• Intensive AlphaRet Overnight Cream
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SkinBetter Science

Intensive AlphaRet Overnight Cream

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More refined texture and softer lines while you sleep.

Your skin is comfortable with a retinoid, but you want more movement on rough texture, uneven tone and fine lines. You are ready for more refinement without giving up comfort.

Intensive AlphaRet Overnight Cream visibly softens lines and wrinkles and refines uneven tone and texture overnight. It pairs AlphaRet, SkinBetter's patented molecule that joins a retinoid and lactic acid for gradual release, with the highest level of glycolic acid in the AlphaRet line for extra resurfacing. Peptides, ceramides, squalane and hyaluronic acid keep skin hydrated while it works.

Who It Is For

Skin already comfortable with a retinoid that wants more focus on texture and lines.

Not Acne Safe

What You Will See, and When

In clinical study, the regular AlphaRet Overnight Cream formula visibly reduced lines from four weeks and kept improving through twelve weeks. Give it at least twelve weeks before you judge the full result.

How to Use

Use at night after cleansing (and after Plated, if you use it), once your skin is already comfortable with regular AlphaRet Overnight Cream or a prescription retinoid. Smooth a thin layer over your face, ears, neck and chest, keeping it away from the eye area. Follow with moisturizer, and wear sunscreen 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 helps skin look smoother 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.

Glycolic acid is the smallest alpha hydroxy acid, so it moves easily through the surface layer and loosens the bonds between dead cells. This cream carries more of it than AlphaRet Overnight Cream, and that is where its extra texture work comes from. Vitamins C and E and coenzyme Q10 add antioxidant protection.

In a twelve week, randomized, split face study of 48 women with mild to severe sun damage, the regular AlphaRet Overnight Cream (not this intensive version) significantly reduced fine lines and wrinkles from week four, improved uneven tone throughout and improved skin hydration at every visit.

Questions

How is it different from AlphaRet Overnight Cream?Both share the same AlphaRet base with peptides, ceramides and antioxidants. Intensive carries a higher level of glycolic acid for more texture refinement, so it suits skin that is already comfortable with a retinoid.
Where does it go in my routine?At night, after cleansing and Plated if you use it. Follow with moisturizer. Sunscreen goes on last the next morning.
Can I use it with a vitamin C serum?Yes. Use your antioxidant serum in the morning and this cream at night.
What does it feel like?A smooth 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.

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Key Ingredients

AlphaRet (ethyl lactyl retinoate)Retinoid and lactic acid in one molecule for smoother, firmer looking skin
Glycolic acidThe highest level in the AlphaRet line, for extra texture refinement
PeptidesSupport the look of firmer, smoother skin
Ceramides, squalane, niacinamide and hyaluronic acidKeep skin hydrated and comfortable
Full Ingredient List

Aqua/Water, Glycolic Acid, Sodium Glycolate, 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

    Intensive AlphaRet Overnight Cream

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    Your Complete Routine

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