Why Is Retinol Good For Your Skin?

Darlings, retinol is the secret to skin that looks fresh from the fountain of youth! If you’re serious about skincare and know your Vitamin C from your Hyaluronic Acid, you might have heard about retinol and the benefits of adding retinol products into your skincare routine. But what does retinol do? Who is retinol for? And why do you need retinol in your skincare routine?

Darlings, I’m dispelling all the myths surrounding the magic of retinol and teaching you how to use retinol in a way that helps your skin appear smoother, plumper, and reborn!

Discover the Role of Retinol in Skincare

What Is Retinol?

Retinol is a type of Vitamin A – a vitamin in the human body that contributes towards cell turnover and cell growth. Retinol is one of many forms of vitamin A that sit under a family called retinoids. Retinol, retinal and retinoids are used in skincare for their regenerative properties. There are different forms of retinol that have varying strength and potency which influences their effects on your skin.

What Does Retinol Do For Your Skin?

Retinol is a versatile skincare ingredient known for its smoothing, resurfacing, anti-ageing capabilities. Consistently applying retinol to your face helps skin to look smoother, fine lines and wrinkles to appear reduced, pores to look clear and unclogged, and your overall complexion to appear more youthful. Over time, skin texture is improved and looks smooth and plumped, dull complexions become brighter with a healthy glow, and signs of ageing appear visibly reversed.

What Is Retinol Good For?

Using retinol in your skincare routine is one of the best ways to target visible signs of ageing like fine lines, wrinkles, textured skin and pigmentation. Retinol can work wonders for mature skin, helping to reduce the appearance of skin concerns and making your complexion appear softer and rejuvenated at every age. Retinol also has the ability to smooth the look of blemish-prone skin by gently resurfacing to reveal fresh, new skin cells.

How Does Retinol Work?

Retinol helps skin appear more youthful by exfoliating the top layer of skin cells and unclogging pores to rejuvenate the appearance of skin texture and create a smoother, more even-looking complexion. These abilities enable retinol to facilitate faster cell turnover, bringing more healthy-looking skin cells to the forefront. Retinol also improves the appearance of skin firmness and elasticity which in turn helps to reduce the appearance of fine lines and gives skin a youthful, bouncy glow.

Should I use retinol in the morning or the evening?

Always apply retinol at night to cleansed skin. Retinol is formulated to support skin while our bodies sleep and repair. Using retinol at night exfoliates dead surface skin cells in tandem with the natural processes of our bodies. Retinol can also increase skin sensitivity so wearing it at night without being exposed to UV rays and pollution is the best way to protect your skin.

How To Use Retinol In Your Skincare Routine

Retinol Skincare: More FAQs

How Long Does Retinol Take To Work?

You will start to see results from retinol in 4-8 weeks of use. Initial results may include skin texture looking smooth and fine lines appearing less visible, and after continued use skin may feel firmer and deeper-set wrinkles may appear reduced.

What Are The Side Effects of Retinol?

It’s important to note that some retinols can make your skin peel or feel dry as your skin familiarises itself with them. Skin is likely to react in this way during the first week or two of uses. Doing a patch test on your hand or a small area of your face will give a good indication as to whether your skin will purge the product or have a reaction. I recommend reaching for retinol products like Magic Night Cream and Magic Eye Rescue that are infused with a variety of skincare ingredients to maximise hydration and cushion skin from the adverse effects of retinol.

Retinol thins your skin so it can also become extremely sensitive to brow treatments and waxing – it’s recommend that you stay away from retinol for around 10 days before your treatment.

Tilbury Tip: Listen to your skin, darlings. If your skin reacts badly to the retinol you are using, discontinue use and try a less potent formula to build tolerance.

When Should I Start Using Retinol?

Add retinol to your skincare routine as you approach your 30s to help minimise the appearance of signs of ageing and keep skin looking smooth and youthful. As we age our skin becomes more textured and our natural collagen levels deplete, but retinol can help to reduce the look of skin concerns like fine lines and wrinkles to make skin appear more youthful. Using a retinol in your early 20s won’t harm your skin and can be useful for improving the appearance of acne-prone skin and post-blemish marks, but generally it is better suited to more mature skin experiencing rough texture and signs of ageing.

Discover my skincare routine for your 30s

How Often Should I Use Retinol?

Due to the potency of retinol, it’s recommended that you gradually build up your use to give your skin the best chance of acclimation. When using a new retinol product, start by applying twice per week for a couple of weeks to test the waters and always patch test to see if the product works for your skin. With time, you can increase usage to every other night, or every night if your skin doesn’t experience any irritation.

Darlings, it’s never too late to introduce retinol into your beauty routine. Add retinol creams like Magic Eye Rescue and Magic Night Cream to your skincare routine and the results will speak for themselves… Retinol is the secret to smoother, firmer, more youthful-looking skin!

Discover more skincare ingredient guides