Cosmeceuticals: The Evidence Behind the Retinoids

Abstract

A wide range of cosmeceutical products are available on the market currently, but evidence to support their use is often lacking in the literature. Specifically, there is a substantial amount of evidence supporting the efficacy of tretinoin in photoaging, but the evidence supporting retinoid-based cosmeceuticals remains sparse. The authors review the current data in the literature related to vitamin A–derived cosmeceutical products and conclude that cosmeceuticals containing retinaldehyde have been shown in large randomized, controlled trials to have the most beneficial effect on aging skin.