Intolerant to retinol?

So you have reached your 30’s like me and in every article that you read, Retinol is the no.1 ingredient for anti-aging. All the articles say: “ It is a must in your skincare routine.”

What if you are scared of retinol?

What if you have reactive skin and just by rubbing it, you become red?

Sound familiar?

As a 31 year old skincare junkie myself, I have tried Retinol and sadly it didn’t go so well.

I could only use it once a week, at night. I didn‘t use other actives while using Retinol. I chose a very gentle formula. Still…my cheeks were red and inflamed. It burned. I went to the pharmacist and he told me to stop it. I was kind of sad, but I did not give up on my skincare journey.

How to use Retinol:

You start once a week and slowly work up to three or four times a week. The first few weeks, it is normal your skin becomes dry, red and flaky. After 2-3 weeks, your skin is supposed to get used to it. If your skin is still irritated, it is recommended to stop. Always use SPF no matter how you feel! Especially when using retinol because it is photosensitive.

Anyways, back to my skincare journey…

While doing some research, I did find there are alternatives when your skin does not tolerate retinol. I will tell you all about it. Just keep reading :)

Most of the alternatives, I have tried myself. I have good news, I didn’t react to them. I have really sensitive skin.

So without further do…

Here are the top 4 retinol alternatives for sensitive skin to try for young, beautiful and glowing skin!

1- Bakuchiol

Bakuchiol is a powerful antioxidant extracted from the babchi plant seeds.

Features

• Antioxidants properties

• Increase collagen production

• Anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties

Benefits

• Reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles

• Evens out your skin tone if you have dark spots or hyperpigmentation

• Diminishes break outs and acne scars
• Reduce the appearance of pores

My experience: The first product I tried that had Bakuchiol in it, was the Philosophy skin reset serum with bakuchiol. I loved it! The texture was light and creamy. It had a slight scent but nothing too irritating. This serum is made from bakuchiol and olive extract. My skin was smooth and plumped just like I like it to be.

2- Resveratrol

Powerful antioxidant found in the seed of red grapes.

Features

• Protects against environmental stressors

• Calms and soothe skin

Benefits

• Reduces the appearance of redness

• Smoothes fine lines and wrinkles

• Brightens the overall skin complexion

• Reduces skin texture

• Hydrates and plumps the skin

• Reduces hyperpigmentation

My experience: The first product I used that has Resveratrol in it was the Caudalie Resveratrol Lift Firming Eye Gel-Cream. It is made from resveratrol, hyaluronic acid and vegan collagen. I like it more in the summer because it is a gel type eye cream. I am way to dry to use it in the winter. I like that it has no fragrance and is ophtamologist tested because I have sensitive eyes.

3- Peptides

Peptides are proteins similar to the building blocks of your skin.

Features

• Increases collagen production

Benefits

• Smooth fine lines and wrinkles

• Strengthen your skin barrier

• Treats dull skin
• Ease inflammation

My experience: The first peptide cream I tried was the Clinique Smart Clinical Repair Wrinkle Correcting Cream. Most of Clinique products sit well with me because it has no fragrance and it is dermatologist tested. I really like the texture of this cream because it is not thick. I find a lot of anti-aging creams are thick and I feel it just sits on my skin. It is made from a delicious cocktail of peptides, hyaluronic acid and soybean seed extract. Free of parabens and phthalates. It is definitely a good moisturizer to try.

4- Azelaic acid

Acid found in grains. This acid works by restraining the elements that causes your skin to have imperfections (dark spots, acne scars, redness, etc.)

Features

• Gently exfoliates

• Anti-inflammatory properties

• Soothes skin

• Antioxidant properties

Benefits

• Unclog pores
• Treats skin texture

• Treats Rosacea

• Slowly decreases skin pigmentation

• Protects the skin

**This is the most gentle retinol alternative

My experience : I was kind of scared to use this one, the word Azelaic acid scared me. I finally decided to give it a try. I am currently using the Paula’s Choice 10% Azelaic Acid. You can use it alone or with other products. I personally use it alone as my night skincare routine. It is more of a cream texture. I started using it because I have redness and acne scars. So far, so good. It is definitely too early for me to see results. At least, I did not react to it. This treatment is made of azelaic acid, a little bit of salicylic acid and licorice root extract.

As we all know, skincare is very personal because no one has the same skin.

Some alternatives may work for you or not. At least you have a pretty good idea of what you can use as an alternative to retinol.

I’m sure you with trial and error, you will find your perfect Retinol alternative that you can’t live without :)

As your skincare junkie friend, don’t forget to put SPF as the last step in your skincare routine!

Remember SPF is the number one anti-aging skincare product. It prevents sun damage. Sun damage is mostly responsible for dark spots, wrinkles and fine lines. I sound like a school teacher because I repeat this 20 times a day but it is very important!

Hope this helps,

From one 30 year old to another,

Xoxo

Your skincare junkie friend Karen