Types of Retinoids

Different types of retinoids and their pros and cons |

There are different types of retinoids and different products with each type of retinoid as an active ingredient. Retinyl palmitate, retinol, retinaldehyde, adapalene, tretinoin, isotretinoin, and tazarotene are all various forms of retinoids, which in turn are various forms of Vitamin A.

The difference between each type of retinoids is explained in detail further below. But first, here is a chart of retinoid products, categorized by the type of retinoid used in the product, to hopefully clarify some things for you:

Types of Retinoid Products

	Type of Retinoid	Product Name
Weaker ▲ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ▼ Stronger	Retinyl palmitate	Boots No 7 Protect & Perfect Beauty Serum Derma E Refining Vitamin A Creme Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Neostrata Exuviance Vespera Bionic Serum
	Retinol	Green Cream: Level 3 - 0.3% retinol Level 6 - 0.6% retinol Level 9 - 0.9% retinol Afirm Retinol: 1x - 0.15% retinol 2x - 0.3% retinol 3x - 0.6% retinol Alpha Hydrox Retinol ResQ - 0.15% retinol DERMAdoctor Poetry in London - 1% retinol DDF Retinol Energizing Moisturizer Jan Marini: Jan Marini Factor A Plus Lotion Jan Marini Factor A Plus Mask La Roche-Posay Redermic R - 0.1% retinol Murad Age-Balancing Night Cream Neova Retinol ME: 0.15% retinol 0.30% retinol Neutrogena: Neutrogena Ageless Intensives line Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle products Neutrogena Rapid Tone Repair line Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair line Paula's Choice - RESIST Barrier Repair Moisturizer w/Retinol RESIST Intensive Wrinkle-Repair Retinol Serum Skin Balancing Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum w/Retinol Skin Recovery Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum Replenix: Replenix All-trans-Retinol Smoothing Serum - 2x, 3x, 5x, and 10x Replenix All-trans-Retinol Treatment Pads - 2.5x, 5x, 7.5x, and 10x Replenix All-trans-Retinol Eye Cream RoC: RoC Retinol Correxion line RoC Multi Correxion line Philosophy: Philosophy Help Me Philosophy On a Clear Day SkinCeuticals: SkinCeuticals Retinol 0.5 - 0.5% retinol SkinCeuticals Retinol 1.0 - 1% retinol SkinMedica: SkinMedica Tri-Retinol Complex SkinMedica Tri-Retinol Complex ES - 1% retinol Sonya Dakar Retinol Renewal Serum Vichy LiftActiv Retinol HA Night
	Retinaldehyde (or retinal, vitamin A aldehyde)	Avene: Avene D-Pigment Light Avene D-Pigment Rich - 0.05% retinaldehyde Avene Eluage Cream - 0.05% retinaldehyde Avene Eluage Firming Gel - 0.05% retinaldehyde Avene Eluage Eye Contour Care - 0.015% retinaldehyde Avene Retrinal - 0.1% and 0.05% retinaldehyde Avene Retrinal H.A.F. Firming Gel - 0.05% retinaldehyde Avene Triacneal - 0.1% retinaldehyde Avene Ystheal Eye Contour Cream - 0.015% retinaldehyde Avene Ystheal Cream - 0.05% retinaldehyde Avene Ystheal Lotion - 0.05% retinaldehyde Osmosis Skin Care: Calm- 0.05% retinaldehyde Correct - 0.05% retinaldehyde Clarify - 0.05% retinaldehyde Renew - 0.1% retinaldehyde Glytone Clarifying Night Renewal Cream - 0.05% retinaldehyde
	Adapalene (synthetic retinoid)	Differin 0.1% lotion 0.3% gel Epiduo (with benzoyl peroxide) 0.1% gel 2.5% gel Clear by Saffron Pharma - 0.1% cream Gallet by Pharma Health Pakistan - 0.1% cream Teva Adapalene Gel - 0.1% gel (generic for Differin)
	Tretinoin (or retinoic acid)	Retin-A 0.025% or 0.01% gel 0.1%, 0.05%, and 0.025% cream 0.05% liquid Retin-A Micro 0.04% gel 0.1% gel Renova - 0.02% cream Altinac 0.05% cream 0.1% cream Ziana - 0.025% gel (with 1.2% clindamycin phosphate) Avita - 0.025% cream TRETIN•X - 0.0375% cream Refissa - 0.05% cream Stievamycin (with 4% erythromycin) 0.01% mild gel 0.025% gel 0.05% forte gel Stieva-A 0.025% cream 0.05% cream 0.1% cream Airol - 0.05% cream Atralin - 0.05% gel Obagi Nu-Derm Tretinoin 0.025% cream 0.05% cream 0.1% cream
	Tazarotene (synthetic retinoid)	Tazorac - 0.1% gel or cream Avage - 0.1% cream Zorac 0.05% and 0.1% gel 0.05% and 0.1% cream
	Isotretinoin (synthetic tretinoin)	Topical (not as strong) Isotrex - 0.05% gel Isotrexin (with erythromycin) - 0.05% gel Oral (last-resort strong) Roaccutane (Accutane) Claravis Amnesteen Sotret

Types of retinoid products from weakest to strongest

As you can see from the above chart (which by no means is a complete representation of all the retinoid products out there), there are a lot of retinoids on the market. Retinoids are available in various brands (different companies, brand names, generics), types (retinol, tretinoin), concentrations (0.25%, 0.1%), and formulations (gel, cream). Most retinoids are natural retinoids, but some are synthetic. Some retinoids are available at the drug store, while others you can only get at the doctor's office. All of these factors influence the strength and effectiveness of each type of retinoid.

Confused yet?

Don't be.

Keep reading for further clarification.

How are the types of retinoids different?

Retinyl palmitate, retinol, and retinaldehyde are available over-the-counter. The rest of the retinoids are only available through prescriptions, though some online pharmacies (Canadian, Indian, or otherwise) offer various generic versions without one. You usually need a doctor's prescription to legally order a generic of a brand name prescription product, but different online pharmacies operate under different policies, especially if they are in other countries.

Tazarotene is the strongest retinoid, while retinol is the weakest (retinyl palmitate is even weaker than retinol - more on that below*). The strength of a retinoid depends on the type of retinoid. Your skin is only able to use a retinoid when it's in retinoic acid form. Therefore, all types of retinoids are converted to this state by your skin before it can even be used. How does this have anything to do with a retinoid's strength? Allow me to explain.

When you apply a retinoid product that is retinoic acid (ex. Retin-A), your skin is able to use it immediately because it's already in the proper form. However, if you use a product with retinol, the retinol first has to be converted into retinaldehyde and then the retinaldehyde has to be converted to retinoic acid before your skin can use it. Therefore, retinol is weaker than retinaldehyde and retinaldehyde is weaker than retinoic acid. Retinol is the weakest of those three because it takes your skin two extra steps for it to be converted to retinoic acid before it can be utilized. For each conversion step, there is also some uncertainty as to how much of the retinoid was actually converted in the oxidation process (i.e. the retinol may not be 100% converted into retinoic acid). Therefore, the fewer the conversions it takes to get to retinoic acid, the stronger the retinoid.

What about retinyl palmitate?

Retinyl palmitate and retinol are the more common (and cheaper) retinoids available. Retinyl palmitate is weaker than retinol, but many skin care products are labeled as "retinol" treatments, even if there is only retinyl palmitate as an active ingredient and no actual retinol ingredient. This, unfortunately, causes a lot of unnecessary confusion because retinyl palmitate is not the same thing as retinol. Retinyl palmitate must first be converted to retinol, which is then converted to retinaldehyde, which is finally converted to retinoic acid, with some loss during each conversion step. Retinol takes two metabolic steps to be converted into retinoic acid, while retinyl palmitate takes three steps. Therefore retinyl palmitate is weaker than retinol, which is weaker than retinaldehyde, which is weaker than retinoic acid.

The extra conversion step it takes for retinyl palmitate to be converted into usable retinoic acid means that you have to use a product with a very high concentration of retinyl palmitate to make it effective. Most products with retinyl palmitate (also labeled "vitamin A" products) tend to be moisturizing, but they are often too weak to provide any major skin benefits, especially in terms of anti-aging. At the very least, you are better off using a retinol product (check the ingredient list for it on the product label).

Aside from the type of retinoid, each individual product also has its own individual retinoid concentrations. For example, Retin-A comes in 0.025%, 0.05%, and 0.1% formulations. The 0.025% would be the weakest version of Retin-A, while the 0.1% would be the strongest. The formulation of the retinoid also has a factor in its strength, but you can read more about the difference between gel and cream vehicles here. It might also be helpful to familiarize yourself with how natural and synthetic retinoids are different.

So, which type of retinoid is the best?

Deciding on which type of retinoid and which percentage strength is best for you will depend on how your skin tolerates the retinoid. Generally, you go with the strongest retinoid you can tolerate with the least amount of irritation, even if that retinoid is considered weak. If your skin can't handle tazarotene, there's no reason to subject it to Tazorac. The irritation from the product would far outweigh its benefits.

Most dermatologists initially prescribe Differin for acne because it is the gentlest one out of all the prescription retinoids. However, if Differin isn't strong enough for you, you could try moving up to Retin-A. If you feel Retin-A isn't doing a good job, you could then give Tazorac a try. It takes trial-and-error to figure out which retinoid is best for you.

Things can get pretty confusing because there are so many different types of retinoids, strengths, percentages, and product formulations. Some retinoids are also used for acne treatments, while others target anti-aging. Dermatologists always have lots of samples, so make sure you test some retinoids out for a few weeks before purchasing the real thing. Having lots of patience and using retinoids the right way is the key to finding the best type of retinoid for your skin.

Last updated: October 9, 2012

Gel vs. Cream Formulations for Retinoids