Ask The Pros: Is Vitamin C Better Than Retinol?

What is Vitamin C? 

Vitamin C is one of the most common antioxidants that are necessary for your skin and sustaining collagen production. Collagen is a protein that’s present in connective tissue, cartilage, and bone. It works by giving the tissues structural support, which gives your skin that youthful look. Thus, vitamin C provides an anti-aging effect that ensures youthful-looking skin.  

 

Benefits of Using Vitamin C 

Using a vitamin C serum like the LA ROCHE POSAY PURE VITAMIN C reduces signs of skin damage such as uneven tone, dullness, and hyperpigmentation, which gives the skin a natural glow and a more radiant look. By eliminating free-roaming radicals with their antioxidant effects, it reduces the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. With consistent use, it even protects the skin from environmental damage due to stressors. 

LA ROCHE POSAY PURE VITAMIN C 10 30ML

   

Moreover, it alleviates inflammation and dilation of blood vessels to soothe redness. Over time, it can smoothen the skin texture by eliminating bumps and preventing acne. This is thanks to its antibacterial effects.   

 

What is Retinol?  

On the other hand, Retinol is a type of vitamin A that transforms to its active form, retinoic acid, once it penetrates the skin barrier. It’s used to address a number of skincare concerns and it’s among the sole active ingredients that are scientifically proven to improve your skin by altering the cells.  

While it’s an antioxidant like vitamin C, it has a different effect on the skin. It penetrates the skin to increase the rate of cellular division. This is called cellular turnover and it means that new skin cells are produced and pushed to the surface. This helps in shedding the old layers of skin to give it a healthy glow.  

 

Benefits of Using Retinol  

In the world of skincare, retinol is often touted as a powerful active ingredient that can eliminate wrinkles and acne through cellular regeneration. With consistent use of a retinol product like ZO RADICAL NIGHT REPAIR 1% RETINOL, it smoothens out dark spots, wrinkles, and other signs of aging. When your skin is renewing itself, it means that you get a consistent and even tone that does wonders for your complexion. 

ZO RADICAL NIGHT REPAIR 1% RETINOL

 

You also experience brighter skin that looks radiant, so there’s little need to do a full face of makeup. And because your skin is shedding old layers of dead skin cells, it maintains a smooth and even texture. Recently, dermatologists have determined that it reduces excessive pigmentation by reducing melanin production. Through constant cell turnover, it’s able to alleviate existing pigmentation as well.     

 

Things to Consider  

That being said, it’s a much more powerful ingredient, so it’s known for causing irritation in some cases. This is usually the case when you first start using retinol to reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Similarly, if you use it incorrectly, it could end up damaging your skin barrier, which can worsen some skin conditions. 

 In such cases, the issue ends up requiring more time to fix because of improper retinol use. That’s why it’s recommended to speak with a specialist before you start using retinol to address skincare concerns. If you have any questions about whether retinol is the right choice for you, you can always ask our beauty pros.   

 

Final Verdict – Which Is Better?  

If you’ve looked at the benefits of vitamin C and retinol, you may have noticed that there are quite a lot of similarities between the two in terms of the effect they give. Both products are super useful for alleviating wrinkles and hyperpigmentation.  

On the other hand, retinol is considered the most effective when it comes to addressing acne concerns. While vitamin C can prevent acne in theory, it does little to actually treat it. So if you’re trying to treat acne, retinol would be the better choice.  

But if you want the benefits of both products, the good news is that you don’t have to choose. Our beauty pros recommend that you use both products in your skincare routine, but alternate between them, or use them at different parts of the day to avoid counteracting the other’s effects.  

It’s best to use vitamin C during the day since it can work together with your sunscreen to protect your skin from the sun. Meanwhile, retinol is best used for your nighttime routine because that’s when your skin is naturally regenerating and healing. Of course, if you want some more guidance on what skincare products you should use for a specific skincare concern, you can ask our beauty pros.