The INKEY List Super Solutions 1% Retinol Serum: Guru Score 69%

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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No BS Beauty

89k subs

~Yay

"We've got The INKEY List 1% Retinol Serum which is $25 for 1 oz and this contains 1% retinol"

Mad About Skin

727k subs

~Nay

"The biggest issue for me was with their original Retinol Serum which was a 1% retinol set it all over the packaging. I was like that's a good dose retinol. I started my retinoid journey with it because it then came out that it wasn't a 1% retinol, it was a 1% rstar complex which actually was a compound of different components, and when you broke it down it was equivalent of about a 0.2% retinol. Really that's doing nothing. This kind of emerged online, people started talking about it, then it was confirmed with the new EU retinol restrictions where The INKEY List can still sell their product into the EU because the concentration of retinol is below 0.3%, which we all kind of knew before then, but it really just became very apparent that that marketing was very misleading from the start. I trusted my skin with that product and I wondered why I maybe didn't get the same results I was hoping for. It's because we weren't really getting the percentage we thought we were. Shady, shady, shady."

Dr. Shereene Idriss

1.72M subs

~Yay

"Retinoids are very important. These are going to help accelerate your cellular turnover so your skin cells don't stick together as much and they don't create the appearance of enlarged pores. If you're somebody who has enlarged sebaceous filaments, it's going to help minimize their appearance by accelerating that cellular turnover. Over the counter retinols like this one by The Inkey List at 1% are great options."

All 2 takes from Dr. Shereene Idriss

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"The INKEY List also has a Super Solutions 1% Retinol Serum this will be for the more advanced retinol users in the group. It has 1% retinol as well as apricot kernel oil and squalane. It is 25 bucks. I will just say be careful, do not try to go for this first because it is cheap and it is easy, and definitely as I always say avoid the kiss of death around your mouth."

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"Retinoids are very important. These are going to help accelerate your cellular turnover so your skin cells don't stick together as much and they don't create the appearance of enlarged pores. If you're somebody who has enlarged sebaceous filaments, it's going to help minimize their appearance by accelerating that cellular turnover. Over the counter retinols like this one by The Inkey List at 1% are great options."

Dr. Somji Skin

359k subs

~Yay

"You've got this one from the INKEY List which is quite nice, it's a simple one to start with and it's something you can use on a daily basis and is not too strong."

All 5 takes from Dr. Somji Skin

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"You've got this one from the INKEY List which is quite nice, it's a simple one to start with and it's something you can use on a daily basis and is not too strong."

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"Using kind of over the counter retinols initially are much better you can get even like kind of milder ones um like this one the retinol reface one is actually quite impressive um and you can start slowly so you start low and go slow so use it kind of once or twice a week with enough space in between"

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"I think that is actually quite a clever formulation they're using two types of retinoids to get almost a better result, the problem is is that it's at very small percentage of the actual total product, the total volume, so when you see buzzword you see buzz things like 1% retinol you're like wow this is so strong this is amazing, okay it's amazing but I think it's a it's an intro product to a retinol so if you're just starting and you want to slowly up titrate you can use this, so it's not the most sophisticated one. I believe even though I'm a bit biased that you need to go for medical grade retinoids but hey if you want to start a retinoid this is not unsafe. It spreads very well when I was testing it it spread almost too well. When I looked at the INKEY List I was like oh my God there's silicone in here, silicone is not good for the skin, so you're doing all those things you putting retinol on your skin to build the collagen and then you're putting silicone in so that's going to be one point of my score."

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"This is the retinol Inky List serum which is a good starter serum and I would always start with retinol rather than anything a little bit stronger. You can use this on the face quite nicely. I would not use this in the daytime I think that's a little bit too much because it can sensitize the skin if you sensitize the skin and then expose it to UV you could cause some damage to your skin so if you're going to use retinol you want to use that at night."

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"The retinol from The INKEY List, it does have silicone in there and most of the products that I've seen with retinol because it's a little bit more gritty in texture, people put silicone in there to kind of make it smooth and spread nicely, but I'm not a fan of silicone just for what it does in the environment and the rare chance that it causes irritation is probably not a good idea. But this has got packed nice ingredients, a little bit of caprylic glycol so great emollient sitting on the skin, as well as some nice lipids and hyaluronic acid as well, so it's a nice all-around formulation. If you're a little bit in the well first signs of aging you can start using this retinol, it's not bad for a beginner."

Dr Sam Bunting

240k subs

~Yay

"If you're starting out in your retinoid journey, a good one to try, especially if you're on a budget, is The Inkey List Retinol Serum, which contains a blend of low strength retinol with low strength granactive retinoid, 0.5%. This is a great way of dipping your toe in the water."

Nipun Kapur

408k subs

~Mixed

"The 1% Retinol Serum, you don't get any additional peptides etc., but in general you get a little bit of niacinamide, you get your hyaluronic acid. It's a good formula, it's not the best, but it is a high strength formula."

Dr. Daniel Sugai

720k subs

~Yay

"The inky list came out with this recently I've always loved their other retinol that came out you know a few years back now they have a whole 1% retinol this one actually does pack a punch cuz I've used it and it has caused dryness when I use it every day for a whole week which is fine you know dryness is okay with your retinol but when it when it has it gives me dryness I know there is something to it that means it is quite potent"

Dimma Umeh

532k subs

~Mixed

"I haven't tried retinol from the inky list so I cannot speak about their retinol specifically but I think that retinol is good always a good idea"

Cassandra Bankson

2.46M subs

~Yay

"This is another great one, the 1% Retinol Serum from The INKEY List. The reason that I love The INKEY List and The Ordinary is that these are both like under 10, 15 bucks so they're affordable. If you're going to spend your money on something, spend your money on a potent active ingredient, get it at an inexpensive price, and try it long enough like a month or two to see if it works for you."

All 2 takes from Cassandra Bankson

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"This is another great one, the 1% Retinol Serum from The INKEY List. The reason that I love The INKEY List and The Ordinary is that these are both like under 10, 15 bucks so they're affordable. If you're going to spend your money on something, spend your money on a potent active ingredient, get it at an inexpensive price, and try it long enough like a month or two to see if it works for you."

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"We know that retinoids are great for acne I'm using the super Solution retinoid on my back as I'm testing it out that one is excellent the retinol one from the inky list is also really good it's a great beginner retinol but I don't know if I would call it a hit especially since I have been liking the super solution retinoid a little bit better"

Hyram

4.34M subs

~Yay

"I recommend The Inkey List retinol serum. It's a super good price point but very effective at making sure my skin is repaired of damage, because what retinol helps to do best is get rid of that damage on the skin, whether it's premature aging, dark spots, sun spots, or dark circles. Retinol literally has data to show that it's effective at getting rid of those concerns, and that's why I feel it's a necessary part of the treatment step of a skin care routine."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Retinoids

Retinoids are among the best studied ingredients in dermatology, with solid evidence for acne and for the fine lines and rough texture that come from sun exposure. Dryness and flaking in the first few weeks are common and usually settle.

Source: DermNet

Humectants and emollients

Ingredients like these draw water into the surface layers and slow how fast it leaves. The evidence is for comfort, softness and hydration rather than for changing the structure of the skin.

Source: DermNet

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, and it is often in a formula to keep the other ingredients stable rather than as the active itself. It pairs well with vitamin C, though on its own the evidence for visible change is limited.

Source: NIH, National Library of Medicine

Frequently asked.

What is The INKEY List Super Solutions 1% Retinol Serum?

A serum containing retinol and retinoid compounds designed as an entry-level retinoid treatment for nighttime use.

Is The INKEY List Super Solutions 1% Retinol Serum worth it?

The gurus mostly approve it, but with enough reservations to keep it in the middle at a Guru Score of 69%.

What is The INKEY List Super Solutions 1% Retinol Serum's Guru Score?

The INKEY List Super Solutions 1% Retinol Serum holds a Guru Score of 69%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 10 expert reviewers we have collected.