Retinol is really a staple of skincare.
Hi, Amy.
Hi, so I'm turning 40
and I've started to see some significant changes in my skin.
So, I really wanna start
making my skincare routine a priority.
I have heard that retinol can help with anti-aging
but I've put off starting to use it
because I recently had a baby
and it was recommended to not use
while I was pregnant and breastfeeding.
I'm since done breastfeeding
and I would love to find out if retinal
is something I should start to use now
and how you would recommend I incorporate it
into my skincare routine.
Well, Amy, that is a fantastic question
and retinol is one of the most popular things
that people ask me about.
It's one of the most popular things that are searched online
and that's because it's one
of the most important ingredients
that we can use for in our skin.
It's actually a vitamin that was discovered in the 1970s
and it's a healthy vitamin for our skin
that really helps it grow properly
so that our pores stay open so that we have a more
even skin tone, that we have less darkness in our skin
and that we have less fine lines and wrinkles.
So, retinol is really a staple of skincare
but it's not it's not something you can just jump in
and use right away like a moisturizer or a sunscreen.
So, it's really important to kind of think
about how you use it and to really start gradually.
I advise my patients to really ease into using retinol
because if they put it all over their face every night
they're gonna have redness stinging irritation
and they're gonna hate it and they're gonna stop using it.
So, what I generally advise my patients to do
is to start slow.
So, you're gonna put it on at nighttime
and you're only gonna use it one night a week
for the first week and we apply it at nighttime
because retinol, it's inactivated by the sun,
so it's not something you generally wanna do in the morning
but right after you wash your face
you can put on a pea sized amount
and that's what I kind of advise patients to do,
is to start just one night a week with a pea sized amount.
They're gonna put just from the middle of your face out,
this is the amount you should be using
and put it all over your face.
Now, if you tolerate it one night a week then the next week
you can start using it two nights a week
and if you tolerate it two nights a week
then the next week you can go to three nights a week
and et cetera, et cetera until you find
that happy balance with your skin.
Now, the other thing that's important is that,
there's different types of retinol to do.
This is actually a cream based one by Rogue
which I really like.
It's a milder one.
I think it's a great starter product.
There's some more intensive ones on the market now.
This is one by Neutrogena called Retinol Pro Plus
which is a little bit more intense,
but, like I said you wanna start slowly.
You wanna use a pea sized amount and for some patients
it's a really good idea to buffer it.
So, what buffering means is you're gonna mix it
with a moisturizer.
So, I have the same amount of moisturizer here.
I'm mixing them together and then you can apply
the pea sized amount to the whole face.
Again, work from the middle of your face out
and then finally for my very sensitive patients,
if you know you're prone to redness
and everything irritates you, I layer it.
So, I have patients use the hyaluronic acid serum first
and then they put on the retinol
and then they put on the moisturizer
and we call that a retinol sandwich.
So you do all three steps-
That's me, I am hive city.
Yeah, retinol sandwich.
I am sensitive to everything as Anne knows.
So, and again, retinol's not for everyone Rachel
and so that's why it's really important to talk
to your dermatologist about if it's right
for you and how you should use it.
But, I love that she brought up too,
that this is a question that she's facing
because she's about to turn 40
and you look very beautiful and very youthful.
Thank you, thank you very much.
I've been moisturizing since I was a teenager.
What age should people really start
taking their skincare most seriously?
Is there an age that you recommend?
I have young kids, so sunscreen
should be used by everybody
and I have them start doing that.
But, I think I find most people around puberty
into college ages and their early twenties
really start to question,
what should they be doing with their skin
and moisturizer is super important
because that creates a barrier for our skin
and when your skin is moisturized it's less likely
to become irritated or prone to rashes
and so moisturizer on a daily basis is a great idea.
Retinol's kind of like the next step
or when you're trying to think about an anti-aging product.