SSC "A" Cream Retinol Question

tototwo · ‎03-09-2010

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? ${#emotions_dlg.blink}$

* A woman is like a tea bag. You can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. *
- Eleanor Roosevelt

JeanLouiseFinch · ‎10-03-2011

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.

tototwo · ‎03-09-2010

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?

* A woman is like a tea bag. You can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. *
- Eleanor Roosevelt

myshell624 · ‎02-27-2013

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

suzyQ3 · ‎03-09-2010

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.

~Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

cassiem · ‎03-09-2010

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.