Retinoids & Skin Lightening Part 4: Mixing & Buffering A Retinoid

Mixing and buffering a retinoid is a great way to not only reduce irritation, but also get a synergy of skin lightening. I mix my retinoid every night with either a bland serum/moisturizer or a botanical lightener and I see wonderful results.

For those who do not know what/how mixing or buffering a retinoid works I will explain in this installment of Retinoids & Skin Lightening. I will begin with mixing/diluting:

Mixing a skin lightener or moisturizer with your rx retinoid at night can do a lot for your skin. Since skin lighteners always work better when exfoliation is involved, more of the active ingredient is going to be absorbed deeper into the lower levels of the skin. That is one benefit from this method. The other one is that it ensures that you apply a minimal amount of both products (the retinoid and the skin lightener) on your skin.

Less is more with rx retinoids. They can become very drying when over applied, which can cause other skin problems. Having a mix of the two allows for easy spreading and a perfect ratio ( a pea sized of each to cover the whole face). You'll also find that your skin lightener and retinoid last twice as long this way!

I mix my retinoid and skin lightener directly in the palm of my hands and apply it to my skin.

Now on to buffering. This method is a lot easier to do since not all skin lighteners or moisturizers can directly mix with retinoids. Especially retinoid gel forms (you may notice some products crumble or pill up when you mix directly)

With buffering you are either applying the skin lightener or moisturizer first, then waiting 15-30 minutes and applying your retinoid OR the opposite - apply the retinoid first on bare, cleansed skin and sparingly layer the botanical lightener or moisturizer on top. Both ways work, some people prefer applying the retinoid first since they feel it allows the retinoid time to penetrate without any interferences. That is a valid point, but honestly if your skin cannot handle retinoids straight on, then there is no point in trying to deprive your skin of a buffering agent.

I should note that mixing and buffering do decrease the efficacy of the retinoid. This is important to know, since I get asked this often from people who are new to retinoids. Reducing the amount absorbed into the skin =  less chance of irritation.

Fortunatley, mixing and buffering does not decrease the efficacy of botanical skin lighteners. Like I stated earlier, they create a synergy this way. People who use hydroquinone to fade dark spots have a huge advantage mixing and buffering since retinoids combined with hydroquinone have proven to yield powerful, intense skin lightening results.

Other parts to Retinoids & Skin Lightening;

Part 1
Part 2: Common Questions
Part 3: The Purging Stage

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