Skincare

What Kind of Skincare Do You Use?

So many of my patients have been asking me about medical-grade skincare, but they do not know where to begin with all the options. It can be especially surprising when comparing the prices vs the over-the-counter skincare at the big box stores. The truth is, over-the-counter products are not held to the same standards as medical-grade products. Because of this, many over-the-counter brands contain low-quality filler ingredients such as harmful parabens, sulfates, and silicones. These ingredients may cause irritation to your skin; ranging from mild to severe. Parabens, which preserve the shelf-life of products, are commonly to blame for allergic reactions. Sulfates have nice foaming properties, however, most of these ingredients can actually strip the proteins that are beneficial for balancing your skin. This may lead to dry, flaky skin. Over-the-counter exfoliants and scrubs often tout that they have “microbeads” to exfoliate your skin. These are actually tiny solid plastic particles that give the illusion of scraping away the dead skin. They may however cause tiny micro tears on the surface of the skin.