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I get a ton of DM’s on my Instagram (@laelaryn) about what skincare products I use and have used and recommended. Since joining Reward Style (Like To Know It) I get so many requests to link the skincare products I use and most of the time my response is I can’t link them because I only use Medical Grade Skincare and most of those products have to be purchased at a physicians office.

However, I just discovered that through Dermstore I can link the skincare products that don’t require a prescription and then I will just share the names of the ones that do!

I know it can get confusing knowing the difference between Medical Grade and OTC Skincare. When I am hanging out with my Dermatology, Plastic Surgery and Skincare specialized Esthetician friends its always a topic of frustration that not enough women know the difference so I will try my best to break that shiz down!

When I think about the differences between the two I often think of these 3 things:

1.) FDA Regulation & Scientific third-party Research Studies: Because Medical Grade skincare products penetrate the surface of the skin and go into the dermal layers they are strictly regulated by the FDA. Before a product can be put on the market the FDA requires extensive studies and data that prove the product is effective at what it says it will do and the product must contain 99.9% of the active ingredient! 

Over the Counter (OTC) products that you find in drugstores, department stores and through individuals selling through home parties or online are NOT considered Medical Grade. These products are designed to sit on the surface of the skin, can and require zero scientific data before they can be sold. When you see a report saying 99% of women said such and such improved that could simply be a poll sent via email and therefore not very accurate or provable.

2.) 99.9% Stabilized Active Ingredients in the purest form:Medical Grade skincare products are required by law to contain 99.9% of the active ingredient in the purest form which basically means the most effective form the ingredient can offer.

This is not to say that some OTC products are not effective because there are plenty that are. However, you must do your research on them and their effectiveness for the area of concern. Typically these products keep the amounts of active ingredients low so they’re irritation-free for a broad consumer base. There is still no guarantee that a product will deliver on results likely because it does not contain enough of the active ingredient and if it does it will likely take several, several months or a year to even produce minimal results. What most people fail to consider is that you often will spend more on OTC skincare products to achieve lesser results in a longer amount of time.

3.) Highly effective Medical Grade skincare products will often require a doctor’s prescription: This is why most of the Medical Grade skincare lines are sold at doctors offices. The skincare lines will contain some products in their range that don’t require prescriptions and some that do. With products this potent you want a physician to prepare the patient for possible side effects, such as irritation and sun sensitivity, and to oversee the treatment.

I always look at it like this you can buy the OTC teeth whitener, pain reliever, whatever ails you cream BUT when you need something to get the job done and get it done fast you often turn to a physician.

Your dentist’s whitening treatment will always be faster and more effective than white strips! Doesn’t mean white strips don’t work. They just take way longer and never deliver quite the same result!

I hope I did an ok job of explaining that in lament terms.

In my experience, I find that buying cleansers, exfoliators, toners, sheet masks, clay masks, some serums, etc are totally fine to buy OTC. When you are looking for products that are more or less fixing aging concerns or preventing aging, wrinkles, texture, brown spots, pores, fine lines, acne, acne scars; etc that is when you should rely on more potent medical grade products.

Here are some of my favorite Medical Grade Skincare Lines: 

My holy grail line is Zo Medical by Dr. Obagi (This is NOT the same thing as the Obagi you might have heard of. Dr. Obagi sold that line years ago and its quality is no longer the same, in my opinion. He started his new line Zo Skin Health & Zo Medical.) I have tried tons of products from different lines but when I strictly followed Dr. Obagi’s program I saw the best results I have ever seen with my skin.

I also like Neocutis, Skinceuticals, Skinmedica, Biologique Recherche, IS Clinical, Glytone, Dermalogica & Elta MD. These skincare lines as a whole offer fantastic range of Medical grade products!

Here is a list of OTC lines that I have personally researched and have found to have effective products within their range: Tula Skincare, Dr. Brandt, Dr. Perricone, Dr. Dennis Gross, Drunk Elephant, SK-II, ROC & Peter Thomas Roth.

So there ya go ladies! A little breakdown on the major differences between Medical Grade and OTC skincare products. If you have certain skincare issues that you are looking to resolve and want to know if I have a recommendation in terms of skincare product or line; please shoot me an email via my contact page or DM on Instagram (@laelaryn) as I am more readily available on there.

I will be doing more articles talking about specific skin issues and products that have proven to be effective for treating those issues and linking what I can!

Xo

Lael