If you want to prevent or treat wrinkles and other symptoms of aging on the skin, such as spots or sagging, there is an active ingredient that you should incorporate into your beauty routine: retinol. It is the active ingredient with the most scientific evidence when it comes to preventing and also improving the marks that the passage of time leaves on the skin. This is what the pharmacist tells us Eduardo Senanteholder of FarmaciaSenante.com: «if there is a cosmetic ingredient that has demonstrated scientific evidence at the level of prevention and reversing aging, it is retinol, or rather, all derivatives of vitamin A. We cannot fight against skin aging, cosmetic level, without using this asset. Furthermore, I like to remember that in the American market, the FDA (the health authority), only allows a product to claim that it is anti-aging or anti-wrinkle if it is formulated with a derivative of vitamin A (whatever, retinol, retinal, retinyl palmitate, retinoic acid) or if it is a sunscreen, because the FDA considers that these are the only cosmetics that have been scientifically proven to prevent aging.
When to start using retinol
Retinol can be incorporated into the routine at any age, from approximately 30 years old, because it serves to prevent and delay agingbut also for treat wrinkles and other signs of aging, so it’s never too late to start using it. Although it can be applied throughout the yearif it has never been used it is preferable to start at a time like autumn or winterwhen, on the one hand, we are less exposed to the sun, and, on the other hand, ultraviolet radiation is less. “Retinol, by renewing the skin, can make it irritated and more sensitive to ultraviolet radiation, which is why autumn is an ideal time to introduce it into your routine if it has never been used.”
Which retinol to choose
If you’ve never used retinol and want to incorporate it into your routine, it’s important to choose a product that’s right for you. There are many products on the market, with different derivatives of vitamin A, and also different concentrations and formulations. «Within the category generally known as retinol, we find the pure retinolwhether in encapsulated form or not, as well as its derivatives, such as retinyl palmitate or acetatewhich are less potent within the retinoid family and are known as retinol esters. All of these compounds are ideal skin renewal agents to incorporate into anti-aging care routines, as they can address problems such as wrinkles, age marks. acnepsoriasis and skin spots,” he says. Rachel Gonzalezcosmetologist and technical director of Perricone MD. But, there are other retinoids, also powerful and increasingly common, retinal, which according to Eduardo Senante, “is better tolerated by sensitive skin” and retinyl retinoate.
Regarding concentrations, if you choose retinol, the pharmacist advises starting with the lowest ones. “If we have sensitive skin, I recommend a maximum of 0.1% concentration. If you have normal skin, you can start with a maximum of 0.3%, but starting to apply it infrequently. Another recommendation from the pharmacist is to opt for «encapsulated retinolbecause the release is more progressive (it is better tolerated), and formulated together with other ingredients that help compensate for the irritation that it can cause, for example with panthenol, niacinamide, or alpha bisabololingredients that help calm, regenerate and recover the skin.
From left to right: Crystal Retinal 20 from Medik8, with 0.2% encapsulated retinaldehyde (125 euros); Growth Factor Firming & Lifting Serum by Perricone MD, with encapsulated retinol (147 euros); Renewing Night Serum by Ulé, with encapsulated retinol (82 euros); Ampoule [A] SVR Lift, with 0.3% pure retinol (41.90 euros); Capture Totale Retishot by Dior, with 0.1% pure retinol (115 euros).
How to incorporate retinol into your beauty routine
Retinol is used at night, after cleansing and drying the skin. And the advice of experts is to incorporate it little by little. Eduardo Senante is committed to “starting by applying it two nights a weekfor two weeks. If there are no significant side effects (the skin may redden, but only minimally), you can start using three days a weekfor another two weeks. And so on, until you can use it daily. “Skin retinization is a variable process, depending on each person, the power used, the product… On a general level, I say that between 10-12 weeks are necessary.”
Three tips to make retinization a success
To avoid abandoning retinol due to possible adverse effects, Eduardo Senante gives us several tricks.
– Avoid the eye and neck area. «When applying it, you must protect the most sensitive facial skin, such as the area around the eyes and neck. My recommendation is not to apply retinol there, at least at first, first applying a cream to those areas.
– Be economical in terms of quantity. «Applying a greater amount of retinol is not synonymous with greater effectiveness, but rather with more irritation. “We always have to use less amount than we think.”
– Sandwich technique for sensitive skin. «If you have very sensitive skin, you can opt for the sandwich technique which consists of first applying a thin layer of moisturizing cream to the entire face, then applying the retinol, and on top of it a barrier function cream, thus ensuring that the skin is cushioned, and with the layer on top we help mitigate the possible dehydration or irritation that retinol can cause.
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