13 Best Retinol Products for Smooth, Healthy-Looking Skin
In practice, retinol requires two conversion steps before it becomes active; Retinal (also called retinaldehyde) requires one; And prescription tretinoin already contains retinoic acid. This usually makes the tretinoin faster-acting and more powerful, but is also more likely to cause irritation. Once converted into its active form, retinol begins to work on multiple symptoms of