Franny

Interesting question! I hypothesize the following:

Vitamin A is distributed throughout the body, so only a small amount actually benefits the skin. The body tightly regulates how much retinol is converted into retinoic acid, meaning that even if you consume a lot of vitamin A, your skin won't necessarily receive much retinoic acid. Topical retinoids, on the other hand, deliver a concentrated dose directly to the skin, providing targeted benefits that dietary vitamin A alone can't achieve. Even people with sufficient vitamin A levels in their bodies can stil... (read more)

Oh, I'm no expert! Just a skincare nerd who loves research-based information. I apologize if my wording was confusing.

I'm not quite sure why there's so much concern in the comments. Yes, oral retinoids, such as Accutane, do carry significant health risks for humans, but that's not the focus of this post. While high doses of oral retinoids have been associated with an increased risk of cancer in some animal studies, these studies typically involve doses much higher than those used in topical treatments.

When it comes to topical use, only trace amounts are ab... (read more)

No, retinoids work by normalizing skin function and usually take at least a few weeks of consistent use to show results. If you need an acute treatment, consider benzoyl peroxide or acids like AHA and BHA.

Hi Gene! As a fellow research-based skincare enthusiast, I’m thrilled to see this discussion here.

I've been using adapalene for about two years now, and I've experienced all the benefits it's known for: a dramatic improvement in my skin texture, brightness, and acne.

Adding to the sun protection advice, I think this point is so often emphasized in conjunction with retinoids because reversing signs of skin aging is a major motivation for people using them, and UV radiation is a major factor in breaking down collagen and elastin, accounting for up to 80% of s... (read more)