Crystal Retinal 6.

"The Medik8 Crystal Retinal 6 was my husband's absolute favorite because he loved the texture and the way it felt on his skin. It is also way more expensive than the other ones, so I'm not sure it'll become a staple, since he's not willing to spend as much on skincare as I am."

"The Medik8 Crystal Retinol in strength six is a firm favorite here in this house. I use prescription Tretinoin, but my husband loves this. We'd usually buy the one from Geek and Gorgeous because it's much more affordable, but this one is more elegant in texture."

"I am a huge fan of the Medik8 Crystal Retinal formulas, based on both their very pleasant texture as well as on their comprehensive and easy approach to the different strengths and how to go up their strength ladder. No matter if you are a beginner or a seasoned retinal user, they have an option for you, ranging from Crystal Retinal 1 at 0.01% up to Crystal Retinal 24 at 0.24%, the highest concentration you can get at the moment. The texture is a lightweight lotion that absorbed instantly and didn't leave any tackiness behind, and out of all the retinoid products I made my husband try, this was by far his favorite. It has a distinct warm scent, very pleasant but definitely noticeable. The packaging is a tube with a dispenser, which I quite liked, though my husband found it difficult to keep standing upright and said it needed a few extra pumps once it neared the end. The retinal in the formula is stabilized, which is a good thing since retinal is unstable on its own. It also contains emollients like squalane, humectants like glycerin and sodium hyaluronate, antioxidants like vitamin E, two vitamin C derivatives, and fragrant plant extracts like honeysuckle. They are however quite expensive, and I understand that this might be more than you are willing to pay for 30 ml of product, and for that there are more affordable alternatives out there that will have similar results with minor compromises in texture and options to choose from."

"I am on prescription Tretinoin so I don't personally use retinoids, but having my husband as my guinea pig testing over the counter options, here is what he would suggest: if money isn't an issue, Medik8 Crystal Retinal has the best texture."

"The ease of use and the range of different strengths, and also the retinal is encapsulated in here, so that's going to mean far less irritation than other versions of it. If you're somebody that has very sensitive skin or sensitivity prone skin, this is a great option for you because that encapsulation is just going to make it delayed prolonged release so you get less risk of those side effects and irritation all around. This has been in my routine on and off for the past six years. I think it stood the test of time for a reason. It's a great product. When it comes to drawbacks, the price point is not the cheapest, but with inflation over the past two years, a lot of skincare products have gone up in price and Medik8 haven't actually put the price of their products up, so what used to be quite a high price brand actually seems a lot more reasonable when you look at the competitors that have put their prices up. For the encapsulation and that gentle application, Medik8 we're leading the way. The price is the one drawback, the one con. Of course, if you're looking for fragrance free, this isn't going to be it, but for me it's delicate, it's light fragrance. I personally love that. It comes down to personal choice. I'm going to give this a solid 9 out of 10. If it was a little bit cheaper it'd probably be 10 out of 10."

"My absolute favorite luxury retinal is the Medik8 Crystal Retinal range. This range costs a lot more than some of the other options but I think is totally worth it if your budget will stretch to it. The reason I say this is it's encapsulated, so very friendly to sensitive skin types, and the fact that you have different strengths I think is fairly unique to Medik8. They have seven different strength options and this will allow you to start with the lowest strength, use it up, then go to the next strength and so forth. It's really easy and makes it super simple to know exactly how to graduate up strength to incorporate retinal successfully into your skincare routine. It kind of takes the guesswork out of it, and for that I think it's definitely worth that slightly higher price point. It's got a beautiful blend of different hydrators to offset any dryness that you could see a lot of people do experience when they first use a retinoid, and the fact that this is packed full of some of the best hydrating ingredients I've seen means it really offsets some of that. It's really conscientiously formulated to give the very best results."

"The Medik8 Crystal Retinal collection was the original and some people still say the best when it comes to retinol. Super kind to the skin, very nourishing, very hydrating, won't trigger any sensitivity and irritation if you use it correctly, and just a really really nice retinol product."

"This is the Medik8 Crystal Retinal, which is phenomenal because they have six different strengths. You start on the lowest and build your way up, and that way you can further minimize the risk of sensitivity by gently introducing this ingredient. It's also less sensitizing on the skin than retinol, so it's one of those few times where you can get better results and less sensitivity out of a product, and that honestly for me is like holy grail territory."

"Previously the only brand that actually did it was Medik8 with their Crystal Retinal collection which I love. The Medik8 one is an old goodie, like the original, which will always have a place in my heart and in my routine."

"This is retinal, a fantastic over-the-counter option in terms of retinoids. It's still going to boost collagen and elastin production, still going to organize that collagen in a more strategic way, but does so with less side effects and irritation. The accessibility is there because it's just so much easier to get something over the counter versus on prescription. This is the Medik8 Crystal Retinal range, which I genuinely think is probably the best over the counter retinoid you're going to use, but there's lots of other options at different price points."

"If you love The Crystal Retinol and I've been using it for quite a few years now I really love it, there is now a Crystal Retinol 24, obviously that's a play on the fact that it's 2024, but that is 0.24% retinaldehyde. Retinaldehyde as I've mentioned before is the next metabolic step, so retinol is metabolized to retinaldehyde, that then gets metabolized to retinoic acid which is the active form of vitamin A in the skin. This is the strongest one you can get in the UK."

"I like this around the eyes because it does not irritate your eyes, especially if a lot of people had really bad experiences with retinoids. Retinaldehyde is actually more potent than retinols but tends to be more gentle on the skin. I like this around the eyes because it's also got the ceramide so it's very kind of soothing. I've had problems with retinols but I've never had any problems with retinaldehydes."

"It's a perfectly formulated product in slightly imperfect packaging so you do need to squeeze it down to get the last of it out. Crystal Retinal 20 is the equivalent of a two percent retinaldehyde so we're talking basically 10 times the strength of that, 20 times the strength of that. You need to work up slowly, don't start on the 10 or the 20 like me because I've been using retinals and retinols for years work your way up go three six eight and then up basically."

"Retinol is one conversion step away from retinoic acid. So when you put it on, your skin has to convert it into essentially retinoic acid in your skin for it to be effective. But that also makes it more gentle. And the thing I love about Medik8 Crystal Retinal is that they have multiple strengths. You can start with something very low potency, using it a few nights a week, working your way up to daily, and then once you get through a whole tube of that nightly without irritation, you move up to the next strength. When it comes to using retinoids, which we use for fine lines and wrinkles, supporting our skin, keeping our skin plump and rejuvenated and even over time, it is a marathon, not a sprint. So if you have to spend 6 to 9 months getting your skin acclimated to your retinoid, to me that is absolutely worth it."

"The Medik8 Crystal Retinal is a formula I use and recommend all the time. The main job of this is anti-aging, reversing fine lines and wrinkles, helping with pigmentation, helping with dullness. This is a topical retinoid, so it's a form of topical vitamin A that helps with skin cell turnover, helps you make new collagen, and helps slow down the breakdown of the collagen you currently have. Number one, it's a retinal, so in your skin retinol gets converted to retinaldehyde which gets converted to retinoic acid, which is actually the active molecule that's exerting all those positive effects on your skin. So when you start with something like retinaldehyde, you're already one step closer to the active version when you're putting it on your skin. Secondly, they have a patented way that they introduce the retinaldehyde into this formula and thus determines how that retinaldehyde interacts with your skin. It's better absorbed, it's more stable. The huge issue with topical retinoids is that they're very unstable, so sometimes the formula that you get and what it says on the packaging is not really what's actually making it to your face because that product is breaking down or becoming destabilized while it's sitting on the shelf."

"The Medik8 Crystal Retinal is more potent than the average retinoid product that you can get and it's also very well formulated, it's well stabilized. It's fantastic."

"Another topical retinoid that I really love is by Medik8 and it's their Crystal Retinal. The reason I like the Medik8 Crystal Retinal is because one, Medik8 is sort of a pioneer when it comes to formulating really stable effective retinoids that can be accessible to many different people, but I also love that this system incorporates various strengths so it has five different strengths of retinol so you can start with something a lot more gentle and as you see the progress and as your skin begins to tolerate those stronger retinoids you can work your way up in the system."