Renova vs. Refissa vs retinol

Dr. Irwin
June 28, 2015
I see that Renova and Refissa are both Obagi line retin a products. Could you tell me the difference and why you choose renova personally. Thanks so much for your advice, I love the Eminence products especially the Blueberry Soy Recovery cream. By the way with these being organic is there a shelf life if I purchase larger quantities at one time?

I’m a little puzzled by your question because Renova and Refissa are the trade names for prescription retinoids (not made by Obagi), similar to Retin A – the generic name is tretinoin.    Obagi and many other companies may have a “prescription version” which is similar but they also market and make a non-prescription retinoid – retinol.

Now to make it really confusing, retinol is about 10 times weaker than tretinoin (prescription version).   So………….you’ll see retinols in really different strengths……like 0.25% (retinol) versus 0.025% (tretinoin) .   Since they are making the non prescription version 10 times more concentrated, it ends up being about the same in effectiveness.    Sometimes I think this whole area is designed to confuse consumers. 🙂  Here’s a good retinol for summer.

So to answer your questions, the main difference between the Renova and Refissa is the base that it’s put in.  Renova is in a creamy base formulated for more mature skin and Refissa the same, but in more of an ointment base for super dry skin.

On the organic question (like the Blueberry Soy Nightcream) , usually organic products have a shorter shelf life because they contain fewer preservatives.

Hope this helps,  Dr. I

 

Dr. Brandith Irwin, MD

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Hi, I’m Dr. Irwin. I believe that consumers deserve a medically trained and unbiased skin care advocate.

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