Your Skin's BFF - Vitamin A

When treating signs of ageing on the skin, there is always an ingredient that springs to mind.

It's a gold standard and one of the only ingredients FDA approved to treat signs of ageing on the skin. Yes, you got it, its Vitamin A!

Today we are going to take a deep dive into Vitamin A and why everyone can be using this hero ingredient to correct and prevent signs of ageing on the skin.

What is Vitamin A?

Vitamin A in its most potent form for topical skincare is known as retinoic acid (tretinoin), developed more than 25 years ago to treat acne vulgaris, but then it was accidentally (thank you) discovered it had great benefits in treating signs of ageing on the skin. Vitamin A supports collagen production and thickens the dermal layer(second layer of skin).

Now you've probably heard of Retinol, Retinyl palmitate and Retinaldehyde. These commonly known forms alongside Tretinoin (retinoic acid) fall into the group of Retinoids, which is a large group of synthetic and naturally occurring Vitamin A compounds. Unlike Tretinoin, Retinol, retinyl palmitate and Retinaldehyde have to be converted by skin enzymes to Retinoic acid.

The faster the conversion rate to Retinoic acid, the more potent the ingredient will be.

Ok, so that's the science and you probably think why not just use the purest form Tretinoin with no conversion?!

Retinoic Acid

Retinoic Acid (tretinoin) is available on prescription and can be useful in treating both acne and ageing concerns, but even though it's the most active form, it has its drawbacks. It can be too aggressive for most people leading to irritated and inflamed skin, which will compromise the skin's barrier. Long term inflammation in the skin can accelerate ageing.Thanks to the involving science of skincare we now have Retinaldehyde.