Learn About Trifarotene (Aklief)

Trifarotene's a new medication. This retinoid, ladies, was approved in 2019! You often see it sold under a brand called Aklief. You will use this one in the evening. Of course, it has side effects. Expect dry, itchy skin for the first little while. Skin irritation happens too! Thankfully, these effects go away with time. You need to call your doctor if they don't, or they bother you.

This medication's a standard prescription cystic acne treatment. That said, ladies, you will often try an OTC retinol cream or serum first. They have fewer side effects! Of course, trifarotene cream is also amazing as an acne scar treatment. All you need to do is understand how it works first to make sure it's the best acne treatment for you!

How It Works

Ladies, trifarotene's a new retinoid. This medication is going to bind to retinoic acid receptors in your body! In fact, it will bind to the gamma isoform. Trifarotene is the only retinoid to do this! The others bind to other isoforms. This makes it very effective, since the gamma isoform is the most common one in your skin!

Like other retinoids, ladies, this medication is going to help your skin cells renew faster. This means they're going to heal faster! The result is less dead skin on your face and smoother skin texture. It will clear acne breakouts thanks to the faster skin cell turnover rate as well!

Uses

Clearly, this medication treats acne. It's approved in the US for that! Of course, you have to be over 9 years old to use it. Trifarotene also works as an 'orphan drug' in the US and Europe for congenital ichthyosis. This condition triggers dry, scaled, and thickened skin!

Ladies, most retinoids treat acne on your face. This one does that too! However, trifarotene is even better, since it's also approved for acne on your back, shoulders, and chest. It's the only one that's specifically meant for these areas. You will see awesome results from using this medication on your face in 2 weeks. It takes 4 weeks for the results to appear on your back, shoulders, and chest!

Side Effects

Of course, this medication has side effects! Ladies, the ones you will see the most are itchy skin, irritated skin, and sunburns! Sunburns happen since this medication makes you a little more sensitive to the sun. Other common side effects are things like stinging, burning, and redness when you apply the medication to your skin. Thankfully, these ones go away shortly after applying the retinoid! There are rare side effects too. Ladies, these are pain, swelling, discolored skin, and lots of redness. Call your doctor about all of them! Be sure to call them when you're allergic to this medication. Signs of a reaction like that include hives and a rash!

Ladies, most side effects are going to go away in a month or so. Your skin just needs to get used to your medication! Make the dry skin go away faster by using moisturizer a lot too. It also helps when you go slow when you're first using this medication.