to do a little research on which one is best for you and your condition.
Also, you should wait until your skin is perfectly dry before applying tretinoin. You should wait at least 10-20 minutes before you apply your tretinoin. If you apply it to wet skin, it may be absorbed quickly and lead to unnecessary skin irritation.
And don’t forget about moisturizer! He also recommends that you apply a little layer before you add tretinoin to soothe your skin. Make sure you use a gentle, non-comedogenic moisturizer for best results.
In addition, Dr. Mohta recommends that you use sunscreen when treating your skin with tretinoin. An SPF 30 or higher will help, as you may find your skin is more sensitive to the sun during treatments. Just make sure to wait until you’re done with your red light therapy to apply the sunscreen, as it can prevent the light from penetrating as deeply as it should for best results.
5. Monitor, adapt, benefit
As with any therapy or treatment for skin conditions, or any other maladies for that matter, it’s really important to pay close attention to your body and its response to the treatment. If you are experiencing any untoward side effects, just adjust your red light therapy sessions as needed.
One way you can adjust your red light therapy treatments, if necessary, is to use our red light therapy dosage calculator. It will help you to establish the best way to make sure your treatments are effective. You can find it right here.
Consistency is always the key to getting results. Each of these treatments require some time before you’ll start seeing the biggest benefits, so make sure to stick with it and make sure to not deviate from your routine. It could take weeks, or even months, before you start to see the results you’re after, so be prepared to be in it for the long haul.
You’ll want to be realistic about what success might look like, so here’s a guide to what your timeline could look like, if you remain consistent.
First three months
- Diminished redness and swelling
- Initial enhancement in skin feel and hue
- Lessened occurrences of acne and eruptions
Three to six months
- Observable decrease in fine lines and creases
- Enhanced skin resilience and suppleness
- Diminishing of excessive pigmentation and blemishes
Six months and onwards
- Remarkable overall enhancement in skin vitality
- Sustained maintenance of youthful, luminous skin with continuous application
- Persistent deterrence of fresh acne flare-ups
With patience and consistency, you should start to see some great results with persistence and steadfast application of treatments.
Get the right device for your combination of red light therapy and tretinoin
Each of these therapies works really well on their own. But the combination of red light therapy and tretinoin can help you to get the healthy, blemish-free skin you’re after. You have a good understanding of how each one works and how they work together now, and you know the challenges ahead. If you are patient and maintain regularity in your treatments, you’ll see the benefits and rewards of your enduring efforts.
When you’re ready to get started, check out our red light therapy devices here. For this application, you may find that a tabletop device like this one will fit the bill quite nicely!
