Retinol: The Gold Standard in Skincare

Retinol is also known as the gold standard ingredient in the industry for skincare products as it alters the behaviour of aged cells, so they act in a more youthful manner. It contains Vitamin A1(more like a derivative of Vitamin A, which is very much essential for your skin. It smoothens and refines skin's texture, enhances skin radiance and treats ageing. Retinol is added to skin care products like creams so that it has an adverse effect, making you look younger and plumper. Retinol is a fat-soluble compound commonly found in carrots, eggs, and sweet potatoes. When RetinolRetinol is applied topically, it converts to retinoic acid by specialized enzymes found in the skin. Retinoic acid can also be applied topically, but is much harsher than a retinol cream or serum, as it does not convert naturally over time.

Benefits of Retinol:

• It prevents wrinkles, smoothes out existing fine lines by minimizing the effect of wrinkles. It works by increasing the making of new collagen. It also stimulates the blood vessels in the skin, giving it a rosy appearance, reducing precancerous skin spots called actinic keratosis.
• It brightens the dull skin by exfoliating at a cellular level, which results in a brighter and smoother new skin.
• It regulates oily skin and minimizes breakouts.
• It Fades dark spots, sun spots, and hyperpigmentation.
• It makes you look younger as it skins deep into the skin and speeds up cell turnover, causing the body to become fresher and plumper.
• Retinol also helps to get rid of acne. When applied on the skin, it unclogs the pores, opening them up for other skin creams to be useful. They get rid of dead skin cells from clogging the pores, thus stopping pimples, blackheads, and cysts from forming.
• Retinol also helps in the prevention of warts by stopping the growth of the cells.

Why Retinol for Collagen:

Collagen is the major structural protein in our bodies, without which there would be nothing holding the skin cells together. When the human body is young, collagen is made by the body at a rapid rate, but as we keep gowning old, the production of RetinolRetinol starts to slow down. And hence without enough collagen, fewer cells are held in the skin, and it starts looking rough, uneven, saggy and wrinkly. Firstly, it acts to increase the amount of collagen in the skin by inactivating matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), enzymes in the skin which break down collagen. These are made more active by UV light. Retinol also works by increasing cellular turnover – that is, increasing the rate at which new ones replace old skin cells. Finally, RetinolRetinol is also an antioxidant – it stops reactive free radicals, generated by UV exposure or toxins in the environment, from wreaking havoc in your skin.

How to use Retinol:

• Wash your skin and if possible, apply eye cream as this would help the skin around the eye from burning.
• Wait until your skin is dry or else when the skin is damp, it might cause the skin from absorbing too much, which will irritate the skin.
• Take a pea-sized amount onto your palm and rub it evenly between the palms and onto the face in an upward and outward motion.
• Make sure you apply a moisturizer after as this will prevent the skin from drying up.
• If you are applying this in the morning, make sure you also use sunscreen before getting out, as the skin becomes too sensitive after applying the serum.

Side effects of Retinol:

• Dryness and irritation
• Skin changing colour
• Too sensitive to sunlight
• Swelling blistering of the skin

How to minimize these side effects: