If you’ve watched, read or seen a skincare commercial recently, it probably proudly cited Retinol or Vitamin A as a key ingredient.

What I didn’t know is that Retinol and Vitamin A are one and the same.

Come to think of it, I knew very little about Retinoids in general. It’s one of those things that we associate with anti-ageing and younger skin, but how does it work and is it good for you?

Questions like this are important when making a decision about what to use on your skin because while Retinoids or Vitamin A are a great add-on to your skincare routine, not all Retinoids are created equally.

To help you make an informed choice when incorporating Retinoids into your regime, here are the experts at Skin Renewal with the facts.

First up, what are Retinoids?

• ‘Retinoids’ is the collective term for various types of Vitamin A such as Retinoic Acid, Retinol, Retinol Acetate, Retinol Palmitate, Retinyl Acetate, Rétinyl Acétate, Retinyl Palmitate, etc.

Everything You Need To Know About Vitamin A:

• Vitamin A can only bind with the receptors on the skin cells (and therefore have an effect) when it is in the form known as Retinoic Acid. Retinoic Acid is the pure, prescription form of Vitamin A that you will find in topical Isotretinoin products.
• Over-the-counter cosmetic products claim that they contain Vitamin A, and they do, but it is often a fairly low dose of something like Retinol Palmitate, which then needs to be converted to Acetate, before it is converted to Retinol and then finally to Retinoic Acid, by which time the effect on the skin is almost insignificant.
• In this sense, a lot of over-the-counter products won’t be as effective as a cosmeceutical product.

How To Find An Effective Product:

• Ensure that ‘retinol’ is listed as an ingredient
• You are unlikely to find an effective product at your local shop, so it’s best to make an appointment with a doctor at Skin Renewal who will perform a skin analysis and then recommend a product that’s tailored to your specific needs.
• You’ll also want to stick to brands with proven results, like Neostrata, Lamelle and SkinCeuticals. 

How You Know It’s Working:

• When you first start using the product, you’ll notice some sensitivity
• This is a good thing because it means that the product is actually changing your skin and working effectively.
• If your shop-bought cream isn’t causing sensitivity after prolonged use, then you know it isn’t working.

Retinoids change your skin, so best practice would be to visit the Skin Renewal website and make an appointment with a specialist, who can pair you up with the perfect product.

Bespoke skin care is the way to go.