Beauty ingredient · Skin conditioning (retinoid)
Retinol
Vitamin A used in anti-aging skincare.
- Retinoid
- Expert review pending
Concern level
Strong evidence of harm at high intake, emerging evidence of harm, or a common allergen or irritant. The concern level sets how many points retinol costs on a product’s receipt.
What the evidence says
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Retinoid (pregnancy)Strong evidence
A vitamin A derivative. High intakes of preformed vitamin A and some retinoid medicines can cause birth defects; pregnant people are commonly advised to avoid retinoids. [1][2]
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Restricted useRegulatory
The EU limits vitamin A in cosmetics to 0.05% retinol equivalent in body lotions and 0.3% in other products; Canada also sets limits. [3][4]
Evidence tiers say how sure the evidence is, separately from how much it matters. About evidence tiers.
Rules around the world
| Where | Status | Details | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Union | Restricted | Vitamin A (retinol and esters): 0.05% RE in body lotion, 0.3% RE in other products. | — | [3] |
| Canada | Restricted | Retinol and its esters: 0.2% RE in full-body leave-on products, 1.0% in other cosmetics. | — | [4] |
“Banned” means explicitly prohibited or withdrawn after review; “not permitted” means never authorized there. We use each regulator’s own words.
Names GoodSwap recognizes on labels (4)
- retinol
- vitamin a
- pure retinol
- encapsulated retinol
Sources
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Vitamin A and Carotenoids - Health Professional Fact Sheet
“Experts advise women who are or might be pregnant and those who are lactating not to take high doses (more than 3,000 mcg RAE [10,000 IU] daily) of vitamin A supplements [1].”
ods.od.nih.gov
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Pregnancy vitamins and supplements
“Do not take cod liver oil or supplements containing vitamin A (sometimes called retinol) when you're pregnant.”
nhs.uk
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“vitamin A is safe in cosmetic products up to concentrations of 0,05 % Retinol Equivalent (RE) in body lotion and 0,3 % RE in other leave-on and rinse-off products.”
eur-lex.europa.eu
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Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist: prohibited and restricted ingredients
“The following ingredients are only permitted in cosmetic products under the conditions of use specified below:”
canada.ca