Shereene IdrissBoard Certified Derm, Founder and Chief Nerd

Retinol Tip for Beginners (Part 2) #shorts

10 Aug 2023 · 1 min

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0:50

A short YouTube clip (Shereene Idriss) giving beginner guidance on topical retinol strengths. The speaker lists common retail concentrations (0.3%, 0.5%, 1%), warns that 1% is strong for beginners, recommends starting at 0.3% or lower and prioritizing consistency over intensity, and notes many products omit percentages—often implying levels below 0.3%—to appear competitive.

Questions this video answers

0.3%, 0.5%, and 1%.

0.3% or less, with emphasis on consistency over intensity.

Because they likely contain less than 0.3% and don't disclose it since they think they can't compete with higher percentages on the market.

Chapters

How are you as a consumer supposed to know where you stand with what you can tolerate if you do not know the percent of the retinol that you are using? If you start with wrong and strong, your skin will most definitely freak out and you'll never really think you can tolerate a retinol. When it comes to retinols, you have three main percentages 0.3%, 0.5%, 1% and although 1% does not seem high, it is very high, especially if you are a beginner. If you are newer and it comes to retinols, you want to be using 0.3% or less, but more consistently over time. Consistency over intensity. A lot of products where the percent is not disclosed usually have retinol in it at less than 0.3%. And the reason why they probably don't disclose it is that they don't think it can compete with higher percentages on the market. Because we are so trained as consumers to look for higher numbers.