Retinoids and Exfoliants: Where to Start
Retinoids are the most studied category in topical skincare, and exfoliants are the fastest way to change how skin looks in a week. Used together carelessly, they are also the fastest way to wreck a barrier. This collection holds professional strength retinoids and acid exfoliants with their percentages stated, so you can choose a level rather than guess.
The vitamin A family is a ladder rather than a single ingredient. Retinol is the familiar rung. Retinal, also written retinaldehyde, sits one conversion step closer to the active form the skin uses, which is why it tends to work faster at a comparable strength. Prescription tretinoin sits at the top and comes from your physician, not from us. Exfoliating acids work differently: instead of signalling the cell, they loosen the bonds holding dead cells at the surface.
Because these products are dose dependent, buying from an authorized source matters more here than almost anywhere else. A retinol that has been stored badly or diverted through an unauthorized seller may no longer contain what the label claims, and you would have no way to know except that nothing happens.
Featured Retinoids and Exfoliants
How to Use Retinoids and Exfoliants in Your Routine
Evening Only
Retinoids go on at night, on clean dry skin, before moisturizer. Start twice a week, not nightly. Increase only once your skin has gone four weeks without flaking or stinging, and expect the whole ramp to take a few months rather than a few weeks.
Morning
Sunscreen is not optional while using a retinoid. Vitamin A increases cell turnover, and newly surfaced skin burns more easily. A vitamin C serum in the morning is the classic partner, since the two work on different pathways at different times of day.
Once or Twice a Week
Exfoliating acids belong on the nights you are not using a retinoid. Alternating is the whole trick. Stacking an acid and a retinoid in the same session is the most common reason people conclude they cannot tolerate retinol at all.
The Buffer
If a retinoid stings, apply moisturizer first, wait a few minutes, then apply the retinoid on top. This slows delivery slightly and is a normal way to build tolerance rather than a sign of failure.
Why Skincare Professionals Recommend These Retinoids
Professional retinoids state their percentage on the label. That sounds obvious, but a great deal of retail vitamin A does not, which makes it impossible to step up deliberately or to know what your skin actually tolerated. Professional lines also invest in delivery, since raw vitamin A is unstable and irritating, and the difference between a well formulated 0.5 percent and a poorly formulated one is largely how much of it survives to do the job.
Your Skincare Source is an authorized retailer for the brands on this page, and stock reaches us through professional distribution. For dose dependent, light and air sensitive products like these, that supply chain is part of the product.
Who Should Use Retinoids and Exfoliants
- Anyone addressing fine lines, texture and dullness who is ready to commit for at least three months.
- Congestion and breakout prone skin, where turnover keeps pores clear.
- Uneven tone and post inflammatory marks left behind after breakouts.
- Experienced users who have plateaued on retinol and want to move to retinal.
- Anyone who prefers a stated percentage over a vague claim.
Take more care, or speak to your provider first, if you are pregnant or nursing, if your barrier is currently compromised or peeling, or if you have a procedure booked. Retinoids and acids are usually paused for a period before and after peels, lasers and microneedling.
Skin Concerns This Collection Helps Address
Fine Lines and Early Aging
Vitamin A remains the best supported topical for fine lines. For the serum side of that routine, see our best anti aging serums.
Uneven Tone and Dark Spots
Turnover plus targeted treatment fades discoloration over months. Continue in dark spots and sun damage.
Rough Texture and Dullness
Acids handle the surface, retinoids handle the signalling. For weekly resurfacing treatments, see masks and scrubs.
Congestion and Breakouts
Keeping the pore lining turning over is a core part of acne care. See acne prone skin.
Post Breakout Marks and Scarring
Flat marks respond to turnover, raised and textured scars need a different approach. See Silagen silicone scar care.
Retinoid Irritation and Barrier Support
Most retinoid problems are barrier problems. Pair with skin barrier repair and a gentle cleanse from cleansers and toners.
Current Offers and Shipping
We regularly run gift with purchase offers and brand promotions across these lines. Check the banner at the top of the site or our gift with purchase page for what is live today. Qualifying gifts are added automatically at checkout.
Shop More Professional Skincare
Build the rest of the routine with moisturizers, cleansers and toners, sunscreens and SPF and antioxidants, or shop by brand: Revision Skincare, Alastin, Hydrinity, Young Goose, NeoGenesis and SkinMedica.
