Vitamin A is the unequivocal gold standard for anti-ageing concerns. Discover its wealth of skin benefits.
Increases collagen to help combat fine lines and wrinkles
Increases cell turnover for a brighter, fresher skin tone
Decreases melanin production for an even, more youthful looking skin
Reduces sebum production and therefore helps minimise blemishes
Helps with UV repair
Promotes and maintains overall skin health
'As the Experts in Vitamin A, we naturally create a wide range of products using different molecules and different strengths to suit all skin types and concerns. Irrespective of the molecule, all Medik8 vitamin A formulas are extensively tested for their stability, are vegan-friendly, sustainable and feature time-release technology to ensure total skin comfort and the very best possible experience - no matter which one you choose. We have options for the face and delicate eye area, so you can experience total skin rejuvenation and visibly age-defying results.'
Meet retinol, retinaldehyde and retinyl retinoate. Which one will you go for?
Vitamin A not for you? Why don't you find out about our Vitamin A alternative? Bakuchiol Peptides.
The Classic Vitamin A
Medik8 ‘Intelligent Retinols’ contain wonder ingredient, climbazole. Mimics a higher % of active power. But no further sensitivity.
The Everyone Vitamin A
Retinal is better and faster than retinol. Enjoy results akin to prescription strength vitamin A, without the prescription or the irritation.
The Ultimate Vitamin A
r-Retinoate is the ultimate form of vitamin A. Directly biologically active. Non-irritating and can be used day and night.
Is it time to move to a different strength or best to stay put for now?
Coming to us from another brand? Or moving from retinol to retinal?
As a general rule we say start on 1 strength lower than you were using from another brand. Unfortunately we do not know how stable the other brand’s retinol serum was; what was labelled as 1% retinol may actually be equivalent to a much lower concentration of retinol if it has degraded. Therefore, to stay on the safe side, we would recommend going lower in strength with our stabilised vitamin A serums to ease your skin into using them, and avoid irritation.
If retinol:
What percentage of retinol were you using in the other brand?
Don’t know - start on Retinol 3TR
0-0.6% - start on Intelligent Retinol 3TR
0.7-1% - start on Intelligent Retinol 6TR or start on Crystal Retinal 3
If retinyl retinoate - start on r-Retinoate Day & Night or r-Retinoate Intense
In general we recommend that new users of Crystal Retinal start with Crystal Retinal 3. This is an effective, but relatively lower strength of retinaldehyde, to give your skin an opportunity to adjust to the new vitamin A molecule. There are a couple of exceptions depending on which retinol product you are currently using. Here is our guide:
If you have very sensitive skin -> Crystal Retinal 1
Night Ritual Vitamin A -> Crystal Retinal 3
Intelligent Retinol 3TR -> Crystal Retinal 3
Intelligent Retinol 6TR -> Crystal Retinal 3
Intelligent Retinol 10TR -> Crystal Retinal 6
At Medik8, we use three forms of Vitamin A: retinol, retinaldehyde, retinyl retinoate. You can start with any one of these molecules. We’d always recommend incorporating your vitamin A into our wider CSA regime - so pick a vitamin C and sunscreen for day also to really amplify results. Take a look at our CSA Kit Builder to find your perfect regime.
Every time you start on a new molecule of vitamin A (eg. switching between Intelligent Retinol and Crystal Retinal). Except when switching to r-Retinoate Day & Night, which is so gentle it doesn’t need to be phased in. You do not have to phase in when moving up strength in the same vitamin A ladder (eg. moving from Crystal Retinal 3 to Crystal Retinal 6).
Examples:
If moving from Intelligent Retinol to Crystal Retinal - phase in
If moving from Crystal Retinal 3 to Crystal Retinal 6 - don’t need to phase in
If moving from Intelligent Retinol/Crystal Retinal to r-Retinoate Day & Night - don’t need to phase in
If moving from Intelligent Retinol to r-Retinoate Intense - phase in (due to retinal content)
If moving from Crystal Retinal to r-Retinoate Intense - don’t need to phase in (same molecule: retinal)
r-Retinoate Intense is a nourishing cream formulation, which contains lots of emollients, squalane and ceramides, which minimise its potential for irritation on the skin, in comparison to Crystal Retinal 6 which is a lighter cream-serum. It also contains 3 types of Time Release Technology; polymer-encapsulated retinyl retinoate, crystal-encapsulated retinaldehyde, and polymer reservoir technology. All three modes of Time Release minimise the irritation potential for r-Retinoate Intense, and we are confident that most skin types will be able to phase this into their skincare routine without issue.
