***Get the Lowdown on Retinol – The Elixir of Youth***
What is Retinol?
In the most basic terms, retinol is the whole vitamin A molecule, which is one of the best vitamins for your skin. Vitamin A is a potent antioxidant, and works to protect your skin from free radicals, generates cell growth, and repairs damaged cells. In technical terms, it belongs to a family called retinoids, and is one of the only substances that is small enough to penetrate the outer layers of your skin and work its way down to the lower layers where collagen and elastin reside.
How does it help the skin?
Because of its potent nature, retinol is often found in serums and anti-aging creams. While you can absorb vitamin A through certain foods, applying retinol straight onto your skin instantly speeds up the process. Retinol dramatically helps to minimize fine lines and wrinkles, improve your skin’s texture, and protect against dryness and redness.
Retinol causes skin cells to turn over more rapidly. It shrinks dilated pores and improves cell turnover within the pores so they are less likely to clog and become blackheads and whiteheads.
Retinol helps to boost collagen and collagen is what gives skin its structure, firmness and elasticity. Repeated sun exposure breaks down collagen and, with age, cells produce less and less collagen to repair the damage. Skin wrinkles, sags and loses fullness.
How is it incorporated into skincare products?
Whether you choose a moisturizer or serum with retinol comes down to preference and skin type. Generally, someone with dry skin is likely to prefer a moisturizer with retinol while someone with oily skin will prefer a serum with retinol, but experiment to see which texture works best with the other products in your skin-care routine.
For results always consider the following-
- Contain an efficacious amount of retinol
- Be packaged to ensure the retinol will remain potent and stable during use (clear or jar packaging is out)
- Contain other ant aging ingredients such as proven antioxidants and skin-repairing ingredients
- Contain minimal to no fragrance and no needless irritants
Keep in mind that with retinol more is not better. It doesn’t take much retinol to prompt positive changes in your skin, but higher amounts (generally approaching 1% or greater) can tip the scales in favour of irritation.
Are there any associated risks?
Retinol encourages skin cell turnover; this new skin is delicate and should not be exposed to the sun. That is why these ingredients should only be found in products intended for night use
Something else to consider is that retinol, like all vitamin A derivatives, is not recommended for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Retinol is only to be used in the evening, when Retinol is found in daytime products, the effects will actually encourage ageing because the skin is more susceptible to the sun, no matter the amount of SPF protection promised in the foundation or sunscreen. This two-in-one approach of anti-aging sunscreens and foundations is just not a good idea. A good rule of thumb is never buy a product with an SPF number and retinol in its list of ingredients – the two don’t make a good combination. Retinol-containing cleansers are simply a waste of money, because the retinol is not on the skin long enough to work. Lipsticks with retinol also are not advised. The skin on the lips is very thin and sensitive, and it’s the area of the body where skin cancers develop faster.
When should I start using Retinol?
Early use of products containing pure and stable retinol will help to combat fine lines before they start to appear noticeable, so skin continues to look years younger than its true age.
Retinol works best when introduced gradually to your regime, once your skin adjusts to this effective ingredient, you’ll be able to incorporate it into a daily skincare regimen with little chance of flaking or redness.
Is it always necessary to have prescription retinol to achieve results or can you expect good results from over the counter beauty products?
While prescription formulas give the most impressive results, over-the-counter retinol can also improve lines and discoloration. Because retinol is gradually converted into retinoic acid (the active ingredient in the prescription creams) it is less potent, expect a longer time before seeing results.
How often should you apply retinol?
This varies by skin type and the product, it depends on strength and the other ingredients contained, – as I mentioned before with the SPF. As a general rule, it is best to begin using retinol products every other night and work up to every night.
How soon can you expect results?
You could begin to notice changes anywhere from within a week to twelve weeks, this all depends on the skin condition, product quality, usage, strength etc.
What is the best thing about Retinol?
Collagen manufacturing decelerates once we get older. This particularly leads to your skin to appear looser as well as facial lines start to appear, however by using retinol, which permeates to the pores and skin as well as inducing manufacturing associated with collagen. Ongoing use of Retinol will reduce fine lines and wrinkles and help the actual skin’s flexibility as well as tone.
Are there some skin types which cannot tolerate retinol?
Retinol is a just one of a family of Retinoids; there are different types of retinoids and different products with each type of retinoid as an active ingredient. Retinyl palmitate, retinol, retinaldehyde, adapalene, tretinoin, isotretinoin, and tazarotene are all various forms of retinoids, which in turn are various forms of Vitamin A.
There are a lot of retinoids on the market. Retinoids are available in various brands (different companies, brand names, generics), types (retinol, tretinoin), concentrations (0.25%, 0.1%), and formulations (gel, cream). Most retinoids are natural retinoids, but some are synthetic. Some retinoids are available in your local Chemist, while others you can only get at the doctor’s office. All of these factors influence the strength and effectiveness of each type of retinoid.
Retinol is on the weaker end of the scale, therefore safer to use and suits most skin types, however, as we covered before – we always recommend a good SPF and follow a professional’s advice on use. I would always advise a consultation with a skincare specialist as Retinol is not for everybody. Patients with hyper-sensitive skin like rosacea or eczema could possibly benefit from using an alternative product.
Out of all its benefits, what is the main reason that most people use retinol? To correct hyperpigmentation? To help with anti-aging? Or to refine skin texture?
I believe that reducing and maintaining all of these factors are important in looking younger and healthier. The results we see in our clinic here in Totnes are evidence of the amazing yet safe properties of Retinol. We see dramatic improvements overall of fine lines and wrinkles, pore size, skin tone and the skin surface appearance is softer and plumper. A lot of our clients use Retinol as the ‘finishing touch’ product to Botox treatments and dermal fillers.
What advice would you give to someone who is considering using retinol?
- Always seek professional advice for skin care concerns, and also research and review where and whom you are seeking advice from. We are on the ‘treatments you can trust’ register – A UK government accredited register.
- Have an idealistic view of how you want to improve your skin.
- NEVER buy products over the internet other than from the official website and after having a skincare consultation, there are some extremely realistic copies on the market, using them may harm your skin and have not been clinically validated.
We are mad about Jan Marini’s Age Intervention Retinol Serum. Please call us for more information or a free skincare consultation 01803 864407
