Will a retinol wrinkle cream really deliver? Will it get rid of wrinkles once and for all? Is it really a miracle cure, a fountain of youth, the end of wrinkles around the eyes and mouth? In our opinion, Retinol is a promising ingredient, but I think a more honest title for this post should have included “… and other promises we might or might not keep.”

Today’s post will be a fairly long one because we have a lot to discuss. Not only will we get to the bottom of the value of retinol wrinkle creams, which we first mentioned in our post on the best wrinkle creams, but we’ll make certain that (by the time you’re done reading) you understand why retinol has promise but may or may not be the right product for you.

What is Retinol?

Of course, none of this will make much sense if you don’t know what Retinol is or what it does, right? The scientific jargon is staggering and I know what our readers really care about is the cosmetic properties so I promise I’ll try to keep the science to a minimum. Having said that, there will be some science because you can’t really discuss a retinol cream or any anti aging skin cream containing retinol without a bit of science. Fair warning.

Retinol is a form of Vitamin A which is widely used in the medical and cosmetic industries for any number of things. Relevant to this article is its use in the treatment of everything from acne to aging skin, but Vitamin A in many forms is also important in vision and bone health. Retinol, specifically, is often the active ingredient found in gels and creams intended for topical application with the promise reduce wrinkles. Depending on dosage, products including retinol (or other retinoids) may be over-the-counter or prescription. Another form of retinoic acid is Tretinoin which is used by doctors and dermatologists in the treatment of acne and is available in some prescription anti aging creams. Remember it, because we’ll come back to it.

How does Retinol work?

Well actually, it doesn’t. WAIT! Don’t hit your back button! I’m not saying a retinol wrinkle cream won’t fight wrinkles. We just need to clarify the claim a bit. This is where some of that annoying science creeps in. See, vitamin A has a minimal biological effect. It is its biochemical derivatives in the form of retinoic acid that actually do the work. It’s a bit like saying that oil isn’t what gets you to work in the morning, it’s the car that does the work. But for the car to work, you have to have the oil, right? Make sense? Retinol (and other forms of Vitamin A) is converted to retinoic acid by skin cells.

Now retinoic acid very much DOES work at promoting healthy cells and the cosmetic industry would very much like you to run out and buy products containing Retinol because it has also shown promise in the rejuvenation of elastin and collagen. Avoiding the science as much as possible, suffice to say that elastin is what gives your skin its elasticity and collagen serves a “stiffer” purpose. The two working in concert are what gives those annoying young people such beautifully smooth skin while the deterioration of collagen and elastin results in wrinkles in those of us who are on the wrong side of over-the-hill.

So why is that information about retinoic acid important? Because in order to get to retinoic acid, (the real wrinkle fighter) retinol has to be metabolized or converted. In the cosmetics world, you’ll find you aren’t just limited to Retinol. Other highly prized wrinkle-fighting ingredients include Retinyl palmitate and Retinaldehyde. Collectively known as Retinoids, all of them follow the same rule - they (in and of themselves) don’t do the real anti-wrinkle magic but must first be converted to retinoic acid by your cells.

Why is all that Retinol information important?

It’s important for you to know that different forms of vitamin A (and retinoids) require varying amounts of work to become retinoic acid (our ultimate goal). SmartSkinCare.com does a great job of illustrating this. Depending on which active ingredient you start with, it requires more or less effort for your cells to give you the results you want. Their metabolic pathway chart looks something like this:

Retinyl Palmitate -> Retinol -> Retinaldehyde -> Retinoic acid

From the example above you can see that if you’re starting with Retinyl Palmitate, you have to undergo three steps to convert your active ingredient into what you really want (retinoic acid) to get the job done. If you’re using a retinol wrinkle cream, the active ingredient must go through 2 steps to metabolize to retinoic acid. What that means to you as a consumer is that larger dosages of the active ingredient are required the further left you start on that pathway. For a given quantity of Retinol, you’d need even more Retinyl Palmitate to get the job done.

You may now be wondering if you can’t get better results by skipping further to the right on the list and just buying an anti-wrinkle cream with Retinaldehyde or, better yet, cutting out the middle man entirely and just slapping some retinoic acid-containing cream directly on your skin. Well, yes you can. Retinaldehyde, however, will up the price of your product substantially. As for skipping right to retinoic acid, I asked you to remember the term Tretinoin back on the first page. If you read that sentence carefully you’ll note that I stated “…another form of retinoic acid…” We hadn’t begun discussing retinoic acid yet, but it should make a bit more sense to you now. Tretinoin is that direct approach and, yes, you can buy tretinoin cream and avoid all that pesky metabolizing (to a degree) entirely. What’s the downside? You’ll need a prescription to get a skin care product with Tretinoin in it and it is even more likely to irritate sensitive skin than the previous versions of Vitamin A we’ve been discussing.

What’s important to you as a consumer is to know that the simple presence of Retinyl Palmitate or Retinol in an ingredient list isn’t enough to tell you that the product will work at delivering on its wrinkle fighting promise. While higher concentrations of these active ingredients may do a better job, they come with a downside. Specifically, those with sensitive skin may not be able to tolerate high dosages of topically applied RP or Retinol creams as they can cause skin irritation.

Expanding on Retinol

I provided an example chart from SmartSkinCare that indicates where retinol stands relative to other retinoids as far as work required to metabolize is concerned, but I want to expand on what they explain a bit. Not only does their chart accurately reflect the metabolic pathway of various retinoids towards retinoic acid, it also can be directly applied to effectiveness, potential skin irritation and expense with no real modification. In other words:

Assuming comparable dosage -Retinyl Palmitate is less effective than Retinol. Retinol is less effective than retinaldehyde. Retinaldehyde is less effective than retinoic acid.

Assuming comparable dosage -Retinyl Palmitate is less irritating than Retinol. Retinol is less effective than retinaldehyde. Retinaldehyde is less effective than retinoic acid.

Assuming comparable dosage -Products containing Retinyl Palmitate should be less expenseive than retinol. Retinol is less expensive than retinaldehyde. Retinaldehyde is less expensive than retinoic acid.

Ok, great, but does retinol work?

That does seem to be the case. The truth of the matter is that claims regarding retinol’s ability to reverse skin damage and eliminate wrinkles should be taken with a grain of salt. Retinol is not a prescription level ingredient. That means that cosmetics that include retinol do not undergo the same kind of scrutiny or medical review as a prescription product (a drug) that contains retinoic acid (such as tretinoin).

Also, as mentioned, dosage is relevant. Just because a product contains retinol does not mean it contains it in sufficient dosage to be effective. Compounding that is the fact that different people metabolize retinoids at different rates. An adequate amount of retinol in a product for me may not be sufficient (in terms of wrinkle reducing results) for you. Your ideal anti aging cream may need to be something very different.

Over-the-counter wrinkle creams that promise you results should be carefully researched. Read consumer reviews and be prepared to experiment. It may take several attempts (each potentially requiring several months of use) to find the product best suited for you. Having said all of that, even some doctors are beginning to admit that there do appear to be legitimate benefits associated with retinol and other non-prescription creams available. But it should be noted that even those who are coming around (much to the cosmetic industry’s delight) will generally add on the sentence - “but there hasn’t been adequate clinical review to substantiate that.” In other words, much of the “evidence” for the effectiveness of non-prescription retinol wrinkle creams is anecdotal and hasn’t been clinically substantiated.

If you have the time and patience to invest in testing one retinol wrinkle cream after another to find the one that offers you the best combination of results relative to expense and skin sensitivity then there may well be a product out there that can take a few years off your face. If you want to improve your odds, your doctor is likely your best source for a more powerful tretinoin cream with medically proven results.

Thanks for reading!

-D