Custom Tretinoin Formula.

"I've been with Agency for about two and a half, maybe three years now and I'm at 0.1%. And that's the beauty of Agency because as you progress and your skin changes, your skin's not going to stay stagnant. As your skin changes, your licensed dermatology provider at Agency can adjust your custom skincare to allow for those changes. When you first get on a retinoid, you got to take it easy. You want to go low and slow. There's no race because if you go too fast when it comes to starting a retinoid, it's going to slow you down. And it won't be pretty because it can come in the form of your skin peeling, irritation, burning, that sort of thing. But you do want to be consistent."

"What I'm really grateful for is it thickens the skin and has made mine so much more resilient. Even after an allergic reaction like I had, it was able to bounce back better. I have been using formulas from Agency for years now and prior to that from Curology. I like Agency because their formulas are more focused on age-related concerns as opposed to acne. You go through a skin quiz, submit photos, and then a dermatology provider will customize a formula that will target your main needs and concerns. For those who don't know, I only started using tretinoin properly in my 40s, so it's never too late. That's because my skin was so sensitive and the only prescription strengths available were 0.02, 0.025, and 0.05%, both of which were just way too strong. My dermatology provider would increase the strength when the time was right to a point where I got to 0.025%, but without any uncomfortable retinization along the way. I mean nothing beyond just slight peeling. Right after cleansing, I actually apply the eye balm first. I am using 0.004% tretinoin now. I started at 0.002%, but after I finish this I will be jumping to 0.01%. This has been really well tolerated. I can use it every single day."

"If you have a lifetime of accumulated sun damage and you want to go for the big guns, the heavy hitters, I definitely recommend that you go for a prescription tretinoin. The way I get my tretinoin is from a service called Agency. I love this service. It is an online service that you can get your prescription tretinoin without having to go see a doctor in person and then have it filled at a pharmacy. The way this works is that you upload a few pictures to their website, then you're set up one-on-one with a consultation with a skincare provider who recommends the mix of ingredients that go into your custom formula. They actually offer two different formulas with the service. You can get the custom formula which would contain your tretinoin plus three other active ingredients. They also offer a dark spot formula which, if you're noticing increased dark spots after the summertime, is a great product to add on because this will contain four more active ingredients that are specifically targeting dark spots in your skin. My custom formula contains tretinoin at 0.14%, azelaic acid at 5%, tranexamic acid at 5%, and niacinamide at 4%."

"This happens to be a wonderful one that is specifically made for more mature skin and was created by dermatology providers. This is specifically from Agency, and yes it has tretinoin, but it also has a blend of other ingredients. It has tranexamic acid which is great for pigmentation, niacinamide aka vitamin B3, and dexpanthenol which has been shown to help with eczema and is bioavailable, meaning it's available for our skin to take in and absorb."