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Retinal vs retinol: the difference, and how to use each

Retinal and retinol are both vitamin A, and the difference between them is one step. Skin cells respond to retinoic acid. Retinol has to be converted twice to reach it and retinal only once, so at the same concentration retinal gives more retinoic acid activity, and with it more of the dryness, flaking and stinging every retinoid brings in its first weeks.

So the choice is simple to state. Retinol is the forgiving first retinoid, retinal is the stronger next step, and the right one is the one your skin tolerates on a schedule you can keep. Below: why, how to use either, and which products we sell declare each one on their own ingredient list.

The conversion chain

Where each one sits on the way to retinoic acid

Vitamin A in skincare is a chain. Retinyl esters such as retinyl palmitate are converted to retinol, retinol is oxidised to retinal, and retinal is oxidised to retinoic acid. Retinoic acid is the molecule that binds the retinoic acid receptors in skin cells; every other form on the chain is a precursor that has to be converted before it does anything there.

Each conversion loses some of what was applied, which is the whole reason the forms differ in strength: retinyl palmitate is three steps away, retinol two, retinal one. Retinoic acid itself, tretinoin, is a prescription drug in the United States and is not a cosmetic ingredient.

Hydroxypinacolone retinoate sits beside the chain rather than on it. It is an ester of retinoic acid, not of retinol, so the conversion steps above do not describe it, and Korean formulators mostly use it as a companion to retinol rather than on its own.

Strength and irritation

Strength and irritation are the same question

The closer a form sits to retinoic acid, the more activity reaches the receptor per unit applied, and the more likely the first weeks are to be uncomfortable. That early phase of redness, flaking, tightness and a sting when other products go on is called retinization. It usually peaks in the first two to four weeks and settles as skin adapts.

So a low retinal and a higher retinol can land in the same place, and a percentage means nothing across the two forms. Compare a retinal with a retinal and a retinol with a retinol. The percentage a brand prints on the pack is the number to read for that.

Retinal is also the more fragile molecule. Light and air degrade both, retinal faster, which is why it is so often sold encapsulated, as a liposome or in capsules, and why an opaque, airless pack matters more for a retinal than for most actives.

On the label

Reading a retinoid on an ingredient list

An ingredient list runs from the highest concentration down to one percent, and below one percent the manufacturer may list in any order. Retinoids are used at fractions of a percent, so they almost always sit in that second part of the list. A retinoid in 9th place and one in 30th tell you the list declares it, not which bottle is stronger.

Korean formulas often declare more than one retinoid, each at a low level: retinol with retinal, or retinol with hydroxypinacolone retinoate. Under every product below we print each retinoid its list declares, and where.

Korea's regulator, the MFDS, recognises four ingredients for its anti-wrinkle functional cosmetic designation: retinol, retinyl palmitate, adenosine and polyethoxylated retinamide. Retinal is not one of them, which is part of why adenosine turns up beside retinal on so many Korean lists.

Retinal on our shelf

The retinal products we sell

Retinal is where to go once a retinol has become comfortable every other night or more. Start it at two nights a week, as if it were your first retinoid, because the step up in strength makes it behave like one.

40 products we sell today declare retinal on their own ingredient list. The four leave-on products below list it as their first retinoid, one per brand, earliest first.

Retinol on our shelf

The retinol products we sell

Retinol is the right first retinoid for most skin: strong enough to be worth the routine, forgiving enough that the first month is manageable. Begin at two nights a week and build up only once your skin stops noticing it.

118 products we sell today declare retinol on their own ingredient list. The four leave-on products below list it as their first retinoid, one per brand, earliest first.

The third retinoid

Hydroxypinacolone retinoate

Hydroxypinacolone retinoate, often shortened to HPR, is the retinoid Korean brands usually pair with retinol rather than use alone. It is worth trying for skin that has not settled with retinol, used the same way: at night, two nights a week to begin.

20 products we sell today declare hydroxypinacolone retinoate on their own ingredient list. The four leave-on products below list it as their first retinoid, one per brand, earliest first.

  • VT Cosmetics

    VT Cica Reti-A Essence 0.7 30ml

    Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate, 13th of 62Retinol, 45th of 62

    First on the list

    1. Purified Water
    2. Butylene Glycol
    3. Dimethyl Isosorbide
    4. 1,2-Hexanediol
    5. Niacinamide

  • MEDIPEEL

    Retinol Collagen Lifting Cream 50g

    Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate (10 ppb), 17th of 50Retinal (50 ppb), 33rd of 50Retinol (461 ppb), 34th of 50Retinyl Retinoate (30 ppb), 16th of 50Retinyl Palmitate (10,000 IU/g), 15th of 50

    First on the list

    1. Purified Water
    2. Glycerin
    3. Ethylhexyl Palmitate
    4. Cetyl Ethylhexanoate
    5. Glycereth-26

  • Round Lab

    Camellia Deep Collagen Firming Cream

    Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate, 24th of 40

    First on the list

    1. Water
    2. Glycerin
    3. Propanediol
    4. Butylene Glycol
    5. 1,2-Hexanediol

  • innisfree

    Retinol Green Tea PDRN Skinbooster Ampoule 25ml

    Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate, 28th of 49Retinol, 37th of 49

    First on the list

    1. Lactobacillus Fermentation Lysate
    2. Glycerin
    3. Propanediol
    4. Purified Water
    5. Dipropylene Glycol

How to use either

Night only, on dry skin, and slowly

Use a retinoid at night. Both retinal and retinol break down in light, and night is when the rest of the routine leaves them alone. Cleanse, let your face dry completely, then apply a pea-sized amount for the whole face. Damp skin takes a retinoid in faster, and faster here means more irritation, not more result.

Keep it off the creases at first: the corners of the nose and mouth, and the skin around the eyes unless the product is made for the eye area. Then follow with your moisturizer. If your skin is reactive, put a thin layer of moisturizer on first as well; this sandwich method slows how quickly the retinoid reaches the skin.

Start at two nights a week for two weeks, then every other night, then nightly if your skin stays calm. If it stings or peels, drop back one step and stay there longer. In the morning, keep the sunscreen step every day while you use any retinoid.

Layering

What to use with a retinoid, and what to keep apart

Keep these off retinoid nights: exfoliating acids (glycolic, lactic, mandelic, salicylic and the polyhydroxy acids), benzoyl peroxide, and physical scrubs. Each one adds irritation to a step that already brings its own. Alternate nights instead.

Vitamin C belongs in the morning, which also keeps it apart from the retinoid. Niacinamide, panthenol, ceramides, centella and hyaluronic acid all sit comfortably with a retinoid on the same night, and the barrier ingredients make the first weeks easier.

Asked directly

Frequently asked

Is retinal stronger than retinol?

Yes. Retinal is one conversion step from retinoic acid and retinol is two, so at the same concentration retinal gives more activity and more irritation. That is also why percentages cannot be compared across the two: compare a retinal with a retinal and a retinol with a retinol.

Should I start with retinal or retinol?

Start with retinol if you have never used a retinoid, or if your skin reddens easily. Move to retinal once a retinol is comfortable every other night or more. Either way, begin at two nights a week and build up from there.

Can I use retinol with vitamin C or niacinamide?

Niacinamide, yes, on the same night. Vitamin C is better in the morning with the retinoid at night, which keeps two actives that each bring their own irritation apart.

Can I use a retinoid every night?

Eventually, if your skin stays calm. Build up from two nights a week to every other night to nightly over several weeks, and drop back a step whenever it stings or peels. Nightly is a goal, not a starting point.

Can I use retinal or retinol while pregnant?

Retinoids, topical ones included, are conventionally stopped during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. Talk to your own doctor before using any retinoid in that time.