Retinoids

[1nsom]

I know nothing about them!

I'm the wrong side of 40 and recently started using, "The Ordinary" Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion.

Half a bottle in, my skin is looking good from it. But it didn't cost that much (£8 maybe? I can't remember) so I'm thinking there must be better retinoids on the market.

What percentage should I be going for at my age? Any product suggestions?

TIA

The opening post of this thread has a guide to retinoids. It was what I used when I first got into the wonderful, baffling world of skincare all those months ago!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/style_and_beauty/3773960--Fantastic-Skincare-Is-Everyone-Having-Botox-Without-Me

The Ordinary say their version is gentler to skin. Retinol is a more proven ingredient and apparently there is some retinol in their one.

Garden of Wisdom do a 1% retinol that I saw as a potentially good one on the skincare threads or retinol facts, so I got it. Use twice a week. Face does feel a little dry when I use it regularly, which i didn't have with the emulsion you're using.

My skin looks better than it did but I'm doing Vitamin C (Garden of Wisdom), salicylic acid (Paula's choice) and retinol. I think my skin looked just as good with the TO emulsion but I was probably much more consistent with that, the twice a week thing makes me even more haphazard than usual.

Lines have softened, skin is clearer and healthier looking. More glowing I suppose but coming from where I was I probably just look a bit more normal now.

Forgot to ask you if you're wearing a stand alone sunscreen of at least SPF 30, because retinol makes you photo sensitive.

Thanks, everyone, for your responses. And the thread/link posted looks really interesting and informative. I'll read it through properly when I can.

That's the thing that most concerns me - the photosensitivity.

I've been really impressed with The Ordinary. I also use that Liquid Gold 3 nights a week which probably gives my skin a boost.

However in summer I don't think I want my skin to be overly photosensitive. Surely there's only so much a sunscreen can do. I won't be reapplying a sun-cream to my face every 2hrs as recommended, as I wear make-up. Therefore I think (even if it's 15-20 years) down the line you may end up with worse ageing because of sun damage on the sensitised facial area.

I skip the retinol during the summer. And I use stand alone factor 50 all year, but I only reapply during the summer, and then only if I've been out in the sun or think I've sweated it off or something. Sunscreen is my most expensive skincare item because I go through a bottle a month.

I was on Victoria health earlier on and spotted that Garden of Wisdom have a 5% retinoid but I forgot to look and see if it's an oil or a serum emulsion type. I didn't like the ordinary 5% because it's an oil and spreads everywhere rather than staying where it's applied.