How to remove wrinkles and age spots

BEFORE tretinoin treatment

AFTER tretinoin treatment

There is a sure way to get rid of wrinkles and age spots without having to undergo surgery or patronize an expensive and questionable cosmetic procedure.

Nightly application of topical tretinoin for four months will remove wrinkles and age spots, says Dr. Sylvia S. Jacinto, founder of the Skin Clinic in Makati. A life fellow of the Philippine Dermatological Society, Jacinto completed the three-year residency program at the New York University Medical Center Department of Dermatology which makes her eligible for board certification in the American Board of Dermatology.

“Exposure to the ultraviolet rays of the sun causes aging of the skin,” Jacinto says, citing as an example that a senior citizen who plays golf regularly would typically have a dark complexion and wrinkled face and arms that are darker than the trunk, but the buttocks are like a baby’s skin: fair and smooth with no wrinkles or dark spots.

The same is true of men and women who go outdoors a lot without the protection provided by a sunscreen lotion. Jacinto recommends applying a sunscreen with SPF (sun protection factor) of 60 or 70 on skin exposed to the sun, whatever your age.

But inevitably, as time marches on, the years take their toll on our skin despite the regular use of sunscreen.

To address this concern, Jacinto refers to an article, “Topical Tretinoin in the Treatment of Aging Skin” by Jonathan S, Weiss, MD, et al. in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (JAAD), Vol. 19, pages 169-175.

Dr. Weiss established that what causes skin aging is damage to elastic fibers and that this can be reversed by .01 percent tretinoin. It was proven by electron microscopy.

In “Topical Tretinoin Improves Photo-aged Skin,” (Journal of the American Medical Association or Jama June 1988), Weiss wrote that age spots (lentigo) and wrinkles are removed in four months of nightly application of topical tretinoin.

Jacinto says that she has prescribed topical tretinoin to some of her older patients and found that it really works. (Tretinoin is also used to treat acne, by the way.)

The tretinoin cream that is used to treat fine wrinkles, dark spots or rough skin caused by the damaging rays of the sun, works by lightening the skin, replacing older skin with newer skin and slowing down the way the body removes skin cells that may have been harmed by the sun.

Topical tretinoin with commercial brand names like Retin-A and Stieva-A is available at drugstores but you need a doctor’s prescription, preferably a dermatologist’s because concentrations vary according to your needs.

“You have to start with 0.025 percent, slowly going up to 0.1 percent because tretinoin is irritating to the skin,” Jacinto cautioned. “The skin has to get used to the irritating effect of tretinoin.”

There are side effects such as reddening of the skin, dryness and peeling.

Indeed, topical tretinoin works best when used within a skin care program supervised by a dermatologis, that includes protecting the treated skin from the sun.