What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningPropanediol
Solvent
Glycerin
Humectant
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Gluconolactone
Skin Conditioning
Cellulose Gum
Emulsion StabilisingAlbatrellus Confluens Extract
Humectant
Gleditsia Triacanthos Seed Extract
Ascorbic Acid
Antioxidant
Tetrapeptide-1
Skin Conditioning
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Algin
Masking
Retinal
Skin Conditioning
Glucomannan
Skin ConditioningPhospholipids
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Sodium Dehydroacetate
Preservative
Calcium Gluconate
HumectantCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientSodium Hydroxide
BufferingWater, Propanediol, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Gluconolactone, Cellulose Gum, Albatrellus Confluens Extract, Gleditsia Triacanthos Seed Extract, Ascorbic Acid, Tetrapeptide-1, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Algin, Retinal, Glucomannan, Phospholipids, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Calcium Gluconate, Caprylyl Glycol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Sodium Hydroxide
Reviews
Alternatives
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Retinal (aka retinaldehyde) is a form of retinoid that formulators use mainly as an antiaging and skin-renewing active.
What makes it special is its position in the retinoid family; skin converts it to retinoic acid (the prescription gold standard) in just one step.
Because retinal only requires 1 conversion step to become retinoic acid, it's the strongest over-the-counter retinoid. It also works at lower concentrations than retinol, since retinal is about 10x more bioavailable.
Studies back up its efficacy in skin:
A foundational trial showed that applying 0.05-0.5% retinal for 1-3 months produced a dose-dependent and significant increase in epidermal thickness + cell turnover markers.
And a head-to-head comparison of 0.05% retinal against a 0.05% retinoid acid found both formulations were effective for the basis of wrinkle/skin roughness features, but retinoic acid caused more local irritation.
More recent controlled trials confirm it improves wrinkles, dermal density, and firmness over 12-24 weeks, with significant improvements in skin texture and firmness (particularly with the higher 0.1% concentration).
Retinal also has one trick the other retinoids do not: it directly fights against acne bacteria since a clinical study showed retinaldehyde-treated areas displayed a significant decrease in counts of viable P. acnes.
This makes it a great pick for people who want to treat aging and breakouts.
Typical cosmetic use sits in the 0.05-0.1% range with 0.05% being the gentle starting point and 0.1% giving stronger results.
Like all retinoids, retinal works best with nightly use, a good moisturizer, and daytime sunscreen. It can cause some irritation so ease into it slowly rather than going all in.
The "ramp up" method works well: start with Retinal once a week to give your skin time to adjust, which keeps irritation low.
Slowly add more nights until you reach your goal frequency once your skin feels comfortable.
Retinoids also make your skin more sensitive to the sun in the first few weeks, so wear sunscreen every morning and protect your skin from direct sun while you build up tolerance.
Learn more about RetinalWater. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.
So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.
You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Remember to stay hydrated!
Learn more about Water
