Retinol for sensitive skin!

[betabeti]

Hi! 

I need some help!

1. how should I be including retinol in my skincare routine for anti-aging?

2. Do you have any product recommendations for sensitive skin? Or are labeled Clean!

[WinglessOne]

Hi @betabeti ! If you have sensitive skin, you might want to ask your primary care doctor or a dermatologist for retinoid options. A bit about a few different types of retinoid: 

Spoiler

Retinoic acid, aka tretinoin or Retin-A: skin cells don't have to convert this at all before it can get to work, and it's been very heavily researched. This is what some derms recommend first, as it's become the gold standard among retinoids. Available only by prescription. 

Retinaldehyde, aka retinal: requires just one skin cell conversion to turn into retinoic acid, yet it's less irritating than tretinoin and (according to my derm) retinol. Available over-the-counter. 

Retinol: skin cells must do 2 conversions to turn retinol into retinoic acid, so retinol works slower than tretinoin. But retinol is also less irritating (has fewer side effects) than tretinoin. The most common OTC option. 

Hydroxypinacolone retinoate (HPR), aka granactive retinoid: a retinoic acid ester that needs no skin cell conversion, yet is less irritating than tretinoin. HPR hasn't been studied nearly as much as the others I've listed, so whether it's truly more effective than retinol or retinaldehyde has yet to be confirmed. But it looks great on paper. Available OTC. 

Note: folks who claim retinol and retinaldehyde are generally ineffective are 100% wrong. Those options are very effective. It just takes longer to see results with them than with tretinoin, thanks to the conversion steps needed. 

Whichever of those options you choose, start very slowly with it. Use it just 1 or 2 nights a week for a few weeks, then gradually increase usage until you’re using it as frequently as you’d like. I use OTC retinol every other night, but I started at just once a week. 

You can also try applying your retinoid as the last step of your night routine: apply it over your moisturizer. That’s what some dermatologists recommend to folks whose skin is retinol-sensitive. No, your moisturizer won’t stop the retinoid from penetrating your skin or make it less effective. 🙂 

The product I started with was the gentle First Aid Beauty FAB Skin Lab Retinol Serum 0.25% Pure Concentrate, just to see if my skin would tolerate retinol at all. After a couple months of tolerating that with no issues, I switched to The INKEY List Retinol Fine Lines and Wrinkles Serum 1 oz/ 30 mL which you might be able to start with instead (if it ever comes back in stock)—but remember, start slowly. 

Do you already use sunscreen (minimum SPF of 30) during the day, every day? If you don't, you'll just waste time and money on a retinoid: unblocked UVA/UVB rays will do more of the damage a retinoid tries to reverse. 

As for clean, well… that I can’t directly help with, sorry... but maybe another BIC member can. I always ignore the “clean” labels on products because it’s meaningless to me. I recommend scanning product ingredient lists to see if they meet your personal definition of “clean,” since there is no industry definition or US government standard/certification. 

[LadyTcoleman]

I am still researching this myself. I hear dermatologist talk about it but I still do not get it, when and why is this so important. I see that Sephora has a trial size on sale, I was thinking of getting it and use it at night to see what difference it makes in my skin. 

[WinglessOne]

@LadyTcoleman  Retinol and other retinoids (aka vitamin A and its derivatives) increases skin cell turnover below the skin surface. It's used to reduce wrinkles, balance skin tone (reduces skin discoloration/hyperpigmentation), and/or help with acne. If those are issues you want to address with your skin, then you may want to try a retinoid. But not everyone needs to use a retinoid.