All About Retinol

Retinol’s benefits to skin are almost infinite. That’s why we asked Doctor Murad for a quick Q&A to learn a bit more about this incredible ingredient.

What exactly is retinol, and what is it used for?
Retinol is a pure form of vitamin A. Your skin uses vitamin A naturally in its regeneration and repair cycle. It is most commonly used in skincare for two things: reducing the appearance of wrinkles and fighting blemishes.

Retinol is a potent ingredient that provides anti-ageing benefits by stimulating cellular turnover and bringing new, healthy cells to the skin’s surface for a more youthful appearance. It also plays a vital role in epidermal renewal and keratin synthesis and contributes to the strength of collagen and elastin proteins. This means that as we age, our keratin proteins become less compact and more dehydrated. Retinol helps to bring back the elasticity and compact nature of these proteins. It is because of its proven renewing power that retinol is recognised as the gold standard anti-ageing ingredient.

Retinol is also a powerful ingredient when it comes to blemishes, helping to reduce outbreaks by preventing dead cells from clogging pores (normalising the stratum corneum and reducing the overproduction of sebum).

What’s different about Murad’s retinol?
Many retinol formulas rely on a single form of retinol and may take several weeks to deliver results and cause irritation. Retinol is not stable and this makes it a more difficult ingredient to work with.

Our range of retinol products overcome these traditional drawbacks with its breakthrough Retinol Tri-Active Technology. It’s comprised of a fast-acting tetinoid, time-released retinol and a booster to optimise performance and quickly deliver visible results with minimised side effects. These results include a visible reduction in the appearance of wrinkles and dramatic improvements in texture, tone and radiance. On top of this, all of our products include anti-inflammatories, antioxidants and hydrators.

What retinol products would you recommend to your patients?
Retinol is well-known as the gold standard for anti-ageing ingredients, that’s why my patients ask for it frequently. However, I saw a significant need for a new product that worked more quickly and didn’t cause irritation and dryness.

After years of research and development, I’m proud to say we have finally perfected the science with our revolutionary line of Retinol products: Retinol Youth Renewal Serum, Retinol Youth Renewal Eye Cream, and Retinol Youth Renewal Night Cream. What’s exciting about this revolutionary new product range is that it gets to work quickly and without any of the irritation of traditional retinol formulas. The serum is the number one retinol product in the U.S. three years in a row, and is clinically proven to deliver results in 2 weeks. And, the serum and night cream reduce the appearance of wrinkles 3x better when used together.

Is there any recent retinol news you can share with us?
Yes.  New scientific studies suggest that retinol may encourage vascularisation in the dermis. This means more collagen production. When it comes to ageing, retinol has three clear benefits: it helps to keep your cells compact, it aids in cell renewal and potentially encourages the production of collagen.  I would say that is exciting news!