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Retinyl Retinoate

goodie
Also-called-like-this: Form of Retinoids, Retinol-8

Details

Retinyl Retinoate (RR) is a less well known but super interesting member of the retinoids (vitamin A derivatives), aka the "royal family of skincare".  Unless you live under a skincare-news-shielding rock, you must have heard about tretinoin, the FDA-approved anti-aging superstar, and retinol, the most common OTC version of tretinoin. You can read more about whos-who in the retinoid family here.

Enter Retinyl Retinoate, a molecule that is created by attaching retinol to retinoic acid. The attachment makes the molecule more stable (pure retinol is unstable and hard to formulate) as well as more active. If you read our shiny description about retinol you will know that it is not active and has to be converted by our metabolic machinery to become retinoic acid, the biologically active molecule. The conversion is not very effective and takes two steps. Retinyl Retinoate also has to be converted, but in the first step, our cells break up the molecule to become retinoic acid (the active) and retinol, meaning that it becomes active both after the first conversion step as well as later on once retinol is further converted. 

The Korean research group, who invented the molecule, did several studies published in well-respected journals to prove that Retinyl Retinoate has better anti-aging activity than retinol. In marketing materials, RR is often touted to be 8 times as active as retinol, but as far as research goes we can cite that  "the biological activity of retinyl retinoate was in between the properties of retinol and retinoic acid. Retinyl retinoate showed higher biological activity than that of retinol, such as RAR activity and collagen synthesis. Also, retinyl retinoate showed a similar side-effect to that of retinol, and not retinoic acid."

As for in-vivo, aka done on real people studies, there is one from 2010 that compares 0.06% Retinyl Retinoate to placebo and to 0.075% retinol. The conclusion of this study was that 0.06% RR is "significantly" more effective than placebo or retinol, and RR also had a faster-acting effect. Another study (in test tubes + mouse skin) concluded that RR increases the Hyaluronic acid production more than other retinoids and is also less of an irritant

RR shows promise for treating acne. In an 8 week, double-blind clinical study, 0.05% retinyl retinoate "showed a significant decrease in both inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions, and in sebum amount". It even had some activity against P.acnes that makes it a promising ingredient for acne prone skin, especially when combined with other actives.

Overall, we find Retinyl Retinoate a very interesting and promising member of the retinoid family. It is not as proven as good old retinol (the multiple studies on RR come from the same research guys), but it promises several advantages (more stable, more active, less irritating), so we say that if you like retinoids, RR is worth trying. 

Show me some proof

  • Kim, H., et al. "Improvement in skin wrinkles from the use of photostable retinyl retinoate: a randomized controlled trial." British Journal of Dermatology 162.3 (2010): 497-502.
  • Kim, Hyojung, et al. "Synthesis and in vitro biological activity of retinyl retinoate, a novel hybrid retinoid derivative." Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry 16.12 (2008): 6387-6393.
  • Kim, Jin Eun, et al. "Retinyl retinoate induces hyaluronan production and less irritation than other retinoids." The Journal of dermatology 37.5 (2010): 448-454.
  • Kim, Bora, et al. "Retinyl retinoate, a retinoid derivative improves acne vulgaris in double-blind, vehicle-controlled clinical study." Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine 10.5 (2013): 260-265.

Products with Retinyl Retinoate

Daisy Sky Advanced A Renewing Serum Suikan Hada Overnight Refreshing Essence BioAqua 6x Gentle - A Retinol Serum BioAqua 6x Gentle-a Retinal Serum Verso Blemish Fix Verso Daily Facial Fluid Verso Super Facial Oil With Retinol 8 Verso Super Eye Serum Verso Super Facial Oil Medik8 R-Retinoate® Eye Serum RejuveNaturals Vitamin C Serum Enprani Bota Retinol Youth Repair Solution Medik8 R-Retionate Youth Activating Cream Niche Beauty Lab Theramid A-Retinoate Verso Daily Glow Verso Night Cream Verso Super Facial Serum Dermaquest Stem Cell 3D Active Retinol Repair 1% MEDI-PEEL Retinol Collagen Lifting Cream Verso Super Eye Serum Peterson’s Lab Day & Night Eye Cream Verso Dark Spot Fix With Retinol 8 Verso Day Cream Verso Reviving Eye Mask Blends and Formulas Hydrating Day & Night Cream +Barrier Repair ELFormula Advanced Retinol Serum MEDI-PEEL Retinol Collagen Lifting Toner bareMinerals Prime Time BB Primer Cream SPF30 bareMinerals Prime Time BB Primer-cream Daily Defence SPF 30 BioAqua 6x Gentle-a Retinal Anti Aging Toner Medik8 R-retinoate® Day & Night BioAqua 6x Gentle-a Retinol Anti Aging Cleanser Verso Hand Serum With Retinol 8 Verso Lip Serum By Verso MEDI-PEEL Retinol Collagen Lifting Ampoule bareMinerals Prime Time BB Primer-cream BioAqua 6x Gentle-a Retinal Anti Aging Cream Medik8 R-Retinoate Intense Medik8 R-Retinoate Ultimate Night Serum Medicube Deep Vita A Retinol Serum Medicube Deep Reviving Bakuchiol Retinol Serum it Cosmetics Bye Bye Redness Sensitive Skin Moisturizer