Index / Medik8 / Crystal Retinol 20
Medik8

Crystal Retinol 20.

Medik8
Crystal Retinol 20
Retinoids

About this product

A stabilized retinol night serum formulated at 20% strength, designed to deliver anti-aging and skin-smoothing benefits with a creamy texture that doubles as a moisturizer.

Best for

Mature skin
Retinoids

The Guru Index verdict

84%

Approved

Approved · 84%
2Reviewers
2Approved
0Mixed
0Skip

What the gurus are saying

Gurus consistently praise the formula for being potent yet less irritating than expected, with a rich, creamy texture that hydrates while treating. The brand's tiered strength system (ranging from level 3 to 20) is highlighted as a smart feature for building tolerance and potentially working toward prescription-strength retinoids. The main drawbacks are the high price point and the bright orange color, which can stain bedding, though creators find the efficacy worth the trade-offs.
Synthesized from 2 expert reviews
Every take, in full

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

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Approved
"I use this one by Medik8. This is their Crystal Retinol 20. Quite potent but just way less irritating. I love this formula. It's really nice and creamy. So you get kind of like a moisturization and anti-aging situation all in one. But I do a pump of this on my neck and a pump of this on my décolletage pretty much every single night. The other thing that I love about this is it comes in multiple strengths. So like I said, this is the 20, she's pretty strong. You could start at the level three or maybe even the level six and then as you go through a tube of that, you can graduate to the next strength and the next strength and maybe one day you work all the way up to prescription tretinoin. And if you can't quite get there, it helps you find the most effective and the most potent retinoid that you can handle."
Approved
"I'm using a retinal from Medik8, which is one of my favorite brands. They're expensive, but most of the products that I've used from them I've really loved. This is the Medik8 Crystal Retinol 20, which is much higher. They have a series of retinols and you can start with the lowest percentage and kind of work your way up, which is really great. This is a stable retinol retinol night serum. It's not quite as strong as my tretinoin, and so I've seen quite the reduction in irritation, which has been fantastic. It is very expensive and it's like bright orange, which is really annoying, so when it comes to my sleep and glow pillow, most of the time I sleep on a black silk pillowcase because this will just stain the hell out of my pillowcases. But it's a really great formula."
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