Robb Recommends: New to Retinol? This High End Serum Is the Best Way to Start

Welcome to Robb Recommends , a regular series in which our editors and contributors endorse something they’ve tried and loved—and think will change your life for the better. Dermatologists have known since the 1970s that retinol , a topical Vitamin A derivative, is a godsend for treating not only acne but also signs of aging.

But the ingredient is infamous for causing redness, irritation, and even mild peeling—especially for people who’ve never used it before. Which is why whenever anyone asks me which retinoid they should start with, I always recommend Medik8’s Crystal Retinal Serum . It’s the only version on the market, at least to my knowledge, that’s designed to help your skin get used to Vitamin A, and level up to higher and higher concentrations of the active ingredient over time.

Here’s how it works: The Crystal Retinal Serum is available in four versions: 1, 3, 6, 10, and 20. (We should note here that the higher you go, the more the product will cost. While version 1 will only set you back $54 a tube, level 20 costs $120). The numbers correspond to the amount of retinal in the product’s formula.

The idea is that by the time you’ve finished using a tube of a lower level, your skin will be ready to move on to the next rung on the ladder. The other thing that I enjoy is that it uses retinal, not retinol. The difference is that retinal is one step closer to retinoic acid, the ingredient that causes the most dramatic changes in your skin’s overall texture and appearance.

(You can only get retinoic acid in prescription grade tretinoin, and if you’ve never used it before, it’s probably better to start with an over the counter version first.) Retinal is 11 times more effective than retinol, which means you’ll start seeing results faster. While I’m now on the Rx only product Altreno, I used Crystal Retinal for months leading up to my transition to the medical grade stuff.

Its formula goes on easy, and while it has a somewhat feminine fragrance, it’s not bothersome. Plus, you use this stuff at night, so it’s not like you’ll be walking around smelling like a bouquet of roses all day. And once you start seeing results—which will only take about a month—you probably won’t mind the smell very much at all.

Senior Editor Justin Fenner is Robb Report's senior editor. He's been covering style, grooming and watches for over a decade, traveling across the world to examine how these topics intersect with the broader….