Refissa
Refissa is a prescription product coming from Spear Pharmaceuticals and Obagi at the same time. Over the counter, it generally sells for around $88, and they claim that it will be able to effectively speaking reduce your wrinkles by producing more collagen and elastin. They claim you can “see the difference between a fine line, a wrinkle, and a skin fold.
The problem is that their one active ingredient, tretinoin, does not produce more collagen and elastin. In fact, while they claim it corrects irregular pigmentation, tretinoin has been known to cause irregular hyperpigmentation! Ironically, while claiming to reverse sun damage and protect from it, tretinoin also causes greater sensitivity to the sun. There are quite a few contradictions, right?
Anyway, the thing about this is that it works by turning over skin cells, hopefully thickening skin and washing away dead skin cells. This being said, it can cause quite a few different side effects, and it doesn’t really necessarily give you any results. Some early studies have suggested that tretinoin may reduce fine lines. But there is nothing about wrinkles or eliminating any of these problems.
We would not recommend Refissa. They need to seriously rethink their advertising. Being a prescription approved by the FDA, it does not make them exempt from fair rules of correct advertising. In fact, it should hold them to a more stringent standard. But obviously it does not, or at least not so far. We would highly recommend finding something else.
April 12th, 2011 at 7:23 pm
I have found my skin getting worse after two months of Refissa use. My skin is generally clear but after about three weeks I broke out all over my forehead. Oddly, it seemed to move into my hair line and
then clear up. At the present moment I am breaking out on my chin and around my nose. I was suspect it was perhaps another product I might be using……cleanser…………..moisurizer. Refissa is made by Obagi and they sell a whole skin aging system. I used the complete regimen last year and did not have problems with it. So thinking it might be the DDF Glycolic 5% exfoliating wash, I quit using it and went back to Dove. The derm suggested I use a moisturizer of an over the counter moisturizer which I tried and then quit thinking perhaps it might be the culprit. I am frustrated. My skin is a mess and my daughter is getting married in two weeks. I am not going to wash my face or otherwise address my face until there is evidence of clearing. I certainly would not recommend this product to anyone.