Miracle cream? We find out if the new Boots retinol serum is worth it
In its first 24 hours of pre-order, 48,000 people joined the waitlist to get their hands on Boots brand No.7’s first ever retinol serum. Why? It’s from the team behind the No.7 Protect & Perfect Serum that caused a stampede at the tills back in 2007, after BBC Horizon showed it to be clinically proven to reduce wrinkles. Now, they’ve turned their hand to retinol, one of the most-googled skincare search terms, according to market analysts Mintel — and once you know its history, it’s easy to understand why.
A derivative of vitamin A, it is considered the ‘gold standard’ anti-ageing ingredient, thanks to its clinically proven effects in curbing acne, smoothing wrinkles, firming skin, fading pigmentation and giving your complexion a luminous quality. No wonder Boots No.7’s first crack at the wonder ingredient amassed the biggest wait list figures in the brand’s history. In Ireland, the product is available on Boots.ie, with an introductory price tag of €25. It will normally cost €36.
Retinol’s downsides, though temporary, can include redness, irritation and dry, flaky skin — but this unflattering settling-in phase can be a small price to pay for the results, which begin to emerge after four to six weeks.
Like many of the cosmetic industry’s most effective technologies, retinol’s anti-ageing benefits were discovered by accident. Used by dermatologists since the 1960s as an acne treatment, an unexpected side-effect of retinoic acid (the substance to which retinol is coverted by the skin) was an improvement in the appearance of aged complexions, which led experts to begin studying its effects on wrinkles in the 1980s.
While retinoic acid is classified as a drug and needs to be prescribed by a doctor, its precursor retinol (which needs extra steps at a cellular level to be converted to retinoic acid) is deemed the most effective anti-ageing ingredient available in a cosmetic product.
Until recently, I had mixed feelings about this wonder ingredient. The first time I tried it, I didn’t make it through the month, because I couldn’t withstand the red, blotchy, ‘hangover’ skin I was initially lumbered with. Still, I often wonder what would have happened if I’d stuck with it, as every dermatologist I know speaks highly of its skin-smoothing ability.
“Retinol regulates over 500 genes that are needed for healthy skin function,” says Dr Mike Bell, Boots scientific skincare advisor.
“It fixes the ‘glitches’ in your skin’s ‘computer’, improving cell renewal, collagen production and its protection mechanisms, causing your skin to look and act younger.”
But won’t retinol thin my skin?
While numerous studies prove its efficacy, retinol has its critics. A colleague of mine, who is equally fascinated by youth-promoting ingredients as I am, is a sceptic. Her concern is that because retinol is shown to resurface the skin, it therefore ‘thins’ its protective barrier. In fact, the opposite is true.
“People often assume this, but it is a myth,” says Dr Bell. “While there may be some initial peeling, the studies show that the epidermis actually thickens over time.
In young, healthy skin, stem cells are continually producing new, fresh skin cells, but as we age, the production is reduced. Retinol switches it back on, causing an increase in cell renewal.”
A matter of concentration
Some believe that the higher the concentration of retinol in a product, the better your skin will look. But it’s much more nuanced than that, says Dr Bell. “Results depend on the type of retinol you use, whether the bottle sufficiently protects the ingredients from heat and air, whether the ingredient is released into the lower levels of the epidermis by a controlled delivery system.”
In consumer tests, 96pc of women tolerated 0.3pc retinol, compared with 72pc using one per cent retinol.
The proof: anti-ageing results
In a 12-week clinical study, 60 women aged between 45 and 65 were split into two groups. Thirty were tested wearing a day and night cream only and 30 were tested using the same day and night cream, with the addition of No.7’s retinol. Participants in the retinol group ramped up retinol use over four weeks, then applied it nightly for eight weeks.
By the end of the experiment, the retinol users showed at least double the improvement in firmness, hyperpigmentation, under-eye wrinkles and crow’s feet compared to the control group. Furthermore, in separate studies epidermal thickening doubled with No.7’s retinol, while tests on skin cells showed a 55pc increase in procollagen production.
So how should I get started?
Begin by using retinol two nights a week and gradually increase as your skin becomes acclimatised, working up to every night by the end of eight weeks. Go slow and steady — and enjoy the results.
Retinol fixes the ‘glitches’ in your skin’s ‘computer’, improving cell renewal and causing your skin to look and act younger