When should I not use retinol in my products?
During the day. Retinol is only for nighttime use it is extremely important to only use retinol at night, this also applies if you are going on a sunny holiday. Stop using your retinol products two weeks before sun exposure and during your trip. Retinol can make the skin more photosensitive (sun/light sensitive) so it is best to avoid use even while wearing sunscreen.
Because Retinol is a vitamin A derivative we advise to avoid use while pregnant. Also, certain medications may not be suitable, so always consult with your skin specialist when making skincare changes to ensure your other products, medications, and treatment programme are suitable to be used together.
Can Retinol be used around the eyes?
Yes, but only if the product is specifically designed for use around the eyes. A face retinol will be too strong for use around the eye area and could cause a negative reaction. Also, remember not to use retinol on your actual lips (around the lips is fine) the skin on the lips is very thin and incorrect use could cause the skin on the lips to get dry and peel.
What is the difference between Retinol strengths?
To ensure most skin types can use retinol most skincare lines have multiple strengths of retinol products to choose from. In most cases, the starting grade will be a low grade and then each time your product is used up your skin is ready to move on to a stronger strength. Each time you go up to the next strength it is often double the strength of your last bottle, this will help to continue challenging the skin and optimising the results.
What is a Retinol ladder and why is it important?
If you use retinol every day from the beginning the skin can have what seems like an allergic reaction – this is very often not the case, it’s most likely the skin just needs time to adjust to the active ingredients. The retinol ladder below should always be followed even when changing the strength of retinol:
- Week 1 – 2 nights
- Week 2 – 2 nights
- Week 3 – every night
- And so on. Always follow the guidance of the individual skincare product as they can vary.
My final Retinol top tips…
Always always apply retinol to clean skin before any other products are applied, other products may be layered on top of retinol (if advised) to enhance results.
Vitamin A (retinol) and vitamin C are a marriage made in heaven, vitamin C in the day and Retinol at night. See why in my Vitamin C blog.
Even a healthy skin takes around 30 days to regenerate, so even though you may see some results sooner, you should start to see real changes within the first 1 – 2 months of use.
My recommendation is the Alumier MD range of retinols below.
Why Alumier MD Retinol products?
Alumier MD produce my absolute favorite retinol products, they come in a range of strengths to offer options to suit most skin types. The retinol molecule within the products has a slow time release technology that breaks down over 8 hours, allowing for a slower absorption, this allows more skin types to use retinol and challenge healthier skin with a higher strength.
Allumier MD also combine all of their Retinol’s with peptides, the only other ingredient clinically proven to stimulate collagen for added anti ageing, brightening and wound healing benefits. As an added bonus the retinol range feels very luxurious – what’s not to like?
My perfect partner with Retinol is a vitamin C, my recommendation is the Vitamin C’s by Alumier MD.
I hope you enjoyed my blog and learned a lot about the benefits and uses of Retinol, please feel free to add any comments or questions below.
Best Wishes
Rachel x