Morning, my little nerds! I am Dr. Shereene Idriss, and welcome back to Saturday morning Pillow Talk, Derma. So we've had a little shift in our scheduling where I was doing this every Saturday morning at 10 A.

M., and then I thought to myself, let me spread it out to every other Saturday morning at 10 A.

M. But then honestly, I just missed interacting with you guys on Saturday morning, so we're gonna do a long-format video three Saturdays a month at 10 A.

M. Just bear with me as I try to figure out this new flow of life, having launched my office last year, a year and a half ago, and the skincare line a year ago.

I'm trying to figure out how to wear all of these hats and do it all at once.

But the reality is, my love for the community really started on Instagram and grew into YouTube, and I just can't seem to cut it down.

This week, I thought, what better way to start the year than to give you guys my five golden rules on incorporating a retinoid into your skincare routine?

And why is this fitting? Because today is my birthday, and with every year that passes, I am not one who gets depressed.

I honestly am just grateful that I made it another year. Like, we survived.

And if we can survive while having better-looking skin as we get wiser in life, one of those ingredients that allows our skin to look better as we age in life are retinoids.

Let us jump in, starting with rule number one, and this is the most important rule for anybody, whether you are a beginner or a veteran: go low and go slow, meaning it's not just about the percentage when I'm talking about goal, it's about the type of retinoid that you're incorporating into your routine.

So if you are a beginner, a moderate, or an advanced user, this applies to all of you.

If you guys want a little refresher on retinoids, you can watch the deep dive on retinoids that I did before, but briefly, retinoids are the class, okay?

It's the class of vitamin A that helps your skin renew itself and be stronger and better for you in the long run.

Tretinoin is that prescription, is that active form of retinoid that makes a difference in your skin. Retinol is what people know retinoids as, and that gets converted into retinal, which then gets converted into that retinoic acid, tretinoin, that's already active in your skin.

But there's a whole series of events in between and even before the retinol.

So starting from lightest, we have retinol esters, and those are retinyl propionate, retinyl palmitate, retinyl acetate, and they are the least effective forms of retinoids, but they're also a good entry point for people who are either very sensitive or do not know how to start.

Then the retinyl esters become retinol, and that's what you guys are so marketed basically on the grand scheme of things.

Beauty companies, beauty industry, markets retinols, and you will hear, "This is 0.3% pure retinol," like the L'Oréal or SkinMedica or SkinCeuticals, because retinol has become the mainstream synonym of retinoids.

But retinols are not active when they're applied to the skin. They have to get converted into retinols, and then that gets converted into retinoic acid, which is the active form, aka the prescription.

So retinols are 10 to 20 percent less potent than retinoic acid.

Um, again, they're good if you are a beginner and if you're super sensitive and you want to go past the retinal ester stage.

Look for an encapsulated form of a retinol. Encapsulated simply means it has a little capsule around it that slowly breaks off throughout the day or whatever the timeline is, so the retinol gets slowly introduced to your skin, so it's a slow release.

Then retinal is a step above the retinol.

Like I just said, it's a good alternative if you're looking for more efficacy but you're just not ready to take the plunge into a retinoic acid.

It's more stable, and it is a gentle vitamin A derivative, but there is a better version than retinol now, which is also known as retinoic acid esters, and this is the cousin, also known as Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate or Granactive Retinoid from The Ordinary.

And this has been around now for a few years.

It is the cousin form of retinoic acid, but it is less irritating. So if you are somebody who you think you could take the plunge, you're ready to start a prescription, but you tend to be sensitive, this one's for you.

If you're too scared to do a prescription, this one's for you.

And if you can only tolerate a prescription once a week, but you want to have something more consistent in your routine, I would strongly suggest that you look for a retinoic acid ester, also known as Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate.

And Then last, we have retinoic acid, AKA Tretinoin, AKA prescription that you need from a doctor, AKA the most effective one.

But you do not need to go wrong and strong from the beginning. So go low, meaning go low on the type of retinol, and go slow, meaning slowly incorporate it.

Start by using it once to two times a week only for a few weeks, and slowly add a night, three times a week for a few weeks, and slowly add a night, four times a week for a few weeks, until you can use it every night.

Now, there are some people out there who can use a prescription only once a week, and they tell me that's all I can do is use a retinoid once a week, because I can only tolerate the prescription once a week.

There are six other nights a week in which you can use a less strong version of the retinoid, like I just mentioned, a retinol, a retinal, or even the retinoic acid ester on those other nights of the week without getting any irritations.

So I want you guys to be adventurous in how you're playing with retinols and how you're viewing them as a longer-term part of your skincare routine.

You don't have to use the same one every single day, and you can go low and go slow to incorporate.

But once you've reached your maximum sort of tolerance level for a certain type of retinoid, you can go back and go to a lighter version that basically fills in the gaps on the other nights of the week.

So that is Golden Rule, Rule, Rule numero uno, number two, should we exfoliate when we are using a retinoid on the same night?

Absolutely not. If you are a beginner, this is something that I do not recommend for all the newbies out there.

People get very excited. They want to start exfoliating, they want to start using retinol, they want to start doing all the good stuff on their face.

Their face blows up, they get redness, inflamed skin barriers, they freak out, they no longer know how to approach the whole situation.

So I would rather you guys see the gains slowly and get excited by the gains slowly than try to do it all at once.

So exfoliate two to three times a week and I prefer exfoliating only at night and on the other night to use the retinoids that you're choosing to use.

Now, for the more advanced user, can you exfoliate while using a retinoid?

Absolutely. I have been able to tolerate both for years, but it's not something that I developed overnight. So if you are incorporating a retinoid, do not exfoliate on the same night.

Your skin will thank you for it. That is the beauty of skin care. You have to experiment and get to know your skin and see how your skin responds.

Number three, if you are a sensitive soul, buffer. Now, what do I mean by buffer? Two years ago, the moisture sandwich became a thing, which basically was serum, retinol, moisturizer.

I just thought it was stupid because I don't like stupid terms that basically, or maybe I don't know, it's a marketing term.

But genuinely, what does buffer mean? It means put a layer of something basic underneath, put a layer of a moisturizer underneath, depending on how sensitive you are, and then use the retinol last.

So if you're very sensitive, you would put—and I will show you guys—you'd use serum first, right?

You would use this. You would get that on your face, you use the moisturizer on top, right?

I'm demoing it for you guys. This is for the sensitive ones or the ones who are too scared.

And then you get your retinol, right here I have the L'Oréal. You use this one last.

But you're going to tell me, "But the retinol is a serum, Shereene, why are you using that last?" I don't care, because you're sensitive.

Where's the camera? Because you're sensitive, I'd rather you use the serum, then the moisturizer, then the retinol, so that the retinol is not going directly on your skin, increasing your risk of irritation.

Now, if you are a tank and you can bulldoze your way through the skincare, you take the retinol, put that one first, okay?

Go to town, rub it in, and then use your serum, right? And then use your moisturizer.

That is how I approach buffering versus not buffering. The other thing I would say is around the eyes. When you are buffering, this is where I use a thicker cream.

I am not prone so much to milia. I get them very rarely. I'll use Vaseline. I will put the Vaseline underneath my eyes, right?

And then I will go and take a dab of the retinol and put it on top. The Vaseline is a thick ointment.

It's harder for things to get through it, but that is a really good way to buffer as well if you are not prone to milia.

Now, number four, when starting—and honestly, even for the more advanced users, including myself—I do not put the retinol over here. Why?

because I shed like a snake, I constantly get irritated around my mouth. It is an area that is notorious among people and patients that they cannot tolerate vitamin A's around their mouth, and they tend to get really flaky and really red.

And being in a state of chronic inflammation is the worst thing you can do for your skin.

So I avoid this area, or I use a much lesser, what's the word I'm looking for, a less strong, a less intense retinoid, meaning I go for the like I mentioned to you guys at the very beginning, the retinol esters or even an over-the-counter retinol.

Can you buffer around your mouth? Sure, you can buffer around your mouth as well, but personally, I do not love using Vaseline around here because I get clogged.

And rule number five, you need to follow it the next day with sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen.

And I'm not a sunscreen militant, kind of, but you really do have to protect your skin. What is the point of taking all of this time to invest in your skin, to build a stronger foundation, to have better-looking skin if you are not protecting it?

Useless. So let's quickly jump into product recommendations starting with quote unquote retinol alternatives.

Now, is this a true alternative to retinol? No. But does it have some merit in the field of collagen production and stimulation?

Yes. And that is because, y'all, if you are pregnant, this is what I personally used. Ole Henriksen. Indeed Labs also has Baku shell pads.

I love this one because it is a beautiful purple hue, and it just goes on seamlessly. It does give your skin a little bit of a glow, and it's a really really pretty product.

It retails for $60. It has, like I said, because shell. It also has a little bit of glycolic acid and lactic acid, which is fine to use if you're pregnant.

Um, and this is an exception to rule number two, which I told you guys was never exfoliate and use a retinoid on the same night, because it is actually a retinoid alternative.

Now, a retinil derivative, but before even talking about retinal esters, is a very light hybrid of a retinol.

This is extremely for beginners or very sensitive skin people.

Universal Pro-Retinol by Glossier. Things I hate: I hate that they call it a pro-retinol because it is misleading in a marketing term.

It is actually not a pro-retinol at all. It has retinol sunflowerate, which is composed of sunflower fatty acids and retinol, but it's not actually any form of a pure retinol at all.

But it's great for beginners. It is priced at $35.

It probably will not irritate your skin, and at least it's something for you guys to start off with if you are nervous and if you do not know exactly where to start.

When it comes to retinol esters, everyone talks about this French one, the A313.

I've been talking about it for years. The reason I think it has such a cult following is because it gives the skin an instant gratification the next day.

That all comes down to formulation. But when you look at the actual composition of the A313, it is a light version of retinoids.

It is actually a retinol, a mix of retinol esters, actually retinol acetate, retinol palmitate, and retinol propionate.

It has a very silky and ointment-like texture when you actually see it, and I will say, I still get occasionally itchy when I use this Again formulation, but my skin the next day looks extremely smooth and like, like an ice skating rink.

It's almost like it filters your skin overnight. So that is all formulation. I don't think the retinol is working that fast, but I like the instant gratification of that product.

Now, when you're talking about pure retinols, very easy one for you guys to get at any sort of Duane Reade, CVS, Walgreens, is L'Oréal.

L'Oréal 0.3 retinol. You guys can also try SkinCeuticals.

They have at 0.3, 0.5, and 1.0. But I will say that more of my patients get irritated using the SkinCeuticals 0.3 versus this one, the Revitalift by L'Oréal 0.3.

And I think it's because this has more of an encapsulated technology.

So if you are more on the sensitive one, I'd pick this. If you're ready to go a little bit stronger, I'd go for SkinCeuticals.

Easily accessible, easy to find for you guys.

SkinCeuticals retails at 70, 80 dollars, whereas the L'Oréal is around 39 to 40 dollars or so.

I do hate the dropper. I don't think I need to keep saying that, but I'm back 2023. I hate the dropper. If you, if you're new to my channel, hate the dropper.

Um, the SkinCeuticals at least comes in a squeeze, pop, squeeze tube. Now, retinaldehydes, which are the step before retinoic acid, Avène is a great one.

They have their retinol 0.1 at 74. It is a 0.1% retinol cream, um, yellow tinted, and it also has their thermal spring water, which is supposedly helpful for any sort of redness that you may or may not have.

And last but not least, are the retinoic acid esters, the cousin of retinoic acid, the hydroxypinacolone retinoate, also known as Grandactive Retinoid.

5 Golden Rules To Incorporate Retinol In Your Routine! | Dr. Shereene Idriss

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