… well that depends.
Retinol is a synthetic form of vitamin A commonly used in skin care products. It’s touted as a miracle ingredient, first used to treat acne and now in the pursuit of fighting skin ageing. However, Retinol is not the form of vitamin A that the skin requires. Retinoic Acid, a different form of Vitamin A, is what we’re really after. Vitamin A is essential for correct functioning of the epithelial skin cells and a master antioxidant.
Vitamin A IS essential for skin health and normalising cell activity. That is a fact and not marketing hype. I firmly believe that skin health starts from the inside out, but recognise the importance of feeding it from the outside too for optimum skin health.
Retinol is commonly used in skin care products because it is the least irritable form of Vitamin A, but it needs to convert to Retinoic Acid once on the skin to be effective. There are so many variables to consider that you can’t treat all products as equal, and I’ll touch on a few below.
What percentage Retinol does a product contain? This varies greatly, and if the percentage is not listed, then it would be safe to assume it’s a small quantity. To be effective, look for a 1% quantity, which still remains gentle on the skin.
Is the Retinol stable? Vitamins can be highly unstable if kept in the wrong conditions. Look for air tight packaging, correct storage (away from direct light) and consider what other ingredients the product contains – products that will assist in keeping it stable (eg Vitamin E) or hinder stability.
How will the Retinol penetrate the skin? I love using a bit of logic here. To those of you who think our skin absorbs everything – how do you explain walking in the rain without exploding? And for those of you who think it absorbs nothing – how do you explain ingredients being detectable in the blood stream after application (essential oils are a good example of this). Simply put, the skin is there to keep stuff in and keep stuff out. And if we want the Retinol to be effective it must pass through the skins protective layering and enter into the Dermis level. Skin preparation is key and so is the make-up of the Retinol product.
How capable are you of converting Retinol to Retinoic Acid? Individual skins vary and so this process of conversion will vary greatly from person to person.
So why don’t we just use a product with Retinoic Acid? Being more effective also means it’s more aggressive on the skin. You may have heard of the brands Retin-A, Renova or Differin. They are all prescription products that contain Retinoic Acid. Typical side effects include redness, skin flaking, photo-sensitivity, and thinning of the skin. These side effects need to be weighed up against the benefits and necessary precautions taken not to damage the skin while it’s in this delicate state.
Although topical application of Vitamin A is essential, it’s also required through nutrition. You can obtain Retinol from animal sources such as eggs, meat and cod liver oil. You can obtained Beta-Carotene from fruit and vegetable sources – dark leafy greens, and yellow and orange in colour. Beta-Carotene is a pre-cursor to Vitamin A and therefore needs to be converted once in the body. Again, the conversion rate varies from person to person. If required, supplements can be taken, but please note that as Vitamin A is fat soluble it is stored by the body, so toxicity will occur if you overdose and that’s where I wash my hands of it – I’m not a nutritionist so please don’t read this and start popping pills.
Have you ever used a product with Retinol before?
On Tuesday night I gave a running commentary (via Twitter) during the TV3 series “What’s really in our…”
The show did a good job busting some marketing BS, which I thoroughly enjoyed watching, but I wanted to delve a bit deeper into one of the ingredients they highlighted… RETINOL.
Vitamin A is essential for skin health because it normalises cell activity – that’s a fact and not marketing hype. Retinol is a form of vitamin A, that when converted to Retinoic Acid becomes valuable for overall skin health. Retinol is commonly used in skin care products to treat skin conditions ranging from acne prone to premature ageing, and is touted as a miracle ingredient because of this.
Vitamin A through nutrition
You can obtain Retinol from animal sources such as eggs, meat and cod liver oil. For those vegetarians out there, Beta-Carotene (a Vitamin A precursor) can be sourced from fruit and vegetables like dark leafy greens, and those bright yellow/orange in colour. Beta-Carotene is converted once in the body to Vitamin A but this conversion rate varies from person to person and is therefore hard to measure. If required, supplements can be taken, but please note that as Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin it’s stored by the body and toxicity will occur if you have more than your body requires.
Vitamin A topically
Although optimum skin health starts from the inside out, Vitamin A is one ingredient that the skin really benefits from when topically applied. Because Retinol has to go through this conversion process to be effective, there are a lot of variables to consider when choosing the right product to make sure you’re getting the desired results.
Start by checking the following…
What percentage Retinol does a product contain? This varies greatly, and if the percentage is not listed, then it would be safe to assume it’s a small enough quantity to render it ineffective. A 1% Retinol product is considered ideal as it’s still gentle on the skin, yet of a high enough percentage to yield results.
Is the Retinol stable? Vitamins can be volatile if handled or kept in the wrong conditions. Look for packaging that is air tight and minimizes exposure to light. Consider the other ingredients the product contains – will they assist in keeping the Retinol stable? For example: Vitamin E is a good partner to look for as it works in synergy with Vitamin A.
How will the Retinol penetrate the skin? Simply put, the skin is designed to “keep stuff in and keep stuff out”. I love employing a bit of logic here. If you think our skin absorbs everything, then how do you explain being able to walk in the rain without exploding? And if you think the skin absorbs nothing, then how do you explain ingredients being detectable in the blood stream after topical application – essential oils are a good example of this. Therefore if we want the Retinol to be effective we must ensure it can pass through the skins protective outer layer and into the dermis – where all the cellular activity takes place. Skin preparation is key and this is where the use of hydroxy acids come in to play – you have to prepare the skin for maximum product penetration to expect results.
How capable are you of converting Retinol to Retinoic Acid? Individual skins function differently and so this process of conversion will vary greatly from person to person. These differences are dependent on your genetic make-up and the overall health of your skin.
So why don’t we just use a product with Retinoic Acid? Retinol is a more “skin friendly” ingredient and products containing it are more readily available. Retinoic Acid is a prescription only ingredient because it’s more aggressive in nature. You may have heard of the brand Retin-A or Renova – they are prescription products that contain Retinoic Acid. Typical side effects of using these products can include redness, skin flaking, photo-sensitivity, and thinning of the skin. These side effects need to be factored in and necessary precautions taken not to damage the skin while it’s in this delicate state. I’ve seen first hand the damage caused on the skin if these precautions are not taken.
The short answer… So is Retinol a miracle ingredient? Not so much miracle, but certainly an effective ingredient if you’re using the right product in the right way.
Tell me… Are you using a product that contains Retinol?
