Retinol reaction

No it doesn't mean that you should never use retinol again. My guess is that you did too much too quickly. Wait for a while and don't use any actives an plenty of sunscreen until your skin is fully healed. Once you want to start retinol again start slowly (1-2x a week) and use the sandwich method (layer a moisturizer, the retinol cream, and then a moisturizer again) in order to reduce irritation. Also incorporate calming ingredients like centella in your routine and still use sunscreen daily!

Do you remember the name of the product? Also, how did you introduce retinol to your routine? There might be few things that has happened: 1. Retinol was used too often and your skin needs more time to get used to it (slower introduction to the product) 2. Your skin might need more moisture or sandwich method might work better for it (when you apply your skincare routine at evening just go with moisturizer then retinol and moisturizer once again) 3. Lack of sunscreen or reapplication of sunscreen/also ingredient in your retinol reacted with sun 4. The retinol solution was too strong and you need to start from lower amount Obviously, these are the few things that might have happened. It doesn't mean that you won't ever be able to use retinol - I started with stronger formula to find out that I should start way more easy so I ended up using Innisfree retinol (this one has about 0.015% or 0.15% of retinol ) to end up using retinal and I see my skin reacts better to retinal and I believe I'm not the only person who had similar reaction. Sometimes you also need to change cream to more moisturizing like Bioderma or LRP

You may be using too potent a formula. In your late 30's to early 40's, your skin goes through a barrage of changes, so what may not be great now, just might be in 6 mos. Get used to it - the changes never stop after 40 😂 plus, if you are menopausal your skin doesn't react normally.

I’m someone who got dry patch reactions to retinol creams and found that serums actually worked better for me. I only use it about twice a week, but since switching to the gentler retinol serums, I’ve handled it better. Not mixing it with other actives like an at home peel or AHA/BHA in the same day was also helpful to my skin, because sometimes dry patches happen as a reaction between ingredients. Using a lotion based cleanser may also be helpful since it doesn’t strip the skin of as much moisture. Not everyone can handle retinol daily and that’s okay. Listen to your skin and readjust the routine like you’re doing. 🥰Best of luck! As for a product suggestion, I found this serum to be gentle enough to not cause an outbreak for me. https://www.purcosmetics.com/products/ceretin-boost-age-defying-retinol-serum

I had exactly the same. Only use the retinol before bed for the first week. Mix a small amount into your night cream and then apply it to your skin. Do this every other day. Slowly increase after 3 weeks.