Vitamin C and tretinoin
Keep them apart
Use vitamin C in the morning and tretinoin at night to prevent irritation. Using them at the same time can dry out and irritate the skin. You can switch to a gentler strength or wait longer between applying them.
Retinoids: a journey from the molecular structures and mechanisms of action to clinical uses in dermatology and adverse effectsWhy Topical Retinoids Are Mainstay of Therapy for Acne
Vitamin C products
- Olay Super Serum
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Charlotte Tilbury
Charlotte's Magic Cream
S$139.21
-
RoC
Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream
S$35.46
- Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment
-
Summer Fridays
Jet Lag Mask
S$86.03
-
Mad Hippie
Vitamin C Serum
S$56.00
- Eve Lom Renewal Treatment Oil
-
ZO Skin Health
Exfoliating Polish
S$96.25
- CeraVe Skin Renewing Vitamin C Serum
- Eucerin Anti-Pigment Dual Serum
-
RoC
Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Serum
S$37.51
-
iS Clinical
Cleansing Complex
S$68.81
Tretinoin products
- Retin-A Cream
- Tri-Luma Cream
- Obagi Tretinoin Cream 0.05%
- Taro Tretinoin Cream
- Mylan Tretinoin
- Curology Formula
- Menarini A-Ret Gel
Questions and answers
Can you use vitamin C and tretinoin together?
Which goes first, vitamin C or tretinoin?
Keep them apart by using vitamin C in the morning and tretinoin at night to avoid irritation. Alternatively, you can use Musely The Spot Cream if you want both ingredients in one product.
Are vitamin C and tretinoin good for sensitive skin?
No, you should avoid combining vitamin C and tretinoin in the same routine because using them together may increase irritation and instability. Instead, alternate your usage by applying vitamin C in the morning and tretinoin at night.
Research on vitamin C and tretinoin
Restoration of collagen formation in photodamaged human skin by tretinoin (retinoic acid)
Stability, transdermal penetration, and cutaneous effects of ascorbic acid and its derivatives
Effects of ascorbic acid on gingival melanin pigmentation in vitro and in vivo
Ascorbic Acid Treatments as Effective and Safe Anti-Aging Therapies for Sensitive Skin
Topical tretinoin for treating photoaging: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials
Efficacy of ethyl ascorbyl ether-containing cosmetic cream on blue light-induced skin changes
Moisturizing potentials of ascorbyl palmitate and calcium ascorbate in various topical formulations
Liposomal formulation of a vitamin C derivative: a promising strategy to increase skin permeability
Treatment with Ascorbyl Glucoside-Arginine Complex Ameliorates Solar Lentigos
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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Dr. Sof铆a Perea P茅rez, 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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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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