Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate

Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate (HPR), also called granactive retinoid, is one of the newest derivatives of retinol, a skincare superstar.

If you want to learn more about retinoids and their skincare benefits, read here. In short: they are derivatives of vitamin A and have collagen boosting, anti-wrinkle, and sun-damaged skin repairing properties. Most of them are also beneficial for treating acne and pigmentation issues.

HPR is the result of an attempt to create a well-tolerated, stable, and safe derivative of retinol, which would also have direct retinoid action. The main problems with retinol are its sensitivity to oxidation and degradation and the fact that it first requires a two-step metabolic reaction in the skin to become its active form, retinoic acid.

Retinoic acid (or tretinoin, it's the same thing) is even more delicate - it works directly but, for many people, is too strong, producing redness, peeling skin, and other signs of sensitivity. Because of this, tretinoin/retinoic acid is usually reserved for dermatologists, with only the ‘safer’ retinoids widely available in in-store skincare products.

HPR is supposed to have a direct retinoid activity similar to retinoic acid, meaning that the molecule has a direct vitamin A function, without having to be processed by enzymes. HPR is still very new so there aren't many scientific studies about it. Although, what we know so far is very promising.

The first study was made by The Estee Lauder Companies in test tube-skin models, where it compared the efficacy of HPR with other retinoids. In its collagen-boosting activity, HPR scored better than retinol, retinal, and retinyl palmitate, but not as well as retinoic acid (which is expected, since it is the most active retinoid). HPR was also found to be the least toxic to skin cells.

In a stability test, HPR performed better than the other retinoids. Whereas other tested retinoid formulations had an average shelf life of 2 months at room temperature after opening, HPR retained 90% of its content even after more than a year of storage at room temperature. It also performed admirably at elevated temperatures and during exposure to UV light.

When it comes to clinical research, unfortunately, we are still mostly in the blind. The only tests on volunteers were done by Italian research teams using various anti-acne products, where HPR was combined with other ingredients such as retinol and papain, retinol, and many other different anti-acne ingredients.

All these products were developed to treat mild to moderate acne on different parts of the body, especially following a dermatologist-prescribed treatment with isotretinoin pills. They all found the products to be effective and well-tolerated, without (or with minimal signs) of irritation.

Although, since they were using combination products, we don't know for sure if the success was due to HPR alone.

There is a need for more independent clinical studies with HPR, but so far it looks like a very promising retinoid derivative that can be used as an anti-aging and anti-acne ingredient in skincare products.