‍Tretinoin Peeling: 5 Ways to Minimize Ugly Tretinoin Peeling

Tretinoin peeling may happen because tretinoin is speeding up your skin cell turnover rate.

As your body speeds up the rate it creates new skin cells, the old skin cells die off and are shed. This can present as your skin peeling, flaking, and feeling dry. 

How long does the peeling stage last when using tretinoin?

As your skin gets used to this powerful retinoid you might experience adjustment period side effects like skin peeling, flaking, redness, scaling skin, dry skin, itchiness, and overall irritation. 

The duration and severity of irritation may vary. Consult your prescribing clinician if symptoms are severe or persistent. 

Generally speaking, peeling may happen during the initial few weeks of treatment. This can range from 2 to 6 weeks of regular use. But, this can vary from person to person. 

If your skin is very sensitive, if your skin is overly dehydrated, or if you’re introducing tretinoin slowly, the length of time your skin will peel might be longer.  

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Read more: How To Apply Tretinoin The Right Way & Avoid Angry Peeling Skin

How to remove peeling and flaking skin without over-exfoliating 

The trick to this peeling stage is remaining as gentle (and patient) as you can. So, no roughly scrubbing off the flaky skin. This will only cause more peeling, flaking, and irritation. 

Tretinoin is already very exfoliating, so introducing harsh soaps, scrubs or acids will likely only worsen irritation and peeling. 

Instead, use a very gentle exfoliating method after cleansing, such as dampening a washcloth and using it in circular motions over areas of peeling skin to help slough off the skin. 

If the skin isn’t budging with this gentle nudge, leave it alone.  

If this method doesn’t work, just generously moisturize your skin and leave the peeling skin alone. Soon enough it will slough off naturally, or during your next cleanse. 

The golden rule here is not to over-exfoliate with scrubs or acids to try to get rid of this peeling skin. That’s the opposite of what we want to do here, folks.

5 ways to minimize tretinoin peeling and flaking

Peeling may occur during tretinoin treatment. Ask your prescribing clinician about ways that may help manage this side effect. 

If you want to keep flakiness, dryness, and peeling to a minimum, try these 5 tretinoin tips. 

1. Make hydrating and nourishing skincare a priority 

Probably one of the most important takeaways here is to prioritize skin hydration. Likely you are applying tretinoin at night, which means you have a great opportunity during your AM routine to prep your skin. 

During your morning routine try to use a hydrating cleanser, emollient (oil) cleansers, hyaluronic acid on a wet face, and creams that lock in this moisture. If your skin is angry at you, throw in skin-soothing niacinamide, aloe vera, or shea butter.  

From experience, I can say this step makes a world of difference when using tretinoin. 

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Read more: Trying Tretinoin: Complete Step-by-Step Skin Routine for Starting Tretinoin

2. Keep your skin barrier function top of mind

Your skin barrier is very important to the health of your skin. When using a powerful product like tretinoin (or any exfoliating treatments) it’s important to restore balance.

This means to avoid flaking and peeling skin-restoring balance to your skin barrier function is important. 

To restore skin barrier balance: 

1. Use gentle, hydrating cleansers
2. Use products that are rich in peptides and ceramides  
3. Use emollients like rosehip oil, jojoba oil
4. Use gentle vitamin C formulas in the AM
   

If your skin barrier is happy, your skin looks and feels happy.

Read more: Skin Barrier Function & Repair: It’s Essential for Healthy Skin 

3. Stay hydrated

I know, the broken record of skincare advice. But staying hydrated has really been proven to help keep skin moist and hydrated.

When your skin is going through its first few weeks of tretinoin treatment, staying hydrated might help reduce peeling. 

For women, it’s recommended to drink 91 ounces of water a day. For men, it’s recommended to drink 125 ounces of water a day.

Stay hydrated inside and out by using quality moisturizers. 

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Learn more: Top 5 Best Moisturizers to Use With Tretinoin 

4. Only use a pea-sized amount of Tretinoin

Less is more when it comes to tretinoin. 

You are not going to get “more results” by using more product.

In fact, by using more product you might just irritate your skin for no reason. 

Don’t overdo it with the application and that can help keep peeling skin in check. 

5. If your peeling is severe, slow down your tretinoin use or lower your concentration 

If you’ve jumped into the deep end of tretinoin and you’re experiencing a lot of side effects and have severe peeling, there are a few things to consider.

• Slow down your treatment:

With tretinoin it is recommended to start with an “acclimation period” where your skin can slowly get accustomed to tretinoin.

This period can help reduce severe side effects. So, ask yourself or your healthcare provider if you can slow your treatment down a bit. 

• Lower your tretinoin concentration:

Many healthcare providers begin new tretinoin users on a mid-range concentration of 0.05 percent.

However, this might be too strong for some people. If you have sensitive skin, ask your healthcare provider about a lower concentration.

If you lower your tretinoin concentration, you can always work your way up slowly if need be. 

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How to minimize Tretinoin peeling: Bottom Line

Yes, tretinoin peeling may happen.

Peeling may happen during your first initial weeks of treatment.

Peeling is a sign that tretinoin is speeding up your skin cell turnover rate and new skin is replacing the old.  

By being gentle, and committing to skincare that is both nourishing and hydrating, you can minimize tretinoin side effects. 

Strut Health makes prescription Tretinoin skincare easy 

You can shop our collection of expertly formulated tretinoin-containing products online.

Our team of licensed medical providers reviews your skincare questionnaire and if they find you’re a good fit for our tretinoin formulas, we’ll ship your prescription to your doorstep with our free shipping. 

To try our formulas, complete a questionnaire-based online provider's consultation to see if our treatments are right for you.