RETINOL AND DERIVATIVES: CHARACTERISTICS AND BENEFITS

Retinol is currently one of the most studied and appreciated active ingredients in the field of dermocosmetics due to its ability to support the skin in its renewal and regeneration processes. Used in anti-aging routines and treatments for acne-prone skin, it promotes cell turnover and visibly improves skin quality over time.

Due to its effectiveness, retinol requires careful formulations and advanced technologies that can protect its stability and make its action progressive and well tolerated. It is in this balance between research, innovation, and respect for the skin that new-generation cosmetic solutions come into play, capable of enhancing its benefits without forcing them.

WHAT IS RETINOL AND HOW DOES IT WORK ON THE SKIN?

Retinol is one of the biologically active forms of vitamin A (retinoic acid), a fat-soluble vitamin that performs numerous important functions in the body.
In the skin, retinol has the ability to promote regenerative effects, offering extensive benefits for the skin in relation to wrinkles, sagging skin, and dark spots. When used in skincare, it improves epidermal turnover, helps restore the dermo-epidermal junction, and promotes the synthesis of collagen and other dermal proteins, resulting in an extraordinary restructuring of the dermis, the skin's actual support layer.

Retinol therefore meets the revitalizing and corrective needs of mature skin and is therefore considered the gold standard of anti-aging active ingredients.

RETINOL AND DERIVATIVES

When applied to the skin, retinol is converted into retinoic acid, which stimulates the activity of epidermal and dermal cells. As it is an effective but rather unstable active ingredient, retinol is often used in the form of esters, which are more stable derivatives, such as retinyl palmitate. Thanks to cutting-edge technologies such as microencapsulation, it is also available as pure retinol enclosed in microcapsules. This original delivery system protects retinol from degradation and also modulates its release, benefiting local tolerability and effectiveness due to the slow-release effect.

COSMETIC RETINOIDS

The term retinoids refers to a large family of substances chemically similar to vitamin A, comprising at least 1,500 different types, both natural and synthetic. Various retinoids and vitamin A itself in the form of retinoic acid can be used exclusively in pharmaceutical applications, for example to treat acne. Some retinoids are authorized for use in cosmetic products, such as retinol and retinal (aldehyde), both forms of vitamin A, as well as new synthetic compounds such as hydroxypinacolone retinoate, an ester of retinoic acid.

RETINOL-LIKE

REGENERATING BENEFITS OF RETINOL

As a precursor to vitamin A, retinol is able to activate a huge number of cellular activities related to renewal and regeneration in keratinocytes, resulting in faster epidermal renewal and restructuring of the dermis with anti-aging benefits such as firmer, more elastic skin and reduced wrinkles, visible in a very short time.

INCREASED EPIDERMAL TURNOVER
At the epidermal level, retinol accelerates cell turnover, i.e., the speed of renewal, promoting and improving skin texture, making it smoother and more radiant, and reducing the visibility of wrinkles and fine lines. It also helps to strengthen the dermal-epidermal junction (DEJ), improving support and nourishment to the epidermis, which are prerequisites for youthful skin.

RESTRUCTURING OF THE DERMIS
In the dermis, retinol stimulates the production of collagen, a protein that is essential for maintaining skin tone and elasticity. Retinol is particularly effective in promoting the synthesis of this protein in dermal fibroblasts: increased collagen production translates into greater support that helps fill wrinkles from within, giving a more youthful appearance, as the skin is more toned and compact.

RETINOL AND SENSITIVE SKIN: HOW TO INTRODUCE IT INTO YOUR SKIN CARE ROUTINE

Retinol has usage limits established by current cosmetics legislation (Regulation (EU) 2024/996), meaning that the action of this powerful active ingredient is regulated by maximum usage percentages defined for face and body products. Nevertheless, as slight irritation is possible, especially during the first few applications, in the case of sensitive skin, a gradual approach is recommended, initially applying the retinol product every other day instead of daily and in any case only once a day, preferably in the evening.

In the morning, since retinol increases epidermal turnover, making the skin more vulnerable to the sun, it is best to apply a product with SPF, face cream, or foundation, especially in spring and summer. Retinol is not photosensitizing and does not cause spots; on the contrary, it has been shown to help reduce them, but due to its exfoliating properties, it should be combined with cosmetics containing SPF.

Reti-Lift and Reti-Cream:Cosmeceutical Bio-Remodeling Protocol

RETI LIFT is formulated with Long Release System 2%, a combination of pure microencapsulated retinol and retinol ester.
RETI CREAM is a formula characterized by a retinol-like, active booster of physiological retinoic acid, together with noreugenin, which stimulates the synthesis of the structural components of the dermis, and selected plant active ingredients for the specific anti-sagging action of the skin of the lower third of the face, neck, and décolleté.

RETI LIFT and RETI CREAM together, and even more so in synergy with the exfoliation phase with peeling, create a protocol that reduces the depth of wrinkles and skin slackening, improves skin firmness, and redefines the jawline. In a word, a bio-remodeling protocol. They are designed to act synergistically on the signs of mature skin and sagging, which, with aging, mainly and visibly affects the lower third of the face. Thanks to the retinol contained in RETI LIFT and the complex of active ingredients in RETI CREAM, regenerative mechanisms are promoted, resulting in corrective effects: wrinkles are less deep, the skin is more toned, and the lines of the face are more defined.

The effectiveness is noticeable and statistically measurable after just four weeks, as demonstrated by both instrumental measurements and subjective feedback from volunteers recruited for the three-month cosmetic-clinical study.

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AzelikePlus: a retinoid for acne-prone skin

Some retinoids, including retinol, stimulate epidermal turnover and have an exfoliating effect, making them effective for acne-prone skin, acting specifically on hyperkeratinization in comedones and microcomedones. In AKNET AzelikePlus, an intensive treatment for seborrheic skin prone to acne, the action of a retinoid—hydroxypinacolone retinoate (IPR)—is combined with azelaic acid to act on imperfections and any residual marks.

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