Can someone explain to me the difference?

Can someone explain to me the difference?

BIG difference. Retinol is the ingredient that actualy works. It is known to penetrate inot the skin and affect the RAR receptors. The only problem is that it is very unstable and breaks down if exposed to light and other ingredients (such as glycolic acid and hydroquinone). For that reason many compnies use retinly palmitate.

RP is an ester form of retinol- that means it has a different chemical structure. It does not do all the same good things that Retinol and retinoic acid do. It is wrthless in my opinoin. (so is retinly lineoleate)
I hope this helps!

So, while the RP is a form of retinol, it might be considered safe to use during pregnancy because it doesn't "behave" like a retinol.  Or, am I stretching it?  As I'm reviewing ingredient lists, I want to make sure that I recognize if there is retinol in it.  This particular product didn't claim to have retinol in it, but I noticed RP in the ingredient list and was concerned.

If retinol breaks down and is unstable when exposed to hydroquinone, then why do we put it on our faces at the same time?? For example, OSPW types are supposed to put on our Skin brightening lotion (hydroquinone) and then put on our retinol product (afirm or replenix).

This doesn't make sense to me. Is it only if it's actually packaged together?

Sondra

Maybe it takes time - like the amount of time a tube would sit on a shelf in a store would be enough to degrade the stability of the retinol, but the time on your face is quite brief before it gets soaked in.