Retinaldehyde vs. Retinol – Choosing the Best for Your Skin

Between parenting, work, and keeping up with everything else, who has time to research confusing skincare ingredients? But you’ve noticed your skin is starting to show signs of ageing – fine lines, dark spots, roughness. You want to take action but don’t know where to start. 

Retinaldehyde vs retinol. Retinal vs retinol. Retinol vs retinoid. Why are there so many different terms? You’ve heard they can reduce wrinkles and recapture a more youthful glow, but the science behind how they work makes your brain hurt!

The details just aren’t important to you as a busy mom. You just want to know – which one will make you look less tired, stressed and dare I say younger when you catch a glimpse in the mirror?

I’ve been there too. Trying to decipher the differences between these vitamin A ingredients can make you feel completely overwhelmed. But it doesn’t have to be that complicated.

As a fellow busy mom, I learned the key facts that make understanding retinaldehyde vs retinol so much easier. 

In this article written specifically for multi-tasking moms, I’ll cut through the fancy jargon and explain the main differences between these anti-agers in simple terms. No complicated science or hard-to-pronounce words. You need the basics to decide which is right for your skin and your life. 

So, grab your favourite cosy blanket, settle into your skincare sanctuary, and let’s embark on a journey that demystifies the world of retinaldehyde vs retinol.

Basic Beginnings

You may be wondering – what exactly are these retinol and retinaldehyde ingredients? They fall under the umbrella of “retinoids”, which are compounds derived from vitamin A. 

Vitamin A is an important nutrient our bodies need that we get from food and supplements. Leafy greens like spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes and eggs are prime sources, but just eating more salads or scrambling up some eggs won’t directly give you clearer, younger-looking skin.

Here’s why – our bodies prioritize using vitamin A to support vital functions first, like immune health and eyesight. Whatever is leftover gets distributed to less critical places like our skin cells. And most of us don’t consume enough vitamin A foods to really make a difference in our complexions.

That’s where topical retinoids for the skin come in. They allow vitamin A to be delivered right where you need it – on the surface of the skin where signs of ageing develop. No need to worry if your diet is providing enough vitamin A when it’s going straight to the source!

Related Posts:
How to Apply Retinol for Beginners – The Ultimate Guide

The Benefits of Retinoids

A quick reminder of the benefits of retinoids, should you need it:

• It reduces wrinkles by boosting collagen production. This ensures that not just our collagen stores are protected, but also encourages the skin to create more collagen.
  
  
• It fades away dark spots and hyperpigmentation by inhibiting the clumping of melanin in the basal cells, which are responsible for producing the skin’s pigment. 
  
  
• It brightens the complexion by accelerating cellular turnover that helps shed the top layer of dull and pigmented skin cells, making way for newer, healthier skin cells to surface.
  
  
• It shrinks open pores and stops spots from forming through keratinization which prevents dead skin cells from sticking together and clogging pores. 
  
  
• It treats acne by reducing excessive sebum production which helps keep the pores clean and less prone to congestion. This not only prevents the formation of new acne but also promotes a healthier and more balanced complexion.
  
  
• It minimises the appearance of acne scars through accelerated cellular turnover. As new skin cells replace the old ones, the skin’s texture improves, and scars become less noticeable over time
  
  
• It firms and thickens the skin – by promoting a more refined skin texture it makes the epidermis thicker and compacts the outermost layer of the skin, the stratum corneum.
  
  
• It reduces some of the causes of sun damage – more recent research shows it can actually reduce some of the causes of damage that occur with UV exposure in the first place.
  
  
• It supports overall skin health through its antioxidant properties that help protect the skin against free radicals, which can contribute to premature ageing. 

Related Posts:
Retinol and Sun Exposure: How To Successfully Navigate This For Flawless Skin

What are Retinoids?

Before we go any further, let’s clear up the confusion around the word “retinoid”. I’ve seen a fair few analogies out there, mostly involving food, to help illustrate it, so let’s use my favourite food…..chocolate!

We call the general foodstuff chocolate, but within that, we can have milk chocolate, white chocolate, dark chocolate……but it’s all still under the umbrella term chocolate.

Add to the analogy the different strengths of chocolate: white chocolate is furthest away from the cocoa bean, then milk and finally the strongest and closest to the cocoa bean, dark chocolate.

Retinoids are very similar. There are a variety of retinoids: retinaldehyde, retinol, retinyl esters etc., but they are still all…..retinoids. And just like chocolate, they all come in a variety of strengths too, but more of that later.

Yeah, I went there with the chocolate!!

Retinoic Acid

Retinoids are categorised, and sold, in four primary groups: retinyl esters, retinol, retinaldehyde (aka retinal) and retinoic acid. They all work by binding to and activating retinoic acid receptors in our skin, which in turn alters our skin’s DNA to change appearance and texture.

But….and it’s a big but…..out of those four primary groups, it is only retinoic acid that our skin’s retinoic acid receptors can use – no surprise there really when you think about it! 

The other 3 groups of retinoids – retinyl esters, retinol and retinaldehyde – all need to convert into retinoic acid to activate those retinoic acid receptors and work their magic. The further away from retinoic acid the retinoid group is, the more conversions they have to take to get there.

Unfortunately, the more conversions they take to get to retinoic acid, the weaker the product gets, and I say unfortunately because these weaker products come with less irritation.

Retinaldehyde vs Retinol – The Chocolate Analogy

So hopefully, from the charts above, you can see where retinaldehyde and retinol are placed in this order of retinoid strength.

• If retinoic acid is the cocoa beans, then retinaldehyde is dark chocolate and retinol is the milk chocolate. 
  
• In terms of strength, dark chocolate has a stronger chocolate taste than milk chocolate just like retinaldehyde has a stronger effect on our skin than retinol.

I can take this chocolate analogy even further……

• In terms of irritation, dark chocolate has stronger side effects from the caffeine than milk chocolate just like retinaldehyde has stronger side effects on our skin than retinol.
  

Retinaldehyde vs Retinol for Strength

As you can see from the chart above, retinaldehyde has one conversion step to get to the active retinoic acid, whereas retinol has two steps. With each conversion step, there is a degradation in the retinoid, which is why retinaldehyde is stronger than retinol due to one less conversion step:

• This study showed how collagen and elastic fibres in UVA-exposed skin were restored to the level of non-exposed skin when treated with retinaldehyde.
  
  Furthermore, skin that was treated with retinaldehyde when exposed to UVA was similar to that of unexposed skin, unlike non-retinaldehyde-treated skin.
  
  
• We know that 0.05% retinaldehyde is as effective as 0.05% retinoic acid for the treatment of photo-ageing, whereas this study shows that retinol is 20 times less potent than retinoic acid.
  
  Related posts:
  RETINOL NOT WORKING? 17 REASONS YOU’RE OVERLOOKING IT’S MAGIC

Retinaldehyde vs Retinol for Irritation

Generally the weaker the retinoid the weaker the irritation. The irritation potential builds as the strength increases, ending with the mother of all irritative skincare products, retinoic acid.

You would think that using retinaldehyde would be more of a struggle than retinol (but less than retinoic acid), and in theory that is correct, however in practice is that necessarily the case?

• A known downside of retinaldehyde is that it is notoriously tricky to keep stable. This is the reason why there’s not a huge amount of retinaldehyde products out there (and some…..ok all, eye-wateringly expensive)
  
  
• Those few skincare companies that have produced a retinaldehyde product, have dealt with both these issues. Some have done this by developing an encapsulation system that allows it to be slowly released into the skin over time rather than in one big hit.
  
  All have used other ingredients to help protect the skin against the irritative effects of retinaldehyde, like glycerin, niacinamide and hyaluronic acid.
  
  
• This study shows that retinaldehyde was no more irritative than retinol when compared to retinoic acid.
  

Related Posts:
Medik8 Crystal Retinal 3 Review In Focus: Crystal Clear Results

Retinaldehyde vs Retinol: Which One Should You Buy?

Now that we understand how retinaldehyde and retinol work individually, let’s do a deep dive into the key differences between the two ingredients:

Potency

• We know that retinaldehyde is only one step away from the active ingredient retinoic acid so therefore more potent than retinol. Higher potency equals quicker results.
  
  
• If you are using retinoids for signs of ageing, then your current age is obviously a factor in this – if you’re in your 20s or early 30s you may not have obvious signs of ageing yet so prevention may be your jam right now.
  
  In your case retinol may be all that is required……after all, retinol will still get the same result but will just take longer to get there.
  
  
• If you are older and have those ageing signs already then you may well choose to go for the more potent products and get the work done quicker.
  
  
• Obviously, if you are going down the retinoid path for other benefits like acne, open pores and brighter skin, then age may not play a part in your decision-making process.
  
  
• If you feel your age is a consideration in your retinoid decisions, then look at my post on the best age to start using retinol. It covers tips on starting it depending on which decade you are in!

Related Posts:
When to Start Using Retinol: The Magic Age
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO SEE RESULTS WITH RETINOL?

Side Effects

• The fact that retinaldehyde is more potent than retinol means that it should cause more side effects
  
  
• Because of this fact, skincare companies have produced products with added ingredients that, by and large, are no more irritable than retinol.
  
  
• Notice I said “no more irritable” – retinol is still a strong product and should be used with care just like retinaldehyde
  
  
• If you struggle with sensitive skin, then there are plenty of ways to minimise the struggle, plus different strengths within the retinaldehyde group, should you choose the quicker route. 
  
  I have written two posts all about side effects and tips to minimise them.
  
  
• If you struggle with extremely sensitive skin, you may well just need to go to the lowest strength retinol and follow the tips you can find in the posts linked just above.
  
  The good news it is very unusual for someone to not be able to use a form of retinoid – it’s just a matter of trial and error to find the way that works for you.
  

Related Posts:
Side Effects of Using Retinol Demystified: Your Ultimate Comprehensive Guide
How to Avoid Retinol Purge – 17 Tips for Starting Retinol

Cost

• There is quite a divide here and not much can be done about that…for now
  
  
• Because of the instability and irritability of retinaldehyde, it costs companies a lot to get around all of these issues, without losing its potency. Therefore the cost for us to buy these products is much higher
  
  
• There is also a lack of companies going into making retinaldehyde products, so there is less competition for the companies that do, meaning further higher prices.
  
  
• As with any product, as more skincare companies produce their own brand of retinaldehyde, prices should start coming down.
  
  
• As for retinol, it is a much cheaper and easier product for skincare companies to make, so there is a dizzying array of products to choose from at a range of prices.
  
  It may well mean this is the path you have to take until the retinaldehyde prices come down – again, a reminder you will still get results!
  
  Related Posts:
  Medik8 Crystal Retinal 3 Review In Focus: Crystal Clear Results
  
  

Retinal vs Retinol

Just to make skincare more confusing the word “retinal” comes along. So where does this fit into the charts above?

Easy answer, thank goodness…….retinal is just a shortened word for retinaldehyde – it’s exactly the same thing!!

Conclusion

The skincare industry doesn’t always make it easy for us! We just want products that reduce wrinkles, even out skin tone, and give us that youthful glow. But it’s frustrating when brands focus more on marketing claims than on helping us understand how an ingredient actually works on our skin.

After going through the ins and outs of retinaldehyde vs retinol, hopefully, you have a clearer picture of which retinoid is best for your unique skin.

Ultimately, consider your skin’s sensitivity and needs:

• If you have easily irritated skin, start with retinol. You’ll get noticeable results with less risk of dryness and peeling.
• If you have heartier skin and are focused on tackling deep wrinkles, why not give retinaldehydes a go? With diligent use, your complexion will look fresher and firmer over time.

Whichever retinoid you choose, be sure to introduce it slowly into your regimen – 2 to 3 nights a week at first. Always follow with SPF during the daytime, and give the product at least 6 to 8 weeks for visible improvements in your skin’s texture, tone, and vibrancy.

Here’s to starting your journey towards a more youthful, radiant complexion! Let me know in the comments which retinoid sounds best for your needs.