Retinoids are considered one the best line of defense against acne vulgaris. Doctors and other health care professionals often recommend topical medications that make use retinoids.

Retinoids are used both as primary treatment of acne and as maintenance. That means when the acne vulgaris has already cleared, there's a way to prevent future recurrences of the same skin condition.

This treatment often requires a prescription from a dermatologist. Retinoids are often used to treat individuals with comedonal acne. They may also be used for inflammatory acne. Inflammatory acne often involves painful pustules and lesions that extend to the neck or the chest.

How Do Retinoids Work on Acne?

Retinoids are considered as “comedolytic”. The skin benefits from retinoids because the shedding of the skin is accelerated. This prevents from painful lesions and blocked pores from forming once again. Retinoids affect the skin in various ways:

1. The formation of comedones is limited. This prevents comedone acne from getting worse.
2. Retinoids appear to have antibacterial properties, inhibiting the growth of the anaerobic bacteria responsible for acne.
3. Increases exfoliation, which allows the skin to restore itself faster.
4. Encourage follicular prominence, discouraging skin plugs from forming. When there are no blocked pores, the number of comedones is minimized. No comedones means no pustules to take care of.

Acne Products that Contain Retinoids

No one product can truthfully claim that it's the best treatment for everyone. Every person has a different skin type and genetic predispositions. With such heterogeneity, it's impossible for just one product to account for the complexities of skin everywhere.

The following are commonly prescribed products for the treatment of acne and the concentrations of retinoids in each product:

- Retin-A cream or solution (0.025%, 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.5%)
- Retin-A gel (0.01%, 0.025%)
- Retin-A Micro Microsphere gel (0.1%)
- Avita cream & gel (0.025%)
- Differin cream, gel, solution and pledglets (0.1%)
- Tazorac cream & gel (0.05%, 0.1%)

Retin-A cream or solution, Retin-A gel and Avita cream & gel should only be applied before you head off to sleep.

How to Use Retinoids for Acne Treatment?

To maximize the beneficial effects of the retinoid formulations, apply only a pea-sized amount to the affected areas. Don't use too little and don't use too much. If you think a particular spot on your neck is prone to painful lesions, apply the cream or gel there, too.

The reason why Retin-A creams and gels should be applied at night is that they are negatively affected by sunlight.

To make sure that your skin won't react harshly to new forms of acne treatment; concentrations are often started on the lowest rung. If your skin doesn't react to a 0.025% concentration, you may progressively be given successive prescriptions for topical preparations with higher concentrations.

Retinoids Side Effects on Acne

Oral ingestion of vitamin A has been known to cause teratogenic effects in the unborn. Teratogenic effects are birth defects that are the result of external forces (such as ingested or topically applied chemicals) instead of genetic predisposition.

To be safe, don't use retinoids if you're breastfeeding. In addition, using topical retinoids during pregnancy might not be that safe, either.