The Study
Topical Tretinoin Improves Photoaged Skin
This study is like a fair test where half the people got a special cream and half got a fake one, and the ones with the real cream had better skin. That means the cream probably caused the improvement, not just luck.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Scientists tested a cream called tretinoin on people's skin to see if it fixes sun damage like wrinkles and dark spots.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 553 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — tretinoin visibly improved sun-damaged skin in most people within 4 months, but caused irritation in everyone who used it.
- 2All 30 people had one arm treated with tretinoin and one with a fake cream — the tretinoin arm got better.
- 3Of the 15 people who got tretinoin on their face, 14 saw improvement; the 15 who got the fake cream on their face saw no improvement.
- 4The tretinoin also made skin thicker and produced more collagen.
- 5Everyone who used tretinoin got irritated skin.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
JAMA
Year
1988
Authors
Jonathan S. Weiss
Related Content
Claims (4)
Using tretinoin cream on the skin for one month reduces wrinkles, evens out skin pigmentation, and fades age spots.
Applying tretinoin to the skin consistently causes irritation in the treated areas, while applying a placebo cream does not cause irritation.
After 16 weeks of use, topical tretinoin reduces visible signs of sun-damaged skin on the face and forearms more than a placebo cream.
Applying tretinoin cream to photoaged skin on the forearm for 16 weeks increases collagen production and thickens the epidermis, while a placebo cream does not produce these changes.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.