Omega-3 vs Tretinoin for skin & hair
Short answer: For skin & hair, users rate them about the same: 90% report improvement with Omega-3 (48 reports) and 91% with Tretinoin (35 reports).
Omega-3 has 1,341 meta-analyses and 3,093 randomized trials on PubMed; Tretinoin has 76 and 265.
Based on 3,026 reports about Omega-3 and 50 about Tretinoin. Not medical advice.
| Omega-3 Supplement | Tretinoin Medication | |
|---|---|---|
| Users say it helped | 69%helped968 reports · high confidence | 91%helped23 reports · medium confidence |
| Verdict | Mostly positive | Mostly positive |
| Research | AResearch: Strong | AResearch: Strong |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 1,341 / 3,093 | 76 / 265 |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Mood % reporting improvement | 86% (289) | — |
| Focus % reporting improvement | 85% (172) | — |
| Pain & inflammation % reporting improvement | 93% (112) | — |
| Heart & lipids % reporting improvement | 83% (108) | — |
| Anxiety % reporting improvement | 74% (84) | — |
| Common side effects | fish burps, stomach issues, vivid dreams, fishy burps | sunburn, irritation, skin peeling |
| Typical dose reported | 500/250 mg / daily | Not listed |
For glycated hemoglobin, there was no significant effect in the meta-analysis. This systematic review with meta-analysis demonstrated that supplementation with omega-3 has protective effects on diabetes parameters.
Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 2022 ↗“I do supplement a lot of fish oil and vitamin A as retinyl palmitate though. It has really helped my depression, anxiety and ADHD and has enabled me to stop using more serious psychiatric drugs for those things.”
These guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations for the management of acne vulgaris.
J Am Acad Dermatol, 2024 ↗“I have gotten good result on the acne front with tretinoin and azelaic acid.”
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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate