The Second Most Important Anti-Aging Ingredient

The skin resolution: Clear and bright-looking skin by way of retinoids.

Why you’re tempted to quit: Because the stuff is irritating your skin.

Why keep going: Derms call it the best thing next to SPF.

The skin care goal for 2015? A flawless complexion like Beyoncé’s. And by all accounts, retinoids—including prescriptions such as Retin-A—look like the way to get it. Miami-based dermatologist Leslie Baumann, a retinol researcher and author of Cosmeceuticals and Cosmetic Ingredients, calls these vitamin A derivatives “the second most important anti-aging ingredient after sunscreen. (“It’s hard to find a dermatologist who doesn’t use retinoids themselves,” she adds.)

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Research has also shown these active ingredients to help control oil production, decrease inflammation in the hair follicles, build collagen, and fight fine lines and pigmentation—and that’s a pretty sexy resume of skin benefits, for adults of any age

But as some learn, the first few weeks of retinoid use can also leave skin red, flaky, and irritated. That’s because some people’s skin requires a temporary adjustment period before it accepts the retinoid without irritation. What’s more, no matter how your skin reacts, derms say that it typically takes about three months time to see retinoids’ skin-smoothing and wrinkle-minimizing benefits. So as Miss Bey might say, soldier on.

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While the retinoids of 20 years ago were notorious for causing inflammation and required a pricey trip to the derm, Baumann calls today’s over-the-counter products “just as beneficial as prescription retinoids,” thanks to decades of research and innovative packaging that allows for better stability. “Even the inexpensive retinoids that you get at the drugstore are better than other anti-aging ingredients that don’t contain retinol,” Baumann says. So if you’re feeling the burn, don’t give up just yet. Instead, apply a mild moisturizer under your retinoid to soothe the skin and white-knuckle it through March—that’s when you’re likely to see skin-smoothing results beginning to kick in, just in time for spring.

Try: ZO Skin Health Ossential Advanced Radical Night Repair