Trying to find a decent retinol serum, ended up more confused

I’ve been seeing retinol everywhere, and honestly, it felt like everyone was talking about it except me. So I figured, okay, time to try. I wanted something with a decent percentage, like 1%, because I heard that’s where you actually see results, not just some diluted version that just sits on your skin. My first thought was to just go to Olive Young, the big drug store chain here, because they have everything. I figured I could just walk in, grab something that looked okay, and be done with it.

But walking into Olive Young was a whole other experience. It’s so bright and overwhelming. There are shelves and shelves of products, and honestly, I didn’t know where to start. I saw some brands that looked fancy, some that looked really basic, and a lot of Korean brands I’d never heard of. I found a few retinol products, but the percentages were all over the place – 0.1%, 0.3%, and then I saw one claiming 1%. It was from a brand I vaguely recognized, maybe IOPE? I think it was called their ‘Stem 3 Cream’ or something like that. It looked expensive, and I wasn’t sure if I should commit to that price without knowing if it would even work for me.

Then I started looking at the ingredients. Some had a bunch of other stuff mixed in, like peptides or hyaluronic acid, which sounded good, but I was really just focused on the retinol. The 1% one I saw had a lot of other ingredients, and I started worrying about irritation. I remembered a friend mentioning something about starting with a lower percentage, maybe just 0.3%, and seeing how your skin reacts before going higher. But then, what’s the point if it’s not potent enough? It felt like a catch-22.

I also did a quick search on my phone while standing there, trying to find reviews for the 1% serum. Some people were raving about it, saying it cleared up their acne and wrinkles like magic. Others were complaining about peeling, redness, and how it felt like their skin was burning. It’s like you either get amazing results or a really bad reaction. There didn’t seem to be much in between. I also saw some articles talking about other ingredients, like propolis, being good for skin, but I was trying to keep it simple and just focus on the retinol. It’s a lot to take in.

I ended up leaving without buying anything. Part of me felt like I should have just picked the most popular one or the one that looked the most professional, like the IOPE cream I saw. But another part of me was scared of wasting money on something that would just irritate my skin or do nothing. I still feel a bit uncertain about what percentage to go for and which brands are actually good for retinol. Maybe I should have looked for something specifically from Germany, since I saw some German cosmetic brands mentioned in a search result, but that felt like going down another rabbit hole. For now, my skin is still just, well, my skin. It’s a whole process trying to figure this stuff out.