Retinol is the ultimate anti-ager for your face, but should you use it all over your body?

Ask most skincare buffs to pick one ingredient that actually works and many will give you the same answer. Retinol, or vitamin A, is one of the very few cosmetic ingredients that even skin doctors agree can reduce signs of ageing such as wrinkles and age spots. Its efficacy is backed up by strong clinical studies.

so it’s no wonder many women religiously dab it on their faces before bed.

But now, a slew of new products claim to offer the same benefits for your whole body. Could retinol body cream really give you smooth, even, glowing skin all over? And if so, why haven’t we all been doing it for years?

There’s a growing trend for superpowered body care, using pricey ingredients once reserved for facial products. Last year saw the launch of serums and lotions containing a range of anti-ageing heroes from peptides to acids and ceramides.

The latest creams feature percentages of retinol that are lower than most face creams, but should genuinely make a difference. Any concentration of the ingredient from 0.1 per cent upwards will work on signs of ageing, while face creams currently come in a range of strengths up to 1 per cent.

Retinol works by making your skin cells more efficient at producing collagen, the protein that keeps skin plump. At the same time, it speeds up your skin’s ‘ cell turnover’, the cycle of regeneration that slows as we age.

As a result, your skin functions better, meaning it’s better at fixing damage in the form of discoloured blotches and lined, crepey areas. Over time, skin treated with retinol tends to look plumper and more even. Oil production is regulated too, meaning fewer spots.

On the other hand, retinol is notorious for causing irritation, so it needs to be used with care. Initially at least, all the extra stimulation can lead to inflamed areas and peeling, dry skin.

This will taper off for most users, but for some, the irritation will continue. All of which helps to explain why retinol body creams haven’t been widely available until now.

Cost is another factor; putting enough of a premium ingredient into a body formula is never going to be cheap. But consumers are now more prepared to invest in lush skin all over.

However, good results take time. A retinol product can smooth rough texture in weeks, but plumping crepey skin and tackling discolouration would take at least three months’ use.

Can Retinol’s long-term benefits make my dry winter skin less needy? Over three months, I put the five main retinol body creams to the test . . .

THE SUPER EXFOLIATOR Nécessaire The Body Retinol, £56 (150ml, spacenk.com)

UnsCenTed (though it does smell a bit odd) and silky, this cream contains 0.1 per cent retinol. It also contains 10 per cent of exfoliating acids — a lot by any standards. That includes the most powerful one, glycolic acid. Within days, this made my skin so slick I felt like a seal.

I loved it, but three weeks later I got a burning rash in my inner elbows that took weeks to clear up. Given the relative percentages, it’s more likely this was caused by the strong exfoliating acids than the retinol.

I suspect the same may be true of its undoubted skinsmoothing properties.

VERDICT: Best for super- smooth skin — if you can stand glycolic acid. 3/5

SMOOTH BUT COSTLY Paula’s Choice Skin Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment, £33 (118ml, paulaschoice.co.uk)

FeATURInG another 0.1 per cent concentration of retinol (plus skin-protecting antioxidants), vitamin A virgins are advised to use this only every other day at first. But it caused me no irritation even when applied daily.

There are rich butters and oils in the formula, too. It’s very light with a pleasant smell that sinks in immediately and keeps skin smooth. sadly, like most body retinols, it’s pricey.

VERDICT: Lightweight and easy to use, but expensive. 4/5

BEATS BLOTCHES Beauty Pie YouthBomb Body Concentrate, £125 (£38 for members, 200ml, beautypie.com)

BILLed as a retinol body lotion, this actually features 0.2 per cent hydroxypinacolone retinoate, an alternative form of vitamin A that is less irritating but somewhat less effective.

On the flip side, it has almost 7 per cent of powerfully exfoliating glycolic acid and a high dose of brightening and calming niacinamide, a form of vitamin B3.

Once again, the glycolic acid in this made my skin very smooth ( it’s a great one if you have keratosis pilaris or ‘chicken skin’) but it also irritated (the lingering perfume might have something to do with that).

With niacinamide in the formulation as well, this fast-absorbing lotion ought to be very good at tackling pigmentation, but do use a body sPF because it will make skin sun-sensitive. VERDICT: skin-brightening but a little aggressive. 3/5

EXTRA POWERFUL Skinsense Retinol Body Cream, £26 (100ml, skinsense.co.uk)

THIs 0.3 per cent retinol lotion is the highest percentage available for the body. It also contains the gentle ‘plant retinol’, bakuchiol.

despite the higher concentration of retinol, and the fact this light, comfortable cream is quite heavily scented, it caused no irritation and kept my sleek ‘seal skin’ going.

Once again, the tube is frustratingly small (100ml) for the price but on QVC you can get two for little more than the price of one.

VERDICT: Most retinol for your money, but a strong scent. 4/5

PERFECT FOR BEGINNERS

Naturium Retinol Body lotion, £27 (234ml, spacenk. com)

THIs has an entry level concentration of 0.05 per cent retinol that is ‘ encapsulated’ — released slowly after application, further preventing irritation. There’s also a host of anti- inflammatory ingredients such as allantoin, plus butters and skin barrier protectants. Unscented, it’s rich and thick — you don’t need a lot, which makes the price for this 234ml tube seem even more reasonable.

The smoothing, softening benefits should eventually be compounded by line-plumping, pigmentation-fading ones. VERDICT: Great benefits made affordable. 5/5