Topical tretinoin is established as an effective treatment for photoaging. Yet 
some confusion still exists about the proper way to use this medication, 
confusion that can misguide physicians in their clinical approaches and patients 
in their treatment regimens. Most of the misinformation about tretinoin has been 
perpetuated from the early days of the drug, when its efficacy for treating the 
effects of photoaging was still in dispute. Significant advances in clinical and 
basic research in this area have dispelled much of the confusion, clearing the 
way for an evidence-based medical approach to tretinoin therapy for photoaging. 
This review summarizes recent relevant advances in tretinoin therapy to guide 
physicians in treating patients with this safe and effective hormone. To date, 
tretinoin remains the only therapeutic agent proved to repair photodamage.