What is Retinol? What Does It Do?
If we make the definition of retinol; a kind of vitamin Ain fact, it becomes active when absorbed by the skin and retinoic acid It is possible. After binding with our receptors, it causes some changes in our skin; accelerating the regeneration of cells, increasing collagen production (which starts to slow down after the age of 25 and this is one of the most important reasons for our aging), such as lightening dark spots.
Here are some good things retinol can do for your skin;
Providing clean skin: Although retinols are mostly loved and used to reduce wrinkles and signs of aging; It is also a very successful substance in keeping your skin clean, such as soothing the skin, creating an antibacterial skin/area against acne.
Eliminate scars, wrinkles and fine lines: I think this is the most popular and most used skin problem. With long and regular use, vitamin A has been proven to smooth the skin and reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and scars. It also does very good work for the appearance of pores and blemished skin.
smooth skin: Yes, if your skin is rough or has areas that you don’t like, like old acne scars, vitamin A can help you too.
mini-note: Retinols are slow working substances, so if you use it regularly for 1 week and you don’t see any improvement in your skin, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. That’s why there are products that are called ‘do not work’ by many people, but they are actually quite useful and good for the skin, so if you are impatient and want to see immediate progress, retinols are not for you, there are doctors who say at least 2 months (or even 1 year). I recommend using it regularly.
Is Retinol Harmful? Are There Any Side Effects?
Although many people like to use retinols, I see that quite a lot of people do not/avoid using them on the internet. Especially South Korean skin care gurus do not use Retinol and they do not include it at all (I can’t say all of them, but as far as I can see, most of them do not.) In one article, it was written that they prefer not to use it because it makes the skin more sensitive. Other than that, there are no side effects, but as with many chemical skin care products, you should protect your skin from the sun while using them, and you need to listen to yourself (or your dermatologist) and decide how much chemical your skin will remove.
Most important: You also need to know which ingredients you should not use in the same skin care routine with retinols. I will write in detail below which ones you should definitely not confuse with.
If you ask my personal opinion, it is important to protect your skin at all times, so I don’t mind this extra sensitization thing, but if your skin is already extremely sensitive, I recommend not using it or using it after consulting a doctor. definitive solution for deep wrinkles Perhaps the only active ingredient is retinol.
Use of Retinol Serum
Which product containing retinol you use, you need to rank it in skin care, you can find the detailed article below;
For beginners, I can suggest a way of use, in fact, everyone can use this way of use, but beginners should start with the product with retinoids at the lowest strength (Retinyl Palmitate is a detailed table about retinoids below);
- Serum is a pea-sized enough product (in the form of a very thin layer if it is a cream product);
- for 1 week only after 1 day
- only after 2 days for 2 weeks
- 3 days only for 3 weeks, then continuously;
- You can apply it once in 2 days (especially recommended to be used at night).
I also recommend that you protect your skin from the sun by constantly using sunscreen.
In your skin care routine NEVER substances that you should not mix (use in the same routine) with retinoids;
- C vitamin
- Benzoyl Peroxide
- AHA/BHA
AHA vs BHA acids provide a chemical exfoliation to the skin, which when combined with Retinoids cause extra dryness and irritation.
According to the doctors I read, Retinoids and Benzoyl Peroxide cancel each other out. In other words, both reset each other and make them dysfunctional, so they are not used in the same routine.
Vitamin C and Retinoids are generally recommended to be used in different time periods, such as vitamin C in the morning and a product with Retinoids in the evening. Some doctors especially support the use of Vitamin C and Retinols in the same routine and say that they help each other to be more effective, but since both are very harsh chemicals, they can bother especially sensitive skin a lot, I don’t want to recommend it to normal skinned people, frankly, but this information is in your mind. be found.
We have collected the best products with retinol in this list, you should definitely check it out;
Retinol for beginners
As you can imagine, there is no single retinol, in fact, retinol is the general name for such substances and there is more than one retinol. For beginners, I always recommend products with the lowest % (or the lowest strength) especially if your skin has never known acids before, you can read this also applies to all other acid-containing chemicals in our article;
Retinol actually retinoidA subgroup of vitamins, briefly the name given to the general group of vitamins A and their derivatives. I’ll list them from the least powerful to the strongest. retinol for beginners My suggestion is in the first place;
- Retinyl Palmitate (Low strength and beginner’s version)
- Retinol (Most popular and one level stronger)
- Retinaldehyde (even stronger than Retinol)
- Adapalene (As far as I know, a prescription version and other known name for acne treatment Differin)
First of all, if you ask my personal opinion Retinyl Palmitate starting with (because this version is harmless enough to use even for sensitive skin and does not irritate the skin.) at least 1 year (yes exactly 1 year and at least) after the break RetinolSwitch to and maintain your skin care in this way for a long time, very strong retinoids can cause you bigger problems if not used properly (like unconscious acne treatments) and cause a lot of problems for sensitive skin. adapaleneIf you say you need stronger, there are 2 more powerful versions, but they are only sold with a prescription (Prescription retinoid creams)so I suggest you go to a dermatologist and their names are; Tretinoin and tazarotene
mini-note: As I said before, retinoids are substances that open very slowly, so with the lowest strength Retinyl Palmitate, you may feel as if there is no difference in your skin, it is a process that requires you to be patient, but these wrinkles did not form in you in 1 month, right? You need to think positive
Retinol Users
I actually met with Retinol thanks to the photo of this girl on the Reddit site, I am adding it below because it is a very impressive photo. He was talking about the product that saved his skin was retinol, and he wrote that it was very good not only for wrinkles but also for other skin problems.
As you can see in the photo above, retinoids are very good substances on acne and in improving the appearance of the skin in general. There are a few products with retinoid content that everyone can add to their skin care routine and can also be used by those who want to prevent wrinkles before they form.Retinol cream recommendations) I’m planning, I’ll add the link here 💖 if you have suggestions, you can write them in the comment section.
Frequently Asked Questions
🔴 What does retinol do?
In fact, it is the substances that do a lot of things on our skin, one of the most popular aspects of it, we can write what it does in the form of removing wrinkles; You can read our article for more, such as accelerating the regeneration of cells, increasing collagen production (after the age of 25, this production begins to slow down and this is one of the most important reasons for our aging), lightening dark spots.
🔴 How should beginners use retinol?
Retinols can be quite powerful so when to use them? Which products cannot be used at the same time? how long does it work etc. You can find answers to all of these in our article. You can start with the lowest strength retinoid and then move on to the others.
🔴 What does retinol serum do?
It provides the complete healing of your skin by increasing the production of collagen. The most popular method of use is to remove wrinkles. You can learn more by reading our article.