I just started using retinol and am slowly working up to daily use. Do you have any tips for avoiding irritation? — @kayla_krist1ne How I view retinol is similar to how I view my past relationships: I have mixed feelings. While dermatologists wax poetic about the miracle anti-aging ingredient, the side effects—redness, peeling, and irritation galore—can be so bad that the slow-burn benefits just don’t seem worth it. “Retinol is a great ingredient to look for in your skincare but they are a Catch-22,” says Camille Howard-Verovic, MD, DO, FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City. “When I prescribe them to my patients, the first thing I tell them is that their skin should now be categorized as ‘sensitive.’” My skin is already sensitive enough, so as you can imagine it completely flips at the touch of retinol. But don’t worry: You can reap all of retinol’s smoothing, brightening, firming, and breakout-busting benefits without hardcore irritating your face. First things first, since you’ve only just started using retinol, do expect some skin changes in the first few weeks. The skin takes time to adjust to retinol, so it’s totally normal to experience some dryness, flaking, and even some redness. A process called retinization, it’s not necessarily irritation, just a sign that the retinol is increasing skin cell turnover. You should also be starting at a very low frequency and concentration, building up gradually over time. Marnie Nussbaum, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City, agrees, noting to start with the lowest concentration and use it only twice a week. “After a few weeks, you can try increasing the frequency to four nights a week until you can use it nightly.” But if your skin is still super irritated (i.e., stinging, burning, and/or rashes), there are several steps you can take, so I’ve listed them out in the order you should try them. If the first step doesn’t work, go to the next one, etc. Similarly, you should be cutting out products that increase your skin’s sensitivity. This includes harsh exfoliants like AHAs and BHAs (alpha hydroxy acid and beta hydroxy acids), salicylic acid, and benzoyl peroxide, all of which work by drying out skin.
