We’ve talked about retinol before. Every dermatologist I’ve spoken with has agreed that retinol is key if you want to stay looking young. That’s why I’ve been using products with retinol for years. But pure retinol? I’ve been scared…. until I was introduced to the new Mary Kay Clinical Solutions Retinol 05 Set.

See, any other time I tried pure retinol my skin was not happy. I was red, itchy and extremely dry. It’s a common reaction if you jump straight into retinol, having never tried it before. That’s why Mary Kay worked with dermatologists to develop a gentle eight-week retinization process to minimize the potential discomforts of dryness and redness for first-time pure retinol users. Here are some details, as well as my own personal experience…

What is retinol?

Retinol is known as the gold-standard ingredient dermatologists recommend to help prevent and reverse the visible signs of aging.

When should I start using retinol?

It’s never too early or too late! I started in my 30s but I wish I started earlier. In addition to helping reverse signs of aging, retinol is said to help prevent aging you can’t see yet.

I personally recommend starting it now, while we’re still in the winter months. While using retinol, you have to be extra diligent about sunscreen. So I personally am going to use it for the next few months, take a break over summer, and then return to my routine in fall.

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What is Mary Kay Clinical Solutions?

The Mary Kay Clinical Solutions Retinol 0.5 Set is a two-piece set: Mary Kay Clinical Solutions Retinol 0.5, which is powered by pure retinol, and Mary Kay Clinical Solutions Calm + Restore Facial Milk, which is a lightweight formula made from plant oils that help calm + soothe skin while delivering instant hydration. The products are sold as a set, or separately.

What is Retinization?

In association with dermatologists, Mary Kay developed an eight-week retinization process to help minimize potential discomfort from dryness and temporary redness that may occur when you first start using pure retinol. It starts with diluting Clinical Solutions Retinol 0.5 with Calm + Restore Facial Milk 1x per week and ends with using the retinol on it’s own 3 to 5x per week as tolerated.

Even though I haven’t used pure retinol, I did use products that contain retinol prior to trying Mary Kay Clinical Solutions. So when I did the dilution, I experience zero discomfort or dryness. So I skipped to weeks 3 + 4, where you use the retinol followed by the facial milk 1x per week. This approach worked for me, but as always, listen to your skin because your experience may be different. My skin was a little tingly at first application, but that quickly diminished thanks to the facial milk. The following week I didn’t feel the tingle as much.

I’m now on week 5 and so far I’ve already noticed that my skin discoloration has improved. I can’t wait to see the final results as I continue on the eight-week process!

To learn more about Mary Kay Clinical Solutions and the retinization process, head over to MaryKay.com.

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PHOTOS BY MUNOPIA