topic Re: SSC ""A"" Cream Retinol Question in Beauty

SSC "A" Cream Retinol Question

tototwo — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 16:13:00 GMT

Most retinols are listed by percentage in the list of ingredients. ResQ is .15 retinol; Paula's Choice has a 1% retinol. I understand that measurement. But, SSC retinol products are by International Units - either a 4 Million IU or an 8 Million IU. How do these IU's compare to retinol percentages in other products? Does the SSC retinol cream have more, or less, retinol than others?

Am I the only one who's confused?

Re: SSC ""A"" Cream Retinol Question

JeanLouiseFinch — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 16:27:25 GMT

I wonder if you could email SSC and ask them if they know the percentage? Without some other information available, I think it would be almost impossible to calculate and covert the International Units to Percentages.

Re: SSC ""A"" Cream Retinol Question

tototwo — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 17:44:57 GMT

JLF ~ I've emailed them at least twice over the years and never got a response. I've contacted both SSC and HSN. I have also asked this question on this board before and didn't get an answer. I think it's very confusing - percentage-wise, how much retinol is in the SSC creams and serums?

Re: SSC ""A"" Cream Retinol Question

myshell624 — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 17:47:14 GMT

I don't know but I'm pretty sure their IU' s refer to retinol and retinol palmitate.

Re: SSC ""A"" Cream Retinol Question

suzyQ3 — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 18:21:49 GMT

On 7/10/2014 tototwo said:
JLF ~ I've emailed them at least twice over the years and never got a response. I've contacted both SSC and HSN. I have also asked this question on this board before and didn't get an answer. I think it's very confusing - percentage-wise, how much retinol is in the SSC creams and serums?

That's very troubling.

Re: SSC ""A"" Cream Retinol Question

cassiem — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 18:48:45 GMT

I agree that it's very confusing the way that SSC uses IUs to convey the amount of retinol in the product. You'll find IUs on vitamin supplement labels. IU stands for International Unit and refers to the amount of biologic activity in the vitamin. I'm not sure at all how that relates to skincare.

What I think is even more confusing is that the amount of IUs in the SSC retinol cream refers to the amount of retinol and retinyl palmitate combined, so no way to know how much of it is retinol, which is more effective than retinyl palmitate. Also, unlike with percentages, a higher number of IUs does not mean a higher concentration of retinol in the formulation. Instead, a larger size contains more retinol because the container size is larger (double size container contains double the amount of retinol, but other ingredients also double, so the actual percentage of retinol stays the same for each size). (ie: 1 ounce size = 2,000 IUs, 2 ounce size = 4,000 IUs, 4 ounce size = 8,000 IUs). The 8,000 IU cream isn't any stronger than the 2,000 IU cream. However, with percentages, higher numbers mean a stronger retinol, for instance a 1% retinol is twice as strong as a .5% retinol.

There's no way to know what percentage of retinol is in the product based on the IU number. SSC would have to answer your question.

Re: SSC ""A"" Cream Retinol Question

Shelbelle — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 20:56:49 GMT

Their 4 million IU cream always contained petroleum, I avoid it.