Medik8 Crystal Retinal 24: a Guru Score of 83% from 4 experts

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

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✓Yay

"My personal favorite is the Medik8 Crystal Retinal 24. This is actually 20% stronger than the previous strongest retinal, so this really has stepped it up in terms of results, and you're going to get some next-level anti-aging, skin smoothing and pro-collagen benefits from this one. I absolutely love it. If [...] you want the ease of over-the-counter, the Medik8 Crystal Retinal 24 is absolute perfection."

Top Pick: strongest retinol

All 5 takes from Mad About Skin

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"[Retinal] is my personal favorite. This is 20% stronger than the next equivalent strength and it packs a punch. [...] I absolutely love it and it's just my personal favorite."

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"For the lovers of Medik8 out there that have tried the Medik8 Crystal Retinal line but want to go for the highest option, I would fully recommend this. It's roughly 20% stronger than their next one down, so that's a big jump. But as long as you've gradually gone up through the gradients, you should have no problem incorporating this."

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"I started to see the emergence of fine lines and wrinkles around the crow's feet, around the laughter lines and the 11s. I've also noticed a little bit of loss of firmness around the jawline. Whilst the results I saw from this weren't like transformative and game-changing, they were noticeable enough that I could see them with my own naked eye when I looked in the mirror. [...] One thing I did notice though is I did see an increase in dryness, sensitivity and irritation."

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"I appreciate Medik8 charge a lower cost for their lower strength and then the price builds as the strength builds. That makes sense because the key ingredient is driving a lot of that cost and you're using more of it in this product than you are in some of their lower strengths. So I don't mind the pricing structure, it just isn't going to be for everyone. [...] I'm happy to spend on this because I really enjoyed it and I got those additional results. But I don't think everybody needs to."

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"My personal favorite is the Medik8 Crystal Retinal 24. This is actually 20% stronger than the previous strongest retinal, so this really has stepped it up in terms of results, and you're going to get some next-level anti-aging, skin smoothing and pro-collagen benefits from this one. I absolutely love it. If [...] you want the ease of over-the-counter, the Medik8 Crystal Retinal 24 is absolute perfection."

Beyond50Skin

32k subs

✓Yay

"I've been able to tolerate the retin by Medik8. This is their 24 Crystal Retinal, their strongest that they make, but I've honestly been able to tolerate it even over the Tria laser treatments. I'm on level three and I've been doing it about five times a week."

All 3 takes from Beyond50Skin

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"I've been working through two of their [retinal] products. This is the Crystal Retinal 24 and their eye cream with retinaldehyde. One conversion away from the prescription formula tretinoin. Love both of these. They are a little bit on the colorful side. So you may want to consider letting this dry down for at least a half an hour before you jump into your white satin sheets."

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"I've been able to tolerate the retin by Medik8. This is their 24 Crystal Retinal, their strongest that they make, but I've honestly been able to tolerate it even over the Tria laser treatments. I'm on level three and I've been doing it about five times a week."

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"It's a nice hefty dose of [retinal] which is much gentler than tretinoin. It's the one that I use the nights that I'm not using my tretinoin. I always turn toward a retinol. But unfortunately, the pigment in this is so bright. It is bright orange and it doesn't dissipate throughout the evening. Retinol is on the yellow orange side, but this is really a powerful pigment and it's just hard to keep out of my hair and off my sheets. So I'm going to use this up, but slightly reluctantly."

No BS Beauty

89k subs

✓Yay

"The Medik8 Crystal Retinal 24 has 0.24% retinaldehyde, so I believe it's probably the highest retinaldehyde concentration out there that I can think of nonprescription. It also contains cloudberry seed oil and vitamin E. It does contain vanilla and coumarin, which is [...] a fragrance ingredient that gives products a vanilla scent, [...] so it definitely has a vanilla scent in there, so keep that in mind if your skin is sensitive. [...] These are not cheap, they get to be pretty pricey."

All 2 takes from No BS Beauty

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"The Medik8 Crystal Retinal 24 has 0.24% retinaldehyde, so I believe it's probably the highest retinaldehyde concentration out there that I can think of nonprescription. It also contains cloudberry seed oil and vitamin E. It does contain vanilla and coumarin, which is [...] a fragrance ingredient that gives products a vanilla scent, [...] so it definitely has a vanilla scent in there, so keep that in mind if your skin is sensitive. [...] These are not cheap, they get to be pretty pricey."

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"And if I'm correct, I believe the Medik8 24 is probably the highest retinaldehyde retinal out there that I can think of nonprescription. It also contains cloudberry seed oil and vitamin. They do contain vanilla, which is fine, but it also contains coumarin, which is technically a fragrance ingredient and it gives products a vanilla scent. So it's got vanilla and coumarin, so it definitely has a vanilla scent in there. So keep that in mind if your skin is sensitive."

Nadine Baggott

164k subs

✓Yay

"If you love The Crystal Retinol and I've been using it for quite a few years now I really love it, there is now a Crystal Retinol 24, obviously that's a play on the fact that it's 2024, but that is 0.24% retinaldehyde. Retinaldehyde as I've mentioned before is the next metabolic step, so retinol is metabolized to retinaldehyde, that then gets metabolized to retinoic acid which is the active form of vitamin A in the skin. This is the strongest one you can get in the UK."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Retinoids

Retinoids are among the best studied ingredients in dermatology, with solid evidence for acne and for the fine lines and rough texture that come from sun exposure. Dryness and flaking in the first few weeks are common and usually settle.

Source: DermNet

Vitamin C

Topical vitamin C is an antioxidant with reasonable evidence for dullness and uneven tone. It breaks down in light and air, so how a product is formulated and packaged matters as much as the percentage on the front.

Source: DermNet

Sunscreen filters

Sun protection is the best evidenced way to slow visible ageing, and the filters are what does the work. Mineral and chemical filters both protect when a product is applied thickly enough and often enough, which is where most people fall short rather than on the choice of filter.

Source: DermNet

Frequently asked.

What is Medik8 Crystal Retinal 24?

A high-strength retinoid serum containing 0.24% retinaldehyde, designed to reduce fine lines, improve skin firmness, and boost collagen production.

Is Medik8 Crystal Retinal 24 worth it?

Yes. All 4 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 83%.

What is Medik8 Crystal Retinal 24's Guru Score?

Medik8 Crystal Retinal 24 holds a Guru Score of 83%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 4 expert reviewers we have collected. At least one expert has named it a Top Pick in its category.