Free · answers stay in the browser
Where to start with a retinoid
Retinoids are a family: retinol and retinal in cosmetics, and prescription molecules such as tretinoin and adapalene. Stronger is not the right first bottle.
This guide suggests a cosmetic starting pace. It does not choose a prescription. If a clinician already prescribed one, follow that label instead of this page.
- Cost
- Free
- Time
- A few questions
- Signup
- None
- Data
- Not stored
Start with a low to medium retinol a few nights a week, not a prescription-strength product.
Two or three nights a week, then add a night only if the skin is calm. Use a pea-sized amount and wear sunscreen in the morning.
In the app
Want a record of retinoid starter, not a one-off?
Retinoid starter settles the question above. The app is where that decision can be checked against six skin scores over the following weeks.
- Six saved scores: hydration, texture, tone, acne, pores, and redness
- A morning and evening routine built from the scan
- The same face, week after week, so a change shows up as a trend
Scan with your phone. iPhone opens the App Store. Android opens Google Play.
The science
What the retinoid starter calculator decides, and what it leaves alone
- 01
A structured question, not a photo score
A calculator fits when the answer depends on behavior, a label, or a number you already know. A camera cannot see how a product feels, what else is in the routine, or whether a breakout started after a new active.
- 02
How this page reaches a label
Work through the prompts in order. The result follows from the answers, in this browser, and the answers are not stored.
Tied answers stay tied. If two labels earn the same weight, both are shown, because forcing a single winner would invent confidence the answers did not have.
- 03
What the label means, and what the app records
Start two nights a week, not nightly.
The AISkincare app keeps a scan: hydration, texture, tone, acne, pores, and redness, then builds a morning and evening routine from those scores. This page answers once and does not store the photo.
Use the label to choose a next step, then check it against a scan if the question was about skin rather than about a product or a style.
- 04
Where this kind of check runs out
This planner is a cosmetic schedule, not a prescription. Stop an active that burns, swells, or keeps getting worse, and ask a clinician before you change a prescribed treatment.
If the honest answer to a prompt is 'it depends' or 'I am in pain,' stop and treat that as the result. The page cannot examine you.
How to use a retinoid starter result
Start two nights a week, not nightly. Use a pea-sized amount for the whole face. Moisturizer before or after both work. Before is gentler.
Take the actions on the result card as a short list, not as a diagnosis.
How to answer so the label is worth having
Answer for the last two weeks, not for your best week or for a photo you wish you had taken. If a prompt is about a product, use the ingredient list on the bottle you own, not a similar product from another brand.
One pass is enough. Changing answers until the label feels flattering wastes the check.
A label today, a score over the month
Retinoid starter can be retaken when the routine changes. It will not show whether redness or texture actually moved. That comparison is a scan in the same light, saved in the app.
The QR code under the tool sends an iPhone to the App Store and an Android phone to Google Play.
What the retinoid starter calculator cannot decide
This planner is a cosmetic schedule, not a prescription. Stop an active that burns, swells, or keeps getting worse, and ask a clinician before you change a prescribed treatment.
It cannot see beneath the skin, predict a reaction to an ingredient you have never used, or replace a clinician for a spreading rash, a changing mark, or painful acne.
How to use the result
- Start two nights a week, not nightly.
- Use a pea-sized amount for the whole face.
- Moisturizer before or after both work. Before is gentler.
Where to go from here
If one part of the result stood out, open the tool that asks only that question. Each one states its limit in the same place, and each one links back to a guide when a longer explanation helps.
- Purge windowEnter how long you have used a retinoid and where the new spots are. See whether you are still inside a typical purge window or whether it is time to stop.
- Should you slug?Decide if a petrolatum layer overnight will help dryness or trap oil and clog pores. Slugging is a technique, not a requirement.
- Double cleanse quizSee whether an oil or balm first cleanse earns a place in your night routine, or whether one gentle cleanser is enough.
- AM / PM splitterSort vitamin C, retinoids, acids, and sunscreen into morning or night so you are not stacking the wrong actives before you leave the house.
This planner is a cosmetic schedule, not a prescription. Stop an active that burns, swells, or keeps getting worse, and ask a clinician before you change a prescribed treatment.