Earlier this week, a client tagged me on a Facebook post of one of her friends asking for skincare advice. I excitedly clicked on the post, thanking the client that generously tagged me and letting the newly-referred mutual friend know that I would be delighted to work with her. Scoping out the other comments, I came across one that said something to the effect of, "all you need is retinol, vitamin c and SPF. Follow @(some dermatologist) on TikTok. Medical grade skincare is a marketing tactic so whatever you do, don't go that route."
I audibly begged myself, "Scroll past the comment, Savannah, it's fine if some people are wrong about it." But did I do that? Absolutely not.
I'm sorry, but I am a Virgo. I can't let people be THAT WRONG publicly and not say SOMETHING! I just can't. Physically can't.
If you're here, though, you're at least somewhat interested in the esthetician's side of the story. So here it is, a memoir: In Defense of Medical Grade Skincare and Estheticians.
The FDA, you know- the government institution that regulates all consumables, has two separate categories for skincare: cosmetic and pharmaceutical. The official definition of pharmaceutical, or medical-grade skincare is, "skincare products that are specifically formulated to target medical skin conditions such as acne, wrinkles, sun damage, and pigmentation." They ARE regulated by the FDA (despite many claims that they aren't!), and are required to meet a set of higher standards that other skincare is not. The standards area as follows:
Ingredients Purity: ingredients must be 99.9% pure vs 70% in over-the-counter skincare
Clinical Research: Clinical research studies must be performed to validate their effectiveness. If something isn't proven to be effective, they CANNOT add that claim to the product
Quality Assurance: Ingredient manufacturers provide a certificate of analysis verifying the exact composition of the material used
The difference in effectiveness of medical-grade skincare versus over-the-counter skincare alone can't be overstated. I know firsthand, because I used to recommend brands that weren't medical grade. That was forever ago, before I knew better. And you know what? Every single person who I had on a routine that didn't have all medical grade skincare needed a new routine within the year. Over-the-counter skincare is not bad necessarily, but it's not formulated to fix actual skin issues long term.
And as for why dermatologists are so adamant about pushing CeraVe, well, that will be a blog post for next week. ;)
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