Skincare enthusiasts will be familiar with retinol, but one of the latest beauty ingredients doing the rounds on social media is tretinoin – an even more powerful retinoid.
Often billed as an effective cure for acne, tretinoin – commonly known as ‘tret’ – is widely available in the UK, but you’ll need a prescription from a doctor or a dermatologist.
Tretinoin – or retinoic acid – is a synthetic form of vitamin A and is prescribed mainly to treat acne, sun-damaged skin, and surface fine lines and wrinkles.
Skincare influencer Dani Nicholls has explained the product to her followers on TikTok and suggested they should contact an online dermatologist in the UK if they want to receive a prescription for the product.
However, in an extreme new trend, some UK skincare enthusiasts are bypassing the prescription and instead travelling abroad to Europe where they can buy the product over the counter.
Skincare ingredient tretinoin has exploded across TikTok with many users like @ItzShekina recognising its benefits
Other UK TikTokers including @PharmastistGillian has advised on her platform on how to get tretinoin in the UK ‘for fine lines and wrinkles’.
Speaking to her followers on TikTok, Dani said: ‘I would recommend checking out an online dermatologist such as Dermatica, Skin + Me, or seeing a real-life derm, if you have access to one,’ referring to those who wanted to try out tretinion.
Dani’s followers shared their own experiences, with one replying: ‘I asked my GP for a tret prescription – I had a history of acne in the past though so probably why they gave it to me so easily.’
But elsewhere, people have begun sharing tips on other ways you can pick up the ingredient.
Taking to Reddit thread r/30PlusSkinCare, one user wrote: ‘I buy it in Spain when I’m on holiday. Without any prescription. So you can go to Spain once a year and buy as many tubes as you like.
‘It’s worth it! You can also buy it without a prescription in other ‘holiday’ countries like Turkey or Egypt.’
Another said on r/EuroSkincare: ‘I go to Greece every summer and stock up on tret – it’s like 3 euros per tube.’
And another wrote: ‘You can buy tret at the pharmacy in Italy it’s called ‘Tretinoina Same’. But you have to talk to them in English otherwise they’ll ask you for the doc’s prescription.’
Other users warned shoppers to exercise caution when it comes to tretinoin, with another writing: ‘Fellow EU person here. I can’t recommend ordering it online without a legit prescription because at least in my country that’s a crime (can’t import prescription drugs without prescription).
Some shoppers have been stocking up in European pharmacies where you can buy tretinoin over the counter, without a prescription
TikTok user @ItzShekina also warned against using the powerful cream without proper knowledge or guidance
‘If I were you, I’d first try to find a local physician who is willing to prescribe tretinoin. Maybe someone working in an aesthetic medical clinic.’
However, not everyone is so enthusiastic about the product. Danielle Gronich, founder of CLEARSTEM Skincare, shared a clip on TikTok in which she said: ‘Tretinoin – hate it! The prescription version of it I completely detest. It’s wildly harsh and extremely toxic.’
Another skincare TikTokker, @ItzShekina, wrote on the social media platform: ‘People using tretinoin without proper knowledge and guidance’ alongside a video with a disapproving expression.
Cigdem Kemal Yilmaz, skincare expert and the founder of Skin Masterclass told FEMAIL: ‘Tretinoin is used for skin concerns from photoaging, acne, pigmentation skin firming and texture improvement. Long-term use of tretinoin can result in significant improvement in photo-damaged skin.
‘It’s also shown to be effective in reducing micro comedones, which are early acne lesions of acne that haven’t responded to other treatments and work to block inflammatory mediators, enhancing procollagen production and collagen type one and three.
‘There are three concentrations which a professional will decide which course is best – 0.025%, 0.05% and 0.1%.’
The danger of buying tretinoin over the counter is that customers can opt for the wrong dosage for their skin type, which can do more harm than good.
Tretinoin comes in either a cream or a gel and they can have different effects on the skin
‘The more potent the type of retinoid, the higher its activity – meaning the more effect it has on the skin,’ Cigdem Kemal Yilmaz explained. ‘With higher potency comes higher side effects such as skin irritation, redness, or dry skin.’
Skin specialist Abbi Ingram added that purchasing tretinoin abroad can be dangerous.
‘Tretinoin is an extremely potent form of vitamin A. Due to its potency, it is only available in the UK as a prescription, to be used with the guidance of a healthcare provider,’ Ingram told FEMAIL.
‘Not everyone is suited or the right candidate for tretinoin, so by purchasing abroad – not only are their huge risk factors with skin irritation but you could potentially cause long-term damage to your skin.’
She added: ‘Tretinoin comes in different percentages, and when wrongly applied it can cause great damage to the skin. You could essentially be using medical skincare product for a skin concern, you don’t even have.
‘Also it’s important to consider the ingredient list when buying abroad.’
Skinfluencer @uj_beauty_store shed some more light on using tretinoin and which formula might be right for you.
‘So let me explain about this product we have tretinoin gel and tretinoin cream,’ she wrote on TikTok.
‘The cream is less irritating on your skin and there’s less purging, while the gel will give you more irritation and more purging.’
Purging refers to the term ‘skincare purging’, which is where the skin eliminates unwanted toxins and pushes everything to the surface in order to detox – and this can sometimes be an unpleasant process.
