Q The dermatologist prescribed an AHA lotion and a retinoid cream. Is it okay to use these together with herbal medicine?
A AHA and retinoids are topical agents that dissolve surface keratin and promote cell turnover. Herbal medicine is taken internally to nourish blood-deficiency wind-dryness within the body, so their routes of action differ; they can be used together without problems and in fact complement each other's effects.
Detailed Answer
AHA (alpha hydroxy acid) lotion and retinoid cream are standard topical treatments that exfoliate and promote skin cell renewal, dissolving the follicular plug and softening the bumps. These act directly on the skin surface, whereas herbal medicine works through the body to improve the supply of blood and fluids to the skin's extremities. Since there is no conflicting pathway between the two approaches, they can be used in parallel. If you let us know which products you are currently applying during your consultation, we will adjust the internal prescription accordingly.
Korean Medicine Clinic Perspective
If standard topical agents play the role of removing the keratin plug on the surface of the skin, blood-nourishing, dryness-moistening (bohyeol-yunjo) herbal medicine plays the role of creating an internal environment in which blood and fluids (jin-aek) are sufficiently supplied to the skin's extremities. Pursuing both directions at once - refining the outside while replenishing the inside - may help slow the rate at which keratin overproduction recurs compared to using topical agents alone.
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