All About Retinoids

Retinoids has been the talk of the town for quite sometime now. If you haven't heard of them before, Don't worry. You are at the right place now. In this post I will explain you all about what they are, types of retinoids, which one is right for whom, how to use them etc.,

Retinoids are your best friend when it comes to treating acne, hyper-pigmentation(dark marks, age spots etc) and age symptoms(enlarged pores, fine lines, wrinkles). They operate by raising your cellular turnover rate(Your cellular turnover rate slows as you get older , fluctuates with seasons etc.). A higher cellular turnover rate equates to skin that is brighter, fresher and younger looking.  

There are several types of Retinoids to pick from, some of which are over-the-counter (OTC) and others which requires a prescription. Retinyl esters, Retinol, Retinaldehyde, Adapalene, Tazarotene, Tretinoin and other Vitamin-A compounds are referred to as Retinoid.

Retinoid must be converted into their active form of retinoic acid before they can have any effect on your skin. Unlike Retinyl esters, Retinol and Retinal which must go through several conversion processes to reach this active metabolic state, Adapalene and Tretinoin are already in this condition.

 (Picture taken from skinchemy Instagram page. Do follow her for informative posts)

So, how can you figure out which retinoid is right for you?

It really depends on your skin type, skin condition and overall formulation. The closer a form of retinoid is to retinoic acid, the more potent it is and the more irritating it is. Choose the retinoid keeping that thing in mind. 

Difference between adapalene and tretinoin(both are prescription drugs):

Adapalene is definitely your best bet if you want to cure acne. Buidup of deadskin cells in pores is one of the main causes of acne and Adapalene appears to have the capacity to selectively target pimples and is less prone to irritate skin. Adapalene is frequently thought to be less effective than tretinoin. However, multiple studies have shown that, when it comes to treating acne, 0.1% adapalene is as effective as 0.025% and 0.1% tertinoin and is less irritating.

Tretinoin on the other hand, has a wealth of evidence to support its anti ageing properties. If you are looking to treat finelines, wrinkles or hyper-pigmentation then tretinoin is the gold standard

Difference between Retinol and Tretinoin:

Both are excellent ingredients for improving the signs of ageing, fighting acne and lightening pigmentation. If you have sensitive skin that is easily irritated, Retinol may be a better option for you because of the additional conversion steps it must go through. This means it is usually kinder on skin. In a study comparing the 2 retinoids, Retinol was discovered to induce less waterloss, redness and scaling than tretinoin.

If you want to see faster results, opt for tretinoin.

How to incorporate them in your routine!?

If you opt for prescription based drugs( adapalene/tretinoin), follow the guidance of your dermat. I will also provide you guys few pointers to help you get started .

1)Begin Slowly : If you are new to retinoids, start slowly and gradually build up tolerance. For eg: Use them 1x week for 2 weeks , 2x week for 2 weeks and  so on until your skin can withstand it on a daily basis and also use just pea size amount of product.

2) Use only at night: While adapalene is safe to take throughout the day, It may be more beneficial at night. Because your cellular turnover rate is higher and most cell renewal occurs overnight. Tretinoin is similarly best used at night, but you could use it during the day under sunscreen if you wanted to.

3)Apply a lot of moisturiser: Moisturiser is your best buddy when using retinoids! Tretinoin and a lesser extent adapalene are known to irritate the skin and weaken the barrier. Your skin barrier is damaged when the lipids that hold your skin cells together become depleted, allowing water to escape and irritants to enter. Using moisturizers with barrier identical lipids or ingredients that stimulate lipid production (like niacinamide) to replace these lipids will help keep your skin barrier healthy and prevent retinoid discomfort.

Best Moisturisers to use with retinoids are: We should look for barrier protecting moisturizers. Our skin barrier is mainly made up of ceramides, cholesterol, fatty acids. So choose any moisturizer with those 3 components in them . Addition of other hydrating ingredients like Hyaluronic acid, urea, glycerine, niacinamide, vaseline, snail mucin, centella asiatica etc would also be an added bonus. 

Skinceuticals triple lipid restore, Physiogel daily moisture therapy cream, La Roche Posay toleraine double repair face moisturizer, Dermalogica intensive moisture balance, La Roche posay cica baume B5, Cosrx balancium comfort ceramide cream, Avene skin recovery cream, Oryza skin repair and restore moisturizing lotion, The face shop Dr Belmeur daily repait ato salt cream, Ceradan skin barrier repair cream, Ceramol 311 face cream.

4)Dont apply to wet skin: Wet skin enhances the absorption and increases risk of irritation. So avoid applying product to wet skin.

5)Buffer : Buffering means applying retinoid after moisturizer. This method helps in preventing retinoid induced irritation . You can also try Sandwich strategy which involves applying moisturiser both before and after your retinoid. I personally love this method and will advice everyone who are new to retinoids to opt for this method.

6) Always wear sunscreen: Whichever retinoid you choose, its very important that you are wearing sunscreen everyday. In fact if you use a retinoid without using sunscreen everyday, you're causing more damage to your skin as retinoids make your skin more sensitive to sundamage

7) Avoid exfoliation and other actives for a bit : Ingredients like AHAs , BHAs, vitamin c work really well in combination with retinoids . But this can cause increased irritation.When you are initially starting out retinoid, better avoid actives for atleast the first month of retinoid therapy. After your skin has adjusted to your retinoid, consider reintroducing an exfoliator 1x per week to begin with and gradually increase to 3x per week if tolerated.

8) Take a break:  Take a break of atleast 2 weeks from retinoids when your skin is inflamed, red or flaky. Focus on re-hydrating and restoring your skin's barrier.

How to Layer:

👉Cleanse

👉Eye cream(Not mandatory.  But place a little barrier eye/lip cream to prevent seepage of retinoid into the orbital/lip area if you have sensitive eyes and are worried about dryness/flaking)

👉Retinoid (Ensure that the skin is dry before layering the retinoid to reduce risk of irritation.)

👉Treatments(if you have additional serums to tackle specific skin concerns)

👉Moisturise