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By Hannah Muehlberger

Last September, when I first moved into my dorm for college, I started noticing a rash around my mouth. After it still being there for a few months I went to the dermatologist. I had something called Perioral Dermatitis, a skin condition that looked like a mix of acne and eczema caused by bacteria. Instead of prescribing me a prescription cream that another dermatologist told me to use, she told me to get two products that I had recognized from my many trips to Ulta Beauty. She told me to get CeraVe’s Nighttime PM Moisturizer, and The Ordinary’s Azelaic Acid Suspension, I was pretty shocked at her prescription. This made me wonder about my skincare routine and thinking that maybe I should switch to products that I had seen around my dermatologist’s office.

Why Medical Grade Skin Care?

Products like The Ordinary, Murad, Paula’s Choice, Living Proof, and La Roche-Posay as well as countless other brands are known as Medical Grade Skin Care Products. But what is medical-grade skin products? Basically, they are products that are formulated with higher potency ingredients and more active ingredients than those products you’d see at a drugstore. Medical grade skin products are tested and formulated by dermatologists and are tested by the FDA, whereas OTC products are not, and by law they are not allowed to go over a certain percentage of the active ingredient that you would find in the medical-grade products.

But These Products Are Too Expensive, Why Can’t I Just Stick to My Drugstore Products?

Celebrities like Renee Zelwigger have switched to more medical-grade products, and though we all wish to have the skin of Miss Bridget Jones herself, we all cannot afford to have her skin. However, consider this, since these products are tested and formulated by dermatologists, they are designed to penetrate deeper layers of the epidermis rather than just scratching the surface, and because of this you’re likely to use less of the product and you won’t need five other OTC products
that all claim to do the same job. Also, OTC products may be doing more damage than you think, things like early aging, synthetic fragrances, and sulfates damaging your skin. With medical-grade products, they are backed by clinical trials, and filled with more targeting ingredients that give you the results you’re looking for.

Also, skincare lines like QMS Medicosmetics and Qyral sell products that target specific skin conditions that since they would be recommended by a dermatologist, they would be aware of what your skin needs. Medical-grade products tend to cost more because they use higher stabilized ingredients that take longer to formulate and last longer. So though the medical-grade products are more expensive, they will last longer, they are more potent so you only will use a little product peruse, and they will target directly what your skin needs.

Sources:

3 Reasons (At Least) to Make the Switch to Medical-Grade Skincare

Medical-Grade vs. Over-the-Counter Skin Care Products

Make the switch to Medical-Grade Skincare Products


https://www.byrdie.com/medical-grade-skincare