Retinol serum

[CorgiMommy]

Looking for suggestions for a retinol serum.   I have used Peter Thomas Roth Retinol Fusion PM Night Serum 1 oz  in the past.  I am not unhappy with it but looking for what others have used.   

[sister13]

I just finished and really liked the Dermalogica Dynamic Skin Retinol Serum 1 oz / 30 mL  . Seemed effective but not irritating! Would wait for a sale to pick it up though since it’s a bit pricey! @CorgiMommy 

[CorgiMommy]

@sister13 thanks

[WinglessOne]

I used to use retinol and HPR (hydroxypinacolone retinoate, aka granactive retinoid), but switched to retinaldehyde (aka retinal) some years ago because it works faster and, for my skin, it’s less irritating than both retinol and tretinoin—and even less than HPR, surprisingly. Since I’ve used 3 different forms of vitamin A, lemme try to remember which products they were in… I know I’ll forget some.

Retinol and HPR: 

Spoiler

The INKEY List Retinol Fine Lines and Wrinkles Serum 1 oz/ 30 mL  - lower strength than your PTR retinol. This was the second vitamin A full face product I ever used. I’ll never forget how radiant it made my skin the morning after first use. 

Shani Darden Skin Care Mini Retinol Reform® 0.3 oz/ 10 mL  - I didn’t like that it contains apparently enough lactic acid to exfoliate skin. I love lactic acid but don’t use it daily, because over-exfoliation is bad. This serum didn’t let me control exfoliation, plus it irritated my skin.

Sobel Skin 4.5% Retinol Complex Night Treatment - I see it’s still marketed as “4.5% retinol” which is misleading: it’s retinol + HPR, so it’s not truly 4.5% retinol. (“Retinol” isn’t really a catch-all name for all forms of vitamin A.) It’s not as strong as it sounds, but it’s no slouch. It worked well—noticeable reduction of hyperpigmentation—but also irritated my skin too much after a while. This is the product that made me talk with my dermatologist about a better-for-me option, and he recommended retinaldehyde. 

Retinaldehyde (retinal): 

Spoiler

Avène RetrinAL 0.1 Intensive Cream - my longtime favorite vitamin A product. Contains 0.1% retinal and evening primrose oil, among other good stuff. A year or 2 ago, I started testing other retinals as they appeared on the market.

Youth To The People Retinal + Niacinamide Youth Serum 1 oz/ 30 mL  - 0.15% retinal that was… fine. Not bad, but nothing to make me switch from Avène.

The Ordinary Retinal 0.2% Emulsion Serum 0.5 oz / 15 ml  - I used 1.5 tubes of this 0.2% retinal and liked it, despite its rather bare bones formula (I mean, this is The Ordinary after all). Can’t say it was much more powerful than Avène’s 0.1% during the 2 months I tested it, but it is effective. I’m using up the rest of the second tube on my neck while I test the next product on my face.

Currently using: Medik8 Crystal Retinal 10 - another 0.1% retinal serum. Medik8 claims theirs is “very concentrated” thus more powerful than other brands’ retinal serums. I’ve used it for 2 months with good results and I do like it. Just not sure it’s worth its high price tag compared to other retinal serums I’ve used. When this tube’s empty, I’ll move up to Crystal Retinal 20 (0.2% retinal) since I also have a tube of that. They just released a 0.24% Crystal Retinal 24 serum; if I catch another good sale and their CR20 doesn’t burn my face off, I might try CR24. 

Medik8 also makes a serum that contains retinaldehyde and retinyl retinoate, which is very interesting! Retinyl retinoate itself is a combo of retinoic acid and retinaldehyde. That means half of it is immediately active in skin (retinoic acid needs no conversion to active form) and the other half will activate after one conversion to retinoic acid. Pairing this ingredient with additional retinaldehyde seems very extra, as does this serum’s USD $270 price. But I can’t deny I’m very interested in trying it. Only thing stopping me (besides the price): it contains fragrance. 

[CorgiMommy]

@WinglessOne thanks for all this great information 

[GG84]

I use a really great retinol that’s 8x stronger than typical retinols but 50% less irritating. It’s not available at Sephora however it’s a great one. It’s called Verso Super Facial Serum. 

[CorgiMommy]

@GG84 thank you

[SportyGirly125]

@CorgiMommy I use Leahlani Aqua A retinoid
Renewing Serum

[CorgiMommy]

@SportyGirly125 thanks so much