A313 Pommade

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.

Pregnancy — the accurate version, because this gets badly misreported.

Oral isotretinoin causes serious birth defects. That is not in dispute, and it is why it is so tightly controlled.

Topical retinoids are a different exposure. Very little gets into the bloodstream. A meta-analysis of 654 pregnancies exposed in the first trimester found no significant increase in birth defects, miscarriage or stillbirth, and a large four-country cohort study since has agreed.

But those studies are not powerful enough to prove safety — so dermatology guidelines still advise using a non-retinoid option while pregnant, as a precaution. Tazarotene is contraindicated outright.

If you used a retinoid before you knew you were pregnant, the evidence is reassuring. That is not a reason to panic. Stop, and talk to your doctor.

💧 Mineral Oil — moisturizes
💧 Polyethylene Glycol — softens
🥕 Retinyl Acetate (0.12%) — a gentle retinol ester

Formulation Notes

So why do people get results? Almost certainly the base, not the vitamin A.

A313 is a PEG-based occlusive ointment. PEGs are penetration enhancers, and the ointment seals the skin completely. Users routinely report intense peeling in the first weeks — which is strange for a 0.06% ester and tells you something other than the retinoid is doing the work.

Its predecessor, Avibon, was five times stronger and was withdrawn after stability problems. A313 is the survivor — and a much weaker one.

If you want a real retinoid, buy a real retinoid. The Ordinary sells 0.2% actual retinol for $8.