A hydroquinone/tretinoin (HQ/tret) skin care system designed for use with non-surgical facial rejuvenation procedures has recently become available. In this observer-masked study, 36 patients with moderate-to-severe wrinkling of the skin around the eyes and lips were randomly assigned to use either the 4% hydroquinone/0.05% tretinoin skin care system or placebo products, each day for 90 days. In addition, all patients received intense pulsed light (IPL) treatment on days 30 and 60. At day 90, > or = 75% overall improvement was reported in 72% and 19% of patients in the HQ/tret + IPL group and the placebo + IPL group, respectively. HQ/tret + IPL was also associated with significantly lower mean hyperpigmentation scores at days 30, 60 and 90 (P < or = 0.05), and significantly lower mean laxity scores at day 90 (P< or =0.05) compared with placebo + IPL. Adjunctive use of the HQ/tret system enhances the improvements in facial skin achieved with IPL treatment.