In this article:
What is retinol?
How does retinol work?
Retinol benefits
When to use retinol
How to use retinol
How often should you use retinol for best results?
At what age should you start using retinol?
How long does it take to see results from retinol?
How to find the best retinol for your skin type
Retinol side effects
Can you use retinol while pregnant or breastfeeding?
Retinol alternatives
Whether you’re a long-time skin care aficionado or just beginning your search for a daily routine, there’s one superstar ingredient you’ve likely heard about – retinol. With more than 50 years of use by both dermatologists and skin care companies to take care of numerous skin concerns, it’s a top pick among anti-ageing ingredients.
But it isn’t only an anti-ageing hero: simply put, retinol is a superstar ingredient for all skin types and multiple skin concerns. What makes it so special? Let’s get into just that while we break down the research behind retinol and explain how it benefits skin.
Retinol, another name for vitamin A, is one of the most effective anti-ageing ingredients. There are many vitamin A derivatives (called retinoids), but retinol is the name for the pure form. Vitamin A has a fascinating impact on skin’s surface because it can help restore a more youthful look and feel.
When environmental assaults affect skin or you have signs of ageing, uneven tone, enlarged pores and rough, bumpy skin, retinol seems to intuitively know what your skin needs to minimise those concerns. It’s able to coach skin to act in a healthier manner. In short, lots of things about your skin’s appearance can improve when you add retinol to your skin care routine.
The body doesn’t naturally produce vitamin A, so topical application to skin is the best way to reap its benefits. When applying, you might observe a yellow-to-orange colour. Rest easy, this is normal! Retinol and other retinoids are known for their potent yellow colouring as a raw material.
The reason retinol is so effective in so many ways is that it can “talk” to skin, encouraging it to look and feel younger. It communicates with retinoid receptors that all of us have on our skin to encourage cell turnover and help boost skin’s natural production of collagen and elastin – two key components in keeping skin looking and feeling younger (1, 2, 3). It also inhibits factors that lead to the appearance of discolourations through this process.
Topical application of retinol helps normalise skin’s look and feel, working in tandem with other ingredients proven to visibly diminish various skin concerns.
Regardless of skin type, when you start using a product containing retinol, you’ll observe the often-remarkable visible improvements from this ingredient. Retinol’s benefits include:
It is important, though, to support your use of retinol with other products that help increase its effectiveness and ensure you reap the ingredient’s benefits. Using a broad-spectrum sunscreen is always critical. Even the most effective, research-proven anti-ageing ingredients like retinol won’t work as you want them to if you’re not diligent about protecting skin from pro-ageing UV rays.
It’s also important to remember that even though retinol is a superstar anti-ageing ingredient for skin, one special ingredient is NEVER enough to take the best possible care of skin. Healthy skin requires a cocktail of supportive ingredients. This fact is why all our Paula’s Choice retinol and retinoid formulas contain other vitally important skin care ingredients to help rejuvenate and sustain skin’s smooth appearance. Such ingredients include antioxidants, skin-replenishing and skin-restoring ingredients, of which retinol is one.
We recommend using retinol as part of your nighttime skin care routine, when most people don’t mind adding an extra step or two.
It’s fine to use retinol during your daytime routine if you finish with a broad-spectrum sunscreen. Although you should always apply SPF if you’re facing UV rays, it’s integral to apply sunscreen when using retinol because this ingredient helps promote cell turnover, which in turn brings newer skin cells to the surface. Younger skin cells can be more sensitive to sun exposure.
How you use retinol can make or break your experience.
As always, cleanse, tone and then apply your AHA (alpha hydroxy acid) or BHA (beta hydroxy acid) exfoliant*. You don’t need to wait for it to absorb; apply your other products immediately after, beginning with the lightest textures first. Finish with the creamiest or thickest product. For example, if your retinol product has a fluid texture, you’d apply it directly after your leave-on exfoliant and follow up with the other products in your routine. If it’s a cream or lotion, first apply your lightweight booster, essence, treatment or fluid serum products, and finish with a retinol cream. If you’re using a rich creamy moisturiser as well, apply that last.
If you’re a new retinol user, begin with a lower concentration retinol serum or cream and start using your product three times a week. After you note skin’s response, increase application accordingly. If you’ve used retinol in the past and had great results, consider a medium-strength light retinol lotion. And, for more tenacious concerns like deep wrinkles and a pronounced uneven skin tone, look to our high strength 1% retinol treatment.
You can also alternate between lower and higher strengths, based on how your skin responds. Dr. Beth McLellan, board-certified dermatologist, says “I always tell patients ‘There’s a retinol for everyone’ – some of my patients with sensitive skin just need to start slow and build up to stronger versions over time.”
Don’t forget—when you apply your retinol product, be sure to apply it to your neck and chest so you get retinol’s amazing benefits there, too. For best results, combine it with:
*For the best anti-ageing benefits, it’s ideal to use both an exfoliant and a retinol product as part of your regular skin care routine. Retinol doesn’t exfoliate skin— that’s a common retinol myth because it can cause flaking skin (irritant contact dermatitis) for some people. Retinol can help normalise skin’s surface cell shedding, which can become sluggish for numerous reasons, but this action isn’t the same as exfoliation.
If you’re new to retinol or are trying a new retinol product, limit your initial usage of your retinol product to a low-strength product two-to-three times a week, using it every other night. This gives your skin time to acclimate to the ingredient.
If your skin responds positively to this low and slow approach, gradually increase your retinol use to every other night, then to every night as tolerated. If all goes well and you’re looking to see advanced results, you can repeat this integration process with a higher strength retinol product.
As a reminder, retinol doesn’t need to be applied twice a day, once a day (morning or night, your choice) is fine. A giant dollop of retinol also doesn’t need to be applied, either. Wondering how much you should actually apply? Follow the recommendation on your product’s packaging, but with retinol, a little bit goes a long way. For example, we recommend only using a pea-sized amount of our 1% Retinol Treatment, applied in a thin layer.
The American Academy of Dermatology Association recommends beginning retinol and other vitamin A derivative usage for anti-ageing purposes in your twenties (8). It’s not until your twenties that skin’s cell turnover process slows. Incorporating retinol into your skin care routine during this time can help combat this slow down, and in turn, promote healthy, youthful-looking skin. Incorporating retinol into your routine any earlier than this won’t do much anti-ageing wise, because generally speaking your skin’s health is still humming along.
Although teens don’t need to use retinol for anti-ageing purposes, some do use retinol and retinoid products if they have breakout-prone skin to help combat clogs and bumps. Speak with your dermatologist if you’re looking to use retinol in your teen years for this purpose.
How soon you see results from retinol depends on different factors, including the retinol product's strength and frequency of usage. Some people will notice a visible difference in just a couple of days but results usually present themselves after about 4-6 weeks of usage. Patience is always key when it comes to skin care products!
In terms of how to tell if retinol is working within 4-6 weeks of use, you’ll know the ingredient is effective if you see:
With continued usage, a visible reduction in fine lines and wrinkles usually occurs around the 12 week mark (9). However, results only get better with time so, keep at it!
Choosing the best retinol product is easier than you might think, but there are a few points to keep in mind:
There’s extensive research supporting retinol’s safety when applied topically to skin (10). Most people’s skin can tolerate retinol when it’s incorporated into a skin care formula that includes soothing ingredients and skips out on fragrance and irritants. Still, since retinol is a potent, bio-active ingredient, it can result in some side effects (11). These include:
If you experience any of these issues, experiment with your retinol use and application technique. It could be that your skin can only tolerate retinol once or twice a week, instead of daily. Tweaking your application technique and “buffering” your retinol product by applying a moisturiser or moisture-focused facial oil first then retinol can also help increase tolerability.
You could also be more sensitive to higher concentrations of retinol, meaning it’s a good idea to seek out a product with a lower percentage of the ingredient. That doesn’t mean you still can’t reap its benefits, though – studies show even in amounts as little as 0.1%, retinol can still have a visible impact on skin (12)!
While there is currently no direct link between retinol and issues related to pregnancy and breastfeeding, due to retinol’s link to tretinoin (which has limited research indicating issues with its use), it is considered safest to avoid using it during this time (13).
Thankfully, there are plenty of other effective skin care ingredients that are proven safe to use during pregnancy and breastfeeding. As always, it’s a good idea to consult your health care provider when it comes to which ingredients you’re using during this time.
If you have tried lower concentrations of retinol and a reduced application schedule and are still having issues, it could mean that retinol is not right for you – but there’s good news on that front. There are other ingredients that can have a similar impact on signs of skin ageing that might work better for you.
Among the alternatives to retinol are bakuchiol, which targets many of the same concerns as retinol (including lack of firmness, discolourations and wrinkles) and peptides. While they don’t do it in quite the same way retinol does, peptides also communicate with skin to direct it to increase substances within that will make it look and feel younger.
That said, if you haven’t tried retinol before, or are still looking to find the perfect formula for you, we encourage you to branch out and see what this blockbuster ingredient can do!
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