Is retinol as good as prescription retinoids?

What we can tell you today: how thoroughly this has been studied.

Studied in controlled trials

4 studies, of which 3 are controlled trials in people with a hundred participants or more. No overview combining them yet.

4 Large controlled trial 3 studies

3 Small study in people 1 study

This says how thoroughly something has been studied — not whether it works for you. What each study actually found is in the study itself, and in the plain-language write-ups we are adding.

Appears under: Skin aging

The studies

4 Large controlled trial A double-blind randomized study comparing the association of Retinol and LR2412 with tretinoin 0.025% in photoaged skin.
2015 · Journal of cosmetic dermatology · 120 participants
4 Large controlled trial A randomized, controlled comparative study of the wrinkle reduction benefits of a cosmetic niacinamide/peptide/retinyl propionate product regimen vs. a prescription 0.02% tretinoin product regimen.
2010 · The British journal of dermatology · 196 participants
4 Large controlled trial Tolerance profile of retinol, retinaldehyde and retinoic acid under maximized and long-term clinical conditions.
1999 · Dermatology (Basel, Switzerland) · 355 participants
3 Small study in people Prospective, randomized, double-blind assessment of topical bakuchiol and retinol for facial photoageing.
2020 · The British journal of dermatology · 44 participants