Retinoids, or vitamin A, are one of the most important ingredients in one’s anti-aging arsenal.  Working to activate collagen production & exfoliate the skin by enhancing cellular turnover, Vitamin A dramatically reduces the appearance of winkles, sun damage and other signs of aging.

Up to this point, there have been predominantly 3 choices when it came to retinoids:

• Retinoic Acid (Tretinoin): The active form of vitamin A in the body, retinoic acid is available via prescription from a dermatologist and is really the gold-standard of retinoids.  Being the active form of the vitamin in the body though, retinoic acid has a tendency to over exfoliate, leaving the user with dry, flaky, sensitive skin.  Essentially, because you are putting the active form of the vitamin on your skin, the skin does not have the ability to turn off the exfoliation process, and over exfoliation is common.

• Retinol:  A non-prescription form of vitamin A that is 2 metabolic steps from the active form of retinoic acid.  While it is often less harsh than retinoic acid, being 2 metabolic steps away, it is not extremely bioavaiable, and provides more of a time released exfoliation process as the body slowly converts it to retinoic acid.

• Retinyl Palmitate:  Vitamin A with a palmitic acid attached to it.  This ingredient has come under heat in recent years because many sunscreen companies were putting it in their products as an antioxidant to counter the free radicals chemical sunscreens produce (learn more about the safety of sunscreens).  This was an absolute no-no as vitamin A, as with any exfoliant, leaves the skin temporarily more sensitive to the sun, and is clearly not a good ingredient to put into a sunscreen.  Besides this, it’s also not a very effective form of vitamin A, as it is 3 metabolic steps from retinoic acid, making it not very bioavailable.

Up steps Retinyl Retinoate, a revolutionary new form of vitamin A that consists of retinoic acid bonded with retinol.   When absorbed into the skin, retinoic acid and retinol molecules are immediately divided, making retinyl retinoate simply 1 metabolic step away from the active form of vitamin A.  The retinoic acid then delivers immediate exfoliation, while the retinol, still being 2 metabolic steps away from retinoic acid, provides a slow, time released exfoliation.

Retinyl retinoate appears to be as effective as prescription based retinoic acid (tretinoin) at reducing signs of aging, but without the irritation & skin sensitivity associated with tretinoin……oh yeah, and without that pricey trip to the dermatologist

In fact, studies by the Journal of Dermatology in 2010 and the International Journal of Dermatology in 2012 both found that retinyl retinoate produced less transdermal water loss (skin drying) and irritation than both retinoic acid and retinol.  In fact, retinyl retinoate was deemed more effective at hyaluronan production than any other retinoid (J Dermatol. 2010 May;37(5):448-54).  Hyaluronan, or hyaluronic acid, is one of the main components of the skin’s extracellular matrix and is responsible for that plumped up, hydrated look of youthful skin.  As we age, natural production of hyaluronic acid is reduced, leading to thinner, more wrinkle-prone skin.

A 2008 study by the Department of Biotechnology at Yonsei University in Korea found retinyl retinoate to be more effective than retinol at activating collagen production while also exhibiting increased stability (read study).

Retinyl retinoate is also not prone to oxidation as is often an issue with retinoids.

Find retinyl retinoate in our Vitamin A Serum