The No7 Advanced Retinol 1.5% Complex Night Concentrate (£25) is a big deal for No7, as it's the brand's first product to contain retinol in a product. Sure, the Protect & Perfect line contains retinyl palmitate, but that's a weaker form of vitamin A that isn't as effective at speeding up cell turnover. This is because for retinyl palmitate to work, once it enters the skin it must be converted to retinol, which then needs to be converted into retinoic acid. If you're already starting off with retinol, it only needs to be converted into retinoic acid. "Retinol is one step closer to retinoic acid than retinyl palmitate," Dr Mike Bell, head of science research at No7, sums up nicely.
But the fact is, retinol has the downside of causing more irritation. What's so exciting about this product is what No7 paired the retinol with to make it less irritating. The 1.5% complex is made up of 0.3% retinol, the "sweet spot of retinol concentration" that Dr Bell and the scientists at the University of Manchester (who helped develop the serum) found a majority of people could tolerate during their extensive development process. The other 1.2% of the complex is what the brand calls a "retinol optimiser," a water-and-oil blend that encapsulates the retinol to both stabilise it and deliver it more efficiently through the surface layers of the skin. The formula also contains bisabolol, an ingredient derived from chamomile, to help soothe the skin, as well as Matrixyl 3000, a peptide blend that helps repair the fibril strings underneath dermis that help keep skin elastic and bouncy. "Matrixyl 3000 is our powerhouse in terms of [treating] wrinkles," says Dr Bell, "and it's the combination of the Matrixyl 3000 and the 1.5% complex that will transform the appearance of your skin."