

VITAMIN C CELL TURNOVER SKIN
You can choose a higher concentration if your skin isn’t particularly sensitive, but this is the minimum amount you need for it to be effective. Specifically, look for an over-the-counter product with a concentration of at least 0.25 percent, suggests Manish Shah, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon based in Denver.

She advises to start with an over-the-counter retinol and work up to a prescription strength as the skin’s tolerance builds. “I typically recommend starting every third night and then every other night and eventually every night,” Saedi says. Most dermatologists recommend easing your way into use to avoid a negative reaction. “Eventually, the skin becomes more resilient to the irritation while still benefiting from the retinoids,” Dr. Over time, the skin will build a tolerance, so while you may experience some redness and irritation when you start out (due to the increased skin turnover), your skin may be able to handle the ingredient better after a few weeks. “Since prescription retinoids are more active, they can irritate the skin sooner and for longer,” says Sheel Desai Solomon, MD, a board-certified dermatologist with Preston Dermatology and Skin Surgery in Cary, North Carolina. The more concentrated the product, the more the negative side effects. Retinoic acid can cause irritation, usually in the form of redness, burning, and scaling, per the 2015 study. There can be some nasty side effects, however.
