It’s the wonder anti-ageing skincare ingredient, but how do you know what to buy?

Vitamin A has been long used in skincare, but sometimes it can be confusing to work out which is the best type to use. In a nutshell, it comes in two forms – prescription medication (retin-A) or over-the-counter retinoids. Prescription formulas contain retinoic acid, an ingredient that helps fight visible signs of ageing, while non-prescription alternatives need to convert retinol into retinoic acid at the cellular level.

Retinol’s antioxidant properties also help protect skin against damage caused by exposure to the sun and ultraviolet light. Credit: Getty Images “In off-the-shelf formulas, the ingredient called retinol is the only derivative of vitamin A worth using,” says Dr Dana Sachs, an associate professor of dermatology at the University of Michigan Medical School. “There’s a lot of literature showing that while retinol is more gentle than retinoic acid, biochemically it does the same thing – it may just take longer to see results.

” It takes an average of 12 weeks for retinoic acid to create noticeable changes in skin. Retinol is a fat-soluble molecule with antioxidant and wound-healing abilities. It helps with tissue regeneration and accelerates cell turnover, which slows down as we age, resulting in a build-up of dead skin cells in the upper layers of our skin.

By boosting the turnover of cells, retinoids help stimulate the production of collagen and elastin, which address skin concerns such as fine lines, wrinkles, uneven skin tone and acne. Then the.