Tretinoin Vs. Retinol: Which is Better?

What do Retinoids Do?

To understand the benefits and drawbacks of Tretinoin vs. Retinol, it’s important to know how retinoids impact the skin.

Retinoids can:

• Improve skin elasticity
• Hydrate the skin
• Reduce fine lines and wrinkles
• Ease hyperpigmentation
• Smooth rough, uneven skin
• Address acne

The benefits of retinoids come from a few different methods of action.

Retinoids increase the skin’s collagen production.

Collagen is responsible for skin elasticity and keeping the skin smooth, soft, and firm. Collagen also helps the skin maintain moisture.

As we age, our collagen production decreases, which often leads to dull, dry, and sagging skin.

Retinoids can improve collagen production to give the skin a more vibrant, youthful glow.

Retinoids speed up the turnover of skin cells.

Aging impacts the skin’s ability to turn over new cells, which contributes to the dull look of aging skin, as well as fine lines and wrinkles.

By increasing cell turnover, retinol helps your body produce new, smoother skin.

Because of its effects on skin cell turnover, retinoids can also help smooth acne and acne scarring, reduce hyperpigmentation, and ease rough patches. It does this by encouraging new cell growth, clearing the pores, and slowing the production of sebum (face oil).

Tretinoin Vs. Retinol: Anti-Aging Benefits

As we’ve discussed, Tretinoin is more potent than Retinol. Because of this, it offers more comprehensive anti-aging benefits.

Tretinoin is often more effective with severe signs of aging like deep-set wrinkles and areas of pigmentation (age spots). It may work better for older patients, especially those who have experienced menopause or andropause.

Both Tretinoin and Retinol take time to show effects, however.

Tretinoin takes around six weeks to begin improving the skin’s appearance, although some users see improvement in as little as two to three weeks.

Retinol takes around twelve weeks to start showing its positive effects on the skin.

Both Retinol and Tretinoin show even better effects over time. Users often see the most improvement within six months to a year of regular use.

While Tretinoin typically works faster than Retinol, it can also lead to more severe side effects in the beginning. Redness and peeling may impact the skin’s appearance and hide the positive benefits at first.

Winner: Tretinoin, although it may cause more side effects in the short term.

Tretinoin Vs. Retinol: Side Effects

Because they’re both retinoids, Tretinoin and Retinol have similar side effects. These include:

• Skin irritation and dryness. Retinoids are well-known to cause skin irritation, especially if you haven’t used them before. Your skin may flake as it adjusts to increased cell turnover.
• Hyperpigmentation. Although retinoids often help with hyperpigmentation, they may also cause it. This is especially true if you have a darker skin tone.
• Sensitivity to the sun. Retinoids increase the likelihood of sun damage, because new cells are being pushed forward and exposed to UV rays. Since UV exposure is a main cause of aging, photosensitivity is something to consider if you spend a lot of time outdoors.
• Not suitable for pregnant women. Vitamin A, from which retinoids are derived, can lead to birth defects in fetuses. It is not recommended to use any retinoids during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

While the side effects are similar, Tretinoin is more likely to cause significant side effects since it is much stronger than Retinol.

For both retinoids, a patch test in recommended. Apply your formula on a small area of skin to check for side effects before applying it to your whole face.

Winner: Retinol, because it’s lower strength and causes milder side effects.