French Pharmacy Flop: The facts about A313
Why the latest French pharmacy product American beauty influencers swear by isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
A French pomade called A313, intended to heal minor abrasions and primarily composed of an anti-constipation medication, is being slathered on American faces. Beauty influencers and even the company distributing A313 claim it is a powerful anti-wrinkle potion despite scientific studies proving otherwise.
To understand the irrational application of A313 on American faces you need to know the rationality of Vitamin A, aka retinol or retinoic acid. Vitamin A helps our vision (beta-carotene!), is essential for cell division, reproduction and immunity. Vitamin A has antioxidant properties that, when stabilized in cosmetics, can boost cell turnover and make skin look brighter, reduce acne and encourage collagen production. Cosmetic retinoids range from expensive and prescribed retinoic acids to inexpensive, over-the-counter retinyl palmitates. A313 contains that weak-sauce retinyl palmitate but many still falsely equate it with powerful retinoic acid.
I became obsessed with retinoic acid after reading a fantastic article from 2006 in The New York Times called “The Thing About Retin-A: It Works.” It includes an interview with a retired firefighter from Florida named Susan Hobbs. The fact that someone with that level of sun exposure had skincare advice worthy of the NYT Style Section made me a believer. After using Retin-A for about 15 years Hobbs said “I really don’t have a lot of wrinkles, compared to other people my age.” I’ll have what she’s having!
Typically skin builds a tolerance to retinoic acid the longer and more frequently it is applied. Dermatologist supervision is definitely advised at this point but thanks to America’s broken healthcare system and the fact that just seeing a dermatologist for 5 minutes can cost more than $100, many skin care addicts will strike out on their own adventure for the best, strongest, most affordable retinoid.1 I have fallen down reddit wormholes of the lengths people go to to secure a prescription-only form of retinoic acid called tretinoin. Americans are desperate. That’s when French pharmacy products start looking interesting.
France’s A313 is intriguing. For starters it has a secret agent name with the letter “A” acting as a beacon to those in search of creams with Vitamin A. The subdued packaging looks like it needs a prescription to purchase. The thick, lanolin-like pomade has neither fragrance nor color.
I bought a tube of A313 after seeing an influencer swear it was the best retinol she’d ever tried. It isn’t fun to apply and sits on top of the skin for hours. It does have a burny, tingly feeling. While I waited for a miracle (or for the potion to finally absorb into my skin) I searched up the ingredients. The reason A313 is so thick and oily is because it is based on a “highly effective” anti-constipant called Macrogol 4,000. Don’t use it before bed or it will ruin your pillows, advises one dermatologist. This goop makes A313 really great at holding water in the skin. Basically A313 users are experiencing an extreme moisturizer. What they aren’t getting is the full potential power of Vitamin A.
An actual French pharmacist laughed when I told her people (eh hem, me) were putting it on their faces. It went from sitting next to my face wash to the bin where we keep bandaids and Neosporin. In other words, where it belongs, ready to sooth cracked feet or minor abrasions.2
BiafineACT (see footnote 2) and A313 living their best lives in my medical bin and not on the counter with my facewash. Photo by Regina Sinsky-Crosby
Some people will learn the truth and still love A313. I think it has more to do with the very real pleasure of owning French pharmacy products. There is something magical and fun about trying a tube of “secret” potion and seeing it sit in your American medicine cabinet. If it makes your skin feel great then by all means keep moisturizing your face with anti constipation goop! Just don’t forget an occasional pea-size amount of real retinoic acid and reapply that sunscreen.
Meanwhile a scientifically proven, FDA-approved retinol called Differin is widely available over the counter in chain stores across America for less than $16. But for various reasons, mostly that it’s overly and improperly used making people believe it is too strong for sensitive skin, Differin is being snubbed by influencers searching for wrinkle and acne cures. Differin is so uninteresting for skincare junkies I put this in a footnote to prevent them from getting bored.
“You can afford to put Differin on all over your body,” joked my dermatologist. Don’t laugh: I use it on my sun-damaged hands, tops of my knees, and my regrettable summer Birkenstock tan lines. I hear CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol Serum is highly effective but my go-to for my face and neck is the more expensive Skinceuticals Retinol 0.3. Just be sure to slather on your favorite sunscreen if you use these products.
Another product that lives next to my A313 in the “injury bin” and Americans are obsessing about is BiafineACT, originally intended for burns and small scratches. It smells like a delicate rose for a minute and then the smell disappears. It IS really great for burns and scrapes. I keep a tube in the kitchen, near the oven, and spread it on scraped knees and minor sunburns. But Americans are caking this product, made up mostly of sterile ethylene glycol and paraffin, on their faces. It does contain avocado oil but your skin would be better off if you just ate an avocado.