You bought a retinol, used it four nights in a row, your skin peeled and stung, and the bottle went into a drawer. That is not your skin rejecting retinol. That is a dosing mistake, and almost everyone makes it once.
Retinol, retinal and bakuchiol get talked about as if they are interchangeable. They are not. One is gentle enough to start tonight, one is the standard, and one works faster but will punish you for going too quickly. Pick the right one for where your skin is now and the peeling phase simply does not happen.
Which of the three is yours:
Bakuchiol - if you have never used a retinoid
Strength: the gentlest.
Who it is for: sensitive skin, anyone pregnant or breastfeeding, and anyone who has already been burnt once by retinol.
What it feels like: nothing. No purging, no flaking, no adjustment period. It is a plant extract that behaves like a mild retinoid without being one, so results come more slowly - think three months rather than six weeks - but you can use it every night from the first night.
Start here: By Wishtrend Vitamin A-mazing Bakuchiol Night Cream - a cream and the active in one step, so there is nothing to layer.
Retinol - the standard
Strength: moderate.
Who it is for: most people, most of the time.
What it feels like: some dryness in the first fortnight if you go too fast, nothing at all if you follow the calendar below. Retinol has to convert twice inside the skin before it does anything, which is exactly why it is forgiving. Start at a low percentage; the number on the bottle matters far less than how often you use it.
Easiest way in: SOME BY MI Retinol Bakuchiol Dual Cream - the bakuchiol buffers the retinol, which is why we hand this one to beginners more than anything else. If you would rather it sat earlier in the routine, SOME BY MI Retinol Bakuchiol Bubble Toner does the same job as a first step.
Retinal - faster, stronger, less forgiving
Strength: the strongest of the three.
Who it is for: skin that has already got on fine with retinol for a few months.
What it feels like: results in four to six weeks instead of twelve - and a real reaction if you treat it like a nightly moisturiser. Retinal converts only once, so it acts faster at the same percentage. It is not a beginner product, whatever the packaging suggests.
Step up to: K-SECRET SEOUL 1988 Retinal Liposome 1% Cream at 1%, then SEOUL 1988 Retinal Liposome 2% once that is comfortable. For a serum instead of a cream, Purito Retinol Retinal 2000 NAD+ Serum.
The 8-week start
This is the whole trick. Not the product - the frequency. Written for retinol or retinal; with bakuchiol you can skip straight to nightly.
- Weeks 1 and 2 - twice a week. Monday and Thursday, on dry skin, after your moisturiser rather than before it. Two nights a week feels like nothing is happening. Something is.
- Weeks 3 and 4 - every third night. If there was any flaking it settles here. If there was none, carry on.
- Weeks 5 and 6 - every other night. This is where most people see the first real change in texture.
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Weeks 7 and 8 - nightly, if your skin wants it. Plenty of people stay at every other night for good and get the same result. There is no prize for nightly.
The three rules that stop the burning
- Sandwich it. Moisturiser, then the retinoid, then moisturiser again. It slows absorption slightly and removes nearly all of the irritation. You lose very little of the effect.
- One active per night. No acids, no vitamin C, no exfoliating pads on a retinoid night. This is the rule people break, and then blame the retinoid.
- Sunscreen every morning, not negotiable. A retinoid thins the top layer while it rebuilds the lower one. Skip the SPF and you undo the work and add pigmentation on top.
What is normal, and what means stop
That second list is barrier damage, not an adjustment period, and no amount of pushing through will fix it. Pause the retinoid, repair first, start again afterwards - 5 signs your skin barrier is damaged walks through it.
Want a routine built for your skin?
If you are not sure which of the three you should be on, or what to drop to make room for it, take our skin quiz - two minutes, the same questions we would ask across the counter, and it builds from what is actually in stock. Or browse the whole anti-ageing range.
Frequently asked questions
Is bakuchiol really as good as retinol?
No, and anyone saying otherwise is selling something. It is gentler and slower. What it is genuinely good at is being the option you will actually keep using - a bakuchiol you apply every night beats a retinol sitting in a drawer.
Can I use retinol and vitamin C?
Yes, just not in the same routine. Vitamin C in the morning, retinoid at night. That way round also makes sense for other reasons: the vitamin C sits under your sunscreen, which is where it works best.
What percentage should I buy?
Lower than you think. A 0.2% used four nights a week will do more for you over six months than a 1% used twice and abandoned. Frequency beats strength, every time.
Can I use a retinoid with pigmentation or dark marks?
It is one of the better things for them. If marks are your main concern rather than texture, Purito TXA 6 Niacinamide 10 Retinal Serum combines the retinal with tranexamic acid and niacinamide, so you are treating both at once instead of layering two products.
Come in and we will look at your skin
Bring what you already have. Half the time the answer is not a different retinoid, it is using the one you own twice a week instead of every night.
Visit us:
📍 Westfield DZ, Wagramer Str. 94, 1220 Vienna
📍 Spiegelgasse 3, 1010, Vienna
📍 Sporgasse 1, 8010, Graz
