Anti-ageing products for skincare are a huge market. Why? Because we are all looking for a way to treat our ageing skin - not to turn the clock back necessarily, but to overcome fine lines and wrinkles for optimum skin health. At Jersey Beauty we believe in embracing your wrinkles and having healthy skin at every age! That’s why we love retinol - a powerful active ingredient that can diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles by treating your skin health.
Retinol is an active ingredient derived from Vitamin A that is an all-rounder when it comes to skincare - it can treat sagging skin, fine lines and wrinkles, uneven skin tone and smooth and resurface the skin. How does it work? Well retinol is applied to the skin, enzymes convert it into retinoid acid - this makes it easy to penetrate to the deeper layers of skin where it stimulates cell reproduction. Retinoids work to not only increase cell turnover but also stimulate collagen and elastin production - that’s the stuff that ensures your skin is firm and plump.
It might be quicker to ask what doesn’t retinol do! It is a chemical exfoliator - so it works to get rid of dead skin cells by dissolving the bonds between cells. It also helps to stimulate cell reproduction, including collagen and elastin - it actually works to thicken the skin and can help to even skin tone. It helps in the fight against free radical damage - that’s the chemical reaction that occurs when the skin is exposed to excess sun and pollution. Finally it helps with that coveted skin glow - radiant skin is a sign of healthy skin at every age!
The answer is - it massively depends on two things - the quality and the form of the retinol. Just because something has retinol on the ingredients list, it doesn’t mean it will be the same. The first thing to consider is the quality and concentration of retinol - you want enough retinol to be active but not so much that it has a negative effect on your skin. The second thing to know is that the form of retinol is as important. That’s because retinol is prone to being unstable, breaking down and oxidising when it is exposed to the air. Retinol that is encapsulated or in a form that won’t degrade as quickly is better, even if it’s not as high a concentrate.
The final thing to remember is that retinol takes time to be effective - so you won’t see immediate results. But patience pays off!
Retinol is really active so can cause some irritation and side effects, especially when you first starting using it on your skin. It can cause your skin to dry out and can cause some redness and skin flaking. Using a buffer cream or building up the use of retinol is best to avoid a skin reaction. Retinol can also increase photosensitivity within the skin, so it is important that you wear sunscreen when using retinol and try to use overnight to avoid sun damage.
If you have sensitive skin, retinol can be quite damaging, making inflammation, eczema and rosacea to worsen - so it isn’t always recommended for more sensitive skin types.
To help you to navigate the world of retinol skincare products, we’ve chosen four of our favourites - including an eye cream with retinol.
First up we have a microencapsulated form of retinol in this Dermalogica Overnight Retinol Repair which has 1% retinol. Although a lower percentage, the unique microencapsulation technology used by Dermalogica helps to stabilise the active ingredient to get its maximum potency into the skin, by stopping it degrading as soon as it is exposed to the air.
Retinol is combined with peptides and Vitamin C, which is a powerful antioxidant and can help t brighten even skin tone. It also has a copper amino acid complex which helps to improve skin firmness.
Using retinol can cause some irritation at first - that’s why Dermalogica have created a unique buffer cream that can be used to enable the skin to adjust and build retinoid receptors that protect against irritation.
Our verdict
This is a great choice if you want a hard working, encapsulated retinol that will deliver results and will even work on sensitive skin.
Our second choice is an eye cream specially formulated with retinol that is gentle enough to use around the eye area. It has microencapsulated retinol at a concentration suitable for the eye area to work on crows feet and fine lines around the eyes. It also has tree bark extract for treating dark circles around the eyes.
Caffeine is known to help tone and tighten skin, and improve with elasticity. These were the biggest changes that I noted while using this serum and Vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant, to brighten skin around the eyes.
Our verdict - this is a great choice for effectively treating fine lines and wrinkles around the eye area, with the added benefit of dealing with dark circles as well!
Our third choice is a milder retinol face cream that also is packed full of active ingredients to treat ageing skin. It has Retinyl Palmitate - which is a milder, less irritating form of retinol but still works to brighten skin and to encourage cell renewal. It also has shea butter - known for its anti inflammatory and healing properties, this emollient is great for soothing dry skin, as is Vitamin B5. It also has Citric Acid - an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA), a chemical exfoliator that helps to declog pores and treat uneven skin tone.
Our verdict
My Payot Jour is a great all-rounder for ageing skin, although this isn’t a strong retinol, it’s combined with so many other fabulous ingredients and does have a clear brightening effect on ageing skin.
Our final choice is a well known Retinol product from Medik8. This serum is known as the 'Classic Vitamin A' due to its many decades of research and it's also the vitamin A you've probably heard of. The Medik8 classic retinol serum is available in 2 different concentrations and also in an 'intense' version. If you are new to retinol, Medik8 recommend 3TR which is 0.3% retinol. You can then switch up to 3TR intense which has added 'climbazole'. Climbazole has been found to boost the activity of retinoids in the skin to give the power of higher percentages without the irritation. Once you feel that your skin is used to 3TR/intense you can step up to 6TR which contains 0.6% retinol or 6TR intense.
Our verdict
Medik8 Retinol 3TR is perfect for those starting out on the retinol serum journey. It's a great system by which you can introduce your skin to retinol and then progress from there if you feel it's for you.
Retinol can be a powerful active ingredient when it comes to treating fine lines and wrinkles. It’s important to know the concentration and the form of the retinol in a skin care product to get the most effective treatment for your skin. You can also get retinol in combination with other skincare ingredients for the maximum benefit for your skin.
Find the best retinol based products for your unique skin at Jersey Beauty
