A313 is not the same as tretinoin. Tretinoin is retinoic acid — the active form of vitamin A that works directly. A313 contains retinyl palmitate, a retinyl ester at the very bottom of the vitamin A ladder. It must convert several times before it can act, so it is far milder.
Much of what people notice may come from the base itself. A313 is a thick, occlusive ointment, and sealing the skin genuinely improves texture and hydration on its own.
The US version is sold as a cosmetic, not the French medicine, and its base is different — it contains peanut oil, a real allergen. It is fine to use if it suits you; just buy it for what it is.
| Key active | Retinyl palmitate, ~0.06% retinol-equivalent |
| Texture | Thick, occlusive ointment |
| Best for | See below |
| Approximate price | $30–$50 |
The honest case for it is real, and it is not the one you have heard.
A313 is a thick, occlusive, PEG-based ointment with a little vitamin A in it. Occlusion works — sealing the skin genuinely improves texture and hydration, and that is likely responsible for much of what people see.
In France it is a licensed, reimbursed medicine that costs about €2.63. It has been used for decades, and it is not dangerous.
If you like the texture and it suits you, there is nothing wrong with using it. Just buy it for what it is, not for what the internet says it is.
The "basically prescription tretinoin" claim is false on every count, and this is the most important thing on this page.
Wrong molecule. A313 contains retinyl palmitate — a retinyl ester, which sits at the very bottom of the retinoid ladder. It has to convert to retinol, then to retinal, then to retinoic acid before it does anything. Tretinoin is retinoic acid. These are not close.
Wrong dose. 200,000 IU per 100g works out to roughly 0.06% retinol-equivalent — weaker than a drugstore 0.3% retinol. (The "0.12%" figure circulating online is arithmetically wrong; the source's own numbers contradict it.)
Wrong licence. In France, A313's approved use is "adjunct treatment of irritant dermatitis," and its drug class is literally skin protectant. Nobody ever approved it as a wrinkle treatment.
The US version is not the French drug. It is sold here as a cosmetic, with a different base — and it contains peanut oil, which is a genuine allergen nobody discusses.
You are paying about $47 for a tube that costs €2.63 in a French pharmacy — where it is 30% reimbursed by health insurance.
Its own French label warns against prolonged use and large-area application, citing vitamin A build-up. The entire cult use — nightly, full face, for years — is what the label tells you not to do.
Retinyl Acetate, Retinyl Propionate, Retinyl Palmitate, PEG-4000, PEG-400, Polysorbate 80
Note: French/EU version of the pommade.
1. Unoccluded retinol penetrates human skin in vivo more effectively than unoccluded retinyl palmitate or retinoic acid (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9284094/) — Shows retinyl palmitate and retinol are far weaker than retinoic acid (about 0.6% retinyl palmitate was needed to match the retinoid effect of roughly 0.01-0.05% retinoic acid), so A313 is not equivalent to prescription tretinoin; it also shows occlusion increases retinoid delivery into skin. 2. Characterization of esterase and alcohol dehydrogenase activity in skin. Metabolism of retinyl palmitate to retinol (vitamin A) during percutaneous absorption (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1018941016563) — Confirms retinyl palmitate is only partly converted to retinol in human skin (about 44% of the absorbed dose hydrolyzed, under 1% passing through), supporting the description of A313 as delivering just a little vitamin A. 3. Improvement of naturally aged skin with vitamin A (retinol) (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17515510/) — Randomized controlled trial showing topical retinol has genuine anti-aging activity, but at 0.4% concentration, far higher than A313's roughly 0.06% retinol-equivalent, indicating retinoid benefit is concentration-dependent. 4. Occlusion vs. skin barrier function (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12005114/) — States that skin occlusion increases stratum corneum hydration, backing the claim that sealing the skin with an occlusive ointment improves hydration and texture.