Whether it’s synthetic or plant-based, there’s no escaping retinol this autumn! This active ingredient is omnipresent in new anti-ageing face care products.
Synthetic retinol better tolerated and well supported!
In Korea, it has been certified as a therapeutic anti-wrinkle treatment, and Asians have played a big part in its phenomenal success!
As we all know, retinol is a benchmark anti-wrinkle molecule in dermatology, acclaimed for its anti-ageing action, linked in particular to the stimulation of collagen, but it can be drying and irritating.
Teratogenic, retinol is banned for pregnant women, is restricted to use at night, and is used gradually (twice a week for the first week, every other evening for the second, every evening for the third if it is well tolerated). Although, according to Institut Esthederm, the latest studies show no photosensitisation, by reducing the thickness of the corneal layer, it increases the skin’s sensitivity to UV rays and makes it necessary to wear at least SPF 30 in the morning.
With vitamin A, of which retinol is one of the main forms, only one parameter matters: the right dose. In excess, it can cause side effects (heating, redness, irritation, pruritus, flaking, risk of skin sensitisation, etc.).
Vitamin A “excites” pain-sensitive receptors (nocoreceptors) such as TRPV1, the receptor that goes on alert when… chilli pepper!
And yet the skin has …