Bonjour, Mes Amis!

I am a lady who is true to her promises, so as I promised in Tuesday’s post, let’s talk about Retinol!  I’m am willing to guess that many of you have heard about Retinol before—you might even incorporate it into your skin care routine already—but let’s review exactly what Retinol is, and how is works it’s miracles in wrinkle-smoothing, pigmentation-correcting, and surface-smoothing.

It all goes back to Vitamin A, which is a natural essential vitamin we need to maintain healthy skin and eyes.  However, our skin can’t use pure Vitamin A in a topical cream, but it does work after being processed into a closely related substance known as retinoic acid.  When dermatologists made this connection in the late 1960s, they started working with Vitamin A in an attempt to produce an effective topical treatment to common skin ailments, such as hyper-pigmentation and acne.  In fact, in 1973 a Retinol-based product called Retin-A was introduced as the first-ever effective acne treatment.  

Nowadays, however, we’ve come to realize that topical application of Retinol does much more than treat acne; check out what Jan Marini’s high quality Retinol products (like our new Retinol Plus Mask, and the Retinol Plus Cream!)  can do for your skin…

Anti-Aging, Lightening, and Acne 

• Retinol 1%
• Oligopeptide 24
• Salicylic Acid

Anti-Inflamatory

• Aloe
• Alpha Bisabolol
• Green Tea Extract

Barrier/Hydration

• Vitamin E
• Essential Fatty Acids
• Shea Butter

Impressed?  We are too!  Think of Retinol as your own personal fountain of youth, and call us when you need a refill!  Retinol once was believed to be unhealthy for your skin during the daytime, because Retinoids are photosensitive (meaning that the active ingredients stop working after too much sun exposure).  For a time, many people believed that this also made your skin hypersensitive to sun exposure, too, but this has been proven to be untrue; the Retinol becomes less active, yes, but it doesn’t do any damage or affect the way your skin reacts to the sun.  Jan Marini presented this at her Educational Forum, saying that using Retinol with proper sun protection was safe and even encouraged, because Retinol is more effective when used twice a day and over a long period of time.  Still not sure if you love Retinol?  Ask Oprah and see what she has to say about it!

At A French Touch, we offer several products and treatments that use topical Retinol to enhance the appearance of skin (we want you to feel toujours belle, inside and out!).  Jan Marini Skin Research has had their Age-Intervention Retinol Plus facial cream on the market for a while, which we highly recommend for home use to brighten and boost the effects of your treatments here!  And, as you read about on Tuesday, the new Retinol Plus Mask is not only the perfect way to relax at home while showing your skin some love, but also the new perfect touch finish to some of our facial treatments.  

In our Brilliance Peel, combine a 40% glycolic acid solution with the NEW 1% Retinol Plus Mask.  The glycolic solution works to remove the layer of dead skin cells and debris that cover our skin and give it that flat, matte, dull look, which enables the retinol, aloe, Vitamin E, and so on to penetrate the skin better, and ensures the positive effects I mentioned before even more prominent.

We’re also introducing a brand new treatment, our Retinol Boost Facial, which provides a milder anti-aging treatment option, as it features a professional application of the Retinol Plus Mask and application of Jan Marini’s other miracle products that is sure to leave you floating out of the salon on Cloud 9!

As I said in my last post, we truly want the best for you and your skin, and these Retinol treatments will not only leave you feeling healthy, refreshed, and youthful, but will work wonders for the well-being and appearance of your skin.  As fall starts picking up speed and that ‘summer vacation’ mindset fades, many of us might find that we devote less time to our skin, or ourselves in general.  So challenge yourself to set aside an hour every other day, or even every day, to relax and indulge your skin in some seriously good stuff.  Just because the summer holiday is over, doesn’t mean you don’t still deserve a mini-holiday every once in a while!

Bisous,