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Tretinoin

Medication topical retinoid skin
Aka: Retin-A, all-trans retinoic acid
Brands seen in Singapore: Retacnyl, Retrieve, Tretinon, Tri-Luma, Vesanoid
Not medical advice. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change the timing of anything you take.
How to use
What it’s for
US label: acne vulgaris, applied to the skin
When to take
US label: once a day, before retiring
Take with
US label: kept away from eyes, mouth and mucous membranes
Pros & cons
Pros
  • US label: indicated for acne vulgaris on the skin
  • Register: three tretinoin creams registered in SG
  • One nightly application is the whole labelled routine
Cons
  • Label: redness, peeling, blistering and crusting
  • Label: sun and sunlamp sensitivity rises on it
  • SG keeps every tretinoin cream prescription-only
Sources
  1. HSA — Listing of Registered Therapeutic Products (data.gov.sg d_767279312753558cbf19d48344577084); cached at /tmp/hsa_all.json and filtered locally (not re-fetched), 6 tretinoin rows · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “RETACNYL 0.025 CREAM SIN08095P · RETACNYL 0.05 CREAM SIN08098P · RETRIEVE CREAM 0.05% SIN12368P · TRETINON CREAM 0.05% SIN16390P · TRI-LUMA CREAM SIN12607P · VESANOID CAPSULE 10 mg SIN08057P — all 6 rows “Prescription Only””
  2. US label for tretinoin cream (Bryant Ranch Prepack, effective 2025-10-21) via openFDA drug/label.json, Indications and Usage · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Tretinoin is indicated for topical application in the treatment of acne vulgaris. The safety and efficacy of the long-term use of this product in the treatment of other disorders have not been established.”
  3. US label for tretinoin cream/gel via openFDA drug/label.json, Dosage and Administration · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Tretinoin Cream or Tretinoin Gel should be applied once a day, before retiring, to the skin where acne lesions appear, using enough to cover the entire affected area lightly.”
  4. US label for RETIN-A MICRO (Bausch Health, effective 2025-09-01) via openFDA drug/label.json, Dosage and Administration · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Apply a thin layer of RETIN-A MICRO (0.04%, 0.06%, 0.08%, or 0.1%) to skin where acne lesions appear (cover the entire affected area), once daily in the evening. Do not apply more than a thin layer”
  5. US label for tretinoin cream via openFDA drug/label.json, Drug Interactions · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Concomitant topical medication, medicated or abrasive soaps and cleansers, soaps and cosmetics that have a strong drying effect … should be used with caution … Particular caution should be exercised in using preparations containing sulfur, resorcinol, or salicylic acid”
  6. US label for tretinoin cream via openFDA drug/label.json, Precautions · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Exposure to sunlight, including sunlamps, should be minimized during the use of tretinoin … Tretinoin acne treatment should be kept away from the eyes, the mouth, angles of the nose, and mucous membranes.”
  7. US label for tretinoin cream via openFDA drug/label.json, Adverse Reactions · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The skin of certain sensitive individuals may become excessively red, edematous, blistered, or crusted … Temporary hyper- or hypopigmentation has been reported with repeated application of tretinoin.”
  8. Singapore National Drug Formulary — RETRIEVE CREAM 0.05% W/W [SIN12368P] (product details only; the page carries no Indication or Dosing section) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “RETRIEVE CREAM 0.05% W/W [SIN12368P] … Active Ingredient and Strength TRETINOIN - 0.5 MG/G … Dosage Form CREAM … Manufacturer and Country MILPHARMA PTY LTD - AUSTRALIA”
  9. HealthHub (Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore / MOH) — Tretinoin (the oral capsule leaflet) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Tretinoin, also known as All-Trans-Retinoic acid (ATRA) … This medicine should be taken after food. Swallow the capsules whole … Use two forms of reliable birth control during and for at least one month after treatment”
  10. HealthHub — Tretinoin: what food or medication should I avoid (oral capsule) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Do not take Vitamin A supplements while you are on tretinoin as this may increase the risk of side effects … Do not take this medication if you are currently taking any tetracycline class of antibiotics such as doxycycline”
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Updated 2026-08-29. Every line above traces to a numbered source. Kozen-X is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. It lists what published sources have written down — nothing more. A pair not listed is unrecorded, not cleared. Before you start, stop or re-time anything, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.