Best Tretinoin Prescription Online: How to Get Rx Tretinoin Cream Online?

If you have acne or slight signs of aging on your skin, you might start with over-the-counter products with acne-fighting ingredients like salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide or with anti-aging ingredients like retinol. Then, if those don’t give you clearer, more youthful-looking skin, you may want to try tretinoin. 

This is a prescription treatment that can help with acne, fine lines and wrinkles, and dark spots. In this article, we’ll cover more on what it is, how you can get prescription tretinoin cream online, and which online dermatologist might be your best choice to get it from. 

But before we get into the various places you can get this medicine online, let’s cut to the chase in case you already know you want it. Here’s what our medical advisory team recommends:

What’s the best Rx tretinoin cream online?

Best Tretinoin for beginners     Hers (and Hims for men), have the best online doctor’s visit experiences of pretty much any telemedicine provider that we’ve tried. Simple, fast, low stress – Hers is a great option if you are brand new to online medicine and doctors’ visits, or otherwise aren’t sure where to get started.     Try Hers

Strongest formulation available Apostrophe offers the strongest formulations that we know of online – so if you already know you need extra strength, check them out and use our promo code FIN15 for $15 off. Quickly compare concentration with our with our tretinoin strength chart below.     Try Apostrophe

Best tretinoin for wrinkles   In addition to the tretinoin, Wisp has active ingredients that encourage cell turnover, offers immunity, minimizes fine lines & wrinkles, and protects against sun damage (helping with the wrinkles, too!), among many other things. This is in addition to offering the value of a 3-month subscription.     Try Wisp

How to get a tretinoin prescription online

To get tretinoin or any prescription-strength skin treatment online, you need to first get a prescription through a doctor. Before telemedicine made that super easy, you’d typically go see your primary care physician who would then refer you to a dermatologist. This specialist would evaluate your skin, offer a diagnosis and prescribe prescription meds if deemed a fit.

Thankfully, telehealth startups like Wisp, hims & hers, and Apostrophe have simplified the process of getting tretinoin online, in addition to many other rx skincare  products. Let’s dive into how the process works and what you need to do to get a prescription for tretinioin without seeing a doctor in-person.

In a hurry? Try Apostrophe. Apostrophe is our #1 overall pick for tretinoin online. They make it extremely easy to have a virtual visit with a dermatologist and get Rx tretinoin sent directly to your home. The alternative providers we review below make it easy as well, but few can match the strength offered by Apostrophe.      Check Price →

Apostrophe is a popular online dermatologistUse code FIN15 for $15 off

Which online dermatologists prescribe tretinoin? 

There are quite a few legitimate online dermatologists to choose from that can prescribe you tretinoin online and send it directly to your door. Let’s take a look at some of the top options and compare their tretinoin strength in a side-by-side comparison. 

Taking a step back: What is tretinoin?

Tretinoin is a synthetic vitamin A treatment—you might also hear it called retinoic acid—that comes in a topical gel, cream or lotion you apply to your skin. Dermatologists may prescribe it for acne and/or for skin aging issues like dark spots and fine lines. Some of the most common brand names it comes under are Renova, Retin-A Micro, Retin-A Micro Pump, Refissa and Retin-X. 

It’s one of the most well studied topical retinoids available on the market today, and has been approved for use in dermatology for more than four decades. There is a lots of clinical research demonstrating the efficacy of tretinoin for wrinkles and sun damage, and other studies suggesting tretinoin can help with anti-aging.

How does tretinoin (aka Retin-A) work?

The tretinoin creates skin irritation that kills off skin cells faster, encouraging your body to make new ones. This process helps create a fresher, healthier look to your skin. It also helps with acne by cutting down on inflammation and keeping your follicles from getting blocked. It’s used for both clearing up acne breakouts and minimizing new ones. 

Tretinoin  essentially hastens the  sloughing off photo-damaged (sun-damaged) skin cells, exposing your healthier skin underneath. In addition, it helps increase collagen production, which is responsible for skin elasticity and bounce.

Tretinoin vs Retinol: What’s the difference?

Some brands talk about over-the-counter tretinoin, but calling it that is a bit deceptive. They’re actually referring to a much less potent ingredient called retinol. You can’t get tretinoin over the counter–it has to come with a prescription. 

If you are interested in the technical difference, retinol is a natural form of vitamin A, while tretinoin is a more powerful, synthetic version. 

The Verdict: Which online dermatologist is best for prescription tretinoin?

Now that you know about many of the online tretinoin prescription services available to you, it’s time to pick the best one. Ultimately, we don’t like to say that one company is best because one might be best for me while another one is best for you. It comes down to your own needs and preferences. That’s why we cover a few and give a comparison chart, to help you compare and contrast to choose your best bet. Let’s go over the similarities and differences a little more.

You can see from the chart above that all of these companies (Apostrophe, Hims & Hers, roDerm, Wisp) offer tretinoin options through an online service. You can set up a consultation with an online medical professional and see if this medicine is right for you. If so, you’ll get a custom formula sent to your door. 

Most of the brands offer custom formulas that are based on your online visit with a medical professional, and they all prescribe tretinoin for both acne and anti-aging purposes. The companies have somewhat different offerings, so one may make sense for you more than another. 

Wisp does not yet offer a customizable formula, but the combination of their active ingredients are the most successful in providing anti-aging results over long term consistent use. In combination with their 90-day subscription, Wisp makes sure to keep the delivery regular in order to help mitigate long-term use.

Hims and Hers come from the same company. Hims is intended for men, while Hers is designed for women. I personally don’t like the lack of transparency about their regular pricing after the introductory offer, but you may find it worth going after the offer price, and then you can always cancel the service if you don’t like it after that. 

Best extra-strong tretinoin cream online

Apostrophe has the option of higher strength tretinoin formulas. If lower strength tretinoin hasn’t worked for you previously or you have severe acne, you may want to consider the higher range that Apostrophe offers. They are probably the best bet if you are looking for extra-strength formulations.  Remember to use the code FIN15 at checkout to save $15!

On the other hand, if you have sensitive skin or want a more gentle formula, Apostrophe’s strength range starts higher than the others, so you may want to go for a lower strength dose from Hims, Hers or Rory. Hims (for men) &  Hers (for women) make it easy to get started for just $10 per month:

Also, the different tretinoin cream formulas contain different ingredients in their custom blends. So if you’re not sure about one brand over another when comparing tretinoin alone, you might want to compare other aspects of their products to make your decision. Below are the full ingredient list for each:

Hims & Hers tretinoin cream ingredients

• • Tretinoin (.05%)
  • Niacinamide

RoDerm nightly defense tretinoin cream ingredients

• • Tretinoin (0.015%, 0.03%, or 0.055%)
  • Niacinamide (vitamin B3)
  • Ceramides
  • Vitamin E (acetate)

Apostrophe tretinoin formula ingredients

• • Tretinoin (0.018% – 0.1%)
  • Niacinamide

Wisp wrinkle firming (tretinoin) cream ingredients

• • Tretinoin (0.04% – 0.1%)
  • Azelaic Acid (5%)
  • Niacinamide (4%)

Source: Wisp

Hopefully, this brief overview helps you compare online dermatologists and make your choice of where to buy tretinoin online. And all four brands offer attractive introductory discounts — just remember that skincare requires discipline, so you should commit to applying these creams daily for at least a few months. If you decide to try Apostrophe, don’t forget to use code FIN15 as checkout for $15 off.