For those of you who haven't heard of retinol, it's high time that you do. With today's ever shifting skincare industry, it's important to know what solutions are out there for you. And as one of the most powerful skincare ingredients, retinol should be at the top of our priority list. It's anti-aging, anti-wrinkle, anti-inflammatory, and it's about to be your next favorite skincare product.

What Is Retinol?

Retinol is a type of retinoid made from vitamin A. Rather than removing dead skin cells, the unique thing about retinol is its small molecules penetrate deep beneath the outer layer of your skin, also known as the dermis. What does it do from here? Retinol's unique effect below the surface of the skin is what makes it such a sought after skincare solution. And to our utter delight, it has a few charming benefits.

Retinol Boosts Collagen and Elastin

Because retinol can penetrate the skin rather than only work on the surface, this gives retinol so much more power and free reign to truly reverse signs of aging.

As a benefit, collagen and elastin production skyrocket from retinol induction. Why? When retinoids are introduced to the skin, they convert to retinoic acid, the active ingredient that increases skin-cell turnover and increases collagen and elastin production, thus making skin firmer and thicker. Retinol also encourages the health and production of new blood vessels, allowing more color, life, and radiance into your skin.

Retinol Treats Enlarged Pores

Enlarged pores happen for a number of reasons. And unfortunately it's so common for our pores to become clogged with a number of things: dead skin cells, excess oil, dirt - you name it and it's probably been in your pores at some point.

Another main culprit? Sebum production. Sebum, which is a naturally occurring oil created by your sebaceous glands, actually works to moisturize and protect your skin. However, an influx of sebum wreaks havoc on your complexion, your pores, and can induce horrific acne.

Retinol, on the other hand, works to stop excessive sebum production and unclogs pores. Unclogged pores means smaller pores. And the minimizing of sebum production leads us to our next, wonderful benefit.

Retinol May Help Drastically Reduce Acne

Excessive sebum production is one of the main culprits of acne. Acne develops when sebum, dead skin cells, or dirt plug up pores and hair follicles. Meanwhile, bacteria can induce inflammation (and even infection), causing acne worse-than-usual acne flare-ups.

But there's a glimmer of hope with retinol. By reducing sebum production, retinol gives those with chronic acne a chance to fight back. It helps unclog and cleanse pores and brings back balance to your skin.

And while you might think exfoliating or cleansing might trigger the same results, these methods of skincare, while effective for their own benefits, aren't ideal for treating acne. Exfoliating may trigger further inflammation, and oftentimes cleansing doesn't truly deep clean pores.

Retinol Attacks Fine Lines and Wrinkles

Ah, to be young again. Oh wait, retinol helps with that, too. Retinol attacks fine lines and wrinkles by the nifty upsurge in collagen and elastin we talked about earlier. Also, the promotion of new, healthy blood vessels triggers what we like to call cellular turnover, the death of old skin cells and the birth of new ones. That means that your skin will regenerate younger, firmer, and more resilient than ever before. All thanks to a little thing we like to call retinol.

Gin Amber Beauty Retinol Products

Gin Amber Beauty currently has two retinol products:

• Gin Amber Beauty 2.5% Anti-Aging Retinol Serum
• Gin Amber Beauty Retinol Eye Cream

Gin Amber Beauty’s Natural 2.5% Retinol Serum uses a blend of plant-based Retinol, Hyaluronic Acid, Aloe Vera, and other natural ingredients. It not only enhance the skin's healing properties, it vastly improves skin tone and texture, while fighting against aging.

Gin Amber Beauty's Retinol Eye Cream features powerful ingredients that visibly brighten, firm, and smooth the skin around the eye area. With all of retinol's given benefits, it's only common sense that applying retinol will drastically improve one's appearance. After all, they say the eyes are the windows to the soul.

The Takeaway

Retinol by itself is a powerful skincare ingredient. And while its benefits are a bit irrefutable, it's important to supplement it with your own, personalized skincare routine for maximum results. And the key here, as with any skincare solution, is always going to be consistency, consistency, consistency.