Two products that are name-checked across Beauty Secrets videos and get-ready-with-me routines alike: retinol and tretinoin.
While both retinoids appear similar at first glance (they both address pretty much the same most pressing anti-aging and acne skin concerns), there’s a difference between the two. Before you decide to incorporate a retinoid into your routine, consider reading our expert-sourced guide first.
What’s the difference?
The main difference between retinol and tretinoin is the potency. New York City-based board-certified dermatologist Hadley King, MD, explains that all retinoids work by converting to retinoic acid, the active that affects our skin cells. Retinol, she says, requires two conversion steps before turning into retinoic acid, whereas tretinoin is already an active form of retinoic acid and doesn’t need those extra conversion steps. This makes tretinoin the more powerful ingredient between the two.
And because tretinoin is much stronger than retinol, you can only get it through a prescription. Helen He, MD, director of lasers and cosmetic surgery and co-director of the Mount Sinai-Clinique Healthy Skin Dermatology Center, explains that retinol is less potent and can be found in many over-the-counter products.
When to Use Tretinoin
Tretinoin, which promotes skin cell turnover, is best known for treating those pesky breakouts. But it also boosts collagen production and improves the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, uneven pigmentation, texture, and skin quality. “Out of all topical active ingredients, tretinoin has the strongest level of evidence supporting its benefit for both acne and photoaging,” says Dr. He.
It also comes in two formats, either a cream or a pill. As a topical cream, it’s pretty easy to integrate into a routine, but dermatologists across the board have one piece of advice: “The key is to start slowly and gradually build tolerance,” says Dr. King. She recommends applying tretinoin at night, starting at two to three nights per week and increasing your frequency as tolerated from there.
You’ll want to use just a pea-sized amount for your entire face after you cleanse. Then you’ll want to make sure you lock it in with a moisturizer after, which Dr. He says is a critical step in protecting the skin barrier and reducing irritation. She recommends looking for moisturizers with ingredients like ceramides, glycerin, dimethicone, and panthenol for skin barrier protection and ingredients like centella asiatica to calm any irritation.
You can also consider the “sandwich method” of layering moisturizer, then tretinoin, and locking it in with another layer of moisturizer, she says, or even just mixing it in your moisturizer to help offset any negative side effects.
