Shani Darden Retinol Reform: a Guru Score of 86% from 6 experts

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'm using the Shani Darden Retinol Reform, with one percent encapsulated retinol. By encapsulating the retinol you're not going to get all the peeling and flaking. It's not the only retinoid I use, but it's the one that's my favorite right now, so I use this every night."

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"This is the Retinol Reform with 1% encapsulated retinoid. I love this. It's a different type of ingredient that they're using in South Korea as opposed to a retinoid. It is like a replacement for a retinoid, but it's more of a gentler kind of exfoliation."

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"This is the Retinol Reform with 1% encapsulated retinoid. I love this. It's a different type of ingredient that they're using in South Korea as opposed to a retinoid. It is like a replacement for a retinoid, but it's more of a gentler kind of exfoliation."

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"The retinoid that I'm loving right now is this Shani Darden Retinol Reform. I have no affiliation with any of these people. It's just this is the good stuff."

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"I'm loving right now this Shani Darden retinol. It's an encapsulated retinol, so it's not as irritating, but it still works on fine lines and wrinkles. You don't get the irritation of a regular retinol because it's encapsulated, but man, it works fantastic."

Your neck is snitching on you

"This is a Retinol Reform with 1% encapsulated retinol. I like this because it is encapsulated in a lipid, so when it hits your skin you are not getting the full force of the retinoid. It is like a slow release, which is a lot less irritating."

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"I'm currently using the Shani Darden Retinol Reform with 1% encapsulated retinol. When retinol is encapsulated it has the least amount of irritation to your skin. Even though this is the most expensive one I have, about a hundred dollars, it does really help for those who are sensitive to retinoids or don't want their skin flapping over and irritated."

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"I'm using the Shani Darden Retinol Reform, with one percent encapsulated retinol. By encapsulating the retinol you're not going to get all the peeling and flaking. It's not the only retinoid I use, but it's the one that's my favorite right now, so I use this every night."

Dr. Shereene Idriss

1.71M subs

✓Approved

"The other retinol that I absolutely love is Shani Darden. She has her Retinol Reform at now at 1% and she does label the percentage of her retinol. So that is also a really nice one for someone who is more advanced."

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"The other retinol that I absolutely love is Shani Darden. She has her Retinol Reform at now at 1% and she does label the percentage of her retinol. So that is also a really nice one for someone who is more advanced."

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"If I'm not using prescription retinoid, I'll go in with Shani Darden's Retinol Reform. I always tap the sensitive areas. If I have a little extra on my fingers, I just make sure not to touch your upper eyelids because they will get irritated. That is how I do retinoid on my face as a sensitive being. You can use it on your neck on top of your barrier. So now we have buffered the retinol if you're sensitive."

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"You cannot have a conversation about aging skin without talking about her Retinol Reform. What I love is now she talks about the percentage of retinol on every single one of her packages. So I would strongly advise that you guys look into the Retinol Reform line by Shani Darden."

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"Shani Darden also has a Retinol Reform which is encapsulated retinol that allows it to be slowly released throughout the day. The only thing annoying about the Shani Darden one is we don't know the percentage of it, so if you're very sensitive I would not start with that."

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"Shani Darden has her Retinol Reform, a beautiful retinol product that a lot of patients can tolerate. She doesn't disclose the percentage, but patients swear it's stronger than 0.3%."

Beyond50Skin

31k subs

✓Approved

"Shani Darden Retinol Reform is considered a starter retinol. It takes a couple of conversions in the skin to turn to retinoic acid. The formula is beautiful. It's creamy. It feels lovely on the skin. It is at a more luxury price. And if you want changes faster and more efficiently, that's where using a retinol or retinaldehyde kind of starts to make more sense."

Dr. Sam Ellis

864k subs

✓Approved

"One of the best retinol products that I have ever tried is the Shani Darden Retinol Reform. This product doesn't just have retinol in it but it also has lactic acid, an alpha hydroxy acid that's used in exfoliation. You might be thinking that putting together a retinoid plus an acid is going to be too irritating, but whatever they've done with this formula, it is not irritating at all and it makes your skin look so beautiful and glowy. Lactic acid is also a humectant that helps bind water in the skin, so I find that you get more immediate results with using a product like this because you're getting that skin plumping effect. You're also getting that more immediate exfoliation with the lactic acid and then that gives the retinol some time to kick in. If you're not just trying to get rid of fine lines and wrinkles but you're also using your retinoid to help with things like texture and discoloration, having it combined in a strategic way in a good formula with some type of exfoliant like Shani Darden has done here is the way to go. If you're someone who has more sensitive skin or you want a more streamlined skincare routine, this is the retinol for you."

Cassandra Bankson

2.45M subs

✓Approved

"This is the Retinol Reform. It's soothing for fine lines and wrinkles. Retinoic acid is what your body naturally makes, and when applied to the skin it basically gives your skin the ability to create more collagen, the strong stuff that degrades as we age, that the sun destroys. This helps rebuild it, it's basically triggering your body to do it itself, amazing. It's made by Shani Darden, she's an esthetician, a woman of color, and she has pioneered the skincare industry to make this brand happen. I love her story, I love her hard work, I love her dedication to the industry, and her products are just as good. They're a little fancy, not this fancy, but they're a little fancy."

Allie Glines

830k subs

✓Approved

"Shani Darden's retinol is my favorite right now. The Retinol Reform is incredible, it's so beautiful, it really really does the trick. It's very gentle but you notice amazing results. At least I did. If you've never tried a retinol you really should. I feel like that is an ingredient and a product that has made one of the biggest differences in my skin tone and texture just over the years. It has a very thin consistency so it really absorbs into the skin nicely. It's so good."

Common questions

Frequently asked.

What is Shani Darden Retinol Reform?

A lightweight retinol treatment with 1% encapsulated retinoid and lactic acid, designed to address fine lines, wrinkles, texture, and skin tone.

Is Shani Darden Retinol Reform worth it?

Yes. All 6 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 86%.

What is Shani Darden Retinol Reform's Guru Score?

Shani Darden Retinol Reform holds a Guru Score of 86%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 6 independent expert reviewers we have collected. It is also Guru Certified, our mark for products that hold broad approval across many expert reviewers.