abc1111 review for Real Fit Retinol Serum

This serum does not actually contain retinol despite the name, it contains retinyl palmitate, an ester of retinol and palmitic acid. It’s the weakest retinoid, one step down from retinol and three steps down from retinoic acid (or tretinoin). The conversion of retinyl palmitate to retinoic acid has weak evidences so a possibility exists that conversion is not effective. With that said, this will not give the same results as real retinol and will likely not do anything for those who are used to stronger retinoids. I use tretinoin and this did nothing special to my skin. Still, retinyl palmitate is a type of retinoid and may cause purging on very sensitive skin or first time retinoid users. It has a unique herbal scent that might be a turn off to some. It also has a short shelf life of three months after opening.