Last year, I fucked up my skin barrier by using too many expensive products that contain 7000 ingredients. Had to cease all skincare except for face wash and moisturizer - CeraVe healed me (plus a bunch of steroid creams). When I was finally able to introduce products back into the routine, my derm recommended this retinol because it is chill and has few ingredients. Works super well & does not irritate my skin at all.