Yeah, yeah, we know: Retinols are confusing. They not only come in a billion different formulas and variations, each one promising to work lightning fast (which, hot tip, almost always translates to skin irritation), but each one also varies in price, consistency, and branding, all of which turns your maybe-I?ll-buy-a-retinol trip down the skin-care aisle into a mind-melting whirlwind.
So to help your brain out, we picked the four most-popular retinols that you?ve seen in magazines, on billboards, and in pop-up ads for years?the retinols that have cult-like followings, insanely high reviews, and celebrity backers, and we tested them out for ourselves to find you the very best drugstore retinol, once and for all.
MORE: 5 Big Retinol Myths You Need to Stop Believing Our tester, who has a ?normal? complexion with zero sensitivity issues (lucky her), tested the retinols for two weeks per brand and applied them every third night to dry, clean skin, without using any other moisturizers or products (we definitely wouldn?t recommend this method to anyone who has ever had dry or sensitive skin, though; instead, massage in a hydrating moisturizer 20 minutes after you apply your retinol to stave off irritation and flakes).
Though retinols generally take a minimum of four months to produce results, we didn?t have two years to test this smack down?plus, in the end, all retinols have the same effect on your skin, regardless of their concentration?so we instead based our rankings on the f...