Dr. Brad talks about his favourite skin aging devices at 13:30.
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Isnāt Tegaderm usually a hydrocolloid/hydrogel, rather than dry gauze? Either way, itās meant to keep a moist wound healing environment to prevent scarring. (People also use them after tattoos, for example). Iām not sure it would improve delivery of topicals.
They might have inserted the gauze. The glossy plastic-like part surrounding the gauze completely locked out any chance of fluid (blood) from escaping.
I was actually a little worried the glossy sticky part would suffocate my skin.
It took me like 5 to 10 minutes to remove it. I kept trying to put the boundary over a fingernail pull it up, but it was so stuck-on it was like they had applied superglue.
Addendum: In fact, it looked like this:
https://www.cvs.com/shop/nexcare-tegaderm-pad-sterile-adhesive-pads-prodid-338552
Except, in my case the pad was smaller and square-shaped, not a long rectangle.
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As far as whether it would make topicals work better, occlusives at least are claimed to do this. As I said, I would guess this works better than that. Maybe 2x is a bit unrealistic, though.
Google search recommends not to use Tegaderm + pad for certain topicals like retinol. I fed in, āusing tegaderm with pad to increase delivery of retinolā and it said:
Do not use an occlusive dressing like a Tegaderm with a pad to increase the delivery of retinol. Applying an occlusive layer over powerful active ingredients like retinol can significantly intensify their effects, which will almost certainly lead to severe skin irritation, redness, burning, peeling, or even blistering.
Occlusion therapy works by creating a barrier that dramatically increases the absorption of topical treatments, sometimes by as much as 10 times. While this method is used under strict medical supervision for certain conditions (like psoriasis with specific medications), it is not safe for use with potent, everyday skincare ingredients like retinol without professional guidance. The increased penetration can damage your skin barrier and cause a painful reaction called retinoid dermatitis.
Though, itās sometimes hard to tell how seriously to take Google searchās responses like this, because typing in even the slightest deviation from approved medical advice generates responses like that. Google has it tuned to make it sound like youāre absolutely going to die of deviate even just an inch from approved medical advice ā and āIām going to call the police if you do use Tegaderm like thatā.
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Sure, but I also donāt see much sense using occlusion therapy for something like retinoids. They already pass through the skin very well. You can get them in high strengths (0.1% tretinoin) which are super effective and lots of people already canāt tolerate them. And more is also not necessarily better. Itās quite right that daily 0.1% will cause irritation in a lot of people. If you actually 10x the dose, itās not going to make you look younger!
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I asked GPT-5-thinking to analyze:
The commenterās core pointāmore isnāt better with retinoids, and occlusion usually backfires for facial useāis solid. The absolutism about dosing is the only real miss: benefits donāt go to zero with higher doses, but returns flatten while irritation climbs, so smarter strategy = lowest effective strength + consistent, non-irritating use.
Some of those require a prescription,like tretinoin I think. I know that adapalene you can get over-the-counter.
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You can also get tretinoin and higher strength adapalene through Indian pharmacy sources.
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0.1% tret tubes are $2 a pop from IndiaMart and as far as topicals go, Iāve never ever come across anything more powerful than that little tube. Unless paired with sunscreen though it will do more harm than good.
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I find tret to cause a lot of irritation but Iāve had very little irritation with 0.3% adapalene. Iām able to use this multiple nights in a row without issue. What Iām doing lately is alternating between 0.3% adapalene one night and 8% AHA glycloic acid another night, and once a week doing microneedling. I also just purchased azeliac acid which I use during the day as it doesnāt cause photosensitivity.
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Sounds like a good combo. Iām blessed with skin that doesnāt react to anything so can and do slather the 0.1% tret like itās no biggie.
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0.1%. the 1% before must have been a typo, because that would be nuts.
My skin being a bit sensitive is multifactorial. Iāve got psoriasis, but Iāve got it 99% under control. I get a bit of redness in skin, but Iām on TRT and have higher blood cell production because of this. Iāve got sleep apnea and use CPAP, the mask can irritate the face. Retinoids can irritate skin.
Itās a careful balance.
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With what to get your psoriasis under control?
So many things but a cheap supplement that has helped me a lot is N-acetyl glucosamine.
But I attribute my recovery to a holistic approach at improving my health through diet, supplements, exercise, lifestyle and longevity meds. I donāt really use steroid cream very much, only if I get a flare up in a spot on my hand that makes it painful to use my hand effectively.
Itās hard to put my finger on exactly what helped the most but I think if you target health more than specifically psoriasis youāre going to do better in the long term.
I think itās probably illegal in the U.S. without a prescription. Iām not in bad need of skin products at the moment (5 years ago people said I looked like I was in my 30ās, and now they say mid-40ās, even though Iām 53); though I do try OTC things out, like vitamin C, which does a good job evening out my skin tone (and even seems to thicken the back of my hand, maybe via boosting collagen). Looking at how much peopleās skin ages from 53 years old to 63 years old, say, Iād say it wonāt be long until Iāll be looking into trying more heavy-duty stuff.
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Some people donāt like going to doctors for products like Tretinoin because they have a problem with āauthorityā and āinstitutionsā. I donāt have such hangups, since Iām an academic, which means I am very familiar with institutions and donāt fear them; and, furthermore, my brother is a medical doctor, who is board-certified in oncology and hematology, and Iāve picked up more about medical institutions, in particular, than most people, which reinforces my lack of fear of them.
My issues with using a product like Tretinoin, instead of some over-the-counter concoction or something I can put together myself, stem from all the other reasons to avoid doctors. e.g. if I wanted to use Tretinoin, it would first of all involve finding a dermatologist. Then it would involve seeing when I could actually meet with them, as they probably have full schedules, like most other doctors ā so, there would be a week or two delay (if not longer!). After settling on a time that intersects our schedules, I would then have to fill in a 10 or 15 page medical history dossier, which is standard in the U.S. Then Iād have to show up to the office, maybe have my blood pressure and heart rate taken. Then Iād meet with the dermatologist, and then theyād look me over, and maybe would even order some more tests. Assuming they donāt, and prescribe it to me, Iām not sure how my insurance company would react to that, since it would have the appearance of being for aesthetics (which is would be) rather than for medical need. Probably I would have to pay it out-of-pocket. And the cost would be around maybe $50 to $100, and that quick visit to the dermatologist would be maybe $200 per visit, assuming my insurance also wouldnāt cover it.
So, in the end, $250 to $300 out-of-pocket for one small tube of prescription-strength, high-quality Tretnoin. And that doesnāt count the aggravation in going through that whole process.
AI doctors that can prescribe things like this are one thing Iām really looking forward to, as it should eliminate all these issues that I mentioned. Iāll be waiting a long time (just because technology improves faster than the regulatory approval process), probably; but Iāll probably see it one dayā¦
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Which is why I suggest getting it through an Indian pharmacy. Itās not a narcotic or steroid substance so it isnāt something that will get you arrested. It is also incredibly cheap through this method compared to paying doctors, getting prescriptions and purchasing.
If you wanted help with this someone can point you in the right direction here.
It is probably $3-5 per tube.
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Yeah, or you can just buy this and skip all that:
https://m.indiamart.com/proddetail/tretinoin-0-1-gel-22807036188.html
My vendor sells it at $2 a tubeā¦.
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Iāve been using 0.05% tretinoin for five years 3x per week. I was using it nightly at one point, but I heard thatās probably not good to do.
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You can use it as much as you tolerate it. Doing it nightly at first might be too hard on your skin but only if your skin is very sensitive. If you feel no problems, you have no problems. Just make sure to stay on top of sunscreen application during the day.
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