The over-the-counter retinoid that sits one step from the prescription active. What it does, how it compares with retinol and tretinoin, what the studies can and cannot tell you, and what 5 skincare experts said about it on camera.
Retinal keeps popping up on serum labels, and it is easy to see why people are curious. Is it stronger than retinol? Is it as good as tretinoin, without the peeling? Is retinal even the same thing as retinaldehyde? And is it really banned in Europe?
In short, most of the experts we follow like it, for one simple reason: it is a step closer to the prescription active than retinol, and kinder to skin than tretinoin. The dissent comes from Doctorly, who think it is too gentle to do much for the skin at all.
Retinaldehyde's Guru Score is 80%, from 7 mentions by 5 skincare experts, among them dermatologists and some well-known skincare creators. The research clearly backs the gentle part. The bigger claims, that it beats retinol or even a plain cream, rest on a handful of small studies. Below, what the experts said sits next to what the studies found, and on a couple of points the two do not quite line up.
Retinaldehyde (retinal) is a form of vitamin A used in skincare to soften fine lines and smooth texture. The experts we track lean warm on it, though Doctorly think it is too gentle to matter. Your skin turns it into retinoic acid, the active in prescription tretinoin, in a single step [1]. In a 44 week trial it was far better tolerated than retinoic acid [2, 3], though the evidence that it beats a plain cream is thinner than its fans suggest [4]. We found no trial in people comparing it head to head with retinol.
| Question | What we found |
|---|---|
| What is it used for? | Signs of ageing: fine lines, rough texture and uneven tone. |
| Do skincare experts recommend it? | Mostly, yes, though Doctorly find it too gentle to do much. |
| Does it need a prescription? | No. It is a cosmetic ingredient, sold over the counter in serums and creams [15]. |
| Is it stronger than retinol? | It is one conversion step closer to retinoic acid [1]. Lab and animal studies point that way [5, 6], but we found no trial in people that compares the two directly. |
| Is it gentler than tretinoin? | Yes. In a 44 week comparison it caused far less redness, peeling and burning than retinoic acid [3]. |
| Morning or night? | Night, with sunscreen every morning. Retinoids can make skin more sensitive to the sun [11]. |
| Is it safe in pregnancy? | Skip it. The American Academy of Dermatology says retinoids should not be used during pregnancy [11]. |
Retinaldehyde is a form of vitamin A, and part of the family of ingredients called retinoids. Vitamin A comes in a chain of forms: retinol is oxidised to retinaldehyde, and retinaldehyde is oxidised to retinoic acid [1]. Retinoic acid is the form that switches on retinoid effects in skin cells, and it is also the active in prescription tretinoin.
So retinaldehyde sits in the middle. Retinol needs two steps to become retinoic acid, retinaldehyde needs one. A review of retinoids in skin ageing explains that skin cells only make that last conversion at a certain stage of their life, which gives a more controlled supply of retinoic acid and milder side effects than tretinoin [1].
It is a cosmetic ingredient rather than a medicine, so you will find it in serums, night creams and eye creams without needing to see a doctor [15].
Here is what each of them said on camera, with a link to the moment they said it.
Retinaldehyde can convert in your skin to retinoic acid. Takes a little bit of effort for your skin to do that, but it can happen and with long-term consistent use can improve the visible signs of skin aging, improve the overall appearance of the skin.Watch ▸
The beautiful thing about more gentle versions is that you can still get results on par with tretinoin, but with way less side effects. This is proven in multiple studies on this topic. [...] When you put these forms of retinoid on the skin, your skin actually converts these to retinoic acid, aka tretinoin.Watch ▸
Studies have started to show it's much more effective and there's data really driving this understanding. It's also shown to be much more gentle on the skin, better tolerated.Watch ▸
I used to use just tret and now I'm just using retin aldehyde, which I use six days a week. I just don't, I'm just preferring the retin aldehyde.Watch ▸
Retinal, very gentle if not otherwise ineffective form of vitamin A on your lips maybe that helps I don't think it helps on the skin at all.Watch ▸
Most of the experts like retinaldehyde, so the caveats are where the useful detail sits.
The best-known trial is from 1998. It followed people with sun-damaged faces for 44 weeks on 0.05% retinaldehyde, 0.05% retinoic acid or the plain base cream, and measured crow's feet from silicone moulds of the skin. By week 18, wrinkles and roughness had reduced on both active creams, and the improvement was less marked by week 44 [2]. The authors concluded retinaldehyde was effective and well tolerated.
There is a catch. A 2021 systematic review of nine trials of over-the-counter vitamin A products went back over that same trial and found no statistically significant difference between retinaldehyde and the plain base cream. It also flagged that the trial named no primary outcome and had no power calculation [4]. Its overall verdict was that trustworthy evidence for these cosmetic products is very thin.
Tolerability is where retinaldehyde is clearly ahead of tretinoin. In the first four weeks of a 44 week study, retinoic acid caused redness in 44% of people, peeling in 35% and burning or itching in 29%, and retinaldehyde caused significantly less of all three [3]. In a separate patch test, retinol and retinaldehyde were equally low on irritation, though retinaldehyde caused more scaling than retinol [3]. An early study reported 0.05% and 0.1% retinaldehyde were well tolerated on the face, in some people for up to three years [5].
Strength matters less than you might think. A trial in 40 women compared 0.1% and 0.05% retinaldehyde creams used twice a day for three months: both improved skin texture and hydration and both were well tolerated, though the study had no plain-cream group to compare against [7].
This is the claim you will hear most, and the evidence for it is indirect. In lab tests, retinaldehyde switched on a marker of retinoid activity more strongly than retinol did [5]. In mouse skin, retinaldehyde produced small amounts of retinoic acid, while retinol produced none that could be detected [6]. That fits the one-step story. But we found no trial in people that compares retinaldehyde with retinol head to head, so a claim that it works faster or better on your face is not something the studies have tested. Dr Dray makes a similar point: she says there is not really good evidence that one is better than the other, and that a well-made retinol can beat a poorly made retinaldehyde.
Unusually for a retinoid, it has some antibacterial activity. In lab tests, retinaldehyde was the only one of the natural retinoids tested with significant activity against bacteria including the acne bacterium and Staphylococcus aureus. In 22 volunteers, two weeks of 0.05% retinaldehyde on the forehead lowered counts of both, and no resistant bacteria appeared [8]. Fewer bacteria is not the same as clearer skin, though. If breakouts are your main worry, a pharmacist or dermatologist can point you to a retinoid with acne approval behind it.
Retinoids run from gentle to strong, and the experts we track keep placing retinaldehyde somewhere in the middle.
Retinaldehyde is one conversion step closer to retinoic acid [1], and lab and animal work suggests it is the more active of the two [5, 6]. On irritation they look similar: in a patch test both had equally low irritation potential [3]. Mad About Skin switched from retinol and says studies show retinaldehyde is much more effective. We found no trial in people that tests that, so on the evidence we could find, a well-made formula your skin tolerates matters more than which of the two is on the label.
Tretinoin is retinoic acid itself and a prescription medicine. In the 44 week trial, retinaldehyde was far better tolerated, and retinoic acid caused enough irritation to affect whether people kept using it [2, 3]. The Budget Dermatologist steps patients who struggle with tretinoin down to retinaldehyde or retinol and says the results are on par. The research supports the gentler part clearly; whether the results match is less certain [4]. Skin Obsessed Mary has made the same swap for her own skin.
Adapalene is a retinoid used to treat acne, and DermNet calls it the least irritating topical retinoid [15]. Retinaldehyde is a cosmetic ingredient aimed mainly at signs of ageing. If spots are what you want to treat, adapalene is the one used for the job; for fine lines and texture, retinaldehyde is an over-the-counter option.
The EU's scientific safety committee judged retinol and two retinyl esters safe in cosmetics up to 0.05% retinol equivalent in body lotion and 0.3% in face and hand creams and rinse-off products. It did not assess retinal, because no data on it were provided [14]. Mad About Skin cites the EU's move to restrict retinol as one reason to look at retinaldehyde.
Start it the way you would any retinoid. The American Academy of Dermatology suggests the gentlest formula you can find, every other night to start, building up slowly [11]. The trials used 0.05% and 0.1% [2, 5, 7].
Two or three nights a week for the first couple of weeks. If your skin is not overly irritated, use it more often [12]. Plenty of people build up to most nights: Skin Obsessed Mary uses hers six days a week.
Apply it at night. Retinoids can make skin more sensitive to the sun, so wear sunscreen every morning [11, 15].
A little petroleum jelly or a hydrating moisturiser under the eyes and at the corners of the nose and mouth before you apply it helps protect the spots that sting first [12]. Some redness, peeling and dryness in the early weeks is a known retinoid reaction [15]. If it does not settle, or your skin burns, stop and speak to a dermatologist.
The American Academy of Dermatology says retinoids should not be used during pregnancy [11]. The risk from a cosmetic retinoid looks small: in one study, retinaldehyde spread over 40% of the body for two weeks did not change vitamin A levels in the blood [9], and a review of topical retinoids in early pregnancy found no major rise in birth defects or miscarriage, though not enough data to justify using them while pregnant [10]. Dr Dray takes the same line: she calls the risk from cosmetic retinaldehyde very low but still advises against it in pregnancy. Ask your doctor or midwife, including about breastfeeding.
The rule is the same as for any retinoid: do not stack it with other irritants in the early weeks, and add one new active at a time so you can tell what your skin is reacting to.
We found no study showing the two clash. The simplest split is vitamin C in the morning, under sunscreen, and retinaldehyde at night.
Go carefully. The AAD warns that products such as retinoids, retinol and benzoyl peroxide can make skin more sensitive, and that exfoliating on top may worsen dryness or even cause breakouts [13]. Keep glycolic acid, salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide to different nights, or to the morning.
A common pairing, and plenty of retinal serums include both. We found no trial that tests whether niacinamide makes retinaldehyde easier to tolerate, so treat that as a nice idea rather than a proven fix.
Retinaldehyde is a vitamin A ingredient used to soften fine lines and smooth texture. Your skin converts it to retinoic acid, the active in tretinoin, in a single step [1]. In a 44 week trial it reduced wrinkles and roughness compared with the start of the study and was well tolerated [2], though a later review found no significant difference from a plain cream [4].
Yes. Retinal is the short name for retinaldehyde, and you will see both on labels. It is not the same as retinol, which needs one more step to become retinoic acid [1], or retinyl palmitate, which Dr Dray says your skin will not convert to retinoic acid at all. Check the ingredient list rather than the front of the box.
Nobody has properly tested it. Retinaldehyde is one conversion step closer to retinoic acid [1], and lab and mouse studies suggest it is the more active of the two [5, 6]. But we found no trial in people comparing them head to head, and in a patch test both caused equally low irritation [3]. A well-made formula your skin tolerates matters more than the name on the label.
It is gentler, and possibly not as strong. In a 44 week trial, 0.05% retinaldehyde and 0.05% retinoic acid both reduced wrinkles by week 18, while retinoic acid caused far more irritation [2, 3]. A later review found no significant difference between retinaldehyde and a plain cream in that trial [4]. Tretinoin has much more research behind it and needs a prescription.
Probably more active, but not proven in people. In lab tests it switched on a marker of retinoid activity more strongly than retinol [5], and in mouse skin it produced some retinoic acid where retinol produced none that could be measured [6]. We found no trial in people showing it gives better or faster results than retinol.
Yes, clearly. In the first four weeks of a 44 week study, retinoic acid caused redness in 44% of people and peeling in 35%, and retinaldehyde caused significantly less [3]. In the main efficacy trial, retinoic acid irritated skin enough to affect whether people kept using it, while retinaldehyde was well tolerated throughout [2].
The studies used 0.05% and 0.1% [2, 5, 7]. In a three month trial in 40 women, both strengths improved texture and hydration and both were well tolerated [7]. If you are new to retinoids, start with a gentler product a few nights a week and build up, as the American Academy of Dermatology suggests [11].
Many people build up to it, but not straight away. Start two or three nights a week for a couple of weeks, then use it more often if your skin is not overly irritated [12]. Skin Obsessed Mary, among the experts we track, uses hers six days a week. Some people stay at a few nights a week for good, and that still counts as consistent use.
It may help a little, but it is not an acne medicine. Unlike other natural retinoids, it has antibacterial activity in lab tests, and two weeks of 0.05% retinaldehyde lowered counts of the acne bacterium on volunteers' foreheads [8]. Fewer bacteria is not the same as clearer skin, so for breakouts ask a pharmacist or dermatologist about an acne treatment.
No, skip it. The American Academy of Dermatology says retinoids should not be used during pregnancy [11]. If you used it before you knew, a review of topical retinoids in early pregnancy found no major rise in birth defects or miscarriage, though not enough data to justify using them while pregnant [10]. Dr Dray calls the risk very low but still advises against it. Ask your doctor or midwife.
No. The EU's scientific safety committee set safe limits for retinol and two retinyl esters in cosmetics, but did not assess retinal, because no data on it were provided [14]. That is why some people, Mad About Skin among them, have looked at retinaldehyde as an alternative to retinol.
Yes, with some care. We found no study showing retinaldehyde and vitamin C clash; the easy split is vitamin C in the morning and retinaldehyde at night. Exfoliating acids are different: the AAD warns that exfoliating while using retinoids or benzoyl peroxide may worsen dryness or even cause breakouts [13]. Keep acids to other nights or the morning.
Dr Dray and The Budget Dermatologist do. Dr Dray says it can improve visible signs of ageing with long-term use, and The Budget Dermatologist steps patients down to it from tretinoin. Doctorly disagree and think it is too gentle to help the skin.
5 experts, 7 mentions, every one traced to a video you can watch. Sponsored takes are excluded.
This guide combines two kinds of information. The expert consensus comes from 7 mentions of retinaldehyde by 5 skincare experts in their YouTube videos. Each one was read, given a Yay, Mixed or Nay verdict and linked to the moment it was said. Sponsored takes are excluded. The research sections summarise published studies and medical sources, listed in full above.
The Guru Score measures how warmly the experts talk about retinaldehyde. It is not a measure of clinical effectiveness, and this guide is not medical advice. It has not been reviewed by a doctor.
This guide is general information, not medical advice. The Guru Score reflects how warmly the experts we track talk about retinaldehyde; it is not a measure of clinical efficacy. Speak to a dermatologist or doctor about a diagnosed skin condition, and before using any medicine.