What's The Most Effective Retinoid For Your Skin?
What’s the most effective retinoid for your skin and face? First, let’s just clarify the difference between retinol and retinoid.
Retinol is the overarching product, basically another name for vitamin A. But when retinol is metabolised by your body, it’s broken down into a few key parts (with names like retinyl, retinoic acid, hydroxy-4, retro retinol, didehydroretinol etc.). And it’s these parts or subcomponents of retinol that we refer to as retinoids.
Now, why would you need a specific retinoid for your skin and not just plain old retinol? Well, of course you can opt to merely use the base product retinol. It’s widely available in creams and products. The drawback is it’s not as effective – it takes longer to deliver real skin results. And that’s because there’s really only one retinoid (a subcomponent of retinol) that delivers all the anti-aging skin benefits you want to see. And that retinoid is retinoic acid.
SKIN BENEFITS OF ALL-TRANS RETINOIC ACID (RA)
The benefits of the retinoid we call all-trans retinoic acid only fully came to light in 1987 when scientists discovered the mechanism the body uses to “intake” and utilise it: RA receptors (RARs) in each cell in your body. RA plays a vital role in the production and development of our organs, including the skin, and our bodies use it from when we are mere embryos in the womb all the way through our entire lives. And it’s this discovery that led to the question: how can we use this vital retinoid for your skin?
Further studies showed that retinoic acid is incredibly good at boosting skin cell turnover (exfoliation), smoothing the skin and cleaning away excess elastosis and keratosis, all while stimulating your fibroblasts to produce more healthy collagen – all excellent for getting rid of the signs of aging and rejuvenating the skin.
But there was a problem. Retinoic acid, while it may be the most effective retinoid for your skin, is perhaps just a little too good at its job. It’s very potent, too powerful to acquire without a prescription.
TOO POTENT TO APPLY JUST LIKE THAT
For all the amazing skin benefits RA delivers, its side effects can be quite dramatic: itching, redness, burning and peeling of the skin. It got a particularly bad rap for increasing blood retinoid levels, which is extremely dangerous, especially in pregnant women. So much so, that RA was classified as a drug, which today you can only get by prescription.
But Lamelle Research Laboratories took a much closer look at RA and discovered a very important secret locked away in its structure and how it interacts with the skin: there is a way to make it safe and tolerable.
A UNIQUE NEW FORM OF RA
When RA attaches to the cells, it does so through a series of RARs. And it turns out that only a select few of those RARs trigger the adverse side effects we associate with RA use. So Lamelle set to work to develop a new kind of RA that would only impact those RARs that deliver all the positive skin benefits, without the adverse side effects.
The result is Lamelle’s all-new ester of all-trans retinoic acid, as seen in the Correctives 3.0 RA Serum <link to: 3.0 Serum blog> we posted about recently.
This new form of RA is safe, effective and gives all the skin-health benefits of RA without the negative side effects. Lamelle’s unique new form of RA has proven to be so tolerable that Lamelle can supply it in higher concentrations than anyone else would ever dream of delivering RA in. And that without the need for a prescription.
ALL-NEW LAMELLE CORRECTIVES 5.0 SERUM
Lamelle’s advanced new form of RA is now also available in the higher concentration Correctives 5.0 RA Serum. Containing nearly double the dose of RA found in 3.0 RA Serum, Correctives 5.0 Ra Serum has been proven to be as safe and tolerable as it is effective in treating the signs of ageing. It’s specifically made for patients who’ve used Correctives 3.0 RA Serum and RA Cream for at least one full treatment cycle and are in need of a more dramatic skin-boosting effect.
A few drops of this non-prescription ester of all-trans RA in a clear serum form applied to clean and dry skin at night – after water-based serums but before moisturiser – provides better results in treating the signs of aging than nearly all other forms of non-prescription retinoid for your skin.
THE SKIN BENEFITS OF CORRECTIVES 5.0 RA SERUM
Epidermal benefits:
Exfoliates and smoothens
Inhibits the proteins that hold corneocytes (cells in the outer layer of skin) together, resulting in natural cell turnover and a more “compacted” stratum corneum for improved skin smoothness and texture, and smoothed fine lines and wrinkles.
Increases skin thickness
Increases autocrine growth factor amphiregulin that activates growth factor receptor rate on the surface of keratinocytes, causing them to differentiate and proliferate and leading to epidermal thickening and improvements in fine lines and wrinkles.
Improves hydration and immunity
Boosts the body’s production of hyaluronic acid in the connective tissue between layers of skin, improving hydration and bolstering the immune system.
Dermal benefits:
Suppresses free-radical-induced MMP production
Inhibits AP-1, the protein that activates the production of skin-degrading matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs), including collagenase (which destroys collagen), to protect and preserve healthy collagen in the skin.
Reduces UV impact on the skin
Boosts MMP inhibitor TIMP-1 to directly block the production of collagen-destroying MMPs triggered by sun exposure.
Regulates elastin
Inhibits the overexpression of the elastase enzyme (which is often tripled after UV damage) as well as elafin (which stops the body from removing the excess elastin from the skin) to more effectively regulate elastin production after sun exposure.
Prevents vitamin A deficiency after sun damage
Reverses the suppression of retinoid receptors after UV exposure, ensuring that the dermis doesn’t suffer any vitamin A deficiency.
Enhances collagen production
Increases both the fibroblast (which produces new collagen) number and activity in the dermis, stimulating new collagen production over a period of 10–12 months.
If you have fine lines, wrinkles, thinning skin or any other skin aging concern and want to boost your current skincare regimen with a safe and effective form of retinoic acid, the best retinoid for skin, ask your doctor or therapist about all-new Correctives 5.0 RA Serum.