If I traveled 16 years back in time, I'd see that my bathroom cabinet was once home to some questionable products. Think, a massive tub of chemical-infused, neon-blue scrunchie gel sitting next to a face scrub that now resides on my beauty blacklist. But my middle school self and current day me still have one very important skincare staple in common: tretinoin.
You've probably seen the popular skincare ingredient bouncing around the Internet, but what is tretinoin exactly? It’s a prescription-only retinoid that’s commonly referred to as tret, Retin-A, or Altreno, explains board-certified dermatologist Pooja Rambhia, M.D. FAAD. Think of it like a supped-up version of the retinol products you can buy over the counter, working harder and stronger to fight acne (the main reason I found myself using tretinoin at 12 years old), brighten hyperpigmentation, and prevent fine lines and wrinkles.
