“Am I too young to use retinol?”: The most common retinol questions, answered
IMAGE VIA @MECCAMAX/INSTAGRAM
WORDS BY MAGGIE ZHOU
“We strongly believe that each and every one of us should use at least one vitamin A-based product every day.”
We’re all miniature scientists these days. Despite the lack of a Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field, I pride myself on my knowledge and interest in skincare. I saw a Tweet a while back that corroborated this, saying skincare is like conducting science experiments, just on ourselves. Phrased this way, I would’ve paid more attention to Year 9 science.
In the same breath, the internet is now our classroom. As hard as I try to untangle and decode passing beauty trends and mistakes, I know I can’t do it solo. When I was presented with the opportunity to chat with Lars Fredriksson, the CEO and founder of Verso Skincare, I knew I had to make the most of it.
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The Swedish brand launched in 2013, and with it, changed the way we perceive and use retinol. It’s a brand that believes we should all use at least one vitamin A product in every skincare routine, which sounds intimidating to those who are yet to familiarise themselves with the ingredient.
There’s a lot of misinformation and fear-mongering when it comes to retinol. In an attempt to answer the most common questions vitamin A comes up against, I decided to quiz Lars himself.
What does retinol actually do?
The best way to explain this is that retinol makes your skin cells behave like [they’re] young. It improves and increases cellular turnover and with that comes so many great benefits. I think that even though you might not have visibly, totally-damaged skin in terms of fine lines and wrinkles, you could absolutely benefit [from] it. You always need to make sure of having enough hydration in a good moisturiser to really make sure that you get the best effect.
At what age should you start using retinol?
That’s the $1,000 question! I think it all depends on [your] expectations. When it comes to [vitamin A’s] purest form, retinoic acid, it [can be] prescribed for acne. So, if there is a teenager having issues with breakouts, I would say that you can definitely start with vitamin A.
But if you[‘re using it] for other reasons [like reducing the appearance of fine lines]… a 20-year-old would most likely not yet experience or see any photodamaged skin. So I think that [starting retinol in your] early thirties, you [may] really see and notice [its] benefits. That being said, it’s not wrong to start early, but I think the money could be spent elsewhere. We strongly believe that each and every one of us should use at least one vitamin A-based product every day.
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Can retinol be used as an ageing preventative?
I don’t think there is really any good data on that. I think that we know retinol has some really great benefits when it comes to treating photodamaged skin, absolutely. When it comes to other preventative [options], I think vitamin C is a very good alternative.
What can you do when you’re experiencing a retinol purge?
Overall, anyone that is not used to using pharmaceutical or high-efficacy skincare products should gradually increase [their usage], start[ing] every third day. I recommend speaking to the stockist [about] what a normal feeling is – a slight tingling effect is normal – and when is it not normal. A tendency when it comes to vitamin A is that it can dry out the skin. Dryness and sometimes flakiness and redness can be handled with extra hydration and moisture.
If someone starts with a high concentration of retinol, it might give them a higher risk of an unwanted effect, compared to if you go to the mass market and buy a product with retinyl palmitate which would most likely not give a reaction and might not even give any big effect either. But, you know, it’s still vitamin A. What we have done and continuously are doing is [working out] how can we provide an effective vitamin A that will give these wanted effects without giving any unwanted effects – or at least lower [them] as much as possible.
What should we avoid when using retinol?
There are two times when we say that you should avoid it. The first thing is if you’ve done a strong peel because it’s going to hurt. The other thing is that don’t go out in the sun immediately. It’s just going to be useless, [you’d be] just throwing money [away].
That being said, if you want to use vitamin A during the day, make sure that you’re putting it on [with plenty of] time before you go out. Make sure that you add a good sunscreen on top of it when you go out. I would preferably recommend a sunscreen with some really good antioxidants in it because that will also help prevent any sun damage.
Verso Skincare is exclusively stocked at Mecca.
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