Retinol

Retinol is the alcohol form of vitamin A and the most-studied retinoid you can buy without a prescription. In skin it is converted, in two steps, to retinoic acid, the form that actually binds nuclear receptors and changes gene expression.

The evidence

In a 24-week, randomised, vehicle-controlled trial in older adults, 0.4 % retinol applied three times weekly significantly improved fine wrinkles and increased glycosaminoglycan and procollagen expression[1]. A later head-to-head found 0.4 % retinol drove similar histological and clinical changes to 0.025 % retinoic acid, with less irritation[2].

The regulatory shift

Since 2024 the EU limits retinol, retinyl acetate and retinyl palmitate to 0.3 % retinol equivalent in face and hand products and 0.05 % in body lotions, with a label warning about total vitamin A intake[3]. The cap follows an SCCS opinion concerned less with skin safety than with cumulative dietary exposure[4]. It has quietly reshaped what "high-strength" means on European shelves.

Using it

Start low, use at night, and expect a few weeks of dryness. niacinamideNiacinamideStrongNiacinamide · Vitamin B3 amideWater-soluble B3 with strong evidence for barrier, tone and sebum; among the most studied topical actives.Open in the Index → and ceramide NPCeramide NPModerateCeramide NP · Sphingolipid (non-hydroxy fatty acid, phytosphingosine)The most abundant ceramide class in the stratum corneum; topical replacement improves barrier in controlled trials.Open in the Index → make that period easier; benzoyl peroxideBenzoyl peroxideStrongBenzoyl Peroxide · Organic peroxideFirst-line acne antimicrobial with no resistance problem; 2.5 % works as well as 10 % with less irritation.Open in the Index → should be kept to a different time of day because it oxidises retinol.