Retinol or retinal? Start weaker than you think
We sell some of what is named here
Routinae sells some of the products written about here, so read this the way you would read any shop’s opinion of its own shelves. Where we think a cheaper product does the same job we say so, and where the evidence is thin we say that too. Our buying standard is published so you can check the argument against it.
The retinoid question everyone asks is which one is strongest. It is the wrong first question. The American Academy of Dermatology quotes a dermatologist's own advice on this: use the least intense retinoid formula you can find, every other night to begin with, and build up slowly. Not the strongest one on the shelf, and not nightly.
The ladder, briefly. Retinol must be converted twice by your skin before it works; retinal (retinaldehyde) once. That makes retinal faster-acting at the same stated percentage — and also more assertive. Prescription retinoids sit above both and belong to your doctor, not to a shop.
Why weaker wins. Going straight in at high strength does not get you there sooner. Irritated skin forces breaks, breaks reset progress, and most people quit in week three with a nearly full bottle. The tolerance you build at low strength is the thing that eventually lets a retinoid actually deliver — visible change is measured in months either way, so the gentle road and the harsh road arrive at the same time. Only one of them is comfortable enough to stay on.
The rules that come with any retinoid: sunscreen every morning without exception — see how much is actually enough; one new product at a time; and if your skin is already reacting, the number of retinoids to start this month is zero — stop first.
We stock exactly one retinal product, deliberately at the gentle end: the Beauty of Joseon Revive Eye Serum, retinal at eye-area strength. If you are new to the whole category, the honest place to start is not a purchase at all — it is a routine that is stable enough to add one to, eight weeks from now.