Getting the Most Out of Retinol Anti-Aging Cream

Having a great skin care routine is the key to keeping your complexion healthy through your 20s and 30s and well into middle age. To get there, you need to develop a plan for your skin that includes both daily care like exfoliation and also short-term therapies that can help you turn back sun damage and fight the signs of aging. Having a good anti-aging cream is one of the keys to making the most of your routine, and another is the use of retinol, either as a stand-alone serum or as an ingredient in your daily anti-aging cream.

How Retinol Works

Retinol is a version of Vitamin A that the skin can use directly, so it is typically applied topically. It works to lighten blemishes, especially those caused by the sun. Its rejuvenating qualities also extend to helping your skin remain more elastic and to reducing the depth of lines, which means that it works both to remediate sun damage and as an anti-aging serum. That’s why the best anti-age cream you will find typically includes a healthy dose of retinol alongside its other ingredients.

Getting the Most Out of Retinol

Most retinol therapies recommend a 12 week course to get the full results out of your experience. If you are using an all-purpose cream that includes retinol alongside other antioxidants and active ingredients, you might consider using it for longer, but the best results come from alternating periods of retinol use and periods of rest, since retinol also thins and softens the skin, making it more sensitive to the sun. Here are some other tips to help you get the most out of your anti-aging cream:

1. Make sure your cream stays covered! Retinol is light sensitive, so you don’t want it being exposed to light or to air that can dry it out and make it less effective.
2. Keep it cool by storing it in the fridge until you need it. This also helps promote the stability of the ingredients.
3. Know when it’s time to throw it out—most products are good for a year, and there will be either an expiration date or another indicator stating how many months from manufacture it is good for. Using expired product will take the effectiveness out of even the best anti-age cream.
4. Pay attention to what is going on with your skin. Since there’s no magic way to tell if the retinol is still effective or not, you need to monitor your results. This also helps to track any side effects that might make you have to discontinue your routine.

There are a couple more tips that can help you, too:

• Remember to cover up! Use an SPF sunblock moisturizer on your face to protect against new sun damage during and after your retinol treatment.
• Using your anti-aging cream at night lets you rest your face as you sleep, helping it to be more effective.

We Are Here to Help

LaLa Daisy is committed to being your resource for high quality, affordable skin care products, which is why we offer a range of retinol-bearing products to help you find your best anti-age cream.