To coincide with the launch of the new Riversol Retinol Treatment, Dr. Rivers broadcasted a Facebook Live Q&A in February 2021 to answer his most common customer questions. Read on to see what he has to say about the science behind retinols, retinol safety, results, routine building, and more.
Q: I have type one rosacea with spider veins on my cheeks, will retinol help with this?
A: Most retinols tend to be used for acne, and they can be used for rosacea as well. A study done a few years ago in Australia, shows that topical retinoids alone may have a positive effect in helping to reduce the signs and symptoms of rosacea. The issue about retinols is that they can be drying and irritating to the skin, our new formulation is somewhat different in that this is a retinol that is .5% and has our hinokitiol that is from the red cedar tree, and a powerful hydrating complex that helps improve the hyaluronic acid formation in the skin.
Therefore, retinols can be used for the treatment of Rosacea. Since they are drying to the skin they need to be used carefully. If you use them too much too quickly they can irritate the skin. When using any type of retinoid on your skin, and this includes retinol which is converted to tretinoin which is the prescription formulation of Vitamin A acid, you need to get your skin tolerant to it. I often tell people to use the product on the skin only for a few hours initially, wash it off and use a moisturizer. Use this method to slowly build up your tolerance, until you can wear it at bedtime and wash it off in the morning.
Q: How do I incorporate retinol into my anti-aging regime?
A: Continue to use your regular products and slowly introduce the retinol into your regime, generally in the evening for a few hours, then wash it off and put on your night time moisturizer. Eventually the idea is to be able to wash your face in the evening put on a serum, then your retinol, if you need it a moisturizer after that or on its own since it is in a base that is quite soothing to the skin and leave on until washing your face in the morning.
Q: Retinol or Corrector?
A: You can in fact use both, using the corrector once a day in the morning and the retinol in the evening. The Corrector, which has our tranexamic acid and niacinamide, is great for dark spots. Our Retinol has the highest concentrate of Beta-T ever formulated, Thujaplicin (Beta-T) itself can have an effect on blocking pigment formation.
Learn more about Dr. Rivers’ hyperpigmentation treatment serum, The Corrector, here.
Q: Do you recommend retinol for melasma?
A: The answer is I do. Melasma is a pigmentary disorder that is very commonly seen in women, related to hormones either endogenous like pregnancy or exogenous like the birth control pill but can also occur for reasons we do not understand. We do know that sunlight and even non ultra violet light may play a role in this, so the cornerstone of treatment for melasma is sunscreen. We have a physical sunscreen that has a tint in it that contains iron oxide which helps to block visible light. We are also developing a new sunscreen that will have a higher iron oxide that can help address this problem even more directly. With that being said Retinol can be used to treat melasma, they not only help improve the quality of the skin but also have a role in blocking pigment formation. Retinols are very effective in the management of melasma, since there is no cure for melasma it does tend to come and go with time.
Find the Riversol sun protection collection here.
Q: What age should we start using retinol?
A: The answer to this can depend on your skin type, some people who are very fair skinned who will have more likely hood of skin damage can start earlier. I think Retinol can be used by anyone, especially starting at the thirties and upward.
Q: Can you use the Exfoliating Glycolic Peel and Retinol?
A: The answer is yes, but you need to be very careful. In order to not irritate the skin, get your skin used to the Retinol for about 3-4 weeks before using the Glycolic Peel. Then when introducing the Glycolic Peel only use it once a week initially.
Learn more about the Riversol Glycolic Peel here.