• AlphaRet Overnight Cream
1 1

SkinBetter Science

AlphaRet Overnight Cream

Login required to view price.

✓ Expert Curated by Licensed Estheticians · ✓ Ships in 1 to 2 Business Days · ✓ Free Shipping on Orders $50+

Softer lines and smoother skin, with hydration built in.

Fine lines, uneven tone and rough texture are starting to show. You want a retinoid you can use every night and actually enjoy using.

AlphaRet Overnight Cream visibly softens lines and wrinkles, evens tone and refines texture while it hydrates. At its center is AlphaRet, SkinBetter's patented molecule that joins a retinoid and lactic acid so both release gradually, which is what makes it comfortable enough for nightly use. Glycolic acid, peptides, ceramides and antioxidant vitamins C and E round out the formula.

Who It Is For

Anyone starting a retinoid or wanting one they can use nightly, including skin that is sensitive to retinoids.

Not Acne Safe

What You Will See, and When

Lines can look softer from four weeks. In a twelve week clinical study, fine lines and wrinkles improved at every visit and skin was measurably more hydrated throughout.

How to Use

Use at night, after cleansing (and after Plated, if you use it). Start with a rice grain sized amount mixed into a little of your moisturizer, two nights a week, then build to three nights, every other night and finally every night. Once your skin is comfortable, move up to a thin layer over your face, ears, neck and chest, keeping it away from the eye area. Moisturizer can go on top, and sunscreen goes on every morning.

The Science

AlphaRet is ethyl lactyl retinoate: a retinoid and lactic acid, an alpha hydroxy acid, joined in one molecule. On the skin the bond breaks down gradually, so both are released over time instead of all at once. The retinoid supports healthy cell turnover and the lactic acid loosens the surface and draws in moisture, which is how AlphaRet works on texture from two directions while staying comfortable for nightly use.

In a twelve week, randomized, split face study of 48 women with mild to severe sun damage, the cream significantly reduced fine lines and wrinkles from week four, improved uneven tone throughout and improved skin hydration at every visit. SkinBetter reports a 33 percent improvement in fine lines and wrinkles at twelve weeks.

In a separate twelve week study of 56 people who describe themselves as retinoid sensitive, 98 percent agreed they could use AlphaRet nightly.

Questions

How is it different from Intensive AlphaRet Overnight Cream?Both share the same AlphaRet base with peptides, ceramides and antioxidants. This cream is the everyday strength and the natural place to begin. Intensive adds a higher level of glycolic acid for extra texture work once skin is comfortable with a retinoid.
Where does it go in my routine?At night, after cleansing and Plated if you use it. Moisturizer can go on top. Sunscreen goes on last the next morning.
What does it feel like?A smooth, hydrating cream that goes on in a thin layer. Fragrance free.

Why a Routine Made for You Works Better

General advice is written for everyone, so it has to assume nothing about you. It can tell you what is safe. It cannot tell you what will work for your skin.

Skin changes when it is challenged just enough, then given time to recover and adapt. That amount is different for every person, and it moves as your skin gets stronger. Ask too much and your skin spends its energy recovering instead of improving. Ask too little and nothing changes. Finding that point for you, and moving it at the right time, is where results come from.

Where that point sits depends on:

  • Your skin: its history, how it reacts, and what it is doing today
  • Your health: hormones, medications, pregnancy and any condition that changes how skin behaves
  • Your lifestyle: sleep, stress, diet, sun, exercise and climate
  • Your routine: what you use now, and what has and has not worked before
  • Your goals: what you most want to change
  • Your expectations and timeline: how soon you want to see change, and what is realistic for your skin
  • Your consistency: how much time and how many steps you will keep up with, because the best routine is the one you actually do
  • Your treatments: what you have had and what you have planned

A skin therapist weighs all of this, builds a routine you can keep, and adjusts it as your skin responds. That is why we guarantee our products when they are part of a routine designed by one of our skin therapists. If you have been reading general advice, bring your questions. We will help you sort out what applies to you and what does not.

Book a Consultation

Key Ingredients

AlphaRet (ethyl lactyl retinoate)Retinoid and lactic acid in one molecule for smoother, firmer looking skin
Glycolic acidRefines texture and helps AlphaRet perform
PeptidesSupport the look of firmer, smoother skin
Ceramides, squalane, niacinamide and hyaluronic acidKeep skin hydrated and comfortable
Full Ingredient List

Aqua/Water, Sodium Glycolate, Glycolic Acid, Cetearyl Olivate, Pentylene Glycol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Isohexadecane, Sorbitan Olivate, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Glycerin, Ceresin, Glycol Palmitate, Butylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Squalane, Methyl Gluceth-20, Ethyl Lactyl Retinoate, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Ceramide NP, Hyaluronic Acid, Ubiquinone, Tocopherol, Bisabolol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Superoxide Dismutase, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Allantoin Glycyrrhetinic Acid, Sodium PCA, Panthenol, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Linoleic Acid, Cholesterol, Linolenic Acid, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Dimethicone, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Steareth-2, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Acacia Senegal Gum, Xanthan Gum, Hydrated Silica, Carbomer, Polysorbate 20, Disodium EDTA, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891).

References

1. McDaniel DH, Mazur C, Wortzman MS, Nelson DB. Efficacy and tolerability of a double-conjugated retinoid cream vs 1.0% retinol cream or 0.025% tretinoin cream in subjects with mild to severe photoaging. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2017;16(4):542-548. doi:10.1111/jocd.12381
2. Brand clinical data: SkinBetter Science, 12 week multicenter study in retinoid sensitive users (N=56), and 33% improvement in fine lines and wrinkles at 12 weeks (N=48) (skinbetter.com product page).

  • Hurry, only 9 items left in stock!
AlphaRet Overnight Cream

Frequently Bought Together

Your Complete Routine

Sun damage, fine lines or uneven tone, and skin that doesn't clog or break out? Try this routine.