Best for

For the patient whose adult acne has finally cleared — and who knows from experience that 'cleared' is only the first step. After the breakouts come the post-inflammatory marks, the uneven texture, the photodamage that accumulated over years of inflammation, picking, and reactive skin in the sun. The surface is calm. The work is not done.

Ritanol 1.0 is the maintenance retinoid for that stage. The 1% concentration is the highest available without a prescription — strong enough to drive real cellular turnover, drive home texture and tone improvements, and prevent the next cycle of recurrent breakouts in patients with persistent retention pattern.

Visibly improves the appearance of post-blemish skin. With consistent use, helps reduce the look of post-inflammatory marks, uneven texture, fine lines, and photodamage associated with cumulative breakout history.

Indicated for adult patients with a history of acne who have tolerated retinoids before. NOT a starter retinoid. Patients new to retinol should start with Ritanol Sensitive (0.3%) and titrate up over a minimum of three months.

PM only. NOT INDICATED during pregnancy, breastfeeding, or while trying to conceive.

Key ingredients

1% Retinol, the highest concentration of pure retinol available without a prescription; drives cellular turnover, helps clear retention pattern, and visibly improves the appearance of post-inflammatory marks, fine lines, tone, and texture

DNA Repair Enzyme Complex (Plankton Extract, Micrococcus Lysate), photolyase and endonuclease enzymes that support the skin's own response to UV-induced cellular damage; addresses the photodamage layer of the adult-acne picture

Ceramide Complex (Ceramide 1, 3, 6 II + Phytosphingosine + Cholesterol), the five-component lipid system the stratum corneum is naturally built from; restores the barrier on the same nights a 1% retinol is breaking it down


Sodium Hyaluronate, low-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid that delivers hydration into the upper layers of the skin and offsets the dryness a maximum-strength retinoid produces

Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), a lipid-phase antioxidant that supports the skin's overnight repair processes and protects the formula's actives from oxidation


Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, PEG-12 Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dimethiconol, Dimethicone, Laureth-23, Laureth-4, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Retinol, Retinyl Safflowerate, Lysophosphatidic Acid, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Ceramide 3, Ceramide 6 II, Ceramide 1, Phytosphingosine, Cholesterol, Carbomer, Plankton Extract, Lecithin, Micrococcus Lysate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ascorbyl Linoleate, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Polyacrylate, Trideceth-6, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, Polysorbate 80, Sodium Citrate, Polyaminopropyl Biguanide, Tromethamine.

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How to use

Regimen: PM only.

Apply at night, on clean dry skin, before moisturizer. Four to six pumps for the face, neck, chest, and décolletage. Avoid the immediate eye area and the corners of the mouth. Always use sunscreen the following morning.

TITRATION SCHEDULE — moving up from 0.5% or lower:

• Weeks 1-2: Two nights per week, separated by at least three days
• Weeks 3-4: Every third night.
• Weeks 5-8: Every other night.
• Week 9+: Nightly, as tolerated.

NOT a starter retinoid. Patients new to retinol should begin with Ritanol Sensitive (0.3%) and titrate up over a minimum of three months. Skipping that step is the most common reason patients quit retinoids in the first 60 days.

If skin gets reactive, drop back one step until it calms. There is no prize for going faster.

IMPORTANT: Not for use during pregnancy, while breastfeeding, or while trying to conceive.

Why Dr. Linkner loves it

Adult acne is a long story. By the time a patient has finally cleared the active breakouts, she has accumulated layers of work that are not yet done — post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, textural irregularity from years of inflammation, photodamage from sun exposure on reactive skin, and in many cases a retention pattern that quietly sets up the next cycle. Clearing the surface is the first step. Maintaining the clear is the longer one.

Ritanol 1.0 is the maximum-strength retinoid for that long second step. The 1% concentration is the highest available OTC. The ceramide complex protects the barrier on the same nights the retinol is working it; this matters more at 1% than at any other strength, because the barrier disruption is real. The DNA repair enzymes address the cumulative photodamage almost every adult-acne patient carries.

This is the maintenance retinoid I prescribe to the patient whose acne is behind her, but the work isn't. It is also the retinoid I prescribe to patients with retention-pattern acne where the breakouts are quiet but the follicular blockage is still there. And it is the retinoid I move my long-term acne patients into when they have outgrown 0.5% and need the next level.

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