If you are new to using retinol or have sensitive/dry skin, then it’s best to start your skincare regime gently with a low-strength retinyl palmitate. For other skin types and more regular users, retinol can be used, and after around a year of use higher strengths can be used. Don’t worry too much about using low-strength retinol though, as long-term use seems just as good as long-term use of higher strength retinoids.
As with all skincare products, make sure you read the instructions of your retinol carefully, but generally if it is in a cream then apply a thin layer at night to clean, dry skin (retinol is used at night as sunlight can reduce its effectiveness). If it’s a serum, apply the retinol as a pea-sized drop over your entire face, wait for 20-30 minutes for it to absorb, then use your usual moisturiser.
When starting with retinol, your skin will take a while to get used to it, so it’s usually best to only apply once in the first week, then twice a week for two weeks, then three times a week for three weeks. You should then be able to progress to using retinol every night long-term as part of your regular skincare routine. During this work-up time your skin might get a little dry, flaky and irritated, but this should settle in time.
To be safer, you may want to test the retinol on a small area of skin to start with (called a ‘test patch’). This way, if the retinol reacts badly with your skin, at least only a small area will react as opposed to your entire face!