Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Dec;39(12):5351-5375.
doi: 10.1007/s12325-022-02319-7. Epub 2022 Oct 11.

Use of Retinoids in Topical Antiaging Treatments: A Focused Review of Clinical Evidence for Conventional and Nanoformulations

Affiliations
Review

Use of Retinoids in Topical Antiaging Treatments: A Focused Review of Clinical Evidence for Conventional and Nanoformulations

Daniela Milosheska et al. Adv Ther. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Nowadays, numerous skincare routines are used to rejuvenate aging skin. Retinoids are one of the most popular ingredients used in antiaging treatments. Among the representatives of retinoids, tretinoin is considered the most effective agent with proven antiaging effects on the skin and can be found in formulations approved as medicines for topical treatment of acne, facial wrinkles, and hyperpigmentation. Other retinoids present in topical medicines are used for various indications, but only tazarotene is also approved as adjunctive agent for treatment of facial fine wrinkling and pigmentation. The most commonly used retinoids such as retinol, retinaldehyde, and retinyl palmitate are contained in cosmeceuticals regulated as cosmetics. Since clinical efficacy studies are not required for marketing cosmetic formulations, there are concerns about the efficacy of these retinoids. From a formulation perspective, retinoids pose a challenge to researchers as a result of their proven instability, low penetration, and potential for skin irritation. Therefore, novel delivery systems based on nanotechnology are being developed to overcome the limitations of conventional formulations and improve user compliance. In this review, the clinical evidence for retinoids in conventional and nanoformulations for topical antiaging treatments was evaluated. In addition, an overview of the comparison clinical trials between tretinoin and other retinoids is presented. In general, there is a lack of evidence from properly designed clinical trials to support the claimed efficacy of the most commonly used retinoids as antiaging agents in cosmeceuticals. Of the other retinoids contained in medicines, tazarotene and adapalene have clinically evaluated antiaging effects compared to tretinoin and may be considered as potential alternatives for antiaging treatments. The promising potential of retinoid nanoformulations requires a more comprehensive evaluation with additional studies to support the preliminary findings.

Keywords: Antiaging; Clinical evidence; Cosmeceuticals; Nanoformulations; Retinoids; Retinol; Tretinoin.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Representation of retinoid activity and tolerance considering the metabolic pathway

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Shin JW, Kwon SH, Choi JY, et al. Molecular mechanisms of dermal aging and antiaging approaches. Int J Mol Sci. 2019;20(9):E2126. doi: 10.3390/ijms20092126. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhang S, Duan E. Fighting against skin aging: the way from bench to bedside. Cell Transplant. 2018;27(5):729–738. doi: 10.1177/0963689717725755. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ganguly B, Hota M, Pradhan J. Skin aging: implications of UV radiation, reactive oxygen species and natural antioxidants. In: Ahmad R, editor. Biochemistry. IntechOpen. 2022. https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/78654. Accessed 1 Aug 2022.
    1. Krutmann J, Schalka S, Watson REB, Wei L, Morita A. Daily photoprotection to prevent photoaging. Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed. 2021;37(6):482–489. doi: 10.1111/phpp.12688. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lephart ED. Skin aging and oxidative stress: equol’s anti-aging effects via biochemical and molecular mechanisms. Ageing Res Rev. 2016;31:36–54. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2016.08.001. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources