Read more: The 20 Best Eye Creams To Banish Those Dark Circles Rule 2: Choose your percentages wisely

Below, you’ll find products with 0.15% retinoid for beginners, through to 1% blends for more experienced users. Is it okay to use retinol every night? What’s the next level up from DE’s retinol? What brand/item would you recommend? Do you recommend that I up the game once a week but use DE the other times and slowly transfer over? Bursting with essential vitamins and natural antioxidants, this decadent daily moisturizer contains 2.5% retinol. The ingredients include vitamin E, green tea, and shea extracted butter. The content of this cream comprises of derivatives of vitamin A blended with organic aloe and wild-crafted tea which promote healthy young-looking face. Thanks so much for your blogs. They are such a great help, I must admit I got hooked to skincare only after bumping into one of your posts on FB. I have started using a vitamin c serum (art naturals) and follow it up with accure vitamin c cream in the daytime when I am indoors or their sunscreen when I have to step out. In the night time, I use the same art naturals c serum and follow it up with acure whipped night cream which is a peptide cream. I also use Pacifica’s glycolic acid with vitamin c serum along with a moisturiser once a week usually in the night. Doing just this for the past 2-2.5 months has helped my skin. I feel its a lot smoother now. I am 37. I want to incorporate retinol into my schedule now – do you have any recommendations?The highest over the counter retinol concentration is 3% but only 1% retinol is currently available. Brightening: Botanical extracts like green tea and vitamin C fight melanin overproduction to fade dark spots and hyperpigmentation. Most of the products contain some moisturizing ingredients like mineral oil or petrolatum. It may clog pores. So retinol is always recommended if your skin is dry or sensitive. When using retinol, it’s really important to use nourishing products that can help hydrate, calm and support the skin’s barrier as part of your night-time regime. This is because your skin can be prone to dryness and redness due to retinol's action on the skin, especially at higher more potent strengths.

Though most retinol products should be used at night, we like this one in the form of a night cream because it can be applied on its own. It has a light but moisturizing texture that feels non-greasy on the skin, and it’s formulated with retinol and a variety of other ingredients—like glycolic acid, ceramides, squalane, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid—to smooth and calm the skin while giving it a boost of hydration. Kang, S., Leyden, J. J., Lowe, N. J., Ortonne, J. P., Phillips, T. J., Weinstein, G. D., ... & Gibson, J. R. (2001). Tazarotene cream for the treatment of facial photodamage: a multicenter, investigator-masked, randomized, vehicle-controlled, parallel comparison of 0.01%, 0.025%, 0.05%, and 0.1% tazarotene creams with 0.05% tretinoin emollient cream applied once daily for 24 weeks. Archives of dermatology, 137(12), 1597-1604. While it's not recommended that those who are pregnant or nursing use topical retinol products, safer alternatives, like bakuchiol, azelaic acid, peptides, and low concentrations of alpha hydroxy acids, can be equally beneficial in refining skin's texture and tone. Kligman, D. E., Sadiq, I., Pagnoni, A., Stoudemayer, T., & Kligman, A. M. (1998). High-strength tretinoin: a method for rapid retinization of facial skin. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology , 39 (2), S93-S97. For most OTC retinols, it may take a few weeks of continued use to see results. According to a 2015 study, a “significant reduction” in wrinkles was seen in participants who used a retinol for 12 weeks.It takes a very skilled and experienced formulator to know how to make the high standard retinol skincare product to be effective. For the formula to work, it must be made in a high-tech lab. Like with any vitamin A-type product, it all comes down to how the formula is made, the percentage used, how it is delivered into the skin and how stable it is. They should openly share the percentage used in the formula as well as notes on the product’s stability. While prescription formulas are indeed stronger, this also means they carry a higher risk for side effects. Follow your doctor’s instructions and wear sunscreen every day. Retinol helps speed up this turnover process and promote brighter, smoother skin. It also goes deeper into the skin to encourage collagen production and further plump the skin. Sun damage There is much more to the story about retinol strength than just the concentration or retinol percentage listed on the label. 2 This formula is also gentle enough for senior news editor Nicola Dall'Asen, a self-described sensitive skin type, to use. "Most retinol formulas leave my skin red and aching the morning after application, but this one houses aloe vera, glycerin, and rosemary leaf extract to hydrate and soothe, leaving behind fresh-looking skin that's not tight-feeling or itchy every single time I use it," she says. However, sensitive skin types should still proceed with caution and patch test before applying to their faces, considering that the concentration percentage of retinol is not disclosed by the brand for this treatment.

Retinol comes in multiple strengths; the most common are 1%, 0.5%, .0.3% and 0.25%. If it doesn’t specify the % of retinol on the label, it usually means the concentration is weaker than .25%, which may not offer you the full benefits of retinol. “Studies suggest you need to use at least 0.25% retinol or 0.025% tretinoin to be effective, so we advise using a product that specifies the %.” Posvetljuje umornu, beživotnu kožu pilingom koji se obavlja na ćelijskom nivou, što rezultira svetlijom i glatkom novom kožom Start, at the latest, when you see the first signs of reduced skin elasticity, fine lines and also irregular pigmentation,’ advises Dr Stefanie Williams.When applying, first cleanse, tone, and exfoliate your face. (Only do all three of these steps if they’re included in your current skin care routine.) Kleem Organics For day and night, 50 ml, contains 2.5% retinol, only natural and organic ingredients. It can be drying and irritate your skin. So my best advice is to use a pea-sized drop and remember you want to use it at nighttime. If you have dry sensitive skin or a redness-prone they need to be approached with caution and are probably best used under the guidance of dermatologists. They can be irritating especially when you use it for the first time. When it comes to retinol, slow and steady truly wins the race. Zaborowski recommends starting with a retinol product one to two times per week, then working your way up to three to four times a week, and applying it at night. "When you apply it at night this allows your skin to repair itself overnight and avoids direct sun exposure which can cause increased irritation," she explains. Most importantly, don't skip out on SPF during the day. "Always wear SPF during the day and don't forget to reapply," Zaborowski warns. "Retinol, especially at the beginning, can make your skin more sensitive and likely to burn." It's important to remember that everyone's skin is different, but Dr Ewoma Ukeleghe of the SKNDOCTOR clinic tells us that as a general rule, the age of 25 is a good time to start using retinol, as it's when our skin's collagen levels start to deplete. Is retinol good for acne?

As well as having ‘an exfoliating effect that smoothes skin texture and gives a natural glow, it also has antioxidant properties and reduces the appearance of brown spots,’ says aesthetic doctor Dr Bernard Hayot. You'll also find various retinoid complexes, which means multiple forms are combined into one. Then there's retinal (aka retinaldehyde), which has shown to be a little more effective than traditional retinol while still avoiding prescription-level side effects. Mukherjee S, et al. (2006). Retinoids in the treatment of skin aging: An overview of clinical efficacy and safety. Ascorbyl Glucoside Solution 12% (several times a week I add a scoop of the L-ascorbic acid powder to this to make it stronger)The higher the concentration, the stronger the skin will respond with visible shedding and redness,' explains Blahr. 'But, it is just as important to note that this is exactly the reaction that we want for optimal results – it’s no irritation at all.