Unpopular Opinion: Not Everyone Needs a Retinol
Hi, it’s me, giving my unpopular opinion on retinol 🤭 Let me know what you think in the comments!
Retinol! It’s a skincare word we now hear so often and it seems like anyone and everyone is adding or wanting to add retinol to their skincare routine. Retinol products are interesting to me as an esthetician because while they can add benefit to your skincare routine it’s also possible for retinol and retinoid products to cause quite a bit of damage to your skin. So if you’re asking me if I think everyone needs retinol in their skincare routine…my answer is no.
What is retinol?
Retinol is a vitamin A-derived product that is made to help our skin cells turnover more quickly. You will usually see retinol in over-the-counter skin serums, as this product is meant to be applied to the skin topically. Retinol is a form of retinoid. A retinoid is a much more potent topical product that a dermatologist prescribes, usually to treat aging and/or acne.
scrub me secret: Because of the rapid cell turnover they cause, retinol and retinoid products have the ability to make skin red, flaky, and/or broken out and sensitive. This can happen from using the product too often, using a product that’s too strong for you, using other skincare products that don’t work well with retinol, or your skin just not tolerating the product well. Unfortunately, my skin does not tolerate these types of products at all so I do not use them.
Pros and cons of using a retinol product
Pros✅:
Helps to even skin tone and dark spotting caused by acne or breakouts.
Can help to reduce acne/the size of breakouts
Stimulates collagen and elastin for preventing aging
Can be helpful for making skin look/feel smoother
Cons❌:
Causes photosensitivity (a sensitivity to the sun)
Is known to cause irritation in many skin types
There is great possibility of over-exfoliating and damaging your skin’s barrier
Using retinol limits your other skincare and beauty treatments
Retinol cannot be used during pregnancy or breastfeeding
scrub me secret: unfortunately, my skin does not tolerate vitamin a products like retinol and retinoids. Even products with small dosages of retinol irritate and inflame my skin. Since my skin is so easily inflamed and thrown off balance I have found other ways to achieve my skincare goals.
Achieving your goals with or without retinol
Because of the reasons above, listed in the “con” section retinol is just not the best choice for some when aiming to achieve skincare goals. Below I’m listing common skincare goals and ways you can achieve your best skin WITH or WITHOUT a retinol product.
scrub me secret: I’ve been an esthetician for 13 years and even though retinol and retinoid products are not new in the beauty industry, there are always evolving products but vitamin A-based products have been around long before I even became an esthetician. I feel like in the past 2 years there has been a push for everyone to use retinol or retinoid products. In my opinion, I feel like this is a trend that might fade out in the future.
Preventing signs of aging:
How a retinol product could help:
Retinol increases cell turnover, helping your collagen and elastin proteins to stay alive and healthy. Collagen and elastin are what keep our skin’s tissues firm and wrinkle-free. Using a well-formulated retinol product in the correct way could help keep your skin firmer and smoother for longer.
How you can achieve this goal without retinol:
Red LED light therapy - To keep collagen and elastin healthy and keep the energy in our cells flowing a treatment using a red LED light therapy device is just what our skin needs. You can visit an esthetician or skin care technician to receive red LED therapy or you can purchase a device that you can use at home. I like LightStim, Hooga, and OmniLux devices.
Face massage - Face massage boosts circulation and creates oxygen flow in the skin. The flow of these nutrients enriches your skin cells and keeps your skin-firming proteins (collagen and elastin) alive for longer. When performed correctly, continual face massage using your hands, a gua sha stone, or other facial tools can lift your face and neck.
Vitamin C and AHA products - Vitamin C is my favorite antioxidant for skin care. A great vitamin C serum provides free radical fighting benefits that protect your skin against UV and environmental damage, thus preventing aging. A gentle AHA product like a lactic acid or fruit acid fluid creates cell turnover while also maintaining skin hydration. When used in the same routine, vitamin C and AHA provide really nice anti-aging benefits.
Daily SPF and other sun protection - Daily SPF and protecting your skin with brimmed hats, sun shields, and staying in the shade is very key for preserving the health of your skin.
Reducing acne:
How a retinol product could help:
By increasing cell turnover, retinol can help clear debris in pimples and cystic acne. It can help reduce the size of large whiteheads or persistent cystic pimples. Skin cycling retinol with other acne-fighting ingredients is common.
How you can achieve this goal without retinol:
Benzoyl peroxide products - Benzoyl peroxide is a bacteria-fighting ingredient that you can find in acne spot treatments, acne cleansers, and treatment lotions. Like retinol, benzoyl peroxide can sometimes cause some skin sensitivity so it’s best to use a product with 2% benzoyl peroxide or under and/or use the product only a few times a week. This ingredient can be super helpful for reducing whiteheads and cystic breakouts.
Salicylic and AHA products - A treatment fluid or mask with a blend of AHA and salicylic acid (BHA) had the ability to dissolve debris in breakouts while treating excess oils. These ingredients are great options for treating congested skin, excess blackheads, and breakouts.
Blue LED light therapy - Using a LED light therapy device that emits blue LED light will kill bacteria that is in the surface layers of your skin. A series of blue LED therapy treatments from a skincare technician or esthetician OR using a blue LED therapy light device at home can greatly help reduce breakouts and acne. I like LightStim, Hooga, and OmniLux devices.
Reducing dark spots or post-acne marks:
How a retinol product could help:
When caught in its early stages, a mark left from a pimple, scratch, UV, or other damage is not embedded in the deep layers of our skin. That means that if it’s a fairly new mark, there is a chance that the increased cell turnover from retinol will help lift and erase the mark from the skin. In other cases, where the damage is more stubborn retinol plus a niacinamide serum work well together to lift pigment caused by skin damage.
How you can achieve this goal without retinol:
Daily SPF - Daily SPF is very key for making sure the unwanted pigment marks on your skin do not get any darker. Even if you aren’t in the sun, there are still harmful rays that come from technical devices, through the clouds, and from other places we wouldn’t think about. Protecting our skin with an SPF 30 or above is really important.
Stop picking at your skin and/or popping blemishes - In my 13 years working as an esthetician I have seen this time and time again; a client who struggles with post-acne scarring and other pigmented marks on their face BUT they are picking at their skin on a daily or weekly basis. Once we address the picking problem and they make a change and a vow to not pick at their blemishes any longer the dark marks and scarring reduce so much if not go away completely.
Kojic acid-based products - This skincare ingredient works by inhibiting a certain enzyme in our skin that creates excess melanin. Kojic acid is a compound made from a few different fungi that come from the earth. Serums and facial treatment lotions with kojic acid work well for gradually lightening dark spots over time.
Vitamin C and niacinamide products - We really want the skin strengthening and protecting benefits that it can get from a vitamin C serum, to keep our skin from getting more dark spots and reduce the visibility of the ones we already have. Niacinamide (vitamin b3) has the ability to target and brighten unwanted browns, pinks, and yellow blemishes/markings on our skin. When used together in a skincare routine or in one blended serum these 2 ingredients can provide nice results for brightening unwanted pigment.
IPL (intense pulsed light therapy) therapy - Dark spots caused by the sun and pigment from scarring of the skin can sometimes be super stubborn. Intense pulsed light therapy is similar to laser treatment but more gentle on the skin which is what we want when trying to break down this stubborn pigment. A treatment like this must be performed by a professional dermatologist or laser technician. Your specialist will use a device that emits a single wave, broad spectrum light treatment that breakouts down pigment and purges it from your skin. These treatments do have downtime and are known to be a bit uncomfortable.
Reducing lines and wrinkles:
How a retinol product could help:
Once again, we have the cell turnover benefits that retinol gives to thank for the anti-aging effects of this ingredient! As we age, our cell turnover decreases, which means that we don’t have the soft, new, plump, and healthy skin cells we once use to. By helping cells turnover at a more rapid rate, retinol can pep up your plumpness and reduce lines and wrinkles.
How you can achieve this goal without retinol:
Face massage - Face massage is my FAVORITE anti-aging therapy. Because we have the ability to release tense and tight tissues while creating nutrients and blood flow with face massage its the perfect treatment for erasing fine lines and lifting the skin. Specifically, gua sha stones and textured facial rollers are excellent for targeting fine lines and wrinkles. You can learn some of these moves in my blog post “5 anti-aging gua sha moves you can add to your routine today”
Peptide serums - Peptides are the building blocks of our collagen and elastin. That means incorporating a well-formulated peptide cream or serum into your daily skincare routine can plump places in the skin that are showing signs of aging like lines, wrinkles, and sagging. The nice thing about products with peptides is they can usually be used daily or even twice daily with no irritation or skin sensitivity.
Microcurrent lifting - A microcurrent device uses a small current to stimulate and regenerate our skin’s tissues. You can think of it as giving your skin’s tissues a little workout. A microcurrent tool is used with a water-based gel and glides over the skin in upward, lifting motions. The combination of the stimulating current and the upward-lifting massage helps to firm and lift the skin and iron out fine lines. I really like the Foreo microcurrent and Nuface is also popular. You can also visit an esthetician or medspa for a microcurrent treatment.
Red LED light therapy - Just like I stated in the preventing aging section, red LED keeps collagen and elastin healthy and regenerates the energy in our cells. This can erase fine lines and lessen sagging and wrinkles over time. You can visit an esthetician or skin care technician to receive red LED therapy or you can purchase a device that you can use at home. I like LightStim, Hooga, and OmniLux devices.
scrub me secret: we can help both reduce signs of aging and prevent aging by making some changes or adding new things to our diet. Our skin is an alive organ, a part of our body, so it responds really well to things like drinking enough water, daily bone broth, and other wellness supplements.
I have a few more helpful blogs for you before you leave! If you are using a retinol, retinoid, or vitamin A product that you are happy with and/or excited about using, this “skin cycling” blog post would be a great read for you. If you feel like retinol and/or other vitamin A products just aren’t working for your skin, the “retinol alternatives” post is a must-read.
Comment and let me know, is retinol a yes or a no for your skin?