Retin-A is NOT an Exfoliant! Who Knew?

So I was schooled by the Paula's Choice people. I can admit when I am wrong. If I am passing on information to you, I want to make sure I am passing the correct information. 

So in my prior post about Retin-A I said Retin-A is an exfoliant. I was always under the impression that Retin-A was a prescription strength exfoliant.  Well lo and behold, it is not.

I wanted to get a definitive answer on whether or not I could use my Paula's Choice BHA 9 in addition to my Retin-A because I was still experiencing minor breakouts. Not as bad as I had been but they were still there and I want them to be gone. My doc said to hold off but I had heard so many different opinions and answers, I decided to take my question to the Paula's Choice peeps. 

First, let me say Paula's Choice customer service are absolutely awesome. They have a live chat box and basically informed me that Retin-A is a treatment and not an exfoliant, therefore it can be used with my BHA9.

According to Paula's website:

A common misconception is that tretinoin (active ingredient in Retin-A) exfoliates skin like an AHA (alpha hydroxy acid) or BHA (beta hydroxy acid) product. However, tretinoin is not an exfoliant. Tretinoin improves living cells so they can shed normally whereas AHA and BHA exfoliants dissolve dead skin cells in skin’s uppermost layers. Tretinoin improves how skin cells shed naturally, helping them do so in the manner they did before being damaged by sun exposure. But this action is not the same as exfoliation. It gets confusing because tretinoin does affect how skin cells form and shed deeper in the skin, beyond where AHAs and BHA ingredients reach. But technically what’s going in terms of how skin cells shed isn’t the same action as exfoliating skin’s surface to improve its appearance.

So with that said, now that I have added the BHA-holy moly what a difference it has made in my skin. Breakouts are pretty much non existent and old marks are fading away! Yay! I am at the 4 month mark with Retin-A and for the first time, I woke up this morning with flaking skin. I'm not sure if it was the Retin-A or the addition of the BHA but moisturizer chased it right away.  

So now you know!

Until next time, 

Jessica