Skincare with Retinol
Retinol in skincare can feel confusing. The most important thing is to understand which ingredients suit your skin. What ingredients the skin needs is highly individual, and there is no universal solution that fits everyone. Vitamin A is an ingredient we recommend to many, precisely because Retinol works for so many different skin conditions.
What makes Vitamin A special? How do you use a retinol cream? Is Retinol dangerous? There are many questions about retinoids. We will now go through the basics of this powerful ingredient. Read on to learn the science behind Retinol.
Retinoids and Vitamin A through history
Retinoids are powerful skincare ingredients that all originate from Vitamin A. They have been shown to be effective in reducing wrinkles and acne. Already in the 1930s, it was discovered that a deficiency in Vitamin A can contribute to the skin aging faster. In the 1940s, the first forms of Vitamin A were developed: Retinyl Palmitate and retinoic acid. In the mid-1950s, Retinyl Palmitate began to be used to treat aged skin. In 1964, a study showed that an oral intake of retinoids could protect the skin from sun damage. Five years later, retinoic acid, also known as Tretinoin or Retin-A, began to be used to treat acne. It was later discovered that retinol cream could also improve sun-damaged and aged skin.
In 1987, Dr. Des Fernandes proved that Retinyl Palmitate provides clear results in repairing photodamaged skin.
In summary, retinoids like Retinol, Retinyl Palmitate, and Tretinoin are key ingredients for scar treatment, anti-aging, and treating breakouts.
Why the skin needs Vitamin A
With age, the skin's need for Vitamin A increases. This is because Retinol, an active form of Vitamin A, is broken down by UV light and oxygen. Using skincare with Retinol is therefore an important step to strengthen and protect the skin.
If you have dry skin or are sensitive to strong skincare products, a serum or retinol cream with Retinyl Palmitate, such as Intense Retinol + Vitamin E, can be a gentle alternative. Retinol serums or a face cream with Vitamin A are excellent choices to supply the skin with this important vitamin.
The skin has its own process where Retinyl Palmitate is converted into Retinol, the form of Vitamin A that the skin uses. Then two more steps occur:
- Conversion to retinaldehyde.
- Conversion to retinoic acid, which is the same active form used in medical products like Tretinoin or Retin-A.
It is precisely this conversion process that makes Retinol and Retinyl Palmitate such powerful ingredients for skincare. These help with everything from aged skin to sun damage and are ideal for those who want healthier skin.
How does Vitamin A (Retinol) work in the skin?
This is how the skin converts Retinol step by step:
The skin absorbs Retinyl Palmitate, a mild and gentle form of Vitamin A.
The skin converts Retinyl Palmitate into Retinol, the active form that strengthens skin cells.
Retinol is converted to retinaldehyde, one step closer to the final active form.
Finally, it is converted to retinoic acid, the powerful form that helps combat aging and sun damage.
Want healthier skin? Buy skincare with Retinol!
Benefits of retinoids
Retinoids speed up cell renewal so that dead skin cells are shed faster and new, healthy cells come to the surface. A myth about retinoids is that they thin the skin, which is not true at all. Instead, they stimulate Collagen production. This is the main reason why retinoids rejuvenate