208SkinDoc (Dr. Dustin Portela) is a board-certified dermatologist and dermatologic surgeon who cuts through internet skincare myths, often reviewing devices and tools. His 2M followers love his straightforward honesty and trustworthy verdicts on what's worth the splurge.
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Dr. Dustin Portela, board-certified dermatologist and dermatologic surgeon and founder of Mantle. Built his following on straight-talking, myth-correcting clinical advice.
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I don't like how close under the skin this is. Immediately it looks like there's going to be nodules. Hopefully, this is a very, very thin filler and it will intercalate into the tissue. Otherwise, this is going to be lumpy and bumpy under the skin. I don't love doing under eye filler with this technique.
They're putting on a little hyaluronic acid serum and they're wiping it off with a Q-tip. This doesn't work on freckles and moles. It is a waste of your money.
"This patient's a candidate for Accutane. They've got a lot of acne and they're at risk of scarring. They really need a treatment plan to go ahead and prevent future scarring from really bad acne. Accutane can be a great option in those circumstances."
"This patient's a candidate for Accutane. They've got a lot of acne and they're at risk of scarring. They really need a treatment plan to go ahead and prevent future scarring from really bad acne. Accutane can be a great option in those circumstances."
Crazy Skin Treatment Reactions by Dermatologist!
"I might actually just put a patient on Accutane and really try to dry up those oil glands so that they're not getting this recurrently because topical medications like retinol are although effective can only go so far if you have this many forming on the skin you might need to treat it from the inside and Accutane can be a really good option and because there's not a ton of inflammation it's not inflammatory cystic acne a course of Accutane is probably going to take a little longer but ultimately it would give you a really good result."
"This looks like a CO2 laser, which is a resurfacing laser of the skin. And if you look close, you can see the skin tighten around the little holes where they are firing the laser. It targets water in the skin and is one of the best treatments to improve the appearance of the skin and take years off of your appearance."
"This looks like a CO2 laser, which is a resurfacing laser of the skin. And if you look close, you can see the skin tighten around the little holes where they are firing the laser. It targets water in the skin and is one of the best treatments to improve the appearance of the skin and take years off of your appearance."
Dermatologist Reacts to Viral Skincare Videos – What’s Safe & What’s a Disaster?
"This is a CO2 laser and they're treating acne scars. This uses CO2 laser to vaporize the water in the skin, it tightens and helps to build new collagen so that those acne scars will be less prominent after each treatment."
Crazy Skin Treatment Reactions by Dermatologist!
"The CO2 laser uses CO2 laser to target water in the skin and create these small channels. You can see the skin tighten up around each one of those squares. One of the best procedures for tightening the skin, it can help to remove superficial pigmentation on the skin with pretty low downtime settings. This is probably not going to be too bad to recover from. I love performing CO2 laser."
"They're using a plasma pen. Now this is not my favorite way to remove a mole. Hopefully this person is numb. This can be done. Cosmetic results probably going to be pretty good. I just hope that they're sending that off for pathology because it's never a good idea to remove something and then throw it in the garbage."
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All 2 takes on Plasma pen
Doctor Reacts to Skin Tag Removals, Pimple Pops, and Extractions
"The plasma pen does coagulate as you cut through the skin it just takes a lot of passes to get there but there's no bleeding. This is not my favorite way to remove moles."
Reacting to Viral Laser Skincare – What’s Actually Safe?
"They're using a plasma pen. Now this is not my favorite way to remove a mole. Hopefully this person is numb. This can be done. Cosmetic results probably going to be pretty good. I just hope that they're sending that off for pathology because it's never a good idea to remove something and then throw it in the garbage."
"She's doing Aquafor, that's about the best that you can do at this point. There's no infection so stay away from triple antibiotic, stay away from Neosporin. You can also use plain Vaseline or my personal favorite on wounds like this is Dr. Rogers Restore."
"The Aura Ring I wear that every day. This tracks my sleep, my heart rate, my breathing, and when I look at that and I check my metrics, then I can see how did my activity level yesterday impact the way that I slept, how did the foods that I chose to eat impact the way that I slept, was my heart rate higher while I was sleeping because I had a really big carb heavy meal before bed. All of those things and I can start to make decisions during the day that will impact my sleep because when you wake up and you're more well rested you're going to be able to work out easier, you're going to be more focused, you're going to get to work, you're going to be more productive, more positive."
"When you're putting an adhesive on the skin every day it does overtime increase your risk for a contact allergy to the adhesive. When you're buying them every day the price does add up over time and I'm not sure how much money you're saving over just doing Botox in that area. Some people don't like needles and that's okay so you can use frownies if you want, but it's not my choice for reducing wrinkles on my forehead."
"We've got a Bioré pore strip on a mostly willing participant here, but pay attention as it comes off because these are not just normal sebaceous filaments."
"This is incredibly easy to use. It only takes about 10 minutes, and the extraction results speak for themselves. This satisfies that same urge that we get while watching pimple popping videos, but it's actually good for your skin. The hydration boost from the products is real, and the Depuffy attachment, I think, is genuinely innovative. This device costs $399. However, it pays for itself after just three uses because professional facials in the dermatology office can cost $150 or more. And unlike those monthly appointments, this is available whenever your skin needs it. I don't often take time to work devices into my skincare routine because I'm so busy, but I love getting a hydroacial and this saves me time and I do it at home."
"The Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel is a very lightweight product, but provides great hydration to the skin. The water gel is great and it does hydrate, but it has a much lighter texture. I generally like the Hydro Boost even though my skin is a little more normal to dry, but with facial hair, this works really well. It doesn't clump up."
"This is a very popular product. It hydrates very well. Definitely has a little bit thicker texture to it, but even with that thicker texture, I'm not seeing a lot of it gunk up in the beard. I do like this product."
"This skin looks super dry, super dry, definitely need some hydration on there. I would use some Urea Cream on this."
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All 3 takes on Cream
Dermatologist Reacts: Shocking Extraction Videos That Will Make Your Skin Crawl!
"You can keep the skin softer by using a urea cream on the foot and then occasionally exfoliating with a pumice stone. You just want to be careful not to get too aggressive on it when you're doing stuff at home."
The Truth About Ingrown Hairs | Doctor Explains Causes & Fixes
"This skin looks super dry, super dry, definitely need some hydration on there. I would use some Urea Cream on this."
Dermatologist's Reaction to Viral TikToks | Dr Dustin Portela
"If I had a patient with these kind of feet I would start them on a urea cream. Soak your feet at night, put urea cream all over them, put socks on, go to bed. Within a week these would be looking way better, like significantly better."
"I went to my dermatologist and got prescribed tretinoin. Tretinoin is great to help turn over the skin. It is not something I would call an exfoliant but it can kind of do that. I wouldn't recommend using this every single day. You need to wear SPF anyway but it's crucial to wear SPF. It's important to wear it when you're doing any type of exfoliation. Once a week is okay for tretinoin, but I would encourage you to use it more frequently than that if your skin tolerates it. But don't use it when you use an exfoliant like mandelic acid."
"It's a retinoic acid, very similar to prescription tretinoin, but it's combined with lactic acid and even glycolic acid to give you a little extra exfoliation. That sounds like it could be drying, but it's so gentle. I use it most nights without even using a moisturizer, and I don't get any dryness or irritation. It is a little bit more expensive than your typical over-the-counter retinol, but it will last you 5 months because one pump is all you need every night, and there's 150 treatments in that bottle. So if you're looking for a very good retinol that is not irritating, this is it."
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All 3 takes on AlphaRet Overnight Cream
TikTok’s Most Unsafe Pimple Pops: Dermatologist Reacts to Wild Cysts & Scalp Mysteries
"It's a retinoic acid, very similar to prescription tretinoin, but it's combined with lactic acid and even glycolic acid to give you a little extra exfoliation. That sounds like it could be drying, but it's so gentle. I use it most nights without even using a moisturizer, and I don't get any dryness or irritation. It is a little bit more expensive than your typical over-the-counter retinol, but it will last you 5 months because one pump is all you need every night, and there's 150 treatments in that bottle. So if you're looking for a very good retinol that is not irritating, this is it."
TikTok’s Most Unsafe Pimple Pops: Dermatologist Reacts to Wild Cysts & Scalp Mysteries
"Skin Better Science is an amazing company with my favorite retinol, the one that I use every night called AlphaRet. This is a retinoic acid, very similar to prescription tretinoin, but it's combined with lactic acid and even glycolic acid to give you a little extra exfoliation. That sounds like it could be drying, but it's so gentle. I use it most nights without even using a moisturizer, and I don't get any dryness or irritation. It is a little bit more expensive than your typical over-the-counter retinol, but it will last you 5 months because one pump is all you need every night, and there's 150 treatments in that bottle. If you're looking for a very good retinol that is not irritating, check out SkinBetter Science AlphaRet Overnight Cream."
TikTok Pimple Pops: Dr. Dustin Breaks Down What’s Really Happening
"If you want my favorite retinol, it is from SkinBetter Science. It's called AlphaRet. It's equivalent to 0.025% tretinoin."
"I would recommend picking up some Head and Shoulders shampoo or some ketoconazole shampoo which you can get over the counter and use that as a body wash, wash it onto the skin, lather up and let it sit for about five minutes and that's going to help kill that little yeast that is causing the tinea versicolor. And even when you're totally clear, just do that once a week and it'll help prevent it from coming back because people that tend to get tinea versicolor often have it come back, you know, often every summer. So using that as a preventative tool can be very helpful."
"The Ulike Air10 IPL is absolutely one of the better at home IPL devices that I've tested, primarily because of the safety features and the ice cooling technology. The price point of $399 puts it in the premium category for at home devices, but when you compare it to the cost of professional treatments, it's reasonable if you're committed to using it. It's not going to replace professional treatments, but it is a solid option for hair reduction if you are the right candidate. You will need to use it consistently for 8 to 12 weeks to really start to see the best results because of the hair growth cycles you're going to need to treat over time."
"this person had the VI Peel and they're removing the dead skin as it comes off with scissors rather than peeling it off. If you peel it off you're going to be removing the skin that isn't ready to come off yet, so just trim carefully."
"The Ulike Reglow LED mask contains four different types of LEDs that stimulate different processes in the skin. Starting with red light at 630 nanometers, this is like your collagen cheerleader, telling your cells to make more collagen, so your skin gets more firm and more plump. Red LEDs can also help to calm inflammation in the skin, making it great to use post-procedure. Next up is 590 nanometer yellow light. This is the peacekeeper in your skin. This is going to help calm inflammation and irritation and strengthen your skin barrier. Next up is 465 nanometer blue light. This is the acne fighter. It directly works on the bacteria that cause acne. So if your skin is breaking out, blue light can be very helpful. And lastly, 830 nanometer infrared light. This is beyond the visible spectrum that we can see."
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All 5 takes on Reglow LED mask
Do LED Face Masks Really Work? Dermatologist Explains (Ulike ReGlow Review)
"The Ulike Reglow LED mask contains four different types of LEDs that stimulate different processes in the skin. Starting with red light at 630 nanometers, this is like your collagen cheerleader, telling your cells to make more collagen, so your skin gets more firm and more plump. Red LEDs can also help to calm inflammation in the skin, making it great to use post-procedure. Next up is 590 nanometer yellow light. This is the peacekeeper in your skin. This is going to help calm inflammation and irritation and strengthen your skin barrier. Next up is 465 nanometer blue light. This is the acne fighter. It directly works on the bacteria that cause acne. So if your skin is breaking out, blue light can be very helpful. And lastly, 830 nanometer infrared light. This is beyond the visible spectrum that we can see."
Do LED Face Masks Really Work? Dermatologist Explains (Ulike ReGlow Review)
"As a dermatologist, I've seen more LED devices than a DJ at a nightclub. Most of the ones that have been sent to me have ended up as a white elephant gift, but this one actually made me raise my eyebrows in a good way. First up is the 360° mirror reflection technology. This is actually patented by Ulike. It's not just fancy marketing speak. It has a mirror on the inside that boosts the radiance of the LEDs by 77.4%. It's kind of like the difference between a flashlight and a laser pointer. You're definitely getting a bigger boost of light when you use the Reglow from Ulike. Another reason that I actually like the Ulike Reglow LED mask is it has four different treatment modes. And each treatment mode doesn't just use one of the LED types. It actually mixes and matches depending on what you're trying to accomplish for your skin. The glow mode uses red plus infrared plus yellow light to actually help reduce pigmentation in your skin. I've been using the Reglow LED at home between procedures for brown spots. The firm mode uses the red plus the infrared light for when gravity is winning the war against your jawline. This is going to help stimulate collagen production and give your skin a more firm appearance and reduce fine lines."
Do LED Face Masks Really Work? Dermatologist Explains (Ulike ReGlow Review)
"The Ulike Reglow mask actually works. It's FDA certified. It has a true hands-free design, so you can wear this while you're walking around the house using the battery pack and get a treatment without slowing down your day. It's got four different modes to target specific skin concerns, and those can change over the course of your life, and you won't have to buy a new device when your skin needs something else. And it is cheaper than professional treatments. A device like this, when used consistently, will absolutely pay for itself over time. There is an upfront investment at $399, but once you buy it, it's yours forever. You don't have to keep paying a monthly subscription. It requires consistency, and it's really going to take four to six weeks to see significant results."
Do LED Face Masks Really Work? Dermatologist Explains (Ulike ReGlow Review)
"The Ulike Reglow LED mask is the device that I would recommend for your home use. This device is very nice. It's incredibly comfortable to use and I can do anything that I need to at home while wearing the device. This mask can help when you're doing the other things that are good for your skin. Do I recommend this mask? Yes, if you're willing to use it consistently and you're already doing the basics in your skincare routine. If you start using this, you'll start to notice smoother skin in the first 1 to 2 weeks. It'll be subtle, but it'll definitely be there. After 4 to 6 weeks, you're going to see more noticeable results."
Do LED Face Masks Really Work? Dermatologist Explains (Ulike ReGlow Review)
"Do I recommend this mask? Yes, if you're willing to use it consistently and you're already doing the basics in your skincare routine and you're otherwise a good candidate for it. If you start using this, you'll start to notice smoother skin in the first 1 to 2 weeks. It'll be subtle, but it'll definitely be there. After 4 to 6 weeks, you're going to notice a reduction in fine lines and wrinkles and continue to see an improved firmness to your skin. And after eight weeks and with continued use, you're going to notice just improved skin quality, texture, tone, pigmentation. That's where the real benefits are going to start to add up over time when you consistently use it. This is the one that I have found easiest to use consistently."
"Nivea is a good brand. I don't have anything to knock against that. But the reality is that moisturizing the skin, having a healthy skin barrier can help with acne. But there's nothing miraculous about this product specifically for acne."
"Differin gel is your magic product. That's going to be the biggest heavy lifter in your skincare routine if you have acne. Now, the complaint is that retinols can sometimes lead to some drying on the skin. And you don't want to trade acne or oily skin for super dry, flaky skin. So, what we're going to do is give this a couple of minutes to kind of soak into the skin. Once your face feels dry, we're coming in with a moisturizer."
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All 2 takes on Adapalene Gel 0.1%
Dermatologist's $20 Acne Routine That Prevents 80% of Breakouts (Over-the-Counter Only)
"Differin gel is your magic product. That's going to be the biggest heavy lifter in your skincare routine if you have acne. Now, the complaint is that retinols can sometimes lead to some drying on the skin. And you don't want to trade acne or oily skin for super dry, flaky skin. So, what we're going to do is give this a couple of minutes to kind of soak into the skin. Once your face feels dry, we're coming in with a moisturizer."
"The product I want to feature today is Differin Gel. This used to be a prescription and it is a full-on retinol, not a retinol derivative that has to be converted in the body. This used to be a prescription only retinol. You can now get it over the counter. If you're going to use retinol in your skincare routine, wash your face at night with a gentle cleanser. And then once your skin is dry, pat dry, air dry for a few extra minutes, take a pea-sized amount, and that's all you need to cover your whole face. Dot your forehead, chin, cheeks, and nose, and then rub that in. After a few minutes, go ahead and apply a moisturizer so you don't get the dryness and irritation. Using a retinol, I recommend starting out just two to three times a week, and then slowly you can build up to daily use."
"For a skin care routine I would highly recommend salicylic acid, probably a salicylic acid cleanser or a leave on salicylic acid product in the morning and then using a retinol at night. My favorite one you can get over the counter is a adapalene or different gel."
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All 3 takes on Retinol
Dermatologist Reacts to Viral Skincare Videos – What’s Safe & What’s a Disaster?
"retinol would be great to use for this kind of skin"
Crazy Skin Treatment Reactions by Dermatologist!
"topical medications like retinol are although effective can only go so far if you have this many forming on the skin you might need to treat it from the inside"
The Best Remeday For Black Heads | Doctor Reacts to Viral Tik Toks
"For a skin care routine I would highly recommend salicylic acid, probably a salicylic acid cleanser or a leave on salicylic acid product in the morning and then using a retinol at night. My favorite one you can get over the counter is a adapalene or different gel."
"They're putting on a little hyaluronic acid serum and they're wiping it off with a Q-tip. This doesn't work on freckles and moles. It is a waste of your money."
"One of the stronger exfoliants I used was mandelic acid. This is an alpha hydroxy acid, it is a little more gentle than some of the other AHAs you can use, but it's a good way to help turn the skin over and help sort out the scars. It's important to wear SPF when you're doing any type of exfoliation whether you're using mandelic acid or glycolic acid."
"The one that I've been using recently and really liking is Bioma. Bioma is an inexpensive line of skin care. This is an SPF 30 broadspectrum UVA, UVB, and it's an ultra light face fluid. It's pretty lightweight. Wearing sunscreen will also help to limit your risk of developing dark marks if you're still getting acne because when you get a little bit of redness from a pimple and you go out in the sun, it generally will get darker and that discoloration will stick around for a lot longer period of time."
"Beta hydroxy acid like salicylic acid would be very good to help soften up the top. It does penetrate through that oil a little bit. Getting a lot of stuff out. Salicylic acid and retinol, they are some of the best for these non-inflammatory blackheads, whiteheads, and sebaceous filaments. And they just keep going, getting a lot of stuff out of there."
"I often recommend to my patients to start with a gentle cleanser. This is just one example that we're using for this video, the CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser. One of my favorites because it really leaves my skin feeling soft and well cared for, not overdrying, not stripping. It actually has some properties that help to hydrate the skin with essential ceramides and hyaluronic acid. This one doesn't foam up a ton, and that's okay. It doesn't need to foam to be effective."
"I don't like how close under the skin this is. Immediately it looks like there's going to be nodules. Hopefully, this is a very, very thin filler and it will intercalate into the tissue. Otherwise, this is going to be lumpy and bumpy under the skin. I don't love doing under eye filler with this technique."
"If you guys want to be able to do extractions safely at home, the device that I recommend is the Shark Beauty Shark FacialPro Glow. This can actually do it safely, just like a hydrofacial experience at home."
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All 6 takes on Shark FacialPro Glow
What Causes Blackheads & Milia? A Dermatologist's Professional Breakdown
"If you guys want to be able to do extractions safely at home, the device that I recommend is the Shark Beauty Shark FacialPro Glow. This can actually do it safely, just like a hydrofacial experience at home."
Why Acne Picking Can Lead to Scarring (Dermatologist Explains)
"The device that I recommend is the Shark Beauty Shark FacialPro Glow. This is a home hydrofacial style device. You go ahead and prep the skin and then this actually has suction -- you put water in here and it sucks the gunk out of your pores. It has a second step where you put in a hyaluronic acid peptide mix that infuses hydration into your skin and sucks gunk out once more. You can actually see all of the stuff that comes out of your pores in that tank. I've tried this myself several times, I like it, and I have partnered with Shark before, although this is not sponsored here today -- I just genuinely like the device. If you want something to safely remove gunk from your pores at home rather than using dirty fingernails, check out the Shark Beauty Shark FacialPro Glow."
Dermatologist Breaks Down Professional Pimple Popping Techniques - TikTok Reaction & Safety Tips
"I think this would be a good candidate for the Shark Beauty Shark FacialPro Glow. I've tried it myself and even though I don't have a lot of acne and I don't feel like I have prominent sebaceous filaments, I still saw stuff in that tank that it pulled out of my skin. I was impressed."
Dermatologist Reacts to TikTok's Most INSANE Pimple Pops (Don't Try This at Home)
"I recommend the Shark FacialPro Glow. I have done a collaboration with Shark in the past, but this is not sponsored to put it in the video. I genuinely just like this device. It's easy to use at home to give yourself a hydrafacial-like experience at home, but this actually sucks the gunk out of your pores. And you can see it in this tank at the end -- you can see what comes out of your face. I do like this device quite a bit and it's fairly easy to use."
Dermatologist Reacts to the Most INSANE TikTok Pimple Pops (Don't Try This at Home)
"If you guys want a solution to help do extractions at home safely, I recommend the Shark Beauty Shark FacialPro Glow. This is an at-home hydrofacial device and you can do your own hydrofacials with it. It sucks stuff out of your pores. I've done a full review on it here on this channel."
Dermatologist Tests Shark Beauty's FacialPro Glow - You Won't Believe What Came Out of My Pores
"It's great for anyone who finds pore strips and manual extractions too harsh. However, if you have very sensitive skin, active rosacea, or other skin conditions, or maybe you're using strong retinoids, I would recommend consulting with your dermatologist before using this device. Does the Shark FacialPro Glow pass the 'would I recommend it to my mom' test? Absolutely. First, this is incredibly easy to use. It only takes about 10 minutes, and the extraction results speak for themselves. This satisfies that same urge that we get while watching pimple popping videos, but it's actually good for your skin. The hydration boost from the products is real, and the Deep Puff attachment, I think, is genuinely innovative. This device costs $399, but it pays for itself after just three uses because professional facials in the dermatology office can cost $150 or more. And unlike those monthly appointments, this is available whenever your skin needs it. I don't often take time to work devices into my skincare routine because I'm so busy, but I love getting a hydrofacial and this saves me time, and I do it at home."
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