Using Retinol in Your 20s: Is It Right or Not?

The market is packed with abundant choices of trendy skincare ingredients and products. But retinol (vitamin A) is one product that constantly tops the list as its derivative (retinoic acid)has numerous actions,such as speeding cell turnover, regulating oil levels, promoting healthy blood cells, increasing collagen stimulation, reducing dermal thickness, and much more. Retinol benefits are so numerous that we recommend including it in your essential skin care routine.

There are many skin benefits from the actions of retinoic acid, including minimizing fine lines, wrinkles, redness, and pore size, reducing inflammation and dark spots, and improving acne. Retinol promotes youthfulness and skin firmness through its positive effects on collagen. Because a lot of retinol benefits are in relation to aging skin, many women in their 20s have doubts about using retinol. Do they need it when they’re not yet worrying about fine lines and wrinkles, or hyperpigmentation?

The short answer is yes! Retinol is of great value for this age-group too, whether regulating oil production and improving acne, or reversing sun damage before it causes long-term effects. Even though you may not be thinking about how your skin will look 20, 30 or even 40 years from now, if you can get in the habit to care for it properly in your 20s, your older self will thank you for it! That’s why we recommend using a retinol product from a young age, and include it as one of the three essential A, B, C vitamins in your daily skin care routine.Here are some amazing benefits that retinol delivers when you start using it in your 20s.

Retinol benefits in your 20s

• When you enter your mid-20s, collagen starts decreasing. Collagen is the framework of our skin that provides its structure and firmness. Retinol results in increased production of collagen and overall smoother skin. So, it’s a great idea to use retinol during this phase of your life. This is the best time to start being proactive about your wrinkles and fine lines.
• Retinol takes some time to start showing the results. The earlier you start, the better your results are likely to be—as you reverse existing sun damage and help prevent further damage. This may be why many dermatologists recommend starting an effective retinol product in your 20s as a preventive anti-aging measure.
• Starting a retinol product in your 20s means that your skin is well supported against the effects of aging, so the transition from young-looking skin to aging skin is less obvious.
• Unfortunately acne doesn’t just disappear the moment you hit your 20s! Two important factors that contribute to acne are over production of oil from the skin’s sebaceous glands and excessive skin cell turnover. Fortunately, retinol regulates both oil production and cell turnover, which is why it’s such an important element in treating acne.

Hopefully, you’re now convinced that you should be using retinol in your skin care routine on a daily basis. Now you need to make sure that you get your hands on the best retinol product from a reputable manufacturer like Synergie Skin. Synergie is a leading manufacturer of certified cruelty-free, cosmeceutical skin care products that are formulated using Dr. Terri Vinson’s Clean Science principle.

How to make most of your retinol skin care treatment?

1. Use the best product and recommended dosage

Not all retinoid products are created equal! Learn about the different type of retinoid (for example, retinal, retinoic acid, retinyl palmitate) but we recommend using retinol itself—as long as the retinol is encapsulated to protect both it and you. (See why in this post.) Retinol serum should always be sold in dark bottles, because the molecule is sensitive to sunlight.

Rovisome™ is a stabilized retinol that’s ‘wrapped’ in a lipid layer, which protects it from being broken down by exposure to oxygen and helps it penetrate deeper into the skin to its target receptors (without activating other receptors on the way and causing side effects such as redness and flaking often associated with retinoid use). This more tolerable form of retinol is the main ingredient in Synergie’s Ultimate A retinol serum, making it ideal for all skin types (including sensitive skin). and contains Rovisome™, which is a stable and potent form of retinol. Another key ingredient in Ultimate A serum is Hamamelis Virginiana (witch hazel) Twig Extract, which is a natural astringent and anti-inflammatory that stabilizes the barrier function of the skin and improves its hydration.

If you’re looking for the ‘next step’ retinoid product after using Ultimate A for at least 3-6 months, then Synergie’s new Acceler-A retinoid serum is what you need. This potent serum is formulated with Synergie’s proprietary RetiGen™ Complex, combining HPR (the closest available to prescription retinoids), CoQ₁₀and green tea for even more powerful retinol effects as well as increased antioxidant and anti-aging benefits.

If you have a medspa nearby that stocks Synergie Practitioner products, then A+ serum is formulated with RetiGen and folic acid for even more benefits.

Whichever retinoid you’re using, remember these ‘rules’:

1. Use your retinol serum at night (as sunlight reduces its effectiveness).
2. Don’t combine retinol with vitamin C products or acid-containing exfoliators. They ‘destroy’ the retinol, making it ineffective.
3. Don’t use a retinoid if you’re pregnant or breast-feeding.
4. Follow the instructions for use carefully; if you’re concerned about using them, seek the advice of your skin care professional.

2. Use other vitamins and a moisturizer

The best skin care routine—even if you’re in your 20s—includes a couple of other essential vitamins too. We recommend using vitamins B and C too, for their additional benefits, such as increasing ceramides, antioxidant roles and more. It’s also important for best results, to use retinol with a moisturizer. While retinol benefits are multitude, they do not include ‘increased hydration’ or ‘prevention of trans-epidermal water loss’. For that we advise using a moisturizer selected for your particular skin concerns. An active moisturizer (that includes extra ingredients in addition to moisturizing ones) adds to the synergistic effects of retinol use.

3. Protect your skin

Always use sunscreen! While studies have shown that use of retinoids does not make your skin more susceptible to sun burn¹, there is a school of thought that retinols’ effect of regulating cell turnover produces newer, more fragile skin. What’s more, sunlight does cause more of the damage that retinol is used to prevent—so help it out by using sunblock! We recommend using a broad-spectrum physical sunscreen on a daily basis, but it’s even more critical to do so when you’re using a retinoid serum. For help on choosing a sunscreen, see this article.

Conclusion

Hopefully our list of retinol benefits has demonstrated that it’s is an effective and essential ingredient in askin care routine, and one that should be started in your 20s. The early signs of skin damage due to the effects of sunlight are apparent even then. If you wait to begin repairing your skin in later decades, it may become harder to address your skin concerns. If you want to buy an effective retinol product, check the essential serum section on our website.

Sources:

1. Smit JV, de Jong EM, de Jongh GJ, van de Kerkhof PC. Topical All-Trans Retinoic Acid Does Not Influence Minimal Erythema Doses for UVB Light in Normal Skin. Acta Derm Venereol Jan-Feb 2000;80(1):66-7.