Dermalogica Retinol Clearing Oil Review

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Dermalogica's new Retinol Clearing Oil is designed for those (like me) who want to tackle blemishes and signs of aging. It's an oil that contains a potent mix of time release Retinol and Salicylic acid. The oil is a mix of Golden Jojoba, Rosehip seed and Argan to soothe and nourish skin. 

The treatment is designed to be used at night. I was a bit worried with it being an oil, that it might cause pilling / rolling of my other products. I'm pleased to say, I had no issued with it. The oil itself is such a beautiful consistency - it's incredibly lightweight yet still nourishing. It's what I'd class as a dry oil which quickly absorbs and doesn't leave skin greasy. The oil does have a light pleasant scent which doesn't linger. 

I used this oil for just under a month and had mixed results with it. For the first couple of weeks, it worked brilliantly to keep my skin clear. It was when I hit weeks 3 & 4 that I noticed I was starting to get a number of closed comedones on my chin. I then stopped using the oil and went back to my previous separate Retinol and exfoliating serum. Within a week or two the comedones were clearing up and my skin was getting back to normal. So unfortunately this didn't work for me. Please bear in mind that I have acne which has taken a lot of trial and error to get under control. My usual routine that works for me is a 1% Retinol serum and an exfoliating serum containing 2% Salicylic acid and 10% AHA acid. Plus I usually have a month Medik8 peel which contains an even higher strength of Salicylic and AHA acids. Obviously I've not been able to have the peels for a number of months due to COVID lockdown. This is just what works for me, my skin obviously needs the higher strength products to keep my acne under control. 

So unfortunately the oil isn't quite strong enough for my needs. Dermalogica don't disclose the strength of the active ingredients but the highest salicylic acid can be is 2%. After looking at the ingredients list, the oil contains Retinyl Propionate which is a Retinoid / Retinol ester.

 This means it's a very gentle form of Retinol.  Unfortunately for me, it's just not enough to keep my acne under control. Such as shame as I really enjoyed using the oil! I liked that I could cut out a step in my routine as it was basically two products in one. I do however think it's a wonderful product that would certainly recommend for someone with occasional breakouts, rather than acne like me. 

Dermalogica Retinol Clearing Oil is available from Dermalogica, Feel Unique, Look Fantastic and Skin City for £69.