Retinol Night Cream

Boots

Where to buy Possibly in stock

About this product

The Boots Retinol Night Cream is a emulsion. Our analysis of its 29 ingredients (20 low-risk) rates it Excellent (95/100). Based on its ingredients, it looks well-suited to oily / acne-prone skin.

Vegan-friendly Reef-safe

Summarised from our ingredient analysis — not brand marketing copy.

At a glance

Type
Emulsion
Ingredients
29
Low-risk
20
Fragrance
Fragrance-free
Origin
United Kingdom
Data updated
Jun 2026

The evidence

Quick Product Notes

Paraben-Free Sulfate-Free Alcohol-Free Silicone-Free EU Allergen-Free Fungal Acne (Malassezia) Safe

Notable Effects & Ingredients

No Notable Effects & Ingredients

Ingredients Related to Skin Types

Good   Bad — tap a skin type to see which ingredients · estimated from ingredient functions
Dry Skin 7/8
Good for dry skin
Glyceryl Stearate Linoleic Acid Cetearyl Alcohol Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride Butylene Glycol Glycerin Dimethicone
Caution for dry skin
Linoleic Acid Sorbitan Stearate Xanthan Gum Glycerin Sodium Hydroxide Polysorbate 20 Polysorbate 60 PEG-100 Stearate
Oily/Acne-Prone Skin 1/0
Good for oily/acne-prone skin
Retinol
Sensitive Skin 4/8
Good for sensitive skin
Glycerin Triethyl Citrate Dimethicone Chlorogenic Acids
Caution for sensitive skin
Linoleic Acid Sorbitan Stearate Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride Butylene Glycol Glycerin Triethyl Citrate Phenoxyethanol Retinol

Ingredients list

29 total
Lower hazard (1) Higher hazard (9)
All29 Skin Conditioning18 Fragrance9 Solvent6 Viscosity Controlling6 Emulsion Stabilising6 Skin Protecting5 Emulsifying5 Emollient5
EWG CIR Ingredient Name & Cosmetic Functions Notes
1
Water
(Solvent)
2
A
Glycerin
(Denaturant, Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Humectant, Oral Care Agent, Oral Health Care Drug, Skin Protecting, Viscosity Decreasing Agent, Perfuming, Solvent)
Good for Dry Skin
Good for Dry Skin
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
PARAFFINUM LIQUIDUM
(Antistatic, Skin Conditioning Emollient, Skin Protecting, Solvent)
1
A
Cetearyl Alcohol
(Emulsion Stabilising, Opacifying, Foam Boosting, Viscosity Increasingagent Aqueous, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Emollient, Emulsifying, Viscosity Controlling)
1
A
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
(Emollient, Masking, Perfuming, Skin Conditioning, Solvent)
1
A
Glyceryl Stearate
(Emollient, Emulsifying)
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
(Skin Conditioning, Viscosity Controlling)
3
A
PEG-100 Stearate
(Surfactant)
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
3
A
Dimethicone
(Antifoaming Agent, Skin Protecting, Emollient, Skin Conditioning)
Silicone
Silicone
4
A
Phenoxyethanol
(Fragrance, Preservative)
Paraben
Paraben
1
A
Carbomer
(Emulsion Stabilising, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Gel Forming, Viscosity Controlling)
3
B
Polysorbate 60
(Emulsifying, Surfactant)
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
1
A
Sorbitan Stearate
(Fragrance, Emulsifying, Surfactant)
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
9
A
Retinol
(Skin Conditioning)
Bad for Sensitive Skin
Bad for Sensitive Skin
1
A
Xanthan Gum
(Binding Agent, Emulsion Stabilising, Skin Conditioning, Surfactant Emulsifying Agent, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Binding, Gel Forming, Viscosity Controlling)
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
(Fragrance, Skin Conditioning, Skin Conditioning Emollient)
1
A
Triethyl Citrate
(Fragrance, Plasticizer, Antioxidant, Deodorant, Masking, Solvent)
3
B
Sodium Hydroxide
(Denaturant, Ph Adjuster, Buffering Agent)
TOCOPHEROL
(Antioxidant, Fragrance, Skin Conditioning)
1
A
Ethylhexylglycerin
(Deodorant, Skin Conditioning)
2
B
o-Cymen-5-ol
(Cosmetic Biocide, Preservative)
Bisabolol
(Fragrance, Skin Conditioning, Soothing)
1
A
Disodium EDTA
(Chelating Agent, Viscosity Controlling)
1
Linoleic Acid
(Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Sufactantsurfactant Cleansing Agent Is Included As A Function For The Soap Form Of Linoleic Acid., Antistatic Agent, Emollient)
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
1
A
Butylene Glycol
(Fragrance, Skin Conditioning, Solvent, Viscositydecreasing Agent, Humectant, Masking, Viscosity Controlling)
Good for Dry Skin
Good for Dry Skin
Chlorogenic Acids
(Antioxidant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting)
3
B
Polysorbate 20
(Emulsifying, Surfactant)
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-4
(Skin Conditioning)
1
A
Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7
(Skin Conditioning)

My Ingredient Notes

No personal ingredient notes yet. Save ingredients to your profile to get good/bad alerts here.

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Key ingredients

Glycerin
Humectant, Skin Protecting
PARAFFINUM LIQUIDUM
Skin Protecting
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Emollient, Skin Conditioning
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning

Benefits

Good for oily/acne-prone skin

Concerns

Contains paraben
Contains silicone
Not fungal acne (malassezia) safe
Retinol — higher EWG
May not suit dry skin
May not suit sensitive skin

EWG flags hazard, not real-world risk — ratings don't account for how much of an ingredient a product contains. Treat these as things to research, not verdicts. How we score →

Ingredients explained

Water
Solvent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Solvent
PARAFFINUM LIQUIDUM
Antistatic, Skin conditioning emollient
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A AntistaticSkin conditioning emollientSkin protectingSolvent
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emulsion stabilising, Opacifying
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Emulsion stabilisingOpacifyingFoam boostingViscosity increasingagent - aqueousViscosity increasing agentEmollientEmulsifyingViscosity controlling
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Emollient, Masking
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A EmollientMaskingPerfumingSkin conditioningSolvent
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin conditioning, Viscosity controlling
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A Skin conditioningViscosity controlling
Carbomer
Emulsion stabilising, Viscosity increasing agent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Emulsion stabilisingViscosity increasing agentGel formingViscosity controlling
Xanthan Gum
Binding agent, Emulsion stabilising
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Binding agentEmulsion stabilisingSkin conditioningSurfactant -emulsifying agentViscosity increasing agentBindingGel formingViscosity controlling
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Fragrance, Skin conditioning
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A FragranceSkin conditioningSkin conditioning emollient
Triethyl Citrate
Fragrance, Plasticizer
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A FragrancePlasticizerAntioxidantDeodorantMaskingSolvent
Sodium Hydroxide
Denaturant, Ph adjuster
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 3 CIR B DenaturantPh adjusterBuffering agent
TOCOPHEROL
Antioxidant, Fragrance
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A AntioxidantFragranceSkin conditioning
Ethylhexylglycerin
Deodorant, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A DeodorantSkin conditioning
o-Cymen-5-ol
Cosmetic biocide, Preservative
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 2 CIR B Cosmetic biocidePreservative
Bisabolol
Fragrance, Skin conditioning
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A FragranceSkin conditioningSoothing
Disodium EDTA
Chelating agent, Viscosity controlling
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Chelating agentViscosity controlling
+ 3 more — see the full ingredients list above
Glycerin
Denaturant, Fragrance
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 2 CIR A DenaturantFragranceHair conditioningHumectantOral care agentOral health care drugSkin protectingViscosity decreasing agentPerfumingSolvent Good for Dry SkinFungal-acne trigger
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient, Emulsifying
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A EmollientEmulsifying Fungal-acne trigger
PEG-100 Stearate
Surfactant
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 3 CIR A Surfactant Fungal-acne trigger
Dimethicone
Antifoaming agent, Skin protecting
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 3 CIR A Antifoaming agentSkin protectingEmollientSkin conditioning Silicone
Phenoxyethanol
Fragrance, Preservative
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 4 CIR A FragrancePreservative Paraben
Polysorbate 60
Emulsifying, Surfactant
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 3 CIR B EmulsifyingSurfactant Fungal-acne trigger
Sorbitan Stearate
Fragrance, Emulsifying
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A FragranceEmulsifyingSurfactant Fungal-acne trigger
Retinol
Skin conditioning
Potentially a skin irritantRead moreShow less
EWG 9 CIR A Skin conditioning Bad for Sensitive Skin
Linoleic Acid
Fragrance, Hair conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 FragranceHair conditioningSkin conditioningSufactantsurfactant-cleansing agent is included as a function for the soap form of linoleic acid.Antistatic agentEmollient Fungal-acne trigger
Butylene Glycol
Fragrance, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A FragranceSkin conditioningSolventViscositydecreasing agentHumectantMaskingViscosity controlling Good for Dry Skin
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying, Surfactant
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 3 CIR B EmulsifyingSurfactant Fungal-acne trigger

How to use

How to use

  • 1 Evening: Use at night — start 2–3× a week and build up as your skin tolerates it.
  • 2 Wear SPF the next day: Acids and retinoids increase sun sensitivity — daily sunscreen is a must while using this.

General guidance from this product's category and active ingredients — always follow the directions on the package.

Trust & honesty

Pregnancy & breastfeeding

Contains ingredients some choose to avoid or double-check while pregnant or nursing.

Often avoided
Retinoids (Vitamin A) (Retinol)

Topical retinoids (retinol, retinaldehyde, retinyl esters) are widely advised against in pregnancy as a precaution. The strongest evidence is for ORAL retinoids; topical absorption is low, but most clinicians err on the side of caution.

This is general information, not medical advice. Pregnancy guidance varies and depends on concentration and your individual situation — always check with your doctor, midwife or pharmacist. How we flag this.

Effective levels — general guide

The concentrations these actives are typically effective at in research — not a measurement of this product.

Retinoids (Vitamin A) 0.01–1%

Most studied between 0.1% and 1%. Higher is not automatically better — irritation climbs with dose, so a well-formulated lower strength is often the sweet spot.

Retinol

INCI lists don't disclose amounts, and we don't claim to know this product's levels — these are the ranges these ingredients are usually effective at, so you can tell a real formula from "fairy-dusting" a marketed active. How we estimate this.

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