For me, Crystal Retinal (CR) is the gold standard in retinal and I’ve been obsessed with it since starting at CR6 (previously an experienced retinol user).
Quick recap on retinAL vs retinOL:
Retinaldehyde (retinal for short) is clinically proven to work up to 11x faster than retinol. Because retinol needs to go through a two step conversion process, by taking out that first step it allows the skin to transform retinaldehyde (the direct precursor) to retinoic acid faster.
For retinOL, the process looks like this: Retinol > Retinaldehyde > Retinoic Acid
For retinAL, the process loos like this: Retinaldehyde > Retinoic Acid
Medik8 offer many iterations of CR from 1-20; the key with any retinoid is to start low, and go slow. Listen to your skin, let it breath and don’t think you can take on retinol/al daily straight away (believe me, I’ve learnt the hard way!).
During the month of May 2022 I transitioned from CR6 (purchased myspef) and moved up to CR10 (gifted). I am now fully transitioned to CR10 and have experienced zero irritation, redness, flakiness or any adverse effects from levelling up. Whilst as an experienced retinal user I was confident I wouldn’t experience any irritation, I was still cautious as we all should be when using high strength actives.
CR10 has already started to help with the texture / look of my skin, and I’m so excited to see what my skin will look like in three months or more!
The final level up for me will be CR20, which I have ready and waiting for me. I plan to use CR10 almost right to the end before I level up, to allow my skin to get used to a higher strength and not freak it out.
