Best Cruelty-Free Retinol Body Lotions for Aging Skin
There’s no doubt that the older I am, the more crepey skin I have. It used to just be on my upper arms, and I thought I had it controlled, but then I started noticing it on places like my underarms and shins! I’ve always slathered myself with a good moisturizer, but it was no longer enough. I know that lots of ingredients help with crepey skin, but I’ve learned that retinol body lotions work the best for me.
More beauty and skincare recommendations:
- Best Lotions and Skin Creams for Crepey Skin
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- Best Self Tanners and Leg Makeup for Mature Skin
I dove down the rabbit hole to check for the best retinol body lotions and wanted to know the percentages in each product because it makes a big difference in how well the products work. They needed to be cruelty-free and I hoped to avoid nasty chemicals. I discovered several great ones…two of which I already own and one I am obsessed with!
My Favorite Retinol Lotions and Moisturizers for Aging Skin
Nécessaire Body Retinol
I bought this Nécessaire Body Retinol last year and love it. It’s cruelty-free and has 0.1% pure encapsulated retinol along with AHA, peptides, vitamins, and glycerin. In just a few days, it made a big improvement in the papery look on my arms and above my knees. This sells for $10.78 per fluid ounce, which is not cheap when you’re spreading it on such large areas of your body. I hate to admit it, but the price is likely why I lost ground in my war on crepey skin.
Advanced Clinicals Retinol Firming Cream
I’ve also got this one from Advanced Clinicals, and it’s very affordable at $1.12 an ounce. This one is cruelty-free and has lots of other great ingredients like hyaluronic acid, aloe vera, green tea, and camomile for redness. The retinol percentage is not written on the jar, so after much digging, I discovered Advanced Clinicals contains 1.3% retinol encapsulate. They suggest this has a higher stability rate than “free” retinol. I really appreciate the affordable price, which means I don’t have to skimp on how much product I use. It has a thick cream-like texture which feels a bit sticky after I rub it in. This one contains mineral oil, which I’ve been trying to avoid in large amounts, so I kept hunting.
Naturium Skin-Renewing Retinol Body Lotion
I’ve already tried several products from Naturium and have been very impressed with their formulas, so when I spotted this Naturium retinol lotion, I ordered some. It contains encapsulated retinol, shea butter, plus a host of other great moisturizers and costs $2.86 per fluid once. It’s cruelty-free, and the texture is beautifully light and smooth. This lotion absorbs quickly without leaving any greasy residue behind. It leaves my skin feeling amazingly soft, and the crepiness is so much better! The price allows me to slather it on twice a day. I keep a bottle in the bathroom for after my shower and another on the bedside table to use on my arms, legs, and feet at night.
While I was researching the strength of retinol in body lotions, I also found a few other great options.
Popular Retinol Lotions and Moisturizers for Aging Skin
Paula’s Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment
This Paula’s Choice Retinol Body Treatment contains vitamins C and E, shea butter, and 0.1% encapsulated stabilized pure retinol complex. This lotion is also cruelty-free and costs $7.60 per fluid once.
Medix 5.5 Retinol Body Lotion Firming Moisturizer
This Medix 5.5 retinol with ferulic acid body cream looks like a great one. The reviews are very positive, with people raving about how it helps with skin texture and overall appearance. This runs $1.27 per fluid once, which makes it quite affordable. I love that it’s cruelty-free and vegan. The website says it contains 5.5% retinol. It also contains aloe vera to help with redness & irritation, green tea, and chamomile, which helps reduce puffiness.
Versed Press Restart Retinol Body Lotion
I’ve heard lots of great things about the Versed clean, cruelty-free brand. Their retinol body lotion is formulated with encapsulated retinol, tripeptide, cocoa, and tucuma butter, plus squalane. The retinol blend is 0.10%. It’s vegan, cruelty-free, and does not include parabens, silicones, sulfates, or artificial fragrances. This costs $2.49 per fluid once.
Do you use a retinol body lotion in your routine?
Thank you for this run down. It’s very helpful! Did you ever discover the percent retinol in the Naturium cream? That’s the only one in the article that you don’t give the percentage for.
I could not
Within the past two weeks you mentioned a natural deoderant that you liked which I cannot find going thru your emails. Hope someone can find the product for me.
Thank you.
I’m using this one and love it!
You noted in your blog that the Advanced Chemicals retinol cream has mineral oil, which you are trying to avoid. Can you tell us why you avoid this kind of oil. Thank you for this article–very informative!
Mineral oil is a liquid by product of refined crude oil. Although highly purified, is mostly parabens which are preservatives I also choose to limit my use of.
Unfortunately I can only find Paula’s Choice listed on the Canadian Amazon. And the US Amazon will ship to Canada, but it really adds to the cost. Arghhh
Canadian Amazon is great. Seohora Canada likely carries it too.
Do you know the retinol percentage in the Naturium Skin-Renewing Retinol Body Lotion?
They do not list the percentage
oh dear ladies, I am just accepting the inevitable on the rest of my body and using your previous recco of fermented complex 94 on my face. and sunscreen and hats – wish I’d learned the importance of those before ! 🙂
Thank you! It is so difficult to find a ‘tried and true’ with just the online reviews. I think I will try either the Matrix or Naturium… have both in my cart (hoping for some savings on prime days). Thanks again for all your wonderful posts!
Let me know how you like them.
I ordered the Advanced Chemicals retinol cream. My cream didn’t have retinol and this was on a great sale!
I wonder if any of these are fragrance-free. Most creams, etc. have way too much fragrance for me and I can’t use them.
I don’t notice a fragrance in the Naturium and the Necessaire is also fragrance free.
The Naturium lotion looks interesting! I always run potential new products through the ingredients checker on beautypedia.com. This helps me avoid potentially irritating products. I was pleased to see that the Naturium product scored very well!
That’s a good idea. I like to use INCIDecoder and Whatsinmyjar
I love Advanced Clinicals Hyaluronic lotion and my husband uses it too. I will try the Retinal cream and thank you Jan for telling us it is on sale!
Perfect timing! Wth happened to my arms and legs?!
Im feeling creepy and crepey! I am using Gold Bond, it had good reviews but I see no change in the few weeks of use.
It seemed to hit me in the blink of an eye too!
I’ve been using Advanced Chemicals on my face but I’m going to try it on my body too. I find I can’t use it every day as my skin is dry. The Naturium sounds really great.
Thank you for the timely post re: crepy skin! I’ve been thinking about buying something but wasn’t sure what to try. I’ve got the Naturium brand in my AZ cart and look forward to some help! I always appreciate your sticktuitiveness when it comes to finding the right thing for yourself! Our win! 🙂
You will love it!
Thank you for this post and for always sharing what works for you. I am going to try the Naturium lotion. On this aging “journey,” I keep finding unusual spots on my body that are getting distressingly dry (tops of toes, anyone? ankles?). Thank you!
Ditto! There is always a new surprise 🙂
I started using retinol just a few years ago. This year I started putting a few drops of my retinol with my daily moisturizing cream. So happy to know there is a moisturizing cream with retinol ready to use. Will try to find one for sure. Thank you!!
They’re a great find for me
I’ve been using the Advanced Chemicals retinol cream for over a year now and am very pleased with the results. Right now it’s on sale 25% off on Amazon. Thanks for the other products you shared today.