Tretinoin and acetyl hexapeptide-3
Keep them apart
Use them at different times of day by applying acetyl hexapeptide-3 in the morning and tretinoin at night to prevent irritation. Both active ingredients work hard to smooth the skin, so using them at the same time can cause redness and sensitivity. You can easily fix this by spacing out your routine or switching to a gentler peptide cream.
Tretinoin products
- Retin-A Cream
- Tri-Luma Cream
- Musely The Spot Cream
- Obagi Tretinoin Cream 0.05%
- Taro Tretinoin Cream
- Mylan Tretinoin
- Curology Formula
- Menarini A-Ret Gel
Acetyl hexapeptide-3 products
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The Ordinary
Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% Serum
€30.99
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The Ordinary
Multi-Peptide + HA Serum
€17.89
-
Medik8
Liquid Peptides
€109.17
-
La Mer
The Treatment Lotion
€148.20
- Rhode Peptide Glazing Fluid
-
The Ordinary
Argireline Solution 10%
€10.99
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Good Molecules
Super Peptide Serum
€27.95
-
Clinique
Smart Clinical Repair Wrinkle Correcting Serum
€88.99
- La Mer The Renewal Oil
-
Estée Lauder
Micro Essence Treatment Lotion
€58.65
- The INKEY List Collagen Peptide Serum
-
La Mer
The Eye Concentrate
€180.90
Questions and answers
Can you use tretinoin and acetyl hexapeptide-3 together?
No, you should keep tretinoin and acetyl hexapeptide-3 apart because combining them may increase irritation since both activate dermal remodeling pathways. Instead, alternate your usage by applying the retinoid in the evening and peptides in the morning.
Which goes first, tretinoin or acetyl hexapeptide-3?
Keep tretinoin and acetyl hexapeptide-3 apart in your routine by using tretinoin in the PM and acetyl hexapeptide-3 in the AM, because combining them may increase skin irritation.
Are tretinoin and acetyl hexapeptide-3 good for sensitive skin?
Tretinoin and acetyl hexapeptide-3 should be kept apart in your routine because combined stimulation may increase irritation, especially for sensitive skin. You can alternate their usage by applying your retinoid in the evening and peptides in the morning.
Research on tretinoin and acetyl hexapeptide-3
Restoration of collagen formation in photodamaged human skin by tretinoin (retinoic acid)
Topical tretinoin for treating photoaging: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials
Behind this pairing advice
Lovi checks every pairing with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
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Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
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Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
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Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
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Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
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Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
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