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Retinoids

Retinyl palmitate (vitamin A esters)

Also listed as retinyl propionate, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin A

The mildest vitamin A form. It needs three conversion steps to become active, so it is gentle but weak; mostly a label ingredient in lotions.

Weak evidence

What it is

Retinyl palmitate is retinol bound to a fatty acid — the form skin uses to store vitamin A. To act it must be cut back to retinol, then oxidized to retinaldehyde and retinoic acid. That makes it stable and non-irritating, and also much weaker: in a human-skin comparison it took about 0.6% retinyl palmitate under occlusion to match the effect of 0.025% retinol, and uncovered it performed worse.

It appears in body lotions, foot creams and eye creams, usually at unstated low levels. Retinyl propionate is a similar ester. A lotion that lists just "vitamin A" most often contains one of these esters, but the label doesn't say which.

How strong is the evidence?

Weak evidence

Human data are mostly penetration and skin-marker studies; controlled trials showing visible wrinkle improvement from retinyl palmitate alone are scarce. A mouse study raised concern that it might speed UV-induced tumours when used in sunscreen; a critical review judged that the data do not show a risk to people.

What it's used for, checked

Anti-aging like retinol

Unproven

So little is converted that effects, if any, are small.

Softening and smoothing lotions

Mixed

The lotion's moisturizing base does most of this.

Gentle vitamin A for sensitive skin

Holds up

Rarely irritates, precisely because so little becomes active.

Who should be careful

  • Most clinicians advise avoiding all retinoids, esters included, during pregnancy as a precaution, although absorption from a lotion is small.
  • Worries that retinyl palmitate in sunscreen causes skin cancer come from mouse data that reviewers consider not applicable to people.

The studies

Every citation is checked against its PubMed record.

  1. Unoccluded retinol penetrates human skin in vivo more effectively than unoccluded retinyl palmitate or retinoic acid.
    Duell EA, Kang S, Voorhees JJ · Journal of Investigative Dermatology · 1997 · Human in vivo study

    On human skin under occlusion, about 0.6% retinyl palmitate, 0.025% retinol and 0.01% retinaldehyde were needed to produce a measurable retinoid effect; without occlusion, retinyl palmitate did less well while retinol worked as well as when covered.

  2. Safety of retinyl palmitate in sunscreens: a critical analysis.
    Wang SQ, Dusza SW, Lim HW · Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology · 2010 · Critical review

    Examined the mouse photocarcinogenicity data behind claims that retinyl palmitate in sunscreens promotes skin cancer, and concluded the evidence does not show such a risk in people.