PRODUCT REVIEW: SKIN PROUD RECHARGE OVERNIGHT 0.5% RETINOL SERUM – BEST RETINOL FOR OILY SKIN

THE BEST RETINOL FOR OILY SKIN

Skin Proud | Recharge Overnight 0.5% Retinol Serum

Essential to what I consider an ideal skincare routine to support healthy skin is what I refer to as the “ABC’s” – where A indicates Vitamin A (Retinol), B indicates Vitamin B (or B3, Niacinamide) and C indicates Ascorbic Acid aka Vitamin C.

At the heart of every pro-skin health regimen should be the ABC’s, the three vitamin actives in the form of a dedicated face serum – a product format that is lighter, easily layered and quickly absorbed by the skin. Whether your skin is oily, combination, dry or acne-prone, there’s a Retinol serum, a Niacinamide serum, and a Vitamin C serum for you.

When it comes to Retinol and oily skin, mild is best as the skin can be easily aggravated and sensitized. And, many oily skins also struggle with acne, a form of irritation in itself. IMO the best Retinol serum for oily skin contains the most gentle of the retinoids, Retinyl Palmitate.

This form of Vitamin A is created by combining Retinol, or pure Vitamin A, and palmitic acid – a saturated fatty acid derived from palm oil. Retinyl Palmitate is already naturally occurring in the skin. Because of the lengthy conversion process required within the skin, it’s the least effective of the retinoids. Yet as the weakest form, it’s also the most well-tolerated.

Retinyl Palmitate gets a bad rap and is on the clean beauty ingredient hit lists of both Sephora and Credo, meaning a formula that contains it cannot be classified as “clean”. So what! According to the experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team, the claims that it’s unsafe are “based on a study from nearly 20 years ago that has never been reproduced or tested under real-life conditions such as how people use sunscreens that contain this ingredient.”

The Skin Proud Recharge Overnight 0.5% Retinol Serum is formulated with a 0.5% concentration of Retinyl Palmitate. The Overnight 0.5% Retinol Serum has a super lightweight texture and contains several skin soothers, including Bisabolol, the active component of soothing chamomile. There’s only a small amount of oil in the formula, making it suitable for oily skin.

And it’s just $14.50! The only drawback to Skin Proud’s Recharge Overnight 0.5% Retinol Serum is the inclusion of a small amount of fragrance. If your skin is sensitive to fragrance, give this a pass. I invite you to explore my top picks of the best Retinol serums and creams on the blog here.