Retinoid.

"If you don't have a doctor or a dermatologist you can't get a prescription, literally do not forget that there are online pharmacies that will pair you with experts. Two of my absolute favorites are from Dermatica and from Agency. If you're International, Dermatica is great, it's also under 30 bucks. Both of these are absolutely phenomenal, and if you want prescription stuff but you don't have medical insurance or time to go to a doctor, this is where you start. You can see an expert in two to three days."

"I use it every other day basically but it takes time to see results. You're not going to see results overnight. This is something it takes 3 to 6 months. I've been using it for years, but except for the past couple months I'm just trying my hardest to get back into it. I hadn't used a retinoid in so long and then my face is starting to peel again because I'm going through retinization. Retinization is something that I'm going through with the dry patches, and it's like I know how to properly start a retinoid in my routine and yet this is still happening."

"Dermatica is great especially if you're in the UK. Both of these are customized to me, but if you have acne they're probably going to put things in like tretinoin, which is this retinoid. They're probably going to put in niacinamide, they're probably going to put in some of these ingredients or even azelaic acid that can help with acne and redness."

"I have been using Dermatica for almost three months now and I have seen a vast improvement in my skin. Not only is it the only skincare routine I've been able to stick to because it's so easy to do, it's just one product, it's actually changing my skin. Dermatica have this dermatology team that can make a personalized formula for your skin and for your needs, all in one product. This one product targets all my concerns with my skin. My redness, my blemish scars, my aging. And as your skin starts to improve and your skin starts to change, your formula can change along with it as well. There is always somebody there to help you personalize that formula to what is going on with your skin in that current moment. And the dermatology team are always there to help you throughout your journey. As somebody who isn't clued up on ingredients and things like that, it was so great to see people who are into skincare and love skincare and also people who are starting their skincare journey give really positive reviews and had some really amazing results from using their personalized formula. I am now one of them. I'm very happy with the results."

"I have been using Dermatica for a really, really long time. I think it's years now. Dark spots on my skin became a lot less visible, my skin tone started evening out a little bit more. And areas on my face that were typically quite textured on my cheeks, around my nose, really did smooth out. I stopped using Dermatica for like a month for no reason other than I think I was testing some other products. And I really, really did notice the difference. Dermatica personalize a formula for you. You go onto their website, you answer some questions about your skin goals, your skin types, what you want to see, what you want to achieve from your skincare and their dermatology team personalize your very own formula for you and send it to you every single month. So you don't need to worry about remembering to repurchase. And you just use this every night. It is so simple, you can literally have it by the side of your bed and quickly whack it on when you go to sleep. The formula itself is also very, very lightweight. This is to use at night. You wouldn't use it in the morning and then go out into the sun, for example. It is just to use in your PM routine, but it's a very lightweight texture. So if you're not one of those people who like to sleep with a heavy mask of skincare that feels sticky on your pillow, this is ideal for that."

"It's got me into such a good skincare routine using this every single night. I haven't stopped being impressed with the way this product is changing my skin. Makeup sits so much better on my skin. The texture of my skin has vastly improved. If you are struggling with skincare in general, if you want to see change in your skin but you're not that clued up on skincare, where do I begin? What do I need? What ingredients do I need? Leave it all to Dermatica to make your personalized formula for you."

"I cannot stress enough how much Dermatica has changed my skin noticeably over the years I've been using them. The changes I want to see in my skin were achievable and realistic. I want to see a more even skin tone, a more even texture. I want to fade dark spots that hang around my skin after I have like a blemish or something like that. And then I also want some preventative measures in there as well too, reducing the appearance of fine lines also. Dermatica makes everything really, really simple. You'll notice that dark spots are faded. My skin looks more even. The texture of my skin, I would always complain about the texture of the skin around my nose when trying foundations, trying new makeup. And that doesn't seem to be an issue for me anymore. My skin just needed this balancing out. And I think I have been able to achieve that with the help of Dermatica."

"Tretinoin is a prescription ingredient and one of the best ingredients out there for treating deep set damage like wrinkles and premature aging. My personal favorite provider this past year has been Dermatica. They're a dermatology service that's online where you pay for a monthly subscription of a custom formula that's made by a dermatology provider with prescription ingredients. For tretinoin I've definitely enjoyed using Dermatica the most as I can really see the results and I like that they provide a bi-monthly bottle rather than a monthly bottle like some other services do. It comes to about $30 a month, so basically $60 a bottle. I don't use tretinoin every single day, I use it a few times a week, usually two, which means the bottles end up lasting a lot longer and I get a lot more bang for my buck. I just love the convenience of it being mailed directly to you, the consistency and the enjoyability of the formulas, plus I've never noticed an adverse reaction to Dermatica formulas. Sometimes with prescription my skin has gotten really mad at me but that's never once happened with Dermatica."

"I've tried a few different delivery dermatology providers but Dermatica has consistently been my favorite one and where I've really noticed the best results from my retinoid in use. It would honestly be a sin for me to not recommend retinoid as a really effective way of getting rid of acne scarring because it is like pharmaceutical grade treatment, you can't really get better than that. However, if you're someone who has very sensitive skin or very reactive skin, I will say that retinoid is probably not the best thing for you because even at an extremely low percentage, I will sometimes experience irritation from retinoid use. If I go a week without using retinoid and then I reintroduce it into my routine, here comes the flaky skin, here comes the stinging sensations, the redness. It's definitely not for the faint of heart or faint of skin. If you have very sensitive or reactive skin, I would say maybe wait on the retinoid because it is powerful."

"Tretinoin is essentially the best skincare ingredient you can get on the market for concerns like deep set wrinkles, damage, dark spots, hyperpigmentation, acne scarring. It is an incredible ingredient, but one of the downsides is that you need a prescription to be able to get it, at least in the USA. It's not easy to get. Dermatica is a digital dermatology provider so you can get your tretinoin prescription just through your phone. You'll be paired with a dermatology provider, they'll discuss your concerns with you and then give you a custom prescription based off what you need. There's so many different dermatology providers online I've tried many of them, but I've always returned to Dermatica because I really like their service, the communication. You get smaller prescription doses that you can easily change if you want something stronger or it's not really working for your skin concerns. As incredible as over-the-counter retinol products are, I would honestly say if you are able to give tretinoin a shot, I would recommend it."

"I have personally used Dermatica to obtain azelaic acid, and I do really enjoy this method of obtaining azelaic acid. Where these services really shine is their ability to combine other active ingredients that are a little bit more customized to what your skin needs. I've been trying out Dermatica because I just kind of wanted to expand my horizons a little bit."

"I love online services because it's easy, it's affordable, and it's just really accessible. I also love that they do compound formulas at Dermatica so you're getting two active ingredients that are custom for your skin and your skin goals. Not only am I getting 0.5% of tretinoin, which is what I've been using for a while now, but I'm also getting 8% of azelaic acid, which I've been using since about 2015 to keep my congested skin really clear. It was really life-changing for me when I started using this ingredient. It's affordable. You're going to get two bottles shipped at a time for a 2-month supply, and that's $59.60 that builds every 2 months, which is so much less than going into the doctor's office. I found my provider to be really responsive and very helpful and very personable in our communications. It's been really easy whenever I have a question to just quickly send a message and get answers back that are thoughtful, personalized, and very quick. They really help you every step of the way, especially if you're a beginner."

"Tretinoin is a prescription ingredient here in the United States, so you would need to go to a dermatologist to obtain a prescription or you can use an online dermatology service. I have used Curology, I've used Agency, and I've also used Dermatica, and all three of them I've had really positive, good success with, and I've also been able to combine my tranexamic acid and tretinoin with all three of these services. Tranexamic acid is a really brightening ingredient, and I was not prepared for how it was going to meaningfully brighten sun damage. Tretinoin has helped me with that for sure, but tranexamic acid was like the accelerant to getting me to that goal."