Report on Renova Side Effects and Usage by AskDocWeb

About Renova

This page will save you time researching Renova. We search the United States Food and Drug Administration, Physician’s Desk Reference, Universities around the world and hundreds of Internet sites to give you this report in easy to understand plain English.

What is Renova?

Renova is the brand name of the generic drug Tretinoin (TRET-i-noyn); a medicine derived from vitamin A. It’s used to treat wrinkles, brown spots, and surface roughness on the face. Vitamin A is an essential nutrient found in yellow and orange vegetables such as carrots and yams.

Renova comes in two strengths, a .02% cream and a .05% cream.

How does Renova work?

Before applying this medicine, wash the affected area with a mild soap and gently dry. Wait 20 to 30 minutes before applying the medicine. Apply a thin film of medicine to the affected and surrounding area. Pat in gently according to the package insert. Renova seems to get immature new cells to differentiate and mature normally.

Renova keeps skin plump by causing the cells to produce more collagen. Renova also turns rough skin smooth by working on the outer layers and removes age spots by reducing the amount of melanin that the skin cells produce.

Renova will continue to reverse aging of the skin and continue improving the skin’s appearance even ten years after starting treatment.

What side effects do users of Renova report?

This medicine may cause increased sensitivity to the sun. Avoid exposure to the sun, sun lamps, or tanning booths until you know how you react to this medicine. Use a sunscreen with SPF greater than 15 if you must be outside. Do not apply this medicine to sunburned skin.

Side effects, that may go away during treatment, include redness, dry skin, peeling, stinging, or a feeling of burning. If they continue or are bothersome, check with your doctor.

Do not use on sunburned skin. Extreme weather (cold or wind) may irritate the skin.

The safety and effectiveness of Renova 0.05% cream have not been established in children under 18, adults over 50, and people with heavily pigmented or sun-damaged skin, nor longer than 48 weeks of daily use.

The safety and effectiveness of Renova 0.02% cream have not been established in children under 18, adults over 71, and people with sun-damaged skin, nor longer than 52 weeks of daily use.

What are the symptoms of overdose?

If overdose is suspected, contact your local poison control center or emergency room immediately. This medicine may be harmful if swallowed. Symptoms of overdose may include excessive redness, peeling, and discomfort.

Check with your doctor as soon as possible if you experience blistering, crusting, swelling, excessive redness or peeling of your skin. If you notice other effects not listed above, contact your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist.

If you miss a dose of Renova

If you miss a dose of this medicine, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule.

Conditions you should tell your Doctor about before using Renova:

Inform your doctor of any other medical conditions, allergies, pregnancy, or breast-feeding. Use of this medicine is not recommended if you have a history of eczema.

For women: If you plan on becoming pregnant, talk with your doctor about the benefits and risks of using this medicine during pregnancy. It is unknown if this medicine is excreted in breast milk. If you are or will be breast-feeding while you are using this medicine, check with your doctor or pharmacist to discuss the risks to your baby.

Several sources said that this product is not for use while nursing.

Tell Your Doctor if you’re taking any of the following medicines:

Some medicines or medical conditions may interact with this medicine. Inform your doctor or pharmacist of all prescription and over-the-counter medicine that you are taking.

Caution should be exercised when using Renova in combination with other topical medications:
Medicated or abrasive soaps and cleansers
Soaps and cosmetics that have a strong drying effect
Products with high concentrations of alcohol
Astringents
Spices or lime (especially the peel)
Permanent wave solutions
Electrolysis
Hair depilatories or waxes
Other preparations that may dry or irritate the skin.

Storing Renova

Store this medicine at room temperature, away from heat, light and children.

General Notes

Do not get this medicine in your eyes or on the inside of your nose or mouth. For the first 2 to 3 weeks of treatment, your skin condition may appear to worsen. This is expected. Do not stop using the medicine during this time. Do not use other medicine on your skin without first discussing it with your doctor. While you are using this medicine, you may use cosmetics. After using cosmetics, thoroughly wash and dry the affected area before applying this medicine.

Renova is used internally for the treatment of promyelocytic leukemia, a type of cancer.

Studies have not been done for those age 50 and up.

Common Misspellings for Renova

Renova is often misspelled, as many people hear the word verbally, write it down and spell it incorrectly. Here are a few of the most common misspellings for Renova: Reneva, Rinova, Renofa, Renava, and Renava. Tretinoin is often mispelled as Tretinion.

Renova Feedback

If you’ve used Renova, please help others by sharing your experience with side effects. What would you tell someone considering using this product? Please remember that we do not give medical advice. That is for your local health care provider, who is familiar with your medical history. You can use the form below to add your comments,
feedback or Renova review.

Subj: Feedback on Renova
Date: 7/9/2003
The product is absolutely incredible! In the first two weeks of use, I have noticed a difference in the appearance of my skin. It has already begun to improve the color and it is smooth. Although it stings after the first week of use, I can only encourage others to stick with it as the stinging should stop.

PTM – Female

Subj: 7 years using Renova
Date: 4/7/2004
I have been using Renova for over 7 years. I am 56 years old, I used to have very bad skin specially rough and wrikle due to sun damage now it is smoot and clear it also help my wrinkles to appears smoother I will continue to use this as long I feel better about my face because of the use of Renova, I wish it will be cheaper that’s my only complaint but it is worth the money in my case. Thank you Renova….

Gabriela

Subj: Discoloration
Date: 4/14/2004
Renova has left discoloration on my nose and cheeks. My skin was better before I used the product. The only reason I tried it was because my complexion seemed dull and I was seeking a healthier glow. I never wore makeup and now I must as I need to cover the areas mentioned.

Suzanne

Subj: Great results
Date: 8/12/2004
I have used Renova and Retin-a for three years …the results are GREAT! I had the beginnings of brown spots on my cheeks and fine wrinkles on my chin and eyes. I at first thought there was no improvement….was so wrong. The skin is smooth and plump. Very rarely do I have to use a makeup on it. Just a pea size amount covers most of my face. I wash face in AM with a cream and a spoon of sugar. It seems to get rid of the peeling skin and is so, so smooth. I will use this always …GLAD I started on it. I just turned 62…but you would never believe it.

Molly

Subj: Pleased with results
Date: 10/28/2004
I have used Renova for five months now and am very please with the results to date. The scarring that I had from chicken pox is a almost completely gone.

Ellen

Subj: Burning chin
Date: 2/9/2005
Hi there, I just started using renova but on the area around the chin has become sensitive a little burning should stop using it or continue to use it and if you can send more info on it I would be very greatful. Thank you,

Lyndsay
AskDocWeb: Sounds like you are having a reaction to it. If that is the case, you’ll want to discontinue use.

Subj: Renova is great for guys too
Date: 2/28/2005
I’ve been using Renova for 16 months and it’s great. The Doc gave me 0.02% the first year and upped me to the 0.05% two months ago. It helps if I keep my face moisturized a few times a day. The results are terrific. More guys should give it a try.

Mike

Subj: Retin-A and Renova
Date: 4/7/2005
I am 44, fair skinned, and have never spent much time out in the sun. I have been using the .02% cream for 1 month. I have experienced no redness or stinging, and I experience only very slight fine peeling which is fairly easily managed with periodic light use of buf-puf singles in the morning and moisturizer once or twice per day. I have had a slight noticeable reduction of the wrinkles around my eyes, and even more noticeable reduction of the one crease across my forehead which was quite shallow and is now barely detectable. Also beginnings of creasing across my nose between my eyes seems to have been halted. I’m getting the feeling that the product works better where the skin is thicker. Is this true? Overall my skin is smoother and less ruddy. Oil production is good. I probably could have tolerated the .05% cream, but I’ll stick with the .02%. By the way, I think I was one of the first Retin-A users when I was a young teen. The product I used was liquid-soak cloths in individual packets. That stuff made my face itch so badly for an hour or so after application! I experienced lots of peeling, but I had such great improvement in my acne it seemed worth it. Perhaps as a result of the Retin-A treatment, I have very few acne scars, just redness but no pitting. It could be due to my fair skin though. My olive-complected siblings didn’t fare as well, but then none of them used Retin-A either. Very interesting products, Retin-A and Renova! I’ll report again at the 6 month mark.

So far, so good

Subj: Fine wrinkles
Date: 4/19/2005
Can renova be used for the fine wrinkles right around the eye?

Christina

AskDocWeb Avoid contact with eyes, mouth, paranasal creases, and mucous membranes.

Subj: Sun, tanning beds and Renova
Date: 4/26/2005
I am 25 and started using Renova 3-22-05 because my dermatologist suggested it (I’ve spent my whole life in the sun, and spent many hours in tanning beds and as a lifeguard) Originally I had lots of redness, peeling, and burning so my friend who’s an esthetician told me to only use cetaphil and the Renova. It lightened up a bit, but I’m still peeling! How long does this go on for or am I just not suited for Renova?

Anna

AskDocWeb If you are still sun bathing and using tanning beds, the problem will never go away. Discontinue them and the peeling may continue for a couple of weeks. If it continues longer or there are any serious side effects or redness, see your doctor.

Subj: Love Renova
Date: 5/4/2005
I absolutely love this product. I have acne prone skin and can not use any type of moisturizer without breaking out. Renova gets rid of the dryness caused by my acne medication without causing breakouts. My skin has a glow now instead of the matte look of dry skin. The only downside is that most health insurance companies do not cover this. The product is very expensive but if you use it sparingly it can last a long time.

Nichole

Subj: Using other products with Renova
Date: 5/30/2005
Can I use Veet/Nair on my face while using Renova? Should I stop using the Renova for a week or two prior to using it? I just tried to wax my brows and found my skin couldn’t handle it but I do have hair on my upper lip, etc that I’d like to remove. Thanks,

KAREN

AskDocWeb That’s probably not a good idea. You could save money in the long run if you have the hair on your upper lip permanently removed with a laser. They could probably do it with a single treatment without using chemicals. Then continue on with the Renova. Read more feedback.

Most recent post: October 20, 2015