So, recently, I’ve been trying to take better care of my skin. I read about retinol A LOT. It’s supposed to speed up cell turnover.
But cells do have a limited number of turnovers, no?
I am afraid of using retinol, I am worried it might make my skin look nice for now but might ruin it in the long run (because of the quick cell turnover). Can someone please explain this? Where am I wrong?
In: Biology
One thing you need to be careful with is taking retinol (Vitamin A) when you don’t really need it. It’s a fat-soluble vitamin which means it can build up in your tissues when you take too much. Water-soluble vitamins, on the other hand, can be freely removed by peeing them out if you take too much. Excess Vitamin A has also been linked to osteoporosis down the road, even if you’re not taking dangerously high amounts.
Your cells have a limited capacity to repair damage and maintain the integrity of your DNA. There is a cap at the end of each chromosome called a telomere that is like the plastic on the end of a shoelace that prevents it from fraying. With every copy that gets shorter and shorter until eventually there is nothing left to protect your DNA from being damaged or corrupted in the copy process. Eventually your cells will not be able to form coherent functional tissues and organs.
Smoking, alcohol, stress, injury, illness, infection, poor nutrition can all expedite the process. No need to add to the list.
Retinol in skincare products has been around for a long time. If it were causing issues with premature aging, we’d probably know by now. But it’s important to consider what product you’re using and why.
Products with retinol can come with different amounts. Some have so little that they might as well not have any (it’s just there for marketing). Others may be be formulated for specific purposes (acne, use around the eyes). You can get prescription strength for things like acne, or significantly weaker over-the-counter products.
There’s plenty of discussion available by googling this: “site:www.reddit.com retinol long term”. This thread seems to address your question: https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/b8lna9/antiaging_dermatologist_criticises_longterm/
The comments make it pretty clear that the article posted is pretty off-base, skin cells don’t have a finite amount of times they can divide. If retinol use is something you’re seriously concerned about, you might want to have a discussion with a dermatologist. Otherwise, moisturizer and sunscreen should also help with aging, which you should be using if you’re using retinol anyway.
Apart from all the very useful information here, there is always the possibility that you buy an absurdly expensive skin creme containing retinol and then discover your skin doesn’t tolerate it (am I saying this right?). Happened to a colleague of mine, who came to work with a face like a cooked lobster and a jar of facial creme that she put on my desk and then said to me: You can have it and try it if you want. Might as well have thrown my money in a gutter.
I tried it with the same result. I put it in my chemical waste bin.
I found this meta study if you want to read for yoursrlf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2699641/
It seems retinol’s effects is to increase the support structures of the skin, and therefore it gets thicker and reduces wrinkles. The study doesnt mention cell replication.
Over proliferation of skin cells is the basic explanation of Psoriasis (which I have very badly) which is an immune response. Just be careful what you put on your face, over treatment can cause horrible symptoms or just subdue bad skin issues which may come out post treatment and be resistant to medications. There’s balance in everything. Bet you look amazing anyways
Latest Answers