My First Retinol Experience

** I received a free sample from ROC via Crowdtap, in return for my honest review. All opinions are my own. **


I have so many skin care products and so much make up, it is literally starting to take up way to much space in my soon to be, new home office. I schedule products to try so I don't get things mixed up and also cause any sort of dilemma between 2 separate brands or types of products and then I have 2 fairly large bins. One bin is for, things I don't want and when I acquire more of it, I will give it away. The other, is my stock up of products I love and can not live without! (Trust me, there are a lot of these lol!)

This is the bottom shelf of my little cabinet in the bathroom where I put my most used and most fabulous products that I absolutely just have to have! This is different then the bins and although there is a cute, little cabinet directly above this shelf, yes, it's completely filled with so many things. Mostly, Lowen's Skin Care, samples and full size products I found on Revescent and a bunch of mismatched products that have proven to work, and work very well. I think of the shelf part of this cabinet as a "Star of the Week" remember having that when you were a kid in school? Or maybe your children have this fun week when everything is about them and they get to bring in their most prized possessions. 

When a beauty product gets put on this shelf, I will relentlessly read everything there is to read during their special time when they get to pop out from behind the doors above and hang out with my all time favorite, Paris Hilton perfume. (Yes, I am a fan and I still have her books on my, "want list" and yes, I will defend her to the bitter end!) Really though, I use Paris Hilton's perfumes regularly and this one is used so often it is just always there for quick and easy access. 

I don't know if it's just me but the word, "retinol" tends to remind me of a chemical peel that burns and peels and turns my face bright red for several days. I admit, I was a worried and didn't use my RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream, right away. I started reading as much as I could and found a lot of reviews on both sides. For the most part, I found excellent reviews along with some do's and don't's. I ended up keeping some notes in my notebook just so I didn't forget anything. The most important tip to me was the fact that retinol will increase sensitivity to the sun. I already slather sunscreen on my face, neck, and hands, year round. How could I apply even more?? (So far, I didn't increase my sunscreen usage. I guess maybe I already use enough to protect my skin!) 

Ok, so about Retinol. 

Retinol is a derivative of vitamin A. It is the #1 most recommended cosmetic age fighting ingredient, by dermatologists. Retinol works to unclog pores, boost collagen to reduce fine lines and speed cell turnover to even out discolorations and smooth your skin. 

** Sunburn Alert ** 

RoC Deep Wrinkle Cream contains an Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) that may increase your skin's sensitivity to the sun and particularly the possibility of sunburn. 

More text on the product itself: 

You may experience mild tingling or redness during use. This is normal and should be temporary until your skin adjusts. 

Ok, that doesn't seem as scary as I thought. After another day of checking websites and reviews posted on other websites. Not just on the RoC website. I found similar information and then I just jumped right in!

I tried RoC's Deep Wrinkle Night Cream for a few weeks and yes, I am content and excited for the near future with this product. I can not honestly say that I noticed a HUGE difference in wrinkles, but, again, it has only been a couple of weeks. What have I noticed so far?

I noticed that yes, yes, indeed I will experience tingling and redness, but only for a couple of days, I had not 1 reaction that I would consider moderate or severe and the tingling doesn't last long at all. Just a few minutes for me. I also realized that while I may not have noticed a bunch of wrinkles disappearing overnight, I did notice a slight improvement during the first week with my skin tone. It does appear to be more even and smoother but again, it is taking time, but I did expect that!

I paired this wrinkle cream up with RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Serum. This product notes that after 12 weeks of use, deep wrinkles are visibly reduced. After 4 weeks, skin is more radiant, fine lines are smoothed and skin firmness is improved. 8 weeks, you should see: crow's feet are visibly reduced, and discoloration is diminished.

I will come back to update after my 4, 8, or 12 week mark and let you know of my progress! I should be documenting this with photos so maybe, I should take a break, come back and document everything from the beginning!

But, I can tell you that Retinol is NOT scary. Maybe if you have super sensitive skin even though, I do have sensitive skin but it isn't as bad as some I am sure. I like the way my skin feels after using these products. Not to tight, not itchy, not greasy, but just right. Again, I haven't been using RoC long enough to say, "OMG YES! My wrinkles disappeared! Woohoo!!" But, I do know that I am keeping these products in my arsenal.

Do you use Retinol? I would love to read your comments, suggestions, tips, experiences!
One thing I learned was that it's best to add just one Retinol product during the day, along with a product with SPF protection. Choose a serum or night cream with Retinol for nighttime when your skin is in repair mode.