The Retinol Product That Completely Transformed My Sensitive Skin

I love retinol; I’ve been using it for years to keep my face smooth and treat my acne. But lately, my skin has developed some sensitivity (hello random dry patches that come out of nowhere) and I’ve had to scale down on my extensive skin care routine — including my beloved retinol products — to not irritate my skin further until I figure out what’s going on.

While the flakey patches and redness calmed down after cutting back on most of my skin care, my acne has flared up again. Feeling a little defeated and like I can’t catch a break with my skin, I couldn’t help but be intrigued when I heard about Glossier’s Universal Pro-Retinol. “A retinoid everyone can love,” it reads on the site. It was time to put that to the test.

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First Up: The Basics

Before diving into the ingredient list, here’s a refresher on retinol. Retinol is a form of retinoids, which are derivatives of vitamin A that are known to stimulate collagen production, increase cell turnover, and reduce the appearance of fine lines to help you get smoother skin and a more radiant complexion. They are also known to help treat acne — which is a huge benefit for someone with oily skin like me. The downside to this powerful ingredient, however, is that it can cause redness, peeling, and dryness. So if you’re prone to any sensitivity, you have to be very careful.

Retinol is often combined with soothing ingredients to help offset any possible negative reactions. This contains .5% of an ingredient called retinyl sunflowerate, which is a hybrid mix of pure retinol and sunflower seed fatty acids. You get all the skin care benefits from a retinoid with less severe side effects. It also contains stevia leaf extract, a plant-based retinol alternative, to help smooth out fine lines, and glycerin and mondo grass root extract to hydrated and calm irritation.

Why I’m Obsessed

To be perfectly honest, my expectations for this were quite low. Since my skin has been flaring up, nothing besides a super gentle cleanser and moisturizer has really been working. Plus, I’ve found that a lot of retinol products are either super strong or not strong enough. But I am happy to report that after using the new Universal Pro-Retinol nightly for three weeks, I was wrong. It has officially earned a permanent spot in my nighttime routine.

The first thing I absolutely loved about this night cream is its texture. It’s a lightweight whipped consistency that feels so good when worked into the skin. If you’re anything like me and love the tactile experience that comes with applying a really good skin care formula, this is going to be right up your alley. It only takes two pumps of product to adequately cover your face and to feel its cloud-like texture.

Of course, what matters most is the results. After a few uses, my skin feels so much softer. And those random dry patches? They’ve actually started to appear less. My acne is slowing disappearing as well and I haven’t had a random breakout since I started incorporating it into my routine. And since it’s moisturizing, it even gives me a natural-looking glow.

The TL;DR

This isn’t just another hyped-up product — it totally worked for me and I got the benefits of retinol without any irritation. So whether you’re trying retinol for the first time or trying to find something more gentle on the skin, consider giving Glossier’s Universal Pro-Retinol a shot.

Studies referenced:

Mukherjee, S. (2006.) Retinoids in the treatment of skin aging: an overview of clinical efficacy and safety.Clin Interv Aging. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2699641/