Medical Grade Skin Care
Today I wanted to write a little about medical grade skin care. I can say I was a skeptic myself but now I've been seeing my own signs of aging and moving back to sun drenched Austin, Texas I decided to up my skin care game. The number of products available through plastic surgery offices, dermatology offices, med spas, spas, salons, etc. is truly mind numbing. How do we decide which products are good and which are not?
Here's what I look for in the products.
1. Evidence of effectiveness -> many company will point to a study that proves their product's effectiveness. But where is this study published and what other product is serving as the control.
2. Ease of use -> Most of us want something straightforward and easy to use. As a physician I know if I prescribe a medication that is to be taken more than once a day the chance a patient will keep taking it long term is quite low. The same is true for skin care regimens. I think the most one can reasonably expect is an application at morning and night.
3. Is there a sensible regimen? Every skin care should incorporate 1.) Cleansing 2.) Correction of dyschromias and textures 3.) Renewal and fortify the skin's essential functions. 4.) Protection of the skin from UV damage
4. Affordability ->There must be a value proposition involved for the results expected and achieved.
5. How does the product smell and feel on the skin?
6. Does the packaging look pretty? This really doesn't matter but can determine if the product leaves the office and is in the patient's hands to be used.
As an experiment I've been starting the Epionce family of products currently and will see about posting some results in a few months to see what differences we can see in my skin.
We carry Epionce, EltaMD, and Image SkinCare at Devenir Aesthetics and we would be happy to evaluate your skin and make a recommendation.
Tip for visiting an office: A good practice is to provide small samples of the products for patients to try on their skin to make sure there is no dermatitis or untoward reactions. It is much more of a headache with refund process of any products. Make sure you like it before you buy it. Some of the products have significant fragrance and this could be bad or good depending on patient preference.