A313, Avibon, and Vitamin A Retinol Cream Demystified

Did you know that the popular hyaluronic acid serums used for their mild retinoic acid anti-aging properties have much in common with vitamin A creams? It may seem at first like a vitamin A pomade is meant to replenish a deficiency of vitamin A that the body or skin are lacking. But in fact, once vitamin A like A313 or Avibon are applied to the skin, the skin automatically converts the Vaseline-like product to retinol, which is another name for hyaluronic acid. It is the equivalent of buying the purer, more natural form of “H-A” as it’s known and letting your body do the work.

Many often ask, how does Avibon differ from A313? Are they the same? The main difference is that Avibon and A313 differ in their concentration of vitamin A, but it is almost a negligible amount. Avibon was discontinued and in its place, A313 was released roughly one year later. Both their packaging is a small aluminum, sealed tube that requires puncturing with the plastic cap upon first use. The size of the tube was also similar, like that of a medium-sized tube of toothpaste.

So which is better? When comparing the vitamin A cream A313 to that of, say, the hyaluronic acid Ialuset cream sold on websites like Avibon.com, one can think in terms of long-term skin care regimes versus more immediate daily applications. A313 when applied at night will activate its mild retinoic effects within 15 minutes or so, and will continue to exfoliate the skin as it seeps into the skin over the night (if it is not rubbed off purposely beforehand). Over the course of a few usages such as every 3rd day, within 2-3 weeks many users achieve noticeable results due to their thicker, less flexible outer layer of skin having been sloughed away gently. Fine lines and wrinkles have been scientifically proven to be visibly reduced by A313 cream in laboratory studies.

Hyaluronic acid, on the other hand, such as Ialuset (also sold at sites like Avibon.com) is sometimes in the form of a cream and can be applied in the morning so that it immediately plumps fine lines, and wears off throughout the course of the day. So if a person had a special event in the evening they wanted that little extra youthfulness for, Ialuset would be applicable whereas A313 would have been part of their regime in the weeks leading up to it, and long term. Of course, it is important to keep in mind that too much vitamin A is not good for the liver and can irritate the skin. A person using A313 every day, or even every other day likely would at first see dramatic reductions in fine lines, and eventually redness and irritation in the areas applied. Advice in that case would be simply to nourish the skin with a good lotion such as Embryolisse available at sites like Avibon.com, and then recommence A313 once healed with a much lower frequency of usage.

An important note to close with is that there have been several reported cases of counterfeit French skincare products on sites, including A13 and Biafine skin cream with Trolamine. Thus, it is advisable to buy A313 direct from France from trusted sites like Avibon.com, which has been mentioned in VOGUE, Elle, Allure and featured on Goop.com, Into The Gloss, and others. The site also offers free worldwide shipping with tracking and has been around for over a decade.