Is Your Retinol Cream Effective?

What to Look for in a Quality Retinol Cream

As we age our skin loses more and more elasticity and succumbs to the burdens of environmental stress, causing wrinkles, dark spots and loose skin. Just as we eat food high in antioxidants to help protect our body from the damage caused by free radicals, we can do the same for our skin. Retinol helps neutralize free radicals while promoting the production of Collagen to counteract the effects of aging on the skin, giving the skin a smoother appearance, evening out pigmentation and providing deeper moisturization. However, using Retinol that is standardized to higher than 1% is not recommended as it can cause peeling, redness and potentially permanently damage your skin.

There are a few main ingredients to look out for in a high-quality Retinol moisturizing cream. They are:

1. Retinol standardized to 1%. This is the ideal percentage for optimal skin benefits, as it is potent enough to be effective (as based on clinical studies), but not too concetrated that it will aggravate the skin.
2. Hyaluronic Acid standardized to 5% works synergistically with Retinol, complementing its features as it saturates the skin cells with moisture, preventing them from drying out. It provides a protective barrier to lock moisture in for a smoother looking appearance.
3. Soluble Collagen standardized to 5% absorbs into the layers of the skin, boosting Collagen production for a smoother-looking appearance. Look out for Marine Collagen for optimal absorption.
4. Jojoba Oil is a vital addition to a Retinol cream to help combat dryness and encourage hydration.

What Are The Benefits Of Using A Retinol Cream?

A daily skincare routine is key to keeping your skin in mint condition and should ultimately include thorough cleanse, tone, hydrate and protect steps. There are key ingredients that have been shown to be effective in nourishing, repairing and rejuvenating your skin to retain a healthy, youthful glow. Find products that make maintenance easy because skincare should not be a chore.

Retinol creams can benefit the skin in multiple ways. With the right formula, Retinol can help boost Collagen production, retain elasticity, smooth out wrinkles and create an exfoliating effect to revitalize skin cells. It should also provide a protective layer of moisture to protect the skin against the potentially harmful free radicals caused by environmental stress.

Why Are Some Retinol Creams More Effective Than Others?

Unfortunately, many Retinol creams claim to slow down the signs of aging and banish wrinkles, but there isn't sufficient evidence to show that they work.

Although many active ingredients used to formulate anti-aging Retinol cream products are safe and effective, the key is finding the right ingredients that are backed by science and in the right potency, that works well for your skin type.

Retinol that is standardized to 1% strength has been shown to be the most effective without causing unwanted skin damage. Unfortunately, many companies believe that more is better and choose to use a stronger Retinol standardized to 2% or even more. Additionally, they refrain from adding integral supportive ingredients such as Jojoba oil, Mmarine Collagen and Hyaluronic Acid that not only complement Retinol, but work synergistically to provide crucial nourishment and moisturization for a smoother and healthier looking appearance.

You should also look out for ingredients that have been scientifically tested and proven to bring great results. This information should be clearly available on a product's website or label, so be sure to take the time to look.

So, how do you know which product to buy and which one will get you the results you are looking for? To save you the time and effort, we did the research for you!

What Did We Research?

With hundreds of manufacturers out there, we wanted to figure out what to look for and how to overcome our concerns regarding skincare products. We started the process by making a list of the main concerns we have over buying a good Retinol cream.

• It’s not going to be effective. The truth is, there are a lot of products that don’t work at all. Typically, this is because they don’t contain the right ingredients or the right proportions. A lot of interested consumers don’t realize how exact a science creating an effective Retinol cream really is.
• It’s going to be too expensive to afford. As we conducted our research, we found that a lot of companies sell Retinol creams for $100 or more! Who wants to risk that kind of money on what could just be snake oil salesmanship?
• The company I buy from might just be exploiting another fad. How can you tell when a manufacturer is just trying to cash in on the latest skincare trend? Most of those companies are all gimmick and no substance. How do you know that the company you choose to buy from is giving you the real deal? The company behind the product is almost as important as the actual Retinol cream, so you need to check the details carefully.

Finding High-Quality Retinol Creams

How can you identify legitimate products through all the noise? There are a few key factors to look for that can all but guarantee the product is genuine.

1. Third Party Monitoring: Independent monitoring companies track each company’s reputation and customer satisfaction. One of the most important qualities for a supplement manufacturer is their reputation. Look for a company with a solid reputation backed by third party monitoring.
2. Risk Free Money Back Guarantee: Go with a company that guarantees their product and offers your money back if you aren’t satisfied. If the company is not willing to put their money where their mouth is, that means they don’t believe in their own product.
3. Third Party Testing: Different from third party monitoring, third-party testing verifies the quality of each company’s products. Third party testing is really expensive for manufacturers, since it can actually disqualify entire shipments of skincare products. But when companies don’t have independent quality control, there is no guarantee that their products are what they claim to be.

Our Research on Retinol Creams

Your time and money is valuable and we don’t want you to waste either one. So, we did the research on most of the top Retinol creams available.

We studied each product to determine which consistently had not only the right ingredients, but also the right proportions. We disqualified the ones with skin irritants and dangerous chemicals.

But we didn’t stop there. After all, numbers and percentages are only part of the story. We went on to seek out real customers who had used the products we examined. We asked them for testimonials and compared them with our notes, and then compiled this information to give you a list of the best products on the market.

What Our Research Uncovered

A good Retinol cream should contain Retinol standardized to 1%. Any amount stronger than 1% can cause peeling, dried skin and has a higher risk of causing sun damage. A standardization of 1% Retinol has been found to be effective and safe. Moreover Retinol should be combined with crucial supportive ingredients such as Jojoba oil, marine soluble Collagen and Hyaluronic acid to boost Collagen production, plump up skin for a smoother-looking appearance and retain moisture to prevent dryness. In addition, look for active ingredients that have the optimal standardization and have no added parabens, GMOs, hormones or phthalates.

Most brands did not pass the above criteria.

Some of the skincare brands included active ingredients, but they had much less than what was used in the clinical studies. Other companies filled their creams with cheap, synthetic and harmful ingredients which could potentially irritate the skin or cause cellular damage. Almost all of them avoided quality control testing.

The brands we did pick, we stand by. We are confident that using these recommended Retinol creams will give you the plump, youthful-looking skin that you are yearning for, free from wrinkles, fine lines, dark circles and puffiness.

Our Retinol Cream Top Pick

We are thrilled about our Top Pick and we think you’ll agree. Agelyss has a solid reputation, a high-quality product (moisturizing, rejuvenating 1% Retinol cream with over 10% active ingredients), third party monitoring and testing. It also has an outstanding return policy and stands by its products.