Why most retinol creams are too harsh to stick with

Suggested visual: a photo of the Radiance Repair Cream with the jar open beside a simple sprig of botanical greenery, shot at night on a bedside table in warm low light so it suggests an evening ritual.

Keywords: Smooth. Renewed. Comfortable.

If you have read anything about skincare, you have met retinol. It is the most researched renewal ingredient in dermatology, with clinical studies showing that it speeds up cell turnover and supports collagen production [1, 2]. You have probably also lived the problem that comes with it. Many retinol products chase headline strength, and the result is redness, flaking and a fortnight of discomfort that ends with the jar abandoned in a drawer. The uncomfortable truth of the category is that the strongest product in the world achieves nothing if your skin will not let you use it.

We designed around that truth. In a randomised, double blind clinical trial published in the British Journal of Dermatology, bakuchiol, a plant derived compound, produced improvements in wrinkles and pigmentation comparable to retinol, with better tolerability [3]. Where many brands ask you to pick a side between the proven classic and the gentle newcomer, our Radiance Repair Cream pairs them. Retinol at a considered 0.05 percent works alongside bakuchiol at 0.1 percent, a combination chosen to maximise the renewal effect while reducing harshness on sensitive skin. The thinking is straightforward. The cream you can comfortably use every single night will always achieve more than the stronger one you give up on.

Then we built the rest of the formula to support the work rather than pad the label. Five signal peptides, including copper tripeptide, which has a substantial body of research on collagen production and skin regeneration [4], speak to the skin in its own language. Niacinamide at 2.8 percent strengthens the barrier by increasing the skin's own ceramide production, an effect demonstrated in research published in the British Journal of Dermatology [5]. A full 5 percent of alpine edelweiss extract, grown sustainably in plant cell culture and studied for its antioxidant and skin improving effects [6], protects, while ceramide and shea butter seal everything in overnight. Every ingredient earns its place, and nothing is there to inflate a marketing story.

Your proof point. Give the cream the two week consistency test that harsh products fail. Apply it nightly for fourteen consecutive nights and keep a simple note of two things, how your skin feels each morning and whether you saw any of the redness or flaking you may have experienced with stronger retinol products before. The evidence you are looking for is partly what you see, smoother and fresher looking skin, and partly what you never see at all.

References

1. Kafi R, Kwak HS, Schumacher WE, et al. Improvement of naturally aged skin with vitamin A (retinol). Archives of Dermatology. 2007;143(5):606 to 612.

2. Mukherjee S, Date A, Patravale V, et al. Retinoids in the treatment of skin aging: an overview of clinical efficacy and safety. Clinical Interventions in Aging. 2006;1(4):327 to 348.

3. Dhaliwal S, Rybak I, Ellis SR, et al. Prospective, randomized, double blind assessment of topical bakuchiol and retinol for facial photoageing. British Journal of Dermatology. 2019;180(2):289 to 296.

4. Pickart L, Margolina A. Regenerative and protective actions of the GHK-Cu peptide in the light of the new gene data. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2018;19(7):1987. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19071987

5. Tanno O, Ota Y, Kitamura N, Katsube T, Inoue S. Nicotinamide increases biosynthesis of ceramides as well as other stratum corneum lipids to improve the epidermal permeability barrier. British Journal of Dermatology. 2000;143(3):524 to 531.

6. Cho WK, Kim HI, Kim SY, et al. Anti-aging effects of Leontopodium alpinum (Edelweiss) callus culture extract through transcriptome profiling. Genes. 2020;11(2):230. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes11020230