Retinol and isopropyl alcohol
Keep them apart
Use them on alternate nights because they clash. They strip the skin barrier, causing extra dryness, redness, and irritation when used together. The shopper can switch to a gentler alcohol-free product or increase the time between applications.
Retinol products
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CeraVe
Resurfacing Retinol Serum
€16.99
-
RoC
Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream
€33.34
-
Paula's Choice
1% Retinol Treatment
€57.00
-
RoC
Retinol Correxion Line Smoothing Eye Cream
€19.99
-
Good Molecules
Gentle Retinol Cream
€25.39
-
La Roche-Posay
Retinol B3 Serum
€32.99
- DRMTLGY Retinol Body Lotion
-
RoC
Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Serum
€30.97
-
CeraVe
Skin Renewing Retinol Serum
€25.99
-
Olay
Regenerist Retinol 24 Night Moisturizer
€24.00
- cocokind Retinol Body Cream
- Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Regenerating Cream
Isopropyl alcohol products
-
Mario Badescu
Drying Lotion
€20.10
-
Avène
Cleanance Comedomed Anti-Blemish Concentrate
€15.19
- Menarini A-Ret Gel
Questions and answers
Can you use retinol and isopropyl alcohol together?
No, you should keep retinol and isopropyl alcohol apart in your routine because they may strip your skin barrier and increase irritation. Use them at separate times or days to protect your skin.
Which goes first, retinol or isopropyl alcohol?
Keep retinol and isopropyl alcohol apart in your routine because isopropyl alcohol strips the skin barrier and may increase irritation from retinol.
Are retinol and isopropyl alcohol good for sensitive skin?
Keep retinol and isopropyl alcohol apart because they strip the skin barrier and may increase irritation. Using them together is not recommended for sensitive skin.
Research on retinol and isopropyl alcohol
Behind this pairing advice
Lovi checks every pairing with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
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Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
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Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
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Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
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Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
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Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
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