My Experience with Retinol

For those of you who don't know much about Retinol, here is a quick read outlining how to use it, the benefits, etc. Long story short, it turns your skin over very quickly and helps with collagen production. I've wanted to try Retinol out for a while, but was hesitant because of my rosacea. I decided about a month into quarantine that I would order it and give it a shot, because if my skin went downhill no one would see me anyway!

Let me start by saying this did not flare up my rosacea. I started out slow, using the Retinol only once, letting my skin relax a few days and then trying it again a few days later. I did that for about two weeks just to get my skin used to it. Once I was comfortable enough, I started using it a few nights a week. I try to plan it with the weather, which might sound weird, but it makes sense. Since your skin is turning over so fast with Retinol, it's SUPER important to be wearing sunblock because your skin is super sensitive to the sun at this point. I wear sunblock on my face everyday, but I try to do my Retinol the night before a day that is going to be chilly or cloudy because I know I won't have as much sun exposure as a day that is warm and sunny.

The more I used it the better results I began to see. My skin texture changed almost immediately. It was softer than ever. I also noticed that my pores were looking smaller and smaller and any little sunspots I had on my face started to fade. My overall complexion, evenness and texture was improving and I was so happy! THEN I started to notice these quick little breakouts happening on my chin. I thought I was having a reaction to the Retinol, but I read that since my skin is turning over so fast, it's purging any impurities that were under my skin. The article I read said when you get to the point that you're using it frequently enough, you may experience something like this for about two weeks. I think it's safe to say I am almost at the end of the purge. Not that it was bad, but I guess since I was using it so often one week it really brought everything out. Now my skin looks even smoother than before.

Overall I highly recommend using a Retinol, but only if you're going to be smart and wear sunblock. There's no point in using this if you're not going to take care of your skin with a good skincare routine and sunblock. At that point, it's just counterintuitive to turnover your skin with Retinol just to damage it even more. I bought The Ordinary Retinol .5% in Squalane and use it three to four nights week and apply the Supergoop Sunscreen every morning!