Are we changing our formulas?

Earlier this week, one of our lovely customers sent me a message that contained a link to an article in Elle magazine. The piece discussed the new retinol regulations that come into play in 2026 and she wanted to know if it would affect BASE.

Firstly, I was delighted to have a fellow skincare nerd in my inbox because as you can imagine, I’ve been following these updates like a hawk too! But if you haven’t heard about the changes yet, let me explain…

Retinol is the gold standard of anti-ageing ingredients, which is why we use it in both the Dream Clean Cleanser and One Cream Wonder. It’s derived from vitamin A and is sensational for reversing all signs of skin ageing such as lines, wrinkles, pigmentation and even a loss of firmness too.

However, scientists have come to the conclusion that you can in fact have too much of a good thing! Whilst vitamin A is completely safe in its own entity and is one of the most researched, naturally occurring ingredients in the world, the Scientific Committee of Consumer Safety (SCCS) are concerned about the potential risks of over-exposure.

They have rigorously studied people who consume a lot of Vitamin A via their diet, ingest it through supplements or medication and then apply it in high doses to their skin too.

As a result, they discovered that when vitamin A exceeds the recommended allowance of 3000 ug, consumers can experience serious side effects. In the very worst case scenarios these included liver damage, headaches, nausea, bone thinning, and birth defects.

As an aesthetician, I’ve always been concerned about people continually using high percentages of retinol in skincare, purely for the chaos it can cause your skin. Very often when we know an ingredient is this transformative, we want to use as much of it as possible. But, too much retinol causes peeling, redness and irritation and the negative side effects can far outweigh the positive benefits.

So, I for one am delighted about the new skincare law that’s been enforced. As of 2026 any facial products with a retinol concentration higher than 0.3%, will become a prescription only product.

Currently, brands can use up to 1%, so over the coming months, they will be forced to either reformulate or remove their products to ensure consumer safety. However, you’ll be delighted to hear that BASE will remain exactly as it’s always been 🥰

We use an exceptionally gentle form of retinol called ‘retinyl palmitate’. It’s made using less than 0.3% pure retinol so that you can use it daily for all the extraordinary youth-boosting benefits, but without any risk of over-exposure or side effects.

This ‘slow and steady wins the race’ approach has always been my philosophy behind The 5 Minute Kit and I definitely had a little smile to myself when the new law was announced. To me, it felt as though the rest of the world was finally catching up.

In recent years, there’s been a fixation with high strength ingredients with many believing that the higher the number on the label, the better the results. But in fact, it is the quality of ingredients and formulation that matters above all else. Which is exactly where we focus all our attention with every BASE bottle.

Going forward we’ll continue to bring you the best results in the safest way possible - It’s this winning combination that’s transformed thousands of your complexions so far and I’m forever grateful that you trust us with your skin 🥰