I'm seeing an increasing number of patients who come to me completely confused about what is the right retinoid strength for their skin. They are seeing brands create a bazillion different strengths and they're really unsure as to how to go about navigating the retinoid ladder as part of their personalised skincare routine.
What Is A Retinoid Ladder? A Simple Guide To Retinoid Strengths
Typically we're starting retinoids with a view to being on them long term for things like preventing the signs of aging or tackling pigmentation or acne. And because it's a long term strategy for your skin, there is no rush.
And we also know that retinoids can cause a bit of dryness, irritation or peeliness at the beginning. And the way to minimise the risk of this is to start low on the ladder and then climb the rungs as your skin becomes tolerant. Now here's the key part.
How Many Rungs On The Retinoid Ladder Do You Really Need?
I would argue that for any given retinoid, whether prescription or non prescription, you only need a maximum of three. Any more than that is creating unnecessary complexity.
And let's face it, skincare is complicated enough. We want to keep retinoids simple. So too many products, too little results and it's holding you back. So here's why I say that. I've used tretinoin in my clinical practice for over two decades. And you know how many retinoid strengths there are? Three. That's how many strengths I need of the most powerful retinoid that we have available to us. So why would we need more than three in the non-prescription space?
At the end of the day, the secret to efficient use of retinoid is simply knowledge. That's what I want for you. I want you to have that sense of skin mastery so that you can conquer retinoids and get all those amazing benefits.
The Retinoid Formula: A Step-by-Step Plan For Skincare Success
Step 1: Choose Your Retinoid — Understanding Strengths And Percentages
The first decision you have to make is to choose your retinoid. It doesn't matter too much which retinoid you pick. Use the one that you feel the most comfortable with, but know the dose range for your chosen retinoid. So to make life easy, I think of retinol, perhaps the most well known retinoid over the counter as being dosed between a range of 0.1% to and 1%.
Now, all retinoids are not the same. When it comes to retinaldehyde, the dose range is different. It's 0.01% to 0.1%. If you're using the next generation retinoid, granactive retinoid, it's 2% to 5%.
And then for the two most commonly used prescription retinoids, adapalene or differin is 0.1 to 0.3%. And the 0.3% is only available in the US. We don't have that here in the UK. And tretinoin, which is 0.025 to 0.1%. That's it.
That is all you have to know. So those are the lowest and strongest percentages and then you need one in the middle. That's it.
Step 2: Set Yourself Up For Retinoid Success — Build A Skin-Protecting Routine
That means a gentle cleanser that won't destroy your barrier.
You want a barrier supporting moisturiser that contains ingredients like ceramides niacinamide to ensure your barrier stays healthy and robust as you get used to your retinoid.
And don’t forget to use sunscreen.
Now, if one of the reasons you were leaning towards a very low strength retinoid in the first place, you'll want to make sure that you get rid of all other active ingredients in your routine and give the retinoid your undivided attention.
Now, there are two reasons for doing this. Number one, by removing that unnecessary noise from your routine, you'll be able to more closely monitor any side effects your retinoid might be having. And secondly, it'll make it much easier to see what the retinoid is doing for your skin.
Step 3: How To Monitor Retinoid Progress And Track Your Skin’s Journey
To make monitoring the results you're getting even easier, I would recommend tracking your skin. We'll see the benefits that your retinoid delivers over the course of one to two, even three skin cycles. So it's really important you have a way of measuring it visually.
I think that being able to track and monitor your progress is so important that I've actually built an AI driven tracker as part of our Routine Finder. I think feedback is so important when you want to stick to a habit because it keeps you on track. To keep your expectations realistic, set a check in with yourself and put it in your diary in six weeks and then 12 weeks so you have realistic expectations around progress.
Step 4: Retinoid Buffering — The Secret To Reducing Irritation And Boosting Tolerance
This last tip might just be the most important one. I'm going to share with you, and that's to know about a technique called buffering. I learned about this at a medical conference years ago, and it truly changed my practice because it enabled me to teach patients how to cope with the first four to six weeks of using an active that can sometimes cause turbulence.
Buffering involves putting a layer of moisturiser on your skin before you apply your active. Now, traditionally, we want to apply actives to cleanse skin. That way we get maximum penetration, but we can use moisturiser applied first to slow down absorption so it still gets in but at a slower rate.
And it's that slower rate that means less irritation, which is exactly what we want at the beginning when we're building our confidence. Buffering also reduces the margin of error, so if you do accidentally get a little retinoid in your eyelid or too close to your lips, it's less likely to cause irritation.
Hopefully these steps help make navigating retinoids more simple and actionable and you're feeling less overwhelmed. Remember to start your strength low, get your support system ready, track your progress, and if in doubt, buffer.
Feeling Confident About Retinoids? Let Us Help You Build The Perfect Skincare Routine
If you need any further support use our AI powered skincare Routine Finder to help build your routine including the right retinoid for your skin needs. And you can also sign up for a skincare consultation with one of our expert consultants to help you further navigate your retinoid journey.
