Retinol Night Cream

Retinol. A vitamin A derivative, and the cosmetic relative of prescription tretinoin. Skin converts it in two steps, retinol to retinaldehyde to retinoic acid, and it loses potency at each step, which is why a retinol cream is slower and gentler than a prescription retinoid doing the same job. The evidence behind it is genuinely good by cosmetic standards. Randomised, vehicle-controlled trials on photoaged facial skin report improvements in roughness, fine lines and uneven pigmentation over courses of twelve weeks and longer, and that body of work covers facial skin quality and nothing else. European cosmetic rules set a maximum retinol concentration for leave-on face products, and this cream is formulated to stay inside that limit. We are not quoting a percentage here, because a figure on its own tells you very little. The frequency you can actually keep up matters more, and a bigger number mostly buys more irritation.

ProXylane. The trade name for hydroxypropyl tetrahydropyrantriol, a synthetic molecule built from xylose, a sugar taken from beech wood. In laboratory work it is reported to raise the production of glycosaminoglycans, the water-holding molecules in the dermis, and that is the whole basis of the claims made for it. The human evidence is thin and almost all of it comes from the company that developed and patented the ingredient. Treat it as a supporting ingredient with a plausible mechanism rather than as a second active. It is nowhere near retinol's record.

Hyaluronic acid. A humectant that holds many times its own weight in water and sits mainly in the upper layers of the skin. A double-blind trial in older adults with dry skin found that it raised measured skin hydration against a vehicle, while none of the groups showed any change in water loss through the barrier. Its job in this formula is comfort, and it is there to offset the dryness retinol causes in the first month.

The scalp and the face are one piece of skin and the hairline is the join, which is why this range carries face products at all. Topical minoxidil is carried in alcohol with propylene glycol, and the Minoxidil Signature Spray adds tretinoin on top of that. This cream is for the man whose skin has already settled down on treatment and who wants to work on texture and lines at night, on the face, away from the treated area.

It is the wrong product for the first months of a minoxidil course, and the wrong product for anyone whose hairline is currently red, flaky or sore. If that is where you are, the Face Cleanser and the Ceramide Barrier Cream are the pair that fixes it, and this jar can wait a few months. If you already use the Signature Spray, you have a retinoid on that skin, and adding a second one raises the irritation without buying you more benefit. On a normal night this follows the cleanser and goes under the Face Hydration Cream or the Ceramide Barrier Cream.

Use a pea-sized amount at night only, twice a week to start with, building up over a month to a maximum of once a night.

1. Wash with the Face Cleanser, then pat dry and wait five minutes. Retinol goes on completely dry skin, because damp skin drives more of it in and irritation is the usual result.
2. Take a pea-sized amount, which is enough for the whole face. Use clean, dry fingers, since this is a jar and wet fingers shorten its life.
3. Warm it between your fingertips and press it over the cheeks, forehead, chin and jaw. Keep it off the eyelids, the lips, and the creases at the corners of the nose and mouth, which are where people get sore first.
4. Stop about a centimetre short of the hairline if you apply minoxidil there. That strip is already taking a daily dose of alcohol and propylene glycol and does not need a retinoid as well.
5. Leave it on. Wait two or three minutes, then apply your moisturiser on top if your skin feels tight. If you are sensitive, put the moisturiser on first and the retinol over it, which slows absorption and takes the edge off the first fortnight.
6. Build up in stages. Twice a week for two weeks, then every other night for two weeks, then nightly if your skin is comfortable. A great many people do best at three or four nights a week and stay there.
7. Wear sunscreen the following morning, every morning, all year.

The common mistake is stacking actives on one night. Keep this away from exfoliating acids, vitamin C, a prescription retinoid, and your evening minoxidil dose. If you use the Dermaroller 0.5 mm, skip the cream entirely on rolling night and leave at least twenty four hours for the skin to close before it goes back on. Doubling the frequency to catch up after a missed week is the other reliable way to end up abandoning it.

The first two to four weeks are the unpleasant part. Dryness, tightness, some fine flaking and mild redness are normal while skin adjusts to a retinoid. They are worst around the nose and mouth, and they are the reason most people give up. Going slowly is what gets you through it, and dropping back to every third night for a week is the sensible response when your skin is complaining.

Smoother texture and a more even surface show up somewhere around eight to twelve weeks. Changes in fine lines and tone take three to six months and are modest when they come. The effect is maintenance, so it holds for as long as you keep using it and fades over months once you stop.

Nothing here will change your hair. If your hairline looks better in six months, the credit belongs to whatever regrowth treatment you are using, and it is worth being clear about that.

For external use only. Avoid the eye area and rinse with cool water if it gets in. Patch test on the inner forearm and leave it twenty four hours before the first full application. Do not use it on the scalp, on broken, inflamed or infected skin, or on skin that is sunburnt or freshly rolled.

Retinoids make skin more sensitive to sunlight, so this is a night product and daily sunscreen goes with it. Do not use it alongside a prescription retinoid such as tretinoin, adapalene or oral isotretinoin, and speak to your prescriber before combining it with anything else medicated on the face. Stop using it if redness, stinging or peeling persists beyond the first month or gets worse rather than better.

Topical vitamin A derivatives are routinely avoided in pregnancy, so this cream should not be used by anyone who is pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding. European rules also require a vitamin A statement on the pack, because retinol from cosmetics adds to what you already take in from food and supplements. Keep it out of reach of children.

This is a cosmetic product. It has no medicinal licence anywhere, and it does not treat, cure or prevent hair loss.

Store below 25 degrees Celsius with the lid closed and out of direct sunlight. Retinol degrades in light and air, so keep the jar shut and off the windowsill.