MonBon Skin Diaries: The Mysteries of Retinols

Posted: February 27, 2019

Besides sunscreen, Retinoic Acid from Vitamin A, is one of the most important anti-aging ingredients known for the prevention and correction of aging skin.

The history of this interesting molecule began in 1971 with its discovery by the famous dermatologist, Dr. Albert Kligman. Retinoic Acid was sold under the name of Retin-A as an extremely effective acne treatment.

The story gets sweeter when older patients noticed that with the use of Retin-A improved the tone, texture and color of their skin, with their skin becoming smoother, less wrinkled and more even colored. Thus, retinoic acid with a richer base was introduced as Renova for photoaging.

The problem with Retinoic Acid is its unpleasant side effects including redness, irritation, and sensitivity to sunlight. Retinol converts to Retinoic Acid in the skin and has been found to be less irritating on the skin than Retinoic Acid. And depending on its concentration this over the counter cosmeceutical, can be just as effective as prescription Retinoic Acid.

Retinol is the superhero must have ingredient, skin cell function regulator and normalizer. It improves overall skin health by:

• Stimulating and Increasing healthy skin cell turnover.
• Protecting the skin from free radicals.
• Preventing the breakdown of collagen and promoting collagen production.
• Repairing damaged skin cells.
• Increasing epidermal thickness.
• Smoothing and exfoliating the skin outer layer, stratum corneum.
• Improving fine lines, wrinkles and pigmentation.

But not all retinols are alike. The concentration of retinol determines its overall effectiveness. And there are many ineffective products out there. For example Instagram chemist duo @chemist.confessions recently reviewed the effectiveness of Tata Harper’s Retinoic Nutrient Face Oil, finding that it translates to 0.00003923% active retinoic acid! MonBon Retinol 50 and 100 have 0.05% and 0.1% active ingredient respectively! So if you want to use retinol that will help your photoaging in the year 2099, there are many to choose from! But if your skin goal targets are for 2019, think MonBon Retinol!

Shop exclusive MonBon Skincare and see your skin transform.