Alright, so by now, you’ve probably had a lifetime’s worth of retinol information shoved down your throat (hopefully not literally, though, or you should probs head to the doctor), but do you actually use a retinol? Like, not counting the two random times you slathered one on before forgetting about it for six months, or that other time you tried a retinol and it melted your skin off in sheets of pain, but every single night for years on end? Exactly.
Hey, we’re not judging you – retinols are kind of a pain in the ass. Only apply a tiny, pea-sized amount to your whole face, wait exactly 15 minutes before moisturizing, use every third day to start, and cross your fingers that your skin doesn’t implode? Yeah, it’s a lot. Which is why we’re so in love with retinol oils, a new breed of anti-aging products that basically caress your skin while pummeling it with retinol, decreasing the irritation and flakes that usually come with retinol.
But this isn’t really a new technology, says Yale dermatologist and all-around skin badass Mona Gohara. “The retinol itself is the same, it’s just being delivered to your skin in a more cosmetically elegant, consumer-friendly, and less-irritating way,” she says. “In the hierarchy of moisturizing ingredients, oils are the most hydrating and skin-barrier-repairing ingredients, so a retinol oil could be a great choice for anyone with dry or sensitive skin.”
