A Wren Says

One thing I have repeated for sure on this site is my weariness about retinol as an ingredient in my skincare products. Even though I used it unknowingly in an eye cream that I loved, I’m still hesitant. In my mind, it is going to make my skin instantly photo-sensitive. And as soon as I walk outside, I will look like a fearmongering sun safety poster. Extreme? Yes, but here we are.

I decided to try just a taste of the ingredient to give it a fair shake. To be clear, I don’t really have major wrinkles, so I won’t notice results there. However, I am interested in improving skin texture, pore size, acne and its scarring, and hyperpigmentation. I am wondering how this supposed wonder ingredient may help with those. So, I used the Verso Night Moisturizer with Retinol 8. Verso claims that Retinol 8 is a gentler version of retinol that should still yield the same, or better, results.

Day one through three I only used it on the right side of my face, just to get an idea of how my skin might react. So far so good. The first day seemed fine. Then the next day, after using an exfoliating face wash I could feel my cheek getting warm and flushing. I chalked it up to having sensitized my skin.

Then I decided to use the product on my whole face. Similar results. I could feel a mild burning sensation and my cheeks flush. Sure enough, when I looked in the mirror, they were red. I used the product for a few more days. Then I gave it a break. That break may or may not be permanent.

In addition to the sensitivity. I noticed my skin was drier. There were dry flaky patches on my forehead and cheeks and even nose. It could have been the effect of the retinol, but honestly it might just be because the protect was not hydrating enough for me. And even though I know 1 week is not enough time to truly gauge results, I’m still going to complain that my pores were the same size as before. The fact that the hyperpigmentation and acne hasn’t faded is a problem that would be unfair to pin on this quick trial.

If you 1) have been wanting to try moisturizer/retinol combo to reduce your skincare steps and/or 2) don’t have a dry skin type, you might like this product. Personally, this didn’t work for me. I can say that I finally gave retinol a try, even though it only lasted a week. I am still weary about retinol, but I won’t swear it off completely. We’ll see what future products tests take me. In the meantime, I think Verso’s Nourishing Cream is much more my speed, and a better moisturizer to meet my dry skin needs.