Retinaldehyde serum improves skin texture, signs of photoaging in women

Key takeaways:

• Visibility of fine lines on the face and chest decreased by 12% and 19% at week 8.
• Hyperpigmentation, visible texture of the face and the appearance of pores also improved by 19%, 5% and 20%.

A novel retinaldehyde serum with firming peptides improves skin texture and signs of photoaging, according to a study.

“Retinoids are one of the most popular topical treatments in both cosmeceuticals and in clinical practice for their proven efficacy in addressing several skin conditions, both medical and cosmetic,” Hailey Konisky, BS, a medical student at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and colleagues wrote. “Retinal is a newer retinoid that is thought to be stronger than retinol, but little clinical research has been conducted on this class of retinoids in terms of both tolerability and efficacy for the treatment of photoaging.”

Retinaldehyde, or retinal, requires a single conversion step to be converted to the clinically active all-trans retinoic acid instead of the standard two-steps of retinol, making it more potent. In this study, the authors evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of a retinal product called Retinal Night Advanced 0.1% Retinal Firming Treatment (Dr. Whitney Bowe Beauty) to treat mild to moderate fine lines, rhytids and hyperpigmentation.

The study included 32 women aged 35 to 60 years, 47% of which had Fitzpatrick skin types III-VI and 57% of which had sensitive skin. The participants were instructed to apply the product to the face, neck and chest three nights weekly for 8 weeks. Using a 10-point validated scale, a single expert clinical grader rated the severity of global fine lines, global wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, skin radiance, visible skin texture, skin softness and appearance of pores at baseline, week 2 and week 8.

Results showed that the visibility of fine lines on the face and chest decreased by 12% and 19% at week 8 vs. baseline (P < .0001 for both). Hyperpigmentation, visible texture of the face and the appearance of pores also improved by 19% (P < .0001), 5% (P = .0078) and 20% (P < .0001), respectively, by week 8.

By week 8, 96% of patients felt they had firmer-looking skin, 87% observed fewer fine lines and wrinkles, 87% reported increased skin radiance and 93% stated their skin tolerated the product well (P < .0001 for all).

The authors did not observe any serious adverse events and found no signs of sensitization or irritation during patch testing.

“The combination of efficacy of the product early on and the tolerability both add to the likelihood that people will use this retinal consistently,” the authors concluded.