What does Retinol do in skincare?

Retinol is an active ingredient: it's there to change how skin looks or behaves, not just how the product feels. Gold-standard anti-ageing active; start slowly, use at night.

Is Retinol good for sensitive skin?

Pori flags it for caution on sensitive skin. Patch test before using it on your face.

Retinol: Benefits, Comedogenic Rating

Retinol at a glance

Function	Active
Active class	Retinoid
Comedogenic rating	0/5
Irritation potential	Moderate
Also listed as	Vitamin A
How common	On 58 of 21,918 product labels in Pori's copy of Open Beauty Facts

What does Retinol help with?

In Pori's database it's linked to signs of aging, rough texture, breakouts, dark spots and uneven tone. How much it helps depends on how high it sits on the label: ingredients are listed from most to least, and anything past roughly the tenth spot is usually present at 1% or less.

Is Retinol good for my skin type?

These ratings come from the same fixed rules Pori's ingredient scanner uses, applied to a typical profile for each skin type. Your own result in the app also weighs your scan results and concerns.

Skin type	Rating	Why
Normal	Use with caution	Gold-standard anti-ageing active; start slowly, use at night.
Dry	Use with caution	Gold-standard anti-ageing active; start slowly, use at night.
Oily	Use with caution	Gold-standard anti-ageing active; start slowly, use at night.
Combination	Use with caution	Gold-standard anti-ageing active; start slowly, use at night.
Sensitive	Use with caution	Gold-standard anti-ageing active; start slowly, use at night.

What should I watch for?

Pregnancy: clear this with your doctor if you're pregnant or breastfeeding.
Sun sensitivity: wear sunscreen while you use it, as it can make skin more sensitive to the sun.

Is Retinol comedogenic?

It has a comedogenic rating of 0 out of 5 in Pori's ingredient database, so it's unlikely to clog pores. Ratings like this come from older tests on single ingredients, and a finished product with it isn't necessarily pore-clogging. A 2006 study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that finished products made with comedogenic ingredients were not necessarily comedogenic, so treat the number as a hint, not a verdict.

Which products contain Retinol?

Products in Pori's curated catalogue that list it as a key ingredient:

Derma E Anti-Wrinkle Cleanser (cleanser)
Skyn Iceland Glacial Face Wash (cleanser)
Olay Regenerist Retinol24 Night Serum (serum)
IT Cosmetics Hello Results Wrinkle-Reducing Daily Retinol Serum-in-Cream (serum)
The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane (serum)
RoC Retinol Correxion Line Smoothing Eye Cream (eye cream)

How do I check a product with Retinol?

Scan the barcode or photograph the ingredient list with Pori's ingredient scanner (a Pro feature). It rates every ingredient for your skin type, flags fragrance, pore-clogging and irritating ingredients, and gives the product an overall match score. It's a guide to ingredients, not a diagnosis, so see a dermatologist about any reaction.

Keep reading

Ingredient data from Pori's ingredient database; product counts from Open Beauty Facts (ODbL). General information, not medical advice.