Retinoids are the vitamin A family of skincare ingredients. At the University of Michigan, Reza Kafi, Sewon Kang and colleagues put a 0.4% retinol lotion on one arm of 36 people with a mean age of 87 and a plain lotion on the other, up to three times a week. After 24 weeks, fine wrinkling improved on the retinol arm and barely moved on the other, and biopsies from a small subgroup showed more procollagen on the treated side.
The results took 24 weeks, and the first few weeks of any retinoid bring dryness and flaking. Start in the fall. UV is lower, so the sun sensitivity a retinoid adds matters less, and an October start puts the six-month mark in April, before summer.
Skip this if you are pregnant, trying to get pregnant or breastfeeding, and ask your doctor instead: Differin's own label tells you to. If you have eczema or rosacea, or want prescription tretinoin, see a dermatologist first. For everyone else, the four picks below cover a first retinol, a retinol with niacinamide for marks, a step up to retinal, and the over-the-counter drug for acne. You need one of them. If your skin stings from the dry air already, fix that first with the lipid creams in our fall barrier guide.
COSRX The Retinol 0.1 Cream
0.1% retinol · tocotrienol + panthenol · 0.67 fl oz · COSRX store · 4.4 stars, 3,520 reviews · ~$22
COSRX made this cream for people who have never used a retinoid, with 0.1% retinol in a cream base with vitamin E and panthenol. It ships from Amazon for COSRX's own store, and 3,520 buyers rate it 4.4 stars.
- 0.1% retinol, a quarter of the dose in the Michigan study
- COSRX makes a 0.3% version for when this one stops causing any flaking
- Sold by COSRX and shipped by Amazon
- The Amazon listing shows no ingredient list, so you have to trust COSRX's summary
- 0.67 fluid ounces is small
- The listing title calls it an eye and neck cream, and it is the face cream
Buy this if you have never used a retinoid and your skin reacts to new products. COSRX describes it as an irritation-reduced formula for first-time users with early fine lines from dry skin, and sets it at 0.1% retinol, the lowest concentration on this page.
You want a dose you can keep using three or four nights a week. Put a pea-size amount across your whole face after cleansing, on dry skin, and keep it away from the corners of your nose and eyes, where skin peels first.
After a few months with no flaking, move to COSRX's The Retinol 0.3 Cream, the same texture at three times the dose.
Anua Retinol Serum
0.3% retinol + 5% niacinamide · 1.01 fl oz · Anua store · 4.6 stars, 1,006 reviews · ~$24
Anua's serum pairs 0.3% retinol with 5% niacinamide, both figures from Anua, and Anua aims it at fine lines and the dark marks a breakout leaves behind. Anua sells it directly, and 1,006 buyers rate it 4.6 stars.
- Prints the niacinamide dose, 5%, in the ingredient list
- Three times the retinol of Pick I, for skin that has already handled a retinoid
- A serum you can layer under any moisturizer
- Sold by Anua and shipped by Amazon
- Anua calls it fragrance-free, and the ingredient list still carries lavender and chamomile among twenty-plus plant extracts
- The 0.3% retinol figure comes from Anua's bullets
Buy this if marks and uneven tone bother you as much as fine lines. Anua pitches it at dark spots and post-breakout marks, and the 5% niacinamide sits near the top of the ingredient list.
The retinol dose, 0.3%, is Anua's figure, as are the ceramide and centella it cites for keeping skin calm. The ingredient list also carries lavender, chamomile, tea tree and arnica extracts. If botanical extracts have bothered you before, start with Pick I.
Anua tells beginners to start two to three nights a week and build up, which matches the plan in the guide below.
celimax The Vita A Retinal Shot Tightening Booster
0.1% retinal + Matrixyl 3000 · 0.51 fl oz · celimax official · 4.4 stars, 26,635 reviews · ~$18
celimax uses 0.1% retinal, the form your skin makes from retinol on the way to retinoic acid, with the peptide blend Matrixyl 3000. It has 26,635 ratings at 4.4 stars, the most of any retinoid serum we checked.
- Retinal ranked above retinol for biologic activity in the Geneva study
- 0.1% matches a concentration that study found well tolerated on the face for up to three years
- The largest review base of any pick here
- Sold by celimax official and shipped by Amazon
- celimax warns it can tint your skin yellow until you wash it off
- The Amazon listing shows no ingredient list
- The pore-penetrating micro-particle claims are celimax's own
- 0.51 fluid ounces, the smallest bottle here
Buy this once a low-dose retinol stops doing anything you can see, or skip straight to it if your skin tolerates actives well. Your skin converts retinol to retinal and retinal to retinoic acid, the form that does the work, so retinal starts one step closer.
Jean-Hilaire Saurat's group at the University Hospital of Geneva measured this in 1994. Ranked by how strongly each one switched on a retinoid-response protein in skin, retinoic acid came first, retinaldehyde second, and retinol behind both. In the same paper, 0.1% and 0.05% retinaldehyde on the face were well tolerated by patients using it for up to three years.
celimax's directions: every other night for the first two weeks, a small amount, nights only, and a niacinamide moisturizer afterward. Expect a yellow tint on your skin until the morning wash; celimax says it rinses off.
Differin Adapalene Gel 0.1%
Adapalene 0.1% · 15 g tube · Galderma · sold by Amazon · 4.5 stars, 71,767 reviews · ~$12.97
Differin is the one pick here the FDA regulates as a drug. Adapalene 0.1% used to need a prescription, and the FDA approved it for over-the-counter sale in July 2016. Galderma makes it, Amazon sells it, and 71,767 buyers rate it 4.5 stars.
- The only pick with an FDA Drug Facts label and an approved use: acne
- Water-based gel, oil-free and fragrance-free per Galderma
- The cheapest pick, sold by Amazon itself
- 71,767 ratings, far more than anything else here
- Built for acne, and the label makes no claim about fine lines
- The label warns acne may look worse in the first weeks
- A gel with no moisturizing base, so dry skin needs a cream on top
Buy this if breakouts and clogged pores are the reason you want a retinoid. Adapalene is a synthetic retinoid, and the Drug Facts label spells out the dose: once a day, a thin layer over the whole area, not just the spots.
The label says irritation is most likely in the first few weeks, acne may look worse before it improves, and it can take up to three months of daily use to see results. Galderma cites up to an 87% reduction in breakouts after 12 weeks in its own clinical study.
The label's other warnings: limit sun exposure, don't wax where you apply it, don't use it on eczema or sunburned skin, and ask a doctor first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
The numbers.
| COSRX 0.1 | Anua | celimax | Differin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retinoid | Retinol 0.1% | Retinol 0.3% | Retinal 0.1% | Adapalene 0.1% |
| Best for | First retinoid | Lines + marks | Next step | Acne |
| Format | Cream | Serum | Serum | Gel |
| Size | 0.67 fl oz | 1.01 fl oz | 0.51 fl oz | 15 g |
| Rating | 4.4 stars | 4.6 stars | 4.4 stars | 4.5 stars |
| Reviews | 3,520 | 1,006 | 26,635 | 71,767 |
| Street price | ~$22 | ~$24 | ~$18 | ~$12.97 |
Other strong options.
PURITO Retinol 0.1% + Retinal 0.1% Serum
Purito prints both doses in its ingredient list, 1,000 ppm retinol and 1,000 ppm retinal, in a two-layer serum you shake before use. It costs $17.99 from Purito's store and rates 4.5 stars across 767 reviews. The list also carries niacinamide, ceramide NP and adenosine. Pick it over celimax if you want to see the numbers on the label.
View on Amazon →COSRX The Retinol 0.5 Oil
COSRX's stronger step: 0.5% retinol in squalane, $21.50 from COSRX, 4.5 stars across 3,169 reviews. The ingredient list is ten items long, with squalane first and no fragrance or plant extracts. COSRX says it suits skin already used to retinol, and tells you to start three nights a week. Keep it for your second bottle.
View on Amazon →ISNTREE Hyper Retinol EX 1.0 Serum
Isntree's 1.0 is a blend: 0.1% retinol, 0.3% retinyl palmitate and 0.6% bakuchiol, with peptides and ceramides, all figures from Isntree. It costs $15.40 from Isntree's store. The 141 reviews make it the least tested pick on the page, and retinyl palmitate is a weaker form than retinol, so treat it as a gentle option for dry skin.
View on Amazon →Beauty of Joseon Revive Eye Serum
Keep most retinoids away from your eyes. This one is made for the eye area: $16.59 from Beauty of Joseon's store, 4.3 stars across 21,194 reviews. Retinal sits near the end of its ingredient list, after ginseng root extract, niacinamide and adenosine, so read it as a gentle eye serum with a trace of retinal.
View on Amazon →The buying guide.
Retinol, retinal and adapalene
Your skin acts on one molecule, retinoic acid. Your skin converts retinol twice to get there, first to retinal and then to retinoic acid, and retinal needs one step. The Geneva study ranked retinal ahead of retinol for that reason, and it makes a 0.1% retinal serum a step up from a 0.1% retinol cream. Adapalene is a synthetic retinoid that acts on the same receptors without conversion. Prescription tretinoin is retinoic acid itself, and you get it from a dermatologist.
The first eight weeks
Start on two nights a week for two weeks, then three, then every other night if your skin stays comfortable. Use a pea-size amount for your whole face, on dry skin after cleansing. Some dryness and flaking in the first weeks is normal. Stinging that lasts, swelling or a rash is not, and means you stop and let your skin settle.
The moisturizer sandwich
If a pick still dries you out on a slow schedule, put a plain moisturizer on first, then the retinoid, then moisturizer again. The buffer layer can cut irritation, and some of the strength with it, which is a fair trade in the first month. Any of the ceramide creams from our fall barrier guide work for this.
What to keep apart
Don't use a retinoid on the same night as an acid toner, a BHA or a peel while you are starting out. Differin's label warns that irritation is more likely if you use more than one topical acne medication at a time. Move vitamin C to the morning. Differin's label also says not to wax where you apply it during the early weeks, and not to use it on sunburned or broken skin.
Sunscreen stays on through winter
Retinoids make your skin more sensitive to the sun, and Differin's label says to limit sun exposure and wear sunscreen outdoors. The lower UV of fall and winter helps, and you still need a daily SPF. Pick one comfortable enough that you wear it every morning.
How Korea and Japan regulate retinol
Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety keeps a short list of wrinkle-improvement ingredients a brand can use at set doses without submitting its own efficacy data: retinol, retinyl palmitate, adenosine and polyethoxylated retinamide. It helps explain why adenosine shows up in Korean retinoid formulas such as the Purito and Beauty of Joseon serums above. In Japan, Shiseido received the first approval from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for a pure retinol formula that improves wrinkles, in February 2017. Shiseido sells its retinol creams in Japan, and they are not on US Amazon.
FAQ.
Plan on months. The Michigan study measured fine wrinkles at 24 weeks. Differin's label says acne can take up to three months of daily use. Judge a pick at twelve weeks at the earliest, and take a photo in the same light on day one so you have something to compare.
For acne, yes. Differin's label says acne may appear to worsen during the early weeks and tells you to keep going unless the irritation becomes severe. Dryness and light flaking are also common in the first weeks on any retinoid. Burning, swelling or a rash means you stop.
Don't start one without asking your doctor. Differin's label tells you to ask a doctor before use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, and to stop and ask if you become pregnant. The usual advice is to pause cosmetic retinoids as well.
Start with retinol if you have sensitive skin or have never used a retinoid, and move to retinal after a few months without irritation. If your skin handles acids without trouble, you can start on the celimax retinal every other night.
Keep face retinoids away from the eye area at first, because that skin is thinner and peels first. If you want something there, use a product made for it, such as the Beauty of Joseon Revive Eye Serum above.
Starting from zero: COSRX The Retinol 0.1 Cream, $22.
Ready for more: celimax The Vita A Retinal Shot, $18.
Fighting breakouts: Differin Adapalene Gel 0.1%, $12.97.
Buy one retinoid. If you have never used one, get the $22 COSRX cream and use it two nights a week, then three, then every other night, with a moisturizer and a daily sunscreen. Choose Anua instead if dark marks bother you more than lines, and Differin if acne is the main problem. Move up to the celimax retinal once a few months pass with no flaking. Give whichever you pick until spring before you decide it works.