Vitamin A The Superhero of Skin Care Vitamin A, better known as Retinol or Retin-A has been the backbone of anti-aging medicine for years. With its implementation the field of anti-aging skincare was founded. Any good skin conditioning regimen incorporates vitamin A into the skin conditioning routine and for good reason.  Vitamin A works by encouraging new and stronger healthy skin to grow. As we age, sun damage and signs of aging build up and our natural mechanism for recovery slows down. Vitamin A will help get your skin improve its tone, texture, radiance, uniformity, fine lines, and thickness.  With more retrospective analysis of skincare regimens  and better technology we have recently been able to evaluate long term trials and newer delivery systems for these medicines. First to understand the general application of Vitamin A, you will have to know the two major groups (yes there are more): Retin-A & Retinol. Retin-A tends to be a much stronger product that has indications for antiaging and skin condition disorders (acne, hyperpigmentation, scaring). It is a great product but comes with some problems. Retin-A has a 3-6 week "reaction phase" in which the skin will need time to adjust to this new product. The skin will become dry and flakey. This can detour a lot of patients from completing use. After 12 -16 weeks your final results will be shown in beautiful radiant skin. Unfortunately, longer studies are showing that without a "skin holiday" (the cessation of using products) Retin-A can cause more harm than good. This is where we turn to Retin-A's little brother, Retinol.  Retinol is a weaker product, but excels greatly in patient compliance. That's right, its easier to use with less "irritating" side-effects. The usual adaption phase of getting used to the product is 1-2 weeks of redness and flaking. Results are similar in long term studies, but Retin-A does work much faster. Another advantage of retinol is that it does not cause any long term side-effects to the skin. The skin will continue to improve and prevent even with long term use.  It is important to know that with any of these products, daily sunscreen application is a MUST. The stability of the product is also important. Not just any product will work well. 0.05-0.1% is the ideal concentration of retinol. It should be in Cream form as gels and lotions cause more irritation. Moisturizer is improtant, but if used during the application of retinol can decrease the retinols efficacy. The product must be kept away from sunlight and at room temperature in order to stay stable. Newer nano-particles and fat designed products enable for better skin penetration. Currently I recommend skinceuticals products as they have the best profile.

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