Your Complete Guide to Retinol & How to Use It
WHAT IS RETINOL?
Retinol is a form of vitamin A which is one of the body's key nutrients for boosting cell turnover. It offers benefits in promoting skin renewal, brightening skin tone, treating wrinkles, fine lines and loss of elasticity and firmness. It also boosts collagen production. It functions like an antioxidant to help address free radical damage, which leads to visible signs of aging. It can help balance sebum production, reducing acne. It helps improve the appearance of UV damaged skin, making it look clearer with a healthy colour – fresh, clear and wrinkles are visibly reduced.
Retinol has the ability to reprogram skin cells into acting like young cells – skin looks younger and rejuvenated.
High levels of retinol can make skin more sensitive or dry, and it can interact with other products.
We use therapeutic levels of retinol in our cosmeceuticals, so it is important to introduce these products carefully into your skincare routine.
SuperEven Even Tone Moisturising Cream – day and night moisturiser that balances skin tone. It contains a lower level of encapsulated retinol in a moisturising base, as well as skin tone regulators.
SuperLift Face Lift Serum – nighttime serum with a high level of stabilised retinol along with peptides, Vitamin E and hyaluronic acid.
HOW TO INCORPORATE RETINOL INTO YOUR BEAUTY ROUTINE
It’s easy to incorporate retinol into your beauty routine as long as you follow a few simple steps.
Start Slow
One of the most common mistakes is using it every day. For most, that’s too often, especially as your skin adjusts. To get your skin used to retinol, start using it twice a week (every three days) in the evenings. If you aren’t experiencing any redness or flakiness the next day, you can increase to every other day—and then even every day if your skin tolerates it.
Use Pea-Size Amount
Another common mistake is to use too much product. With retinol, a little goes a long way, so you only need a pea-sized amount to cover your entire face.
Mix It Up
One tip to help your skin adjust to retinol is to mix your retinol with your face moisturiser and then apply it to your skin. This allows the retinol to be a little gentler on your skin, which is great if you have sensitive skin. Over time, you could start applying the retinol directly to your skin with no moisturizer. Another option is to apply your moisturizer first as a barrier to your face, and then apply your retinol on top of that.
Monitor Dryness
As you start using retinol and slowly increase how often you use it, you should monitor how dry and flaky your skin gets. That is often one of the side effects of retinol, especially in the first few weeks. As your skin acclimates to the treatment, you will notice the redness and flakiness decrease, which is a sign that you can increase the frequency of application if you so desire.
Give it Time
Some people can see a dramatic change in their skin the first time they use retinol, but for some it takes time. Retinol will give you great results over time, so don’t give up if you don’t see results in the first week, especially if you are introducing retinol into your routine gradually.
Product Compatibility
Exfoliating products like scrubs and AHA serums can be abrasive and irritating when used with retinol products. You should skip your retinol product on the day before you exfoliate. You should exfoliate a maximum of two to three times per week.
Some potent ingredients like hydroquinone should not be used with retinol.
Certain salon treatments like lasers, microneedling and microdermabrasion can also irritate, so you should take a break from your retinol before and after these treatments.
Be careful not to double up your retinol. Especially when you start using retinol, be sure that you only use one product containing retinol at a time.
Sun Protection
Always use sunscreen the morning after you use retinol. Your skin can be especially sensitive to sunlight, so it’s important to protect it.
Pregnancy
Pregnant women should use retinol with caution.
SUGGESTED ROUTINES
SuperEven Even Tone Moisturising Cream
Start using Even Tone Moisturising Cream only at night. Applying it to your face, neck and decolletage. Massage the cream into your skin as this is necessary to activate the microcapsules of retinol. If your skin becomes irritated, reduce to every second night and build up to every night. If your skin is tolerating the retinol, start using in the day time as well, making sure you use sunscreen.
SuperLift Face Lift Serum
Only use this product at night as it contains a high level of retinol. If you haven’t used retinol before, start by mixing a small amount with your Collagen Lift Moisturiser and only using three nights a week, building up to every night. If your skin is coping with this, you can apply the serum to clean dry skin, followed by Collagen Lift Moisturiser. Use on your face, neck and decolletage. Use sun protection the following morning.