Clinical 1% Retinol Treatment Reviews

This is quite a late review on this, as I tried it in 2015. I bought it online and at the time I couldn't get retinol at this strength over the counter. My skin was quite dull at the time and I had had surgery a number of months before on my forehead to remove a benign tumor, so needed something to help generate collagen and increase elasticity. I used the whole bottle of this and did not see any difference to the texture or appearance of my skin. It lasted me about three months which isn't long compared to a bormal sized face cream. Because the pump bottle is covered, you don't know how much you have used. The cream is yellow and quite smooth to apply. I did not experience any redness or sensitivity. In the first week I felt a tingling, but after that nothing. It left my skin moisturised, but in terms of improving my skin, I saw no change. I found the bottle to be very bulky, especially for the amount of product in there. I understand it is made that way to conserve the retinol, but I'm going to be honest that I started using another much cheaper retinol product in a much more slimline yet open dropper style bottle, and even with all the air exposure, it still worked so much better compared to this one. I was quite dissapointed and would not reccomend this retinol product.

I have tried a few Paula's Choice products over the years and have been generally happy, and absolutely love her company ethos.
With my last order of BHA gel, I purchased the sample of this, and won't be buying full size.
It did not aggravate my sensitive skin which is prone to redness, but I saw no visible effect at all. (Please note: the sample was a small pump trial, and not just a sachet, so I did use it over the course of two weeks.)
I thought it was a reasonable moisturiser, but couldn't see better skintone or any effect on the fine lines I have.
I'm so glad I didn't splurge on the full size, and since have used La Roche Posay Redermic R, which was much cheaper and had a noticeable visual effect after my first use.

I've been using this product for a while. Initially my skin did become a little bit red and flakey, but over time my skin has become used to this. I can now use this without any problems. My advice would be to start slow - use it every second or third day for about two weeks and then gradually increase how often you apply this. I only use it at night before I go to bed. I find this moisturizing enough on its own, however those with very dry or dehydrated skin may need to use another serum or moisturiser as well. If you have sensitive, acne prone or oily skin, I would suggest patch testing to see if this breaks you out.

Overall, because this is a strong (and expensive) product, I use a very small amount in targeted areas. I find that it helps treat red marks and makes my skin look smoother over time. I don't really have wrinkles so I can't vouch for that, but persistent use may help in that area too.