Retinyl Palmitate

Retinyl palmitate is an ester of vitamin A, formed by combining retinol with palmitic acid. It is the most stable and the least potent of the commonly used vitamin A derivatives.

How it works

Vitamin A becomes active in skin only as retinoic acid. Retinyl palmitate sits furthest from that form and must be converted in three steps: first cleaved to retinol, then oxidised to retinaldehyde, then to retinoic acid.

Each step depends on enzyme availability and none is complete, so the proportion of applied retinyl palmitate that reaches the active form is small. Comparing its concentration to a retinol concentration is not meaningful.

Why it appears in formulas anyway

Two reasons. The ester bond makes it considerably more stable than retinol against light, heat and oxidation, so it survives longer in a jar. And because conversion is slow, it is markedly better tolerated, which suits products designed for sensitive skin or for people beginning with vitamin A.

It is also frequently paired with retinol, as it is here. The retinol delivers activity sooner while the ester converts more gradually.

Reading an ingredient list

A product listing only retinyl palmitate is a mild vitamin A product regardless of how it is marketed. Where it appears alongside retinol, the retinol is doing most of the work.