Ingredient Breakdown: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly About Retinol
Retinol is one of the most popular ingredients in skincare products today. It’s known for its anti-aging properties, such as smoothing fine lines and fading dark spots. Sounds pretty powerful, so is it safe to use?
We decided to find out, as well as find answers to other questions: what is retinol exactly? Does it have other benefits? Are there any side effects to using it? If you’re wondering the same things, then put down that moisturizer, friend, and keep reading. The answers are in the article below.
What is Retinol?
Retinol is a derivative of vitamin A, a fat-soluble vitamin that supports your growth, sight, immunity, reproduction, and cell division. It’s a member of the retinoid family.
Retinol works by encouraging cells to turn over (i.e., divide) more rapidly, to create new cells. And there’s nothing like fresh, new cells to improve your skin’s appearance.
For example, one study suggests retinol stimulates collagen synthesis (the formation of new collagen) in skin that has been prematurely aged by the sun. And, skincare enthusiast that you are, you probably know that collagen keeps skin looking youthful.
So, it’s probably no surprise that retinol is an ingredient in skincare products, such as creams, lotions, serums, gels, and ointments, which you can buy over-the-counter.
In addition to its benefits, retinol has a few downsides. We’ll go over both below, so you can make an informed decision on whether retinol is right for you.
The Benefits of Retinol
We already mentioned retinol has been shown to boost the production of collagen. This is good news, because our bodies produce less of it as we age, which leads to fine lines, wrinkles, and dry and sagging skin.
Retinol starts to work in your cells immediately, but please be patient — it can take a few weeks before you notice your skin looks and feels better: a 2019 study found retinol appeared to reduce the appearance of wrinkles after eight weeks of use.
The cell turnover happens in the top layer of your skin. This process not only thickens your skin, which can help reduce large and clogged pores, it inhibits the breakdown of existing collagen.
Retinoids also boost the production of substances that keep your skin plump and hydrated, like hyaluronic acid, and block several inflammatory pathways that aggravate acne.
So yes, retinol can also be used to treat acne, in conjunction with benzoyl peroxide. In acne treatment, you may still see pimples for the first couple of months. And, full disclosure, your skin may look worse before it looks better. This is known as the “retinol purge,” but your skin should begin to clear if you stick with the treatment.
If dark spots (hyperpigmentation) on your face trouble you, retinol may help lighten them. Just note, this treatment can also take months before you see results.
Side Effects of Using Retinol
Retinol is a powerful skincare ingredient, but it’s not for everyone. It does have downsides.
It can take weeks or months before you start to see an improvement in your skin, and your skin may look worse before it starts to look better, as we already mentioned.
The ingredient can also make your skin more sensitive to burning in sunlight, so put on that SPF or avoid the sun while you’re using retinol products.
Retinol may also irritate your skin, so if you have sensitive skin or are prone to allergies, you may want to seek an alternative ingredient. The options include rosehip oil, carrot seed oil, and bakuchiol, which is an extract from seeds of the babchi plant.
Other side effects from using retinol include dry, flaky, scaly, or peeling skin, and redness, or itching. Thankfully, these side effects should gradually disappear as your skin adapts to the treatment.
So, you can have too much of a good thing, and regulatory bodies have taken notice. The European Commission imposed limits on the use of retinol in 2022: 0.5% for body lotion, and 0.3% for leave-on and rinse-off skincare products.
In January 2023, Health Canada called for an update to the Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist, which included reducing the concentration of retinol permitted for certain products, such as body lotions.
Ultimately, exercise caution when you’re first starting to use retinol to protect yourself from any negative side effects. Everyone’s skin is different — while retinol may work great on one person, it may irritate someone else’s skin.
The Last Word on Retinol
Skincare products made with retinol may be good allies to have on hand to reduce the look of wrinkles and dark spots, and relieve acne, because retinol works to encourage cell turnover, inhibit collagen loss, promote collagen production, and reduce inflammation. What’s not to love?
Yet, retinol may not be the best ingredient for you if you have sensitive or allergy-prone skin. If the thought of your skin looking worse before it looks better makes you uncomfortable, or you don’t want to wait a couple of months to see results, then skip retinol, it’s OK.
Ultimately, the best way to figure out if retinol is something you can incorporate into your skincare is to talk to your dermatologist.
Another way to find out what skincare ingredients are good for you is to download the Think Dirty app. Use it to scan products’ barcodes and find out right away if that lotion contains toxic ingredients you want to avoid. We think this is a great way to improve and maintain your well-being as you learn about what ingredients are safe to use, too!
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