Doctorly – The Guru Index

Every take, in full

Every review.

All 231 products Doctorly has reviewed, grouped by product type. Click a product to see the full guru consensus.

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Type

Serums51 reviews

"The cream and the serum both have 21 different types of peptides in it including ingredients like argerene and arjgerox. Now arjgerox I believe that particular combination of peptides has been shown to increase the longevity of your botox. So if you get botox done it usually lasts only 3 months. This can increase longevity at up to 6 months. So it is just a really interesting combination of ingredients and it's power packed with different types of peptides. And because of that, even though it's a little bit more pricey, it definitely makes our list of the year definitely."

✓Approved

80%of gurus approve

Timeless 20% Vitamin C + E + Ferulic Acid Serum

"Timeless Skincare, they have a 20% vitamin C that's a really good affordable option. If you don't have very sensitive skin, eloscorbic acid is a good option for you."

✓Approved

73%of gurus approve

All 7 takes on 20% Vitamin C + E + Ferulic Acid Serum

PART 2: 2025 BEST BLACK FRIDAY CYBER MONDAY SKINCARE AND DEVICE DEALS LIVE

"Timeless Skincare, they have a 20% vitamin C that's a really good affordable option. If you don't have very sensitive skin, eloscorbic acid is a good option for you."

Is Vitamin C Worth The HYPE?? | Doctorly Investigates

"The Timeless vitamin C that's a 20% vitamin C with E and ferric acid at a much more affordable price point."

The ULTIMATE Budget Friendly Anti-Aging Skincare Routine

"This is a great vitamin C serum. It's a watery serum with a nice formula. The smell comes from benzyl alcohol, which is a fragrant alcohol, and it's canceling out a little bit of that smell that you get from the ascorbic acid."

Weekend SkinCare Live!

"It has vitamin E and ferulic acid, copying that Skinceuticals formulation, and it is 27 bucks, which is like a ninth of the price of the Skinceuticals one. Aesthetically it's nice. If you had 30 bucks and had to pick one vitamin C, it's that one. Timeless vitamin C for sure."

Building A Morning Skincare Routine for Every Skin Concern!

"A good affordable option is the 20% vitamin C from Timeless."

The Ultimate Summer Skincare Routine

"Timeless has a great vitamin C that's available at Target for this."

Building a Morning Skincare Routine For Every Skin Conccern!

"A good affordable option is the 20% vitamin C from Timeless."

Vanicream Vitamin C Serum

"They use THD ascorbate in their vitamin C. So a good derivative of vitamin C, but it has a lot less data."

~Mixed

79%of gurus approve

DRMTLGY Needleless Growth Factor Serum

"This is the dermatology needleless growth factor serum. It's a really nice serum from dermatology and it has multiple different peptides that act as growth factors in the skin. And that is able to stimulate your skin cells, fibroblast growth factor, platelet derived growth factors that can stimulate your collagen and elastin to build. It can speed up your skin cell turnover. If you're looking for growth factors, which I think are a little bit more advanced, meaning you've already mastered your retinoids and you've already mastered some of the more entry-level peptides like metatricxel or copper peptides and you haven't seen great results with them, I think growth factors are really the next step. I think the one from dermatology is a great option for somebody who is looking to introduce because it's not so expensive like the one from Allies of Skin."

✓Approved

79%of gurus approve

E.L.F. Vitamin C Serum

"If you want something that's not as irritating, something like the e.l.f. Vitamin C uses 3-O ethylascorbic acid at a relatively affordable price. And 3-O ethylascorbic acid is much more expensive to formulate with than L-ascorbic acid, but you'll see very similar results."

✓Approved

70%of gurus approve

The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% Serum

"The Ordinary's got a higher concentration. From an efficacy standpoint, I would get the one from The Ordinary."

✓Approved

84%of gurus approve

Clarins Double Serum

"The Clarins Double Serum is like a scam. I saw this ad for it where they showed a person who put their face like this in the before, and then the after they did this, and they were claiming that it shaped the jaw, which is just an insane thing to claim that a skincare product can do. There's just no universe where a skincare product is going to do that for your face. Ever since that I hated the Clarins Double Serum, but I'm sure it's a good product."

✕Skip

68%of gurus approve

Timeless Coenzyme Q10 Serum

"I really like their Coenzyme Q10 serum too. I think probably in descending order of data driven products is Vitamin C, peptides, and Coenzyme Q10. But you really can't go wrong with all three of those."

✓Approved

88%of gurus approve

Timeless Matrixyl 3000 Serum

"I really do love their Matrixyl 3000 Serum as well. I think probably in descending order of data driven products, Vitamin C, peptides, and co-enzyme Q10. But you really can't go wrong with all three of those."

✓Approved

75%of gurus approve

Vichy Mineral 89

"It's the Vichy Mineral 89 HA serum, thermal spring water, hyaluronic acid, little bit of glycerin, and it just sits so lightly on the skin. One of the things is it's been around so long and it's so simple. It may not be newsworthy, but it's always just a good staple hydrating product."

✓Approved

79%of gurus approve

All 8 takes on Mineral 89

The ULTIMATE Routine to Achieve Glass or Dewy Skin | Dermatologists Explain

Weekend SkinCare Live!

"I love the Vichy one coupling it with thermal spring water that's the Mineral 89 that's their flagship product."

Reviewing Skincare Hacks: Hyaluronic acid for the lips, Dandruff shampoo face wash, & Sleep pillows

"One of my favorite hyaluronic acid products is the Vichy Mineral 89. It tastes terrible, actually it's extremely bitter. I didn't enjoy that. The plumping effect of it was minimal, maybe minimally noticeable improvement in plumping of the lips, but my lips after a few minutes started to feel either more dry or back to baseline. Especially with the lips compared to the rest of the face, because the lips either have no stratum corneum layer of the skin or a very slim thin stratum corneum layer of the skin, you are more likely with hyaluronic acid to lose water through your lips than you would in other parts of the face. I do not recommend, especially if you have dry lips or if you live in an arid climate, to just use hyaluronic acid on your lips by itself."

BEST SUMMER MOISTURIZERS | DOCTORLY Reviews

"They basically took the content of their serum and created a lightweight cream. It's not a gel cream, I'd say like this is a lightweight cream, like a true lightweight cream. The Vichy volcano water in it, you know it sounds gimmicky but it's got data behind it. I think it does add a layer of fun flair but I think it actually does add some soothing."

Building A Morning Skincare Routine for Every Skin Concern!

"You can use your traditional hyaluronic acid serum like the Vichy Mineral 89 hyaluronic acid."

The ULTIMATE Routine for Sensitive Skin | Doctorly Routines

"The Vichy Mineral 89 is over 1,000 kildaltons and it's probably the best type of hyaluronic acid for sensitive skin. If you did want a hyaluronic acid serum, I would say the Vichy Mineral 89 would be a good choice."

The Ultimate Summer Skincare Routine

"We've always loved the Vichy Mineral 89. These hydrating serums can really help the skin barrier, they do hydrate. It's always more complex formula than just hyaluronic acid so that nuance. It's combined with glycerin, thermal spring water, whatever. I love the Vichy Mineral 89 serum."

Building a Morning Skincare Routine For Every Skin Conccern!

"You can use your traditional hyaluronic acid serum like the Vichy Mineral 89 hyaluronic acid."

iUNIK Beta Glucan Power Moisture Serum

"This one is from iUNIK. It's the Beta Glucan Power Moisture Serum. Beta glucan again a very great barrier building ingredient. This dropper didn't do the best job there, but you can see it kind of has that sort of snail mucin feel to it. Absorbs super well into the skin and it's just going to give you that extra hydration that's going to give you that dewy skin."

✓Approved

83%of gurus approve

Allies of Skin Copper Tripeptide + Ectoin Advanced Repair Serum

"This is a copper tripeptide and ectoin advanced repair serum. Ectoin is really where you're getting that hydration from. You're also getting some other hydrating ingredients in this formula as well. But you also get that compounded effect of the cetal hexapeptide aka giralene. And you also have two forms of different copper peptides in this formula. It's a beautiful blue serum and it's super hydrating. It's a super hydrating formula. Plus, it's delivering those copper peptides into the skin. The only real holdup from recommending it more often would probably be the price point. I think it's a little bit expensive. Very expensive I would argue. If this wasn't so expensive, I definitely would recommend it more often."

~Mixed

75%of gurus approve

Allies of Skin Multipeptides & Growth Factor Advanced Lifting Serum

"This one is one of my guilty pleasure products and it's only a guilty pleasure because of the price point. It combines multiple peptides. They have a 9% lifting peptide complex, and these are also listed in terms of igopeptides, so it does use multiple different types of growth factors. Aesthetically, I love it. It sits beautifully on the skin just like all of the Allies of Skin products. It has 3% Shallopeptide, so it's growth factors. It also has copper lysinate, but it's not blue, which makes me think that the copper concentration in this is quite low. In general, this is a beautiful serum, beautiful packaging as always from Allies of Skin. It will perform incredibly well and they've done some really great clinical studies on it. I really do love this. They have a lot of thoughtful formulations in their product lineup and this is just another banger."

✓Approved

82%of gurus approve

All 5 takes on Multipeptides & Growth Factor Advanced Lifting Serum

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"The growth factor serum uses a high quality growth factor along with supporting ingredients. I've used this myself, so gentle, so great for repairing damaged skin. It has benefits otherwise for aging skin as well. If you were looking to splurge, this might be your opportunity to at least try it."

Weekend SkinCare Live!

"The growth factor serum in general is great, I love it. If you just take the price out of it, I have no complaints about the product. It's very thoughtful. The growth factors, there's multiple types of growth factors you can get, and this type in particular is actually high quality plus it has good supporting ingredients. Aesthetically it feels great, as gentle as can be. I actually really like the product, but it is still expensive."

ARE GROWTH FACTORS WORTH THE HYPE? Doctorly Explores

"This is one of my guilty pleasure products and it's only a guilty pleasure because of the price point. This is I think $180, maybe up to $200 at times, but it combines multiple peptides. They have a 9% lifting peptide complex, and these are also listed in terms of igopeptides. So it does use multiple different types of growth factors. Aesthetically, love it. Sits beautifully on the skin just like all of the Allies of Skin products. It's just the price point. I really do love this. They have a lot of thoughtful formulations in their product lineup and this is just another banger. So phenomenal serum, you know, 3% Shallopeptide so it's that growth factors. It also has copper lysinate but it's not blue which makes me think that the copper concentration in this is quite low. But in general, this is a beautiful serum, beautiful packaging as always from Allies of Skin. Will perform incredibly well and they've done some really great clinical studies on there, albeit at a much higher price point for people. But if you like the brand, you can find a discount code. You should definitely check it out."

ARE GROWTH FACTORS WORTH THE HYPE? Doctorly Explores

"Phenomenal serum with 3% Shallopeptide for growth factors. It also has copper lysinate, but it's not blue which makes me think that the copper concentration in this is quite low. This is a beautiful serum, beautiful packaging as always from Allies of Skin. Will perform incredibly well and they've done some really great clinical studies on there, albeit at a much higher price point for people. But if you like the brand, you can find a discount code and you should definitely check it out."

Dermatology Needleless Growth Factor Serum

"This serum has five growth factors blended into oligopeptides, and it also has other well-known peptides in it, including matrixyl palmitoyl tripeptide-1 and pomal tetrapeptide-7, as well as multiple types of ceramides. So overall, it's a really nice serum with really proven types of peptides. There's a pretty insane clinical study on this product to prove that it's effective, especially at this price point. They compared it head-to-head against a $295 growth serum in a 12-week study with 20 individuals that was reviewed by an institutional review board. By all the clinical endpoints, this product not only was non-inferior, it actually outperformed the expensive one. It's really nice serum to just apply to the skin and it would definitely replace your hydration serum in general."

✓Approved

75%of gurus approve

All 5 takes on Needleless Growth Factor Serum

Building A Morning Skincare Routine for Every Skin Concern!

"Look for peptides, something like the Dermatology Needleless Growth Factor Serum that has a combination of different peptides can be phenomenal."

ARE GROWTH FACTORS WORTH THE HYPE? Doctorly Explores

"This serum it's actually a really nice serum to just apply to the skin and it would definitely replace your hydration serum. It also has other peptides that are well-known in it, so that combination that forms matrixyl palmitoyl tripeptide-1 and palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7 is also in this. It also has multiple types of ceramides. And overall, it's just a really nice serum with these really proven types of peptides. There's a pretty insane clinical study on this product to prove that it's effective, especially at this price point. They replicated something we see in the pharmaceutical space a lot. They took the leader in the space in terms of what was probably considered the best growth factor serum out there, then they compared theirs head-to-head to it. So it was like a $295 growth serum versus theirs. It was put in front of an institutional review board, and those individuals reviewed it, made sure the study was well thought out and ethical. And then it was a 12-week study with 20 individuals. By all the clinical endpoints, not only was this product non-inferior, it actually outperformed it. It's notable because you don't necessarily have to pay an exorbitant amount of money for something that works. But also, this one is vegan. It does not use human-based growth factors, and it was compared to a human-based growth factor product. It shows that while they are different in structure and shape, the results speak for themselves."

ARE GROWTH FACTORS WORTH THE HYPE? Doctorly Explores

"It showed that it was superior in a few of the end points and statistically significant for that, which is a really good sign. So it gives me confidence to use it. I've been using it pretty consistently and I like it quite a bit."

Building a Morning Skincare Routine For Every Skin Conccern!

"Look for peptides, something like the Dermatology Needleless Growth Factor Serum that has a combination of different peptides can be phenomenal."

Skin Medica TNS Advanced Serum

"This is kind of a flagship product with a price point of about $300 and it has the studies to back up its clinical use and the benefits you'll see. It's extremely popular amongst physicians and definitely has a cult following with a plethora of clinical data around it to support its efficacy. This one is derived from humans, specifically the foreskin. If you're looking for growth factors derived from humans that have been around for the longest, this would be the option to go with, again at a much higher price point. If you're a growth factor purist, this would be the one for you. It really is kind of like that idealistic type of product that has been the gold standard for some time now."

✓Approved

84%of gurus approve

The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%

"10% azelaic acid products that are out there are phenomenal. There's a few of them, The Ordinary, and this is a really good option."

✓Approved

73%of gurus approve

All 6 takes on Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%

BEST DEALS ON THE LAST DAY OF AMAZON PRIME DAY

"The Ordinary's got their Azelaic Acid, which is currently not discounted, but that one I said is pretty gritty. I would say no rush to buy this one in general. $80 for Azelaic Acid is quite expensive."

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"If you have rosacea and you're kind of limited over the counter, azelaic acid would be my go to option. There's The Ordinary at 10%, there's Paul's Choice at 10%."

AZELAIC ACID - IS IT WORTH THE HYPE? | Dermatologists Explain

"The first one that I discovered was the one from The Ordinary. Now, this one is affordable. It's widely available. It is a gritty bad experience in my mind, but it was the only thing that was available when we first started creating videos. And so I think we've made a lot of leaps and bounds since then, but still very affordable, still a good option, will still work for you."

Saturday Skincare Live!

"Azelaic acid helps for acne, it helps for hyperpigmentation. I think it's a supporting ingredient. I love azelaic acid, I think it's great. Do I think you should use only azelaic acid absolutely not unless you for some reason can only use that one ingredient. I think it's a supporting ingredient it shines best when combined with something like tretinoin. You can use azelaic acid once a day in the morning, you can use it twice a day, and then you tretinoin at night, either way whatever your skin tolerates is a good thing for hyperpigmentation, that is absolutely fine."

Building A Morning Skincare Routine for Every Skin Concern!

"10% azelaic acid products that are out there are phenomenal. There's a few of them, The Ordinary, and this is a really good option."

Building a Morning Skincare Routine For Every Skin Conccern!

"10% azelaic acid products that are out there are phenomenal. There's a few of them, The Ordinary, and this is a really good option."

Topicals Faded Brightening Serum

"if you're looking for a product without retinol, I would either get the topicals or the Anua one because those are both without retinol in them."

✓Approved

86%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Faded Brightening Serum

BEST DEALS ON THE LAST DAY OF AMAZON PRIME DAY

"if you're looking for a product without retinol, I would either get the topicals or the Anua one because those are both without retinol in them."

Black Friday Deals and Skincare Q&A

"Faded by Topicals is another good option for dark spots or discoloration. It's going to have your retinol, it's going to have your coic acid, your nicomide, your glutathione, your tranexamic acid all in one product."

Good Molecules Discoloration Correcting Serum

"I think it's a good option, especially at the price point, like $12. But I wasn't overly impressed. Even though it's a good combination of ingredients, I wasn't overly impressed with the performance over time with this product, even though it is a good starter product for dark spots. If you haven't tried any dark spot product and you're looking to start a dark spot product, I think this is a good starter product. But I think there are better, more comprehensive solutions that are currently out there."

~Mixed

76%of gurus approve

Skinceuticals C E Ferulic

"Vitamin C is your prototypical antioxidant. SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic is a $180 product which is now officially out of patent so their patent finally expired. In the past you weren't able to actually create dupes because they had a patent. SkinCeuticals has a great vitamin C. The reason it was so expensive was because of the intellectual property."

✓Approved

78%of gurus approve

All 7 takes on C E Ferulic

Breakout Ingredients of 2025 | Doctorly Reviews

"People who like L-ascorbic acid and it works for their skin, they love it. And there is still a very large percent, I would say 50% or greater, that cannot tolerate L-ascorbic acid and they find it very irritating to their skin and they just completely cannot use it. So I'm talking about specifically SkinCeuticals vitamin C, which uses L-ascorbic acid."

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"I was ranting earlier about SkinCeuticals vitamin C and how I think it's a ripoff, right? They'll spend $180 on it."

2025 BEST BLACK FRIDAY CYBER MONDAY SKINCARE AND DEVICE DEALS LIVE

"SkinCeuticals really takes advantage of a 30-year-old formula that's now out of patent that costs a dollar to make in really cheap 40 cents packaging that sells for $180 and they continue to raise the price. At $180, you can go get microneedling done or a laser procedure done. I just don't like that style, that they're gutting their customers instead of coming out with something better."

Is Vitamin C Worth The HYPE?? | Doctorly Investigates

"Skin Ceuticals C E Ferulic, they did all the research, people love it, people swear by it. My skin tolerates it fine. I like the aesthetics, it's like watery, not super drippy, not super greasy. The body's good. I love the bread smell of vitamin C. I think I just had a net positive experience that I've conditioned myself to enjoy that. It's an acquired taste, some people call it bread, some people call it hot dog water, some people hate the smell of this product. But for some people it's very irritating. I actually have a lot of patients that will tell me that they bought the Skin Ceuticals vitamin C and a high percentage maybe like 30% of people don't react well to it. The other thing about this product I do believe is that people are more likely to stick with it over other products."

Best And Worst Of Skinceuticals

"This is locked in as like the standard of what vitamin C looks, smells and feels like. It's definitely one of the stronger smelling vitamin C products out there and quite polarizing, but the advantage of that is that it is fragrance-free and it is optimized for absorption into the skin and they do hold the patent on this particular formulation. For me personally this product doesn't agree well with my skin. I don't know why I've tried it a million times, my wife loves this product, for me it just irritates my skin. I even break out sometimes when I use it. So for some people this is going to be a grail, and this is if you're intro to the brand and you want to stick with any product that has the most research behind it, then it would be this one. They even have studies that show that this is a really beneficial product postprocedurally, meaning that if you were to get microneedling done or laser done you could apply this and it would help with healing times. For me personally I find this to be an irritating product, so I think with a compromised skin barrier it would be something that would not agree well. I wouldn't use something that has high potent actives like this with super low pH because I think it would be quite uncomfortable even if it does help repair the skin faster."

The ULTIMATE Routine for Dark Spots | Doctorly Hyperpigmentation and Melasma Guide

"For vitamin C, I personally like Skinceuticals C E Ferulic. As expensive as it can be, I love it though because it has a great glow maker. It's formulated well and it's still functional. Vitamin C is very effective and has a laundry list of benefits, especially as an antioxidant."

The Ultimate Summer Skincare Routine

Paula's Choice Antioxidant Serum

"Paula's Choice has an interesting one, it's a good one. It has a lot of those supporting antioxidants in there. I think it has glutathione, it has superoxide dismutase, it has ferulic acid. Interestingly, the forms of vitamin C in it are very low for me. It has THDC, tetrahexadecyl ascorbate, and then magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, which is absolute trash when it comes to vitamin C's. But if those vitamin C's do nothing, I actually think the rest of the supporting antioxidants in that formulation are good enough to compensate. So I actually like this product as another alternative for your vitamin C and your antioxidants."

✓Approved

78%of gurus approve

CeraVe Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Serum

"I never hear anyone talk about it and I think there's probably a good reason why, it's just not that good. It is a simple hydrating serum, but it actually comes out more like a lotion. So to me, you have their range of moisturizers and some of their moisturizers like CeraVe PM or even their new lightweight gel moisturizer are actually very close in texture to this. I don't find this to be very hydrating. I don't find that the experience is great. As a hyaluronic acid serum, there are a lot of other competitors in this space that I would prefer. I find this one to be okay but not great. Because of its modest benefits, aesthetics plays a huge role for me. I love a very cooling, refreshing hyaluronic acid serum. This one is more of a gel lotion and it just doesn't have that."

✕Skip

64%of gurus approve

CeraVe Oil Control Moisturizing Gel-Cream

"The oil control moisturizing gel cream, if you have oily skin you're going to love this. That mattifying effect from the starch is great, it's subtle, it won't leave you flat, but it's a great one."

✓Approved

64%of gurus approve

Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster

"It's a 10% azelaic acid with licorice root and salicylic acid. The formula is much nicer than grittier options, it rubs in beautifully and is very elegant. Azelaic acid is great for acne, dark spots or discoloration, and people who get acne followed by post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. It's great for rosacea and it's one of the few acne ingredients that's safe in pregnancy. The downside is that they threw salicylic acid in it, which makes it a product you would have to questionably recommend in pregnancy. We don't know with those concentrations how safe they are topically for pregnancy. It would be much nicer if it was just azelaic acid, because that's when we consistently use azelaic acid in the office, for the pregnant patient with acne. You'd probably exclude this just out of caution."

✓Approved

73%of gurus approve

Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster

"Anything over 5% niacinamide has never really been studied and really never been shown to have benefit. All the studies that show niacinamide is great for skin tone, for brightening, for collagen support, for barrier support, all these different things niacinamide does, has been shown to be beneficial at the 5% concentration or less. So when you see a 10% niacinamide, you're like, do I really need 10%? It's double what the recommended amount is. The more you have of anything, the more likely you are to get irritation. It's not like the more of things the better it is. Sometimes less is more. Studies show 5% is sufficient for pretty much all your clinical endpoints. Between 10 and 15%, you're probably going to tolerate it, not that it's more effective, but the tolerability perhaps isn't terrible. But 10% is more than enough than what you need."

✕Skip

65%of gurus approve

Paula's Choice 20% Niacinamide Treatment

"Between 10 and 15% you're probably going to tolerate it, but then you get a 20% and you're really quite far off of the ideal concentration balancing effectiveness and irritation. This one, the 20%, really I think is just unnecessary. You can just use the 10% and you don't need to find a way forward from there. 10% is more than enough than what you need."

✕Skip

66%of gurus approve

COSRX 6 Peptide Skin Booster Serum

"The six peptide skin booster from COSRX has tons of complimentary benefits: boosting, plumping, fine line, firmness, oil control, pores, reduce skin sensitivity, retexturize blemishes and brightening, and all of that is true. I think this is the best multi-purpose product because COSRX is very cost-effective. The aesthetics of this product feel so good. Peptides as a group are easily the number one supporting ingredient, providing the best broad benefits. When it comes to Korean skincare brands and COSRX in general, you really just cannot beat the texture, the way that it will layer under any other product or layer under your makeup or layer underneath your sunscreen. They always bring hydration, they always bring calming and soothing, and peptides truly play well with pretty much any other ingredient. This does really so much, especially with the copper peptides and especially with the organ that's in this formula."

✓Approved

88%of gurus approve

Drunk Elephant C-Firma Fresh Day Serum

"I like Drunk Elephant a lot. I think they have a lot of good products, but they're just expensive. They use pretty high quality actives, fragrance-free, useful products. Their moisturizers are really good, though they're expensive."

✓Approved

65%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on C-Firma Fresh Day Serum

Is Vitamin C Worth The HYPE?? | Doctorly Investigates

"This one needs to be actually mixed together so it comes separately and you have to mix the powder into the serum, which I find some people like to be chemists and some people don't like to do it. The interesting thing about this particular formulation is that Drunk Elephant was sued by SkinCeuticals for patent infringement, so the formula was so close to SkinCeuticals' formula that they actually ended up suing them over formula copying, so just important to note there. This is not an inexpensive product, probably still in that 60 to 80 dollar range. What's kind of nice about this is that you're getting exactly what you need and you know that it's stable from the time that you get it, which is actually pretty cool because you don't know how long the other products have been sitting on the shelf with the cap on. The value is that you have these unstable ingredients that can break down and so this may stay stable longer."

Black Friday Deals and Skincare Q&A

Timeless 10% Vitamin C + E Ferulic Acid Serum

"I'm particularly fond of the 10% vitamin C because I think it's pretty hard to find a 10% vitamin C. We know from studies that that is sufficient to be effective, and also the irritation is lower the lower the concentration you get. So I think this is a perfect vitamin C serum if you're looking for a new one or even if you want something to last with you over time and you have sensitive skin. 10% is great, my favorite product from them. It's a 10% vitamin C serum for like $15 with vitamin E and ferulic acid, the stabilizers and the penetration enhancers to make it more effective."

✓Approved

83%of gurus approve

Abreva Cold Sore Treatment

"This is meant to be a cold sore treatment topically. The data on it is kind of mid so some studies say it does help some studies say it doesn't help. It's meant to shorten the duration of cold sores and cold sores are caused by the herpes virus. Maybe helpful for a specific case use scenario."

~Mixed

59%of gurus approve

The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%

"Niacinamide from The Ordinary is pretty lightweight, niacinamide is extremely stable and there is no wrong way to do it. Both of those ingredients play really well with most other things, and it's so stable if you wanted to use it in the daytime you sure could. Generally though what you would do, you'd probably wash face, use niacinamide twice a day as an earlier step."

✓Approved

67%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%

The ULTIMATE Routine for Large Pores and Sebaceous Filaments | Doctorly Routines

"Functionally I like The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%. Niacinamide has been shown to be effective at concentrations 5% and less and there haven't been any studies on concentrations higher than 5%, even though you'll see 20, 30, 40% niacinamide products out there. There's no need for a concentration that high in your skincare routine. You can use this morning and night or you could just use it one time a day."

Weekend SkinCare Live!

The Ordinary Resveratrol 3% + Ferulic Acid 3%

"Resveratrol 3% + Ferulic Acid 3% from The Ordinary, top tier, top tier. It's one of my favorite antioxidant combinations of all time if you're going for a pure antioxidant and you just want two extraordinary ones. The funny thing is I always forget this product is slightly yellowy tinged to begin with and I always wonder because I don't use it very frequently when I pull it off the shelf if it's gone bad, but it is outstanding. There are a lot of studies head-to-head with antioxidants and there are just a lot of good ones, so if you're going for a purely antioxidant ingredient with potential to help with your sunscreen, help with your protection for your skin, yes, Resveratrol is great. Is it better than vitamin C? Probably not, but only because it doesn't have the supporting, complimenting benefits."

✓Approved

86%of gurus approve

Generic Coconut oil

"If you're putting castor oil on your skin for dry skin, you're much better off using many other things like squalane oil or coconut oil. I have no problem with the oils. That's one of the first things I got obsessed with and dug into."

✓Approved

68%of gurus approve

Generic Squalane Oil

"If you're putting castor oil on your skin for dry skin, you're much better off using many other things. Squalane oil, coconut oil, I have no problem with the oils. That's one of the first things I got obsessed with and dug into."

✓Approved

79%of gurus approve

Generic Castor Oil

"I have a vendetta against castor oil and it's that it doesn't do much of anything and people say it does absolutely everything. There's really almost no study backing of why castor oil would do any of those things, and that's why I'm particularly frazzled when it comes to castor oil because it very much overpromises. There's a cult following, it's kind of a hand me-down ingredient which is fine, that's respectable, there's nothing wrong with it, but at this point there's no reason to think it does much of anything. And there's some thought that it is kind of allergenic. But you could find a better oil for almost any purpose."

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56%of gurus approve

Vichy LiftActiv Vitamin C Serum

"I love the Vichy serums. The LiftActiv line is a real win for me. I recommend their glycolic acid product in the office pretty regularly, and I really like their vitamin C out of that line too."

✓Approved

80%of gurus approve

Olive Oil Olive Oil

"Olive oil is essentially a petri dish for malassia yeast. This is why it makes dandruff worse, this is why it makes sebic dermatitis worse, this is why it makes tinea versicolor worse. If you're using olive oil as a moisturizer, it's actually going to feed this yeast and make it worse. Olive oil as a solo ingredient has really no utility and no place on your skin for multiple reasons: pro-inflammatory, does not help the skin barrier, it is literally the food for this yeast."

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49%of gurus approve

various Castor oil

"Castor oil is not helpful. It doesn't exist, it doesn't exist. Castor oil really in my mind has almost no place for skincare. It's not as harmful, it's not as bad as olive oil which is the true trashiest oil for all of skin in its pure form, but castor oil has no utility."

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60%of gurus approve

Matter of Fact Vitamin C Serum

"Matter of Fact has one of the most interesting textures of all the products. This is L-ascorbic acid but it's not liquidy, it's like it feels very oily. This is getting wiped off, this is not making it to my face. It's just a texture I don't enjoy. It's just too oily for me. But if you have dry skin this is going to fall into the category similar to the Neutrogena one, where it might sit well with you. A lot of people won't like this formula. It is L-ascorbic acid but it really has that oily texture to it."

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53%of gurus approve

Maelove Fade Away Brightening Serum

"This is the Maelove Fade Away Brightening Serum. Dark spots are my main skin issue along with crinkles that I've developed. Texturally I think it's great. This is one of those dark spot serums that covers multiple different ingredients. This is where over-the-counter shines, you get tons of ingredients in one product and it keeps your skincare simple. So that's why I love this. The only questionable ingredient in this is the witch hazel. I have a suspicion it's there for a purpose. I feel like maybe it helps with absorption or skin penetration enhancer or something like that."

✓Approved

90%of gurus approve

Bubble Daydream Tone and Texture Serum

"This has sodium ascorbyl phosphate, which is what you'll find in a lot of your more budget friendly vitamin C options. This is not your L-ascorbic acid, this is not your ethyl ascorbic acid, which I'm a huge fan of, but this is a serviceable vitamin C with a huge supporting cast. I'm a big fan, it's on the best list for me. I would not say this is a vitamin C serum personally. I would say this has other benefits in it. I would use it in the morning after cleansing before applying my sunscreen and I would use it as my antioxidant and lightening brightening serum for complexion. It has a lot of added benefits and the vitamin C not being the heavy hitter here, and for $17 I think it packs a big punch."

✓Approved

84%of gurus approve

Vichy Lift Active B3 Serum

"This is the Vichy Lift Active line and I really love the lift active line in particular from them. This is their B3 serum. B3 is niacinamide and B3 is an amazing supporting ingredient, but it also has glycolic acid here and then also tranexamic acid. I find this product to be very, very, very balanced. This whole line from them is just very simple, straightforward, minimalistic ingredient lists that are all thoughtful and complimentary. This one also I think is fragrance free and it just sits nicely on the skin, it feels great. It delivers. It's a little more expensive, but I think it's a pretty comprehensive glycolic acid product. It's actually delivering more than just glycolic acid. So a little bit pricier, but it's got glycolic acid, niacinamide, and tranexamic acid, which has been shown to help with pigmentation and maybe even help a little bit with redness as well. Pretty comprehensive product to add to your routine."

✓Approved

82%of gurus approve

The Ordinary Soothing and Barrier Support Serum

"I like this a lot more than I wanted to. I kind of wanted to hate this formula, but I do actually feel after using it for a long period of time that my skin did feel more calm, less red, less irritated than it had prior. I felt like it layered really well with my other skincare products whether I was using at night or in the morning. It was easy to integrate into my routine because it doesn't really conflict with any other products that I was using. I don't think it's a necessary skincare product, especially if you have a moisturizer that's going to already bring in a lot of these ingredients, but definitely approved. Like the product a lot. It's still an affordable skincare product relative to everything out there."

✓Approved

82%of gurus approve

All 4 takes on Soothing and Barrier Support Serum

NEW Ordinary Barrier Support Serum Review - Is It Worth the Hype? | Doctorly Reviews

"I like this a lot more than I wanted to. I kind of wanted to hate this formula coming in because it was going viral and it was pink and it's a barrier support product. I do actually feel after using it for a long period of time that my skin did feel more calm, less red, less irritated than it had prior. I felt like it layered really well with my other skincare products whether I was using it at night or in the morning. It was easy to integrate into my routine because it doesn't really conflict with any other products that I was using. I don't think it's a necessary skincare product, especially if you have a moisturizer that's going to already bring in a lot of these ingredients, but it's definitely approved. I like the product a lot. They put the coloring in to grab your attention but they followed it up with a functionally great formula. The Ordinary nailed it with this one."

NEW Ordinary Barrier Support Serum Review - Is It Worth the Hype? | Doctorly Reviews

"My skin did feel more calm, less red, less irritated than it had prior. It layered really well with my other skincare products whether I was using it at night or in the morning. It was easy to integrate into my routine because it doesn't really conflict with any other products that I was using. I don't think it's a necessary skincare product, especially if you have a moisturizer that's going to already bring in a lot of these ingredients, but definitely approved. I like the product a lot. They put the coloring in to grab your attention but they followed it up with a functionally great formula. The Ordinary nailed it with this one. Just keep in mind this is a barrier product, so don't mix it up with other products if you don't read the labels."

NEW Ordinary Barrier Support Serum Review - Is It Worth the Hype? | Doctorly Reviews

"They put the coloring in to grab your attention but they followed it up with a functionally great formula. The Ordinary nailed it with this one. It's a barrier product, so it's not the same as their other red product. Don't mix one up for the other if you don't read the labels on your products."

Snail mucin

"When you look at the data there are reasons you could use this product and there are reasons that it can be beneficial for your skin. It may be one of the greatest ingredients of all time. They've done a tremendous amount of studies on snail mucin, and I've seen ones done at academic centers, multi-study ones, split face ones against placebo. They've actually shown quite a bit of different clinical benefits to the skin. They've looked at photoaging and shown an improvement in wrinkles. They've shown an improvement in both subjective and objective measures of anti-aging. They've also looked at hydration of the skin. It has these glycosaminoglycans in it that are expected to be hydrating, but they've shown a tremendous decrease in transepidermal water loss. And they've also shown post-procedurally which I think is super interesting."

✓Approved

89%of gurus approve

SkinFix Barrier+ Triple Lipid + Peptide Cream

"I'm a huge fan of the SkinFix Barrier+ Triple Lipid + Peptide Cream, but it's not amenable to the summer, at least not for my skin. I'm more of a combination skin, and for me personally it's too heavy for the summer. Sometimes I'll use it at night if my skin barrier is irritated, but the triple lipid cream is just too thick. It's too thick."

~Mixed

84%of gurus approve

The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + Hyaluronic Acid

"Lactic acids are moisturizing and exfoliating at the same time, which is really important when you're aging because your skin becomes more dry. You can get the one from The Ordinary which is going to be relatively affordable."

✓Approved

88%of gurus approve

Biosons Copper Peptide

"The Biosons Copper Peptide, this product is like a little light blue, phenomenal product. It's a hyaluronic acid plus copper peptide. It makes me angry that it's so good, to be honest. It would be great for maturing skin because it brings the hydration of hyaluronic acid plus those antioxidant and collagen building effects of copper peptides to it."

✓Approved

83%of gurus approve

Remedy Healthy Aging Serum

"Remedy Healthy Aging Serum is at a 0.5% concentration. I don't consider it to be like a retinol serum just because it's got retinaldehyde plus peptides plus alpha hydroxy acids plus the antioxidants, but technically it does have retinaldehyde in it at effective concentrations and so could fall into the category of retinaldehyde serums even though it's a more comprehensive approach to aging skin. It's hard to pigeonhole any Remedy product into the one active ingredient because they're so comprehensive. I would say that's more of an aging product for anyone who is aging than just a straightup retinol product."

✓Approved

78%of gurus approve

All 10 takes on Healthy Aging Serum

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"Remedy Healthy Aging Serum is a phenomenal retinaldehyde product. We have retinaldehyde, glycolic, arjgerylene, furic acid, and metatricxel all in one formula that really targets everything. And it also has that beautiful retinaldehyde color to it. I love this product. The repurchase rate is extremely high. People really really like this product."

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"The nightly treatment I use is Remedy Healthy Aging Serum. The reason why I use it is because it has just everything you need for aging. It's retinaldehyde, resveratrol, glycolic acid, argireline, matrixyl, all the peptides, all the exfoliants, all the retinaldehyde. It comes out in this beautiful kind of lime yellow color because of the retinaldehyde that's in it. This basically has everything that you need in one formula for aging skin. I have a little bit of drier skin and my main goals are to target fine lines, wrinkles and texture, and the retinaldehyde in this does the trick. I just kind of stick with this. It's a bit simpler for me."

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"If I'm really being honest, I would really just have my Remedy Healthy Aging Serum or my script to Xerotene, which I currently alternate and a bedazzled Vaseline. And that would really truly be my morning shed."

Black Friday Deals and Skincare Q&A

"Remedy Healthy Aging is our newest product. This is the product that I use every night and the feedback on this product has been absolutely incredible. My mom uses this, my wife uses this. It has retinol plus retinaldehyde, argireline, matrixyl, those are two peptides that help with aging skin, glycolic acid and lactic acid, niacinamide, ceramides, retinol fumaric acid and other combinations like ubiquinone of antioxidants. So antioxidants, exfoliants, retinoids all in one product."

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"Remedy for Healthy Aging has retinaldehyde. The Remedy products have been transformative and are a new staple for me. I've mapped out my face with a machine a year and a half apart, and with retinoin and Remedy as core staples in my routine, the results show dark spots down, pores down, fine lines down."

Wrinkles? Texture? Sun Damage? Aging Skin? Remedy for Healthy Aging is HERE!

"I'm super excited about this product and how this is going to be helpful for my skin. This product is meant to target all the signs of aging. I'm super excited about these ingredients and I think you're going to love these as well. You're going to love this product."

Wrinkles? Texture? Sun Damage? Aging Skin? Remedy for Healthy Aging is HERE!

"This product is super stacked with powerful actives. You have your retinol and retinaldehyde, which is a dual retinoid, so you have your encapsulated retinol and then you have retinaldehyde which is one step closer to retinoic acid. This is going to be helping with your fine lines and wrinkles through various mechanisms, it's supporting collagen and elastin, and it's also increasing your skin cell turnover so it's going to help quite a bit with texture. Then you have your lactic and glycolic acid which are exfoliants, so they're going to improve texture and they also send signals into your dermis to support collagen and elastin. On top of that they help your peptides penetrate deeper into the skin. You have your argireline and it has trouble getting deeper into the skin, and by adding these exfoliants we're helping it increase its penetration so that it can perform what it needs to perform. The Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, this one mimics the botox effect so it works on the SNARE complex and is thought to decrease muscle movement."

Wrinkles? Texture? Sun Damage? Aging Skin? Remedy for Healthy Aging is HERE!

"This is the product that I use personally. It's targeting all my major concerns: fine lines, wrinkles, texture, healthy aging. The vehicle and ceramides in this are a natural and thoughtful foil for the skin changes that occur with aging, so it makes perfect sense for this product in particular. I created it for myself so I'm super excited about it. It's really best for fine lines, wrinkles, and aging."

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"Remedy for Healthy Aging uses a combination of retinaldehyde, peptides, and exfoliating acids to really target the different signs of aging."

Anua Azelaic Acid 10% Hyaluron Redness Soothing Serum

"What I like about it is most azelaic acid serums are quite gritty and this one is not gritty, which is really nice. So it's a really nice 10% azelaic acid. Azelaic acid I like for multiple reasons. One, it's pregnancy safe and very few products are pregnancy safe in general. The second thing is that it is great for acne prone skin but it's also great for post-inflammatory dark marks. So that's another incredible thing about it. Now the interesting thing about this is it does have a little bit of a higher pH, meaning it's about six. The pH of this product, and since azelaic acid is an organic acid, it means that its hydrogen ions have already been given up at this point, and so therefore there's a question on whether or not you're going to get the full benefit of azelaic acid. Generally the pH is preferred to be around a five, five and a half, and this one is around six."

✓Approved

71%of gurus approve

All 3 takes on Azelaic Acid 10% Hyaluron Redness Soothing Serum

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"It's a solid product. It's 10% azelaic acid, very well solubilized. My only complaint with this one is it does have propylene glycol in it. They use propylene glycol to solubilize this ingredient because azelaic acid is a very gritty crystal. The ordinary used to have a really gritty azelaic acid product and that's because the product is hard to solubilize, and so Anua used propylene glycol to really solubilize the crystals. But it can be an allergen in some people. The issue is it's very difficult to solubilize it otherwise. I really like the one from Anua."

Building A Morning Skincare Routine for Every Skin Concern!

"Anua has one that's phenomenal that we've talked about in the past."

Biossance Copper Peptide Serum

"Biossance's copper peptide is just a beautiful peptide product. It's still might be my favorite of all of them. It's such a good, beautiful product. It's like a hyaluronic acid serum plus your copper peptides. Lower concentration of copper peptides, which is not as blue like something that has high concentration of copper peptides would be, but it's more of a lighter blue. Just lower concentration, but just such an elegant, beautiful formula."

✓Approved

78%of gurus approve

All 3 takes on Copper Peptide Serum

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"This is their Copper Peptide Serum and I'm so happy my name is on this product. I love these products so much."

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"I'll say the Biossance Copper Peptide Serum. I love it, I use it probably as often as any supporting cast ingredient product. It has hyaluronic acid, so it's like serving as your hyaluronic acid and glycerin hydrating serum, but it also has the additional benefits of copper peptides. It's that beautiful blue serum. I actually love this product a ton, so definitely a top product, definitely a sleeper hit."

Remedy Dark Spot Serum

"Remedy for dark spots is one of people's favorite products with tons of incredible before and afters. If you have dark spots, discoloration, post-inflammatory dark spots, dark spots from acne, dark spots from the sun, this really is the go-to product. We have retinol, niacinamide, kic acid, glutathione, everything that really helps with dark spots. The challenge is people will only use it for two weeks and they won't use sunscreen with it. You have to use it for four to eight weeks. You have to wear sunscreen in the morning because anytime you're treating dark spots and you continue to get inflammation from the sun, it really sets you backwards. It really has everything in it. If this doesn't work, then go see your dermatologist because this is really the best thing that we have available over the counter to treat dark spots."

✓Approved

84%of gurus approve

All 10 takes on Dark Spot Serum

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"Remedy for dark spots has the most ingredients. If you're looking for the most comprehensive product, remedy for dark spots has the most ingredients."

Dark Spots? Large Pores? Dry Lips? REMEDY BY DR. SHAH IS FINALLY HERE!

"This product is super stacked for dark spots. I thought about the three causes at the molecular level that's happening with dark spots and I picked very select ingredients to target all three steps, very effective from the formation to the transfer to the deposition in order to really eliminate dark spots. We put a high concentration of glutathione in this product, and glutathione releases sulfur so it smells like rotten eggs. We have a stabilized glutathione which was a nightmare that took four or five revisions just to stabilize the glutathione so that it was odorless. Now we have this sort of odorless product, but it smells like science. It's not a bad smell, it's not a good smell, it's a neutral smell. I've tried to think of what I would want to add to this and the only one I'm like maybe prescription hydroquinone, but then of course practically this is an over-the-counter product. It's ridiculously complete. For dark spots or if you want a complete dark spot product, I think this is successful."

Dark Spots? Large Pores? Dry Lips? REMEDY BY DR. SHAH IS FINALLY HERE!

"It's ridiculously complete. If you're going to start for dark spots or if you want a complete dark spot product, I think this is successful. It's pretty hard to argue against that. The only thing I would maybe want to add is prescription hydroquinone, but then of course practically this is an over-the-counter product. It means a lot that Dr. Maxfield approves of the product and thinks that it's a great product."

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Black Friday Deals and Skincare Q&A

"Remedy for Dark Spots is a combination of retinol, mandelic acid, kojic acid, glutathione, tranexamic acid, niacinamide, carnosine, acetyl glucosamine, and even a little bit of THD ascorbate vitamin C all combined in one product to really treat the root cause of dark spots and discoloration and really promote an even brighter skin tone."

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"You don't have the option for refills, it doesn't come auto-delivered. You have enough to get you through a 3-month or certain month window and then you're forced to take a break, and after a pause you can re-up after a period of time. What I'm thinking of doing is pairing hydroquinone and Remedy Dark Spot Serum so you don't have to think about it. It's like a built-in model where you use hydroquinone for a set period of time and then you get to transition automatically to Remedy Dark Spot Serum and then it brings you back to hydroquinone so you can have continued therapy with no lapse in your care but with built-in breaks. These two products actually pair incredibly well for each other. In fact, I argue you may not find a more dynamic combination for dark spots."

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"Remedy for dark spots has retinol. It's completely worth it, it's the thing that's transformed my skin the most."

Wrinkles? Texture? Sun Damage? Aging Skin? Remedy for Healthy Aging is HERE!

"If there's one thing that I can improve today and what I'm going to focus on is going to be my dark spots, then I would say get the dark spot product because the dark spot product has a lot of overlapping ingredients with the Aging product but it has more tyrosinase inhibitors. It has more ingredients that are targeted specifically at pigment creation, formation, and removal. This is the product that's going to really do the best at doing that."

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"Remedy for dark spots is one of our bestselling products and the results that we've seen over the last year have been absolutely incredible. The before and afters that you submit through reviews have completely blown my mind. Plus, the clinical studies which we continue to do on our product continue to outperform anything that I've seen in the past. When it comes to dark spots, it really needs to be incorporated into a routine. Use this product at night after cleansing and then moisturize. And if you're treating dark spots, you need to wear sunscreen, preferably a tinted sunscreen, especially if you're someone who's really prone to dark spots and melasma."

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"You can use Remedy Dark Spot Serum five nights a week with tretinoin two nights a week, or you could flip it depending on which ingredient you want to focus on more. Tons of people that are using Remedy are already using tretinoin, so it's a super good combination to use together."

Remedy Pore Size Serum

"Remedy Pore Size Serum is retinol plus salicylic acid 1% encapsulated and niacinamide. So it really is more of an all-in-one treatment for larger pores, sebaceous filaments and blackheads. If you get occasional breakouts, I would go with Remedy for Pore Size."

✓Approved

92%of gurus approve

All 3 takes on Pore Size Serum

Dark Spots? Large Pores? Dry Lips? REMEDY BY DR. SHAH IS FINALLY HERE!

"This is targeting your specific skincare concern with salicylic acid, niacinamide, green tea, and perlite. I'm obsessed with the functionality of how this works on oil glands. This will decrease oil production with salicylic acid, which will gently exfoliate, decrease oil production again with green tea and niacinamide, and absorb oil with perlite. I'm optimistic that this is going to be an extremely helpful product. We've talked about this in our pores and sebaceous filament videos about what was effective for these things. You can use this product all over the face. Because it has retinol, niacinamide, and salicylic acid, it's going to treat a lot of different things. It's going to have texture benefits and even anti-aging benefits."

Dark Spots? Large Pores? Dry Lips? REMEDY BY DR. SHAH IS FINALLY HERE!

"It dispenses a perfect psize amount for you to use over your entire face, every other night until your skin gets used to it. This is meant to be an all-in-one treatment to minimize the appearance of pores and eliminate sebaceous filaments beyond procedures in the office. We were able to stabilize everything that we wanted to in this formula. It's impressive, pretty complete."

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Other32 reviews

Glow Recipe Glow Recipe

"There are some brands that are maybe more fun like Glow Recipe for example because they enjoy the process and the experience of doing skincare."

✓Approved

68%of gurus approve

Vaseline Original Healing Jelly

"I use it on my lips when I'm not using remedy for dry lips. I use it under my eyes sometimes if my under eye skin is dry. I use them on my hands when my hands are dry and I actually use it on my daughter quite frequently cuz her skin is always dry. We use this as a family collectively and there's so many different uses for this product. Love Vaseline. It's an absolute killer."

✓Approved

74%of gurus approve

All 8 takes on Original Healing Jelly

5 Slugging Hacks for MAXIMUM Hydration | Doctorly Guide

"By layering petrolatum or Vaseline, it's 99% occlusive, meaning it locks in 99% of water, preventing that water loss. The other downside, other than it being potentially irritating if you lock in active ingredients, it's just messy. Even done properly, a thin layer of Vaseline, occluding your moisturizer, still will leave your pillow case unusable for the next day."

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"I truly believe that Vaseline is one of the greatest products and petrolatum being one of the greatest ingredients of all time. It's incredibly safe, it's inert. A lot of times it's triple refined so that there's no hydrocarbons. A lot of people are worried about the fact that since it's refined from petroleum that there could be risk of that, but they refine it so that there's no hydrocarbons that are damaging to the skin. It's one of the safest, most inert things that you could ever use. It doesn't cause barrier issues. It's actually one of the most effective occlusive moisturizers, if not the most effective occlusive moisturizer. It prevents 99% of transepidermal water loss. It doesn't have lipids in it or oils that can really seep between your cells, so it doesn't have the ceramides, it doesn't have anything that's going to be penetrating into the skin, but it's locking everything in."

Weekend Live QnA

"If you just want to use Vaseline, you can't go wrong there. I do like lip slugging though. If you're going to use Vaseline, even after the shower, slug over just the damp lips from the shower or using some moisturizing ingredient on the lips first."

8 Vaseline Hacks That Will Change Your Life | Dermatologist Tips

"If there was ever to be a Nobel Prize for a skincare ingredient it would be white petrolatum. Petroleum jelly, Vaseline, the greatest skincare ingredient of all time I truly believe it. There is a good reason why this ingredient is one of the best, in fact a hero ingredient, and if you go to any dermatologist's house you're like, hey, do you use Vaseline? It's probably going to be a yes because we use it all the time in and outside of the office."

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"It's an effective occlusive, and one of the reasons why our skin gets dry is because we lose moisture to the environment. Petrolatum is the most effective ingredient to reduce transepidermal water loss, so simply using it as a moisturizer, what we call slugging where you use it as the last step in your skincare routine to lock everything in, I truly believe it's incredibly effective for repairing a damaged skin barrier and being one of the most effective moisturizers on the market. You just use a thin layer of serum, thin layer of moisturizer, thin layer of Vaseline to lock it all in. That's how you slug, and it's definitely dermatologist approved. You can also use it as a protectant on areas where you don't want other things to get, so if you're going to use a high strength chemical exfoliant, you could use it to protect the under eye area by applying it first, then applying the chemical peel on the rest of the area."

8 Vaseline Hacks That Will Change Your Life | Dermatologist Tips

"Vaseline is the best thing for wound healing. Keeping your wound moist first of all is better than keeping it dry. A lot of people think it's not going to allow wounds to heal because it's not letting your skin breathe enough, but it's been shown in multiple studies to aid in wound healing and make your wounds heal faster. It is the most dramatic difference even at one to two weeks. It also helps prevent secondary infections. It's been studied multiple times compared to topical antibiotics and shown to be as equivalent or as beneficial at preventing infections as antibiotics. After any injury, making sure you clean the wound or after any surgery, applying Vaseline for like 2 to 3 weeks gooped up is the number one thing you can do."

8 Vaseline Hacks That Will Change Your Life | Dermatologist Tips

"A lot of people think it's not going to allow wounds to heal because it's not letting your skin breathe enough, but it's been shown in multiple studies to aid in wound healing and make your wounds heal faster. I tell this to patients all the time, I do a lot of surgeries on skin cancers. The most dramatic difference, even at one to two weeks, is based off whether or not you keep it covered and goopy. It is tremendous in terms of healing, and it also helps prevent secondary infections. It's been studied multiple times compared to topical antibiotics and shown to be as equivalent or as beneficial at preventing infections as antibiotics. After any injury, making sure you clean the wound, or after any surgery, applying Vaseline for like 2 to 3 weeks gooped up is the number one thing you can do for any wound. This also includes burns, after the next day or so, applying Vaseline-based products to even a burn wound is the best way to heal it. One of the most common concerns, especially on the face, is that it's comedogenic, but there's been studies to show that it is not comedogenic, it is not pore clogging, it's not likely to cause acne."

VT Reedle Shot 100

"I'm not a huge fan of it. I think there are better ways to get better penetration of ingredients into the skin and I just don't like the sensation of it. Plus I don't know what happens with those needles over time. Even though you probably will see some exfoliating benefits of it, to me it's no different than using an apricot scrub on the face. Both are going to exfoliate the skin in an uneven way. I'm just not a huge fan of it."

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66%of gurus approve

ZO Skin Health ZO Skin Health

"I think Zo, for example, is a brand that I don't think is worth it because I don't think they really have any really interesting formulas. There's nothing special about these formulas and you can find much more worthwhile products over the counter for a much lower price point."

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64%of gurus approve

Morpheus8 Morpheus8

"In the patients that we tested it on, there was a lot less pain with Vivace than with Morpheus8. One of the interesting things is that there are more needles in the tips of the Vivace and there are fewer needles in the Morpheus8. The diameter of those needles are bigger in Morpheus8, so they're a little more painful."

~Mixed

64%of gurus approve

All 3 takes on Morpheus8

The TRUTH About Morpheus8 and Radiofrequency Microneedling Technology | Doctorly Deep Dive

"Morpheus8 is uncomfortable. You do have to go through topical numbing prior to this procedure. In the patients that we tested it on, there's a lot more pain with Morpheus8 compared to other devices. One of the interesting things is that Morpheus8 has less needles in the tips and the diameter of those needles are bigger. So the needles are bigger in Morpheus8, which is a little more painful when you have a bigger needle penetrating the skin. Morpheus8 can get down to eight millimeters of depth with a certain hand piece and that's going to target fat layers usually on the body. The hand piece that we use on the face goes down to four millimeters in depth. But you don't really want to be four millimeters in depth on the face anyway."

The TRUTH About Morpheus8 and Radiofrequency Microneedling Technology | Doctorly Deep Dive

"In our clinical experience and when using these head-to-head, we believe that the clinical outcomes are similar if not exactly the same. We found that Vivace was more comfortable for us to use personally from an ergonomic standpoint, but also for our patients that we used it on. So we see no reason for anyone to be paying more for this device unless you're treating the body."

Inner Glow Age Defense Vitamins

"Inner Glow Age Defense Vitamins has the polypodium in the leaf format which is phenomenal plus green tea plus so many other things turmeric which I'm a huge fan of, resveratrol which some of the data is mixed on but a lot of people take resveratrol as it is so it has a lot of other powerful antioxidants. The dermatologist that created it has great skin as well so I am a big fan. This is a really good interesting combination of ingredients."

✓Approved

82%of gurus approve

Crest Whitening Strips

"Big fan of the white strips to be honest. I think they work incredibly well."

✓Approved

80%of gurus approve

Cure Micro infusion targeted patches

"These are targeted patches that with the micro cones on them are able to deliver ingredients deeper into the skin. The penetration into the skin is one of the biggest barriers to your ingredients actually working. And so if you need to deliver something that's difficult to get into the skin, a really good way to deliver it is through these microprint patches. Cure has some and they have really thoughtful ingredients, especially for around the eyes, things like retinol that are able to be delivered deeper into the skin. They pull off in a really cool way. These ones are blue, which are quite visual, and they will have some benefits while still looking ridiculous."

✓Approved

83%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Micro infusion targeted patches

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"I love the Cure Micro Infusion Targeted Patches. The whole concept is these little needles break the skin barrier to increase absorption in a sterile, clean way, but they contain very thoughtful caffeine, copper peptides, niacinamide, glycerin, hyaluronic acid, allantoin, retinol which is like your ideal retinoid for the skin around the eyes, and of course green tea and then hexapeptide 8. It's just loaded. What's really exciting to me about this ingredient list is specifically the copper tripeptide. I'm a big fan of copper peptides, but really exciting is acetyl hexapeptide 8, also known as argireline, so argireline is a Botox-like peptide. I have actually noticed that it really does help with fine lines by basically stopping that muscle contraction. And so to have this in a very targeted patch, especially around the eyes where most people will notice their first wrinkles around their eyes, is genius."

Morning Shed? Doctorly Reviews Viral Skincare Routine

Minoxidil 5% Foam

"Everyone should be using 5% minoxidil and preferably the foam one because it's been shown in studies to be more effective than 2% regardless of gender, but also because the foam has less irritating or allergenic ingredients than the liquid which has propylene glycol, which a lot of people do not react well to. If you can survive the format, that is the one you should be using. Minoxidil is something that you do have to use over a long period of time so it's not going to work right away. You have to give it at least 6 months to see results, maybe you'll start to see some little nubbins of hair come out at the 3 month mark. A lot of people will say do you have to use it forever, and yes, if you don't water a plant forever it would die. It's not like you're going to lose more hair than you would have already lost with normal aging."

✓Approved

86%of gurus approve

Apostrophe Apostrophe

"Apostrophe is being discontinued, it is closing down. It's a way for you to get tretinoin and retinoid online. This is a company that we've all been recommending for a long time. If you've been using Apostrophe and you're using it to treat your acne, which is what I recommended for years, I worked with Apostrophe for years and I'm personally shocked to see this kind of fall through, completely unexpected."

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65%of gurus approve

Rogaine Minoxidil 5% Foam

"I still always recommend the 5% minoxidil preferably the foam. This is tested for androgenetic alopecia but because of the way that it works by prolonging the anagen phase and by increasing blood flow to the scalp it probably will help to some extent with telogen effluvium. If you have androgenetic alopecia, it is a long-term commitment. It's not going to send you way back, it's going to just kind of reset your hair loss. If you stop using it, you'll lose the benefit. If you have telogen effluvium you probably can get away with stopping this and not having to use it forever because telogen effluvium is a self-resolving condition. Androgenetic alopecia is a permanent problem where the underlying cause never goes away, so it is a long-term maintenance requirement. This directly helps the anagen phase, the growth phase of your hair cycle. It is probably the most direct treatment from a physiological standpoint and what is going to help your postpartum hair loss out of anything."

✓Approved

84%of gurus approve

All 3 takes on Minoxidil 5% Foam

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"Minoxidil 5% foam would be my choice as a starting point. I would do minoxidil foam first and then seek out prescription options if needed."

"NEW" Cure for Hair loss | Doctorly Reviews ORAL MINOXIDIL

"Rogaine, the topical form of minoxidil, is the only over-the-counter product approved for hair loss. It was developed after oral minoxidil was discovered to cause hair growth as a side effect in hypertension studies, which led researchers to create a topical version for treating hair loss."

Viviscal Viviscal

"Viviscal uses an amino Amar complex which does not have this Sal petto in it which makes it a much safer option. It passed my three tiered checklist for what I want out of a supplement. Neutral has more studies in general than Viviscal, but in this particular subset of people in the postpartum period Viviscal, because of the ingredient profile, comes out as the winner."

✓Approved

79%of gurus approve

Skin Ceuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2

"This is one of the best moisturizers that's ever been created from an experienced standpoint and from a moisturizing standpoint. The blend of moisturizing ingredients is very similar to what we see in the natural skin barrier. There is a ratio of fatty acids to cholesterol that we normally see in the skin and this product is meant to replicate the natural healthy skin barrier. However, this product is quite expensive and you don't get much for that, you get 1.6 fluid ounces and the product's over $100. The trouble with this product is that it would have been perfect had they not added fragrances to this product. If they had just made this a fragrance-free product I would say it's one of the better products out there. My two qualms with it are one the price point for a moisturizer, and the fact that you took this great blend of restorative lipids and you mixed it in with fragrances. Moisturizers are there to help heal dry and damaged skin, that's vulnerable skin, that's their job, and so when you add something like fragrance to it, that's a problem."

~Mixed

74%of gurus approve

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo

"I love La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo, the US version. It's really great for closed comedones because it's got both benzoyl peroxide and lipohydroxy acid, which are both comedolytic."

✓Approved

75%of gurus approve

All 4 takes on Effaclar Duo

The World's Most Dangerous Pimple Pop

"One of our favorite products is the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo which has both benzoyl peroxide and lipohydroxy acid in it. These are the type of products you want to look for to actually spot treat acne."

Black Friday Deals and Skincare Q&A

"I love La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo, the US version. It's really great for closed comedones because it's got both benzoyl peroxide and lipohydroxy acid, which are both comedolytic."

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"La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo has the active ingredients of benzoyl peroxide and lipohydroxy acid. It's a spot treatment but it can be used all over the face on any acne prone skin. You just put a thin layer and it's great as a reactive treatment to help those pimples that pop up. Conversely, if you actually use it on acne prone skin it is a prophylactic treatment to help prevent acne from popping up. Effaclar Duo combines both salicylic acid, very similar to lipohydroxy acid, with your benzoyl peroxide, going to be incredible for that inflammatory type of acne. We actually have it as our number one spot treatment in the video we did reviewing spot treatments for acne, incredible product. Certainly can be used all over the face. Maybe irritating for some people, so people with some drier skin type can be a little bit irritating with both of these ingredients together."

Product We LOVE and HATE from La Roche-Posay | Doctorly Reviews

"If you have acne and you're looking to spot treat, this is a hero combination hero product for you. It has benzoyl peroxide plus lipohydroxy acid in it, and that combination is incredible, especially for spot treating acne. You can certainly use it all over the face, but again it could be irritating for a lot of people, so especially as a spot treatment, it's one of the phenomenal products from La Roche-Posay."

Curology Curology

"You can definitely use tretinoin if you've never used retinol before. I would ease into it and start with the lowest dose, which is 0.25% retinol. You can get it written by your dermatologist in the office or you could go to Curology. If you're new to retinol, I would go with the 0.25% retinol because it's the starter retinol. This one also has a lot of calming and soothing ingredients in it to really calm an irritated barrier in someone who is using tretinoin for the first time."

✓Approved

73%of gurus approve

Hyaluronic acid Filler

"Hyaluronic acid filler, not quite so high. Perhaps I don't think it's going to provide the long lasting benefits. In short term I don't know it's going to do anything for you."

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61%of gurus approve

Generic Matrixyl 3000

"Generic Matrixyl 3000 is very well studied, a very gentle ingredient that plays well with other ingredients. I think you would be absolutely fine using that alongside vitamin C, using it alongside your retinoid without much consideration."

✓Approved

78%of gurus approve

La Roche-Posay Products

"The only thing maybe it's the thermal water, some people love it some people hate it but most people love it so maybe you're just not reacting well to it. I don't like the serums from La Roche-Posay."

~Mixed

67%of gurus approve

La Roche-Posay Serums

"I don't like the serums from La Roche-Posay."

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57%of gurus approve

La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water

"You don't need it, it does feel nice to spray, and if you're especially somebody who likes to spray water before you apply your hyaluronic acid, this is something that can give you that added boost. You don't need it, but if you're extra you might like it, extra in the summer. I love it, I love doing like a thermal spring water spray and then like a hyaluronic acid drippy and then like a lightweight moisturizer, like if I'm in Arizona or Colorado somewhere horribly dry and barren, that will save my skin."

~Mixed

75%of gurus approve

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Tint

"Neutri foil I was very sorry I almost ate the mic very skeptical of supplements they did their research they use evidence-based ingredients"

✓Approved

65%of gurus approve

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Multi-Recovery Complex

"The Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum is the poster child for this ingredient. They're the ones that pretty much did all the studies on this ingredient showing that it helps to calm and soothe the skin. It's fragrance-free and I actually loved it when I used it. The biggest pitfall of this product is that it's super expensive, it's closer to that $100 range, so for me it's hard for me to always recommend it, but it actually is a really nice product with actually a lot of data. They have a patented peptide that's part of this formula, and it does have this beta of ferment extract that's been shown to be helpful for people with sensitive skin."

✓Approved

72%of gurus approve

Skin Better Science AlphaRet

"This is from Skin Better Science, and the reason why I'm going to shout it out is because right now I'm telling you to take a retinoid and cycle it with glycolic acid. With the Skin Better Science AlphaRet, it's actually a retinol attached to a lactic acid that when it enters the skin it releases the retinol and the lactic acid, plus it has glycolic acid in it. So it basically eliminates the need to cycle the routine. It's one product that you would use in your night routine for that pro-aging normal skin: cleanse, apply the Skin Better Science AlphaRet, and then moisturize."

✓Approved

81%of gurus approve

Skin Ceuticals Discoloration Defense

"I personally get very irritated from this product. I always get like irritation redness and even sometimes acne like lesions. It's a low pH so I don't know what the issue is it's causing this."

✓Approved

71%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Discoloration Defense

"Medical Grade" Skincare | Doctorly Investigates

"I personally get very irritated from this product. I always get like irritation redness and even sometimes acne like lesions. It's a low pH so I don't know what the issue is it's causing this."

Best And Worst Of Skinceuticals

"This is a great serum, I'm not saying it's not, but it has aged a bit. I used to recommend this quite a bit when I first started residency. It is pricey, over $100 for a dark spot corrective serum. Now of course we have products which contain actually all of these ingredients plus more. There's also a lot of other brands out there that also have similar cocktails that have more than this at a much less expensive price point. I do think that now in the market you can get things that are comparable if not better at a much lower price point than this one."

Elastin Regenerating Skin Nectar

"I actually did use it post-procedurally, the Elastin regenerating skin nectar. I was like, oh, this has been studied post-operatively, post-procedurally, let me try it out. I loved it. I know it is expensive, you don't need it, but I like you can't simply just use your moisturizer or CeraVe healing ointment. But you want your fragrance-free things, you want things that are not going to irritate the skin at all, and that's what you're going to do the night when you get home and then for a few days after that."

✓Approved

83%of gurus approve

The Ordinary Argireline Solution 10%

"Another good option here for peptides is acetyl hexapeptide-8, or Argireline as it's more commonly known. This one can work to mimic some of Botox's properties, certainly not to the same extent, and then it may have some benefits of its own. You can find it as a solo ingredient. There are some fairly affordable products with that, The Ordinary housing Argireline product."

✓Approved

71%of gurus approve

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Line

"La Roche-Posay is one of my favorite moisturizers for dry skin. Their Lipikar line is phenomenal, and the Toleriane line is phenomenal as well, so trying any of those products is going to be awesome for your night routine."

✓Approved

84%of gurus approve

Minoxidil Oral Minoxidil

"There's been a ton of data, a huge uptick in data coming out specifically about using low doses of oral minoxidil to treat hair loss so that you don't get the blood pressure effects but you may get the benefits of hair growth. The studies are overwhelmingly positive. Most of the people in the studies are showing tremendous hair growth, this is in both females and in males. In all studies cross-sectionally you're seeing a big advantage for hair growth. When we use this at a lower dose, that's similar to how we use a lot of other medications, especially related to blood pressure and hair loss too. With a lower dose you might be able to get the hair growth benefits while minimizing the blood pressure problems."

✓Approved

75%of gurus approve

Finasteride Oral Finasteride

"When you look at all the rest of the data in females and males, low dose seems to be effective. The doses in women 1.25 milligrams seems to be the going dose and then in men it's 2.5 milligrams to 5 milligrams daily and what you're seeing is a lot of terminal hair growth in these studies. We've established it can be effective."

✓Approved

71%of gurus approve

Remedy For Dark Circles

"This formula targets all three pathways that contribute to dark circles and it also helps with that puffiness due to the edema or the fluid buildup that's inside of the tissues. The results from our studies have been absolutely phenomenal with this product. I was personally blown away and when I showed it to my brother, he was so blown away that he didn't even think it was an after photo and he immediately asked to take the only eye treatment that I had left in my house. If you're consistent with time, you should notice an immediate improvement in puffiness due to edema and the dark circles should start to fade over time. That collagen support should help the skin become translucent over the course of 8, 9, and 10 weeks. When it comes to texture, it is very luxurious. It's a gel cream consistency, but it does have that buttery finish, and it layers perfectly under makeup. We actually asked people in our study if it layered well under makeup, and 100% said that it would layer well with their makeup and not cause any peeling. You can be safe to apply makeup under this, and it's not going to cause any creasing. I'm personally very excited about this product."

✓Approved

92%of gurus approve

Remedy Skincare Line

"We now have a total of six products we started out just with three so we've grown incredibly fast started out in March and now we're all the way out here in November it's been truly an amazing year our team has grown."

✓Approved

84%of gurus approve

Matrixyl 3000

"This is an ingredient that actually plays well with pretty much everything out there, so there's a lot of grace, a lot of flexibility, really easy to add into a routine. The nice thing about this product from Topology is it's actually fragrance free, so if you have sensitive skin it's pretty much going to do well with most people's skin and you're not going to get much irritation or allergy from it. I think it has staying power for a reason. I like it. You can mix and match it into your routine if you want to keep your routine simple, you can stick with your other ingredients. If you want to add this into your routine it's going to mix well and it's going to give you that added benefit. If you're using a retinol, use Matrixyl 3000, it's going to add to decreasing your wrinkles, collagen formation, increasing elasticity in the skin. Or you could just use it on its own if you get irritated by retinol. So it has that ability to really be flexible in your skincare routine."

✓Approved

73%of gurus approve

Cleansers30 reviews

Prequel Non-Drying Glycerin Cleanser

"I've tried a few things like their cleanser is quite nice."

✓Approved

88%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Non-Drying Glycerin Cleanser

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"I've tried a few things like their cleanser is quite nice."

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"The Prequel cleanser is mostly glycerin, which is a very unique experience compared to most cleansers, but it is actually quite hydrating once it washes off the skin."

Vanicream Gentle Facial Cleanser

"I actually like Vanicream quite a bit. So big fan of Vanicream. And you got some good deals right now on Vanicream. So this is time to stock up."

✓Approved

86%of gurus approve

All 3 takes on Gentle Facial Cleanser

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"I actually like Vanicream quite a bit. So big fan of Vanicream. And you got some good deals right now on Vanicream. So this is time to stock up."

The ULTIMATE Budget Friendly Anti-Aging Skincare Routine

"Vanicream has a very simple ingredient list that's not going to have common allergens in it. You can really trust Vanicream to be there when it comes to a very simple ingredient list. Overall, very reliable brand when it comes to sensitive skin. Vanicream probably going to be a recurring recommendation for me."

Skin QnA

"If you have very sensitive skin or eczema skin and you're looking for a cleanser, I highly recommend Vanicream. It's one of the most stringent ingredient lists out there, it's very inexpensive, and it'll take you far."

Beauty of Joseon Ginseng cleansing oil

"I've been really liking the oil cleanser from Beauty of Joseon. Right now lately it has been my favorite cleanser. It's the Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Cleansing Oil for waterproof makeup removal. It has a really tea-like smell in it, which actually smells like tea, which is kind of nice. But if you don't like the way tea smells, you might not like it."

✓Approved

79%of gurus approve

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser

"For when it comes specifically to either oily skin or normal skin, I would prefer the La Roche-Posay foaming cleanser just overall due to the experience and because the price is only slightly higher, I would still go with that one."

✓Approved

83%of gurus approve

All 7 takes on Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser

CeraVe vs La Roche-Posay Cleansers | Doctorly Compares

"Because of the surfactant system and the way that it's formulated, I do feel like it leaves you a little bit more hydrated with a little bit of a silkier finish. As far as texture and performance, I personally prefer the La Roche-Posay one."

CeraVe vs La Roche-Posay Cleansers | Doctorly Compares

"The La Roche-Posay one I feel like is a bit silkier. It leaves me a little bit more hydrated and so when comparing those and again this is coming from someone with a perspective of normal to dry skin. If you have oily skin, you may prefer that more oil removing properties that the other one has, but because of the surfactant system and the way that it's formulated, I do feel like it leaves you a little bit more dry where the La Roche-Posay one leaves you a little bit more hydrated with a little bit of a silkier finish. So, as far as texture and performance, I personally prefer the La Roche-Posay one."

Product We LOVE and HATE from La Roche-Posay | Doctorly Reviews

"The Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser, this product is the one that comes in a clear blue bottle, it's a large bottle, it's going to last you a long time. I find that it leaves my skin clean without overly drying my skin. This product is a tremendous cleanser from La Roche-Posay that is definitely one of my all-time favorite cleansers."

The Ultimate Summer Skincare Routine

"I like a foaming cleanser just in general so a really good option is La Roche-Posay's Toleriane Cleanser. I use this actually in my office, I've used it for years at this point, I find it very helpful."

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"The La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser has niacinamide in it. I would not think that your rinse-off niacinamide is complete and would have an effect enough to replace niacinamide in any of your leave-on steps. So if you're doing it in your cleanser, I would still say you might benefit from a leave-on product and again that could be in a toner, essence, serum, lotion, cream, ointment, or sunscreen. One of those derivatives of niacinamide would be sufficient."

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"I use it on my face but also because I use it as a body wash. It's gentle, lather is excellent. It's big, like that's the thing with La Roche-Posay with their body care in particular you're going to get a large volume. This face wash, with their washes too, big volume, good amount for your money."

Anua Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil

"The first hack that we have here is to use a cleansing oil to dissolve some of the sebaceous filaments that have built up into your pores. And a good option here is the one from Anua."

✓Approved

67%of gurus approve

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm

"Clinique makes a really good one, but still it's hard to hold a flame to the pharmacy one which just works so well."

✓Approved

81%of gurus approve

All 3 takes on Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm

Saturday Skincare Live!

"Clinique's is in a big purple container for a cleansing balm. I use that a lot, it's huge, it's great. It's very gentle, I think it's fragrance free. I love the Clinique cleansing balm. It's probably in my top three cleansing balms, something I use a ton of and need more of at any given point."

Weekend Live QnA

"The Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm is a lifesaver."

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"Clinique makes a really good one, but still it's hard to hold a flame to the pharmacy one which just works so well."

CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser

"The foaming cleanser is probably one of their best selling cleansers and it's really made more for oily skin so it has more of a foaming effect than the cream to foam cleanser. It is a little bit more stripping so if you have oily skin I would go with the foam cleanser."

✓Approved

82%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Foaming Facial Cleanser

Products We HATE and LOVE from CeraVe | Doctorly Reviews

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"I do feel that the one from CeraVe is a little bit more drying for me as someone with combination to dry skin and so I feel a little bit more tighter when I use this product afterwards. If you have oily skin, you may prefer that more oil removing properties that the CeraVe one has, but because of the surfactant system and the way that it's formulated, I do feel like it leaves you a little bit more dry."

CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser

"This one has 2% salicylic acid and tends to be a little bit more drying on the skin, and it really does target acne. If you have acne and oily skin, I'd go with this 2% acne control cleanser. It has ceramides, and both of CeraVe's acne cleansers are actually good for acne, but this one has a higher concentration of salicylic acid than their other SA cleanser option."

✓Approved

79%of gurus approve

CeraVe Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser

"I think there is no better compromise in a cleanser out there than the cream to foam cleanser. It's gentle but it's effective and it has like a very nice lather but it's not an irritating lather, it's like a hydrating lather. Huge fan of this, this is now like one of my all-time favorite cleansers I've ever tried. I use this consistently, if I see this on a shelf I'll probably go out of my way to use it even if it's like 11:00 a.m. on a Monday I might wash my face again just to use this cleanser. So it's outstanding. This is my favorite regular cleanser from CeraVe. It's good for pretty much every skin type, you could use it on the face, you could use it on the body, and it uses this special blend of amino acids to create the surfactant effect. What's nice about this is that this product does not contain cocamidopropyl betaine, and cocamidopropyl betaine is the second most common pediatric allergen nowadays and you'll see it in a lot of sensitive skin cleansers but it doesn't have that in the CeraVe products, so it's kind of nice that you know it really is made for sensitive skin in mind."

✓Approved

82%of gurus approve

All 4 takes on Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser

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"The cave hydrating cream to foam cleanser as well as a popular one for me."

Skincare QnA and Chill

"Whatever cleanser is certainly fine here. Let's say you use the CeraVe Cream-to-Foam Cleanser."

The ULTIMATE Normal & Combination Skincare Routine | Doctorly Routines

"The CeraVe Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser is a great cleanser for normal skin. It's super balanced and gentle. I love a lather so it's still carries a lather, it's excellent. I get the little minis and take them out for vacation. It's a consistent cleanser, decent at removing makeup and sunscreen, though it doesn't qualify as your double cleanse."

Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel

"The Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel is an extremely gentle cleanser that feels rich and great on dry or irritated skin. It has oat kernel extract, hyaluronic acid, squalane, aloe, and green tea, that's a nice top line of ingredients for a cleanser. It's extremely soothing and doesn't strip. One of my favorite cleansers that I've been using very regularly over the last few months."

✓Approved

71%of gurus approve

Do Skincare Baptism Cleanser

"They just recently came out with a cleanser called Baptism that came in both a fragranced and a fragrance-free form. The fragrance form is actually really quite nice, but I like the fact that there's also an option for people who have sensitive skin and want that fragrance-free option."

✓Approved

66%of gurus approve

La Roche-Posay Gentle Foaming Moisturizing Wash

"My cleanser is the La Roche-Posay Gentle Foaming Moisturizing Wash. The reason I went with this cleanser is it's a lot of bang for your buck. The volume is tremendous, the price is extremely good, and the quality is outstanding. This one is like the balance, the common ground that'll marry either sensitive skin to normal combination skin, and so I feel like this would be able to be utilized by most people. I have tried using the La Roche-Posay face wash for body wash and I actually do it regularly now. It's extremely effective and extremely gentle for your skin. This is one of my favorite cleansers of all time. At 13.5 oz for closer to $20, it's going to last you a really long time. You could use it on the body and the face."

✓Approved

84%of gurus approve

Necessaire Body Wash

"I really like the Necessaire body wash because for the sensitive skin person it's great. That's like that's the thing they're looking for because body soaps can really mess up the skin otherwise."

✓Approved

76%of gurus approve

DHC Deep Cleansing Oil

"I like the DHC cleansing oil."

✓Approved

84%of gurus approve

Kate Somerville Sulfur Cleanser

"You have the Kate Somerville Sulfur Cleanser, which is kind of classic. This ingredient can be wonderful for especially rosacea, the acne form of rosacea in particular. Sulfur, if you're developing rosacea, is a really, really excellent ingredient. In some cases it's over-promising, under-delivering, people are swearing that it can eliminate pores, but there's no evidence that sulfur eliminates pores by any means. Great for rosacea, incredible ingredient for rosacea."

✓Approved

78%of gurus approve

Olay Retinol body wash

"I'm pretty low on them. Here's why I have very good reason for my especially the retinoid family in a wash. There are studies on multiple different types of retinoids and the idea of short contact therapy. When it comes to the setting of washing your face, it's like a minimum of 30 seconds, an average of like three to five minutes per short contact therapy for your wash. So unless you're actually putting that wash on, lathering it up, keeping it on at a good constant concentration for I'd say three to five minutes, I think the absorption is quite questionable and so the benefits are fairly negligible. Beyond that, I think just let your wash be a wash and let your actives be your actives. I don't see a big purpose for the retinoid wash, the retinol wash. I just don't see much utility in those whatsoever."

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64%of gurus approve

Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water

"Bioderma, I've tried theirs. There's so many good options. They're not that expensive. They have micellar water that's perfectly fine. I like that as well, budget friendly."

✓Approved

84%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Sensibio H2O Micellar Water

Saturday Skincare Live!

"Bioderma, I've tried theirs. There's so many good options. They're not that expensive. They have micellar water that's perfectly fine. I like that as well, budget friendly."

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"Low pH, great for your skin. Niacinamide, so great for your skin for acne, blemishes, dark spots, barrier. Super straightforward, simple, fragrance-free, so that one is also outstanding. Bioderma obviously makes one of the best micellar waters out there."

Versed Day Dissolve Cleansing Balm

"The Versed has a cleansing balm in a pink container. I don't love that one as much as their green balm, but it certainly works. Both of these are very gentle and I think they're fragrance free."

✓Approved

78%of gurus approve

CeraVe Micellar Cleansing Water

"CeraVe has a micellar water that's perfectly fine. I like that as well, budget friendly."

✓Approved

68%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Micellar Cleansing Water

Saturday Skincare Live!

"CeraVe has a micellar water that's perfectly fine. I like that as well, budget friendly."

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"CeraVe Micellar Cleansing Water is low pH, great for your skin, has niacinamide which is great for your skin for acne, blemishes, dark spots, barrier support. It's super straightforward, simple, and fragrance-free, so that one is also outstanding."

La Roche-Posay Micellar Water

"I've gone through the La Roche-Posay micellar water quite a few times those big bottles. I think there are some amazing micellar waters out there."

✓Approved

73%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Micellar Water

Saturday Skincare Live!

"I've gone through the La Roche-Posay micellar water quite a few times those big bottles. I think there are some amazing micellar waters out there."

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"The one that I've used most consistently for a long period of time was the La Roche-Posay Micellar Water. Like, as always, good volume, good bang for your buck, pretty simple product."

La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+ Gentle Foaming Cleansing Oil

"I'm pretty darn obsessed with this cleansing oil right now. It really is the only cleanser I've used for probably the last month and I just don't want to move on from it. It's the perfect balance between a hydrating cleanser and it still has a decent amount of lather to it, so I don't feel like it leaves me greasy or oily at all. It's functionally very effective. It's interesting because it doesn't have a strong robust skin oil as the core component, but it is just an oil-based cleanser with surfactants, and anecdotally it's outstanding for drier skin. I feel like this one doesn't feel like your prototypical cleansing oil, and maybe that's why it's going to have a chance, because I'm not the biggest fan of a real creamy cleansing oil where you feel it too much."

✓Approved

89%of gurus approve

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser

"For cleansing, definitely don't overthink it. You just want a gentle cleanser in this step. Your results with hyperpigmentation and dark spots is going to occur with the heavy-hitting actives, the treatment steps of your skincare routine. So for this gentle cleanser, Cetaphil, Neutrogena, we'll put some here. Otherwise, don't overthink this step."

✓Approved

80%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Gentle Skin Cleanser

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"Cetaphil has one [gentle hydrating cleanser]. Cleansers are always going to be the most irritating part of your skincare routine because they are removing dirt and debris from your skin at the same time they can be disrupting to your skin barriers, so you want to look for gentle cleansers."

Neutrogena Cleanser

✓Approved

76%of gurus approve

CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser

"Cleansers are always going to be the most irritating part of your skincare routine because they are removing dirt and debris from your skin at the same time they can be disrupting to your skin barriers, so you want to look for gentle cleansers. Gentle hydrating cleansers tend to be good in this category. CeraVe has one."

✓Approved

84%of gurus approve

All 5 takes on Hydrating Facial Cleanser

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"CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser is made for dry skin, doesn't foam at all, great for dry skin. Personally I don't like it because it feels like I'm rubbing lotion on my face, but if you have dry skin you might like that experience because it's not going to be as stripping as some of the other cleansers. My wife has extremely sensitive skin and this lives everywhere. I absolutely hate that it lives everywhere because it's always near empty. I hate the way it feels, but if you have dry skin you probably will love it because it's going to be great for your skin."

Ultimate Skincare Routine for 40s, 50s, 60s, and Beyond!

"Something like the CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser, something like the Cetaphil hydrating gentle skin cleanser, all of these are just going to bring hydration into the skin and not strip away some of your natural oils which, like we said, have decreased with time."

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"I hate the way that product feels on my skin. It feels like I'm rubbing lotion on my skin with no foam. It's not something that I enjoy."

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"The CeraVe hydrating cleanser is very gentle. It does not strip your skin, it leaves it hydrated. There's no lather almost whatsoever with it. I personally don't like it, but a lot of my patients benefit from it. If you have sensitive skin, dry skin at baseline, you might love it. We've gone through empty upon empty of that."

Vanicream Cream Cleanser

"Vanicream Cream Cleanser is a gentle hydrating cleanser that's good in this category for people who have abnormal reactions to products. Cleansers are always going to be the most irritating part of your skincare routine because they are removing dirt and debris from your skin at the same time they can be disrupting to your skin barriers, so you want to look for gentle cleansers."

✓Approved

77%of gurus approve

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

"Garnier has a micellar water so you don't need to break the bank here. It's low pH, great for your skin, has niacinamide so great for your skin for acne, blemishes, dark spots, barrier. Super straightforward, simple, fragrance-free."

✓Approved

64%of gurus approve

CeraVe Makeup Removing Cleanser Balm

"I tried the CeraVe Cleansing Balm and for me cleansing balms come down to efficacy, do they do the job of removing things well, and I thought it fell short compared to the Pharmacy Green Clean cleansing balm."

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57%of gurus approve

CeraVe Acne Control Cleanser

"If you have acne and you have more comedonal acne, then the CeraVe Acne Control Cleanser with 2% salicylic acid is probably the option I would go with. It has 2% salicylic acid, whereas their SA cleanser has around 0.5% salicylic acid in an undisclosed amount."

✓Approved

79%of gurus approve

Bubble Fresh Start Gel Cleanser

"It has a hydration component but also has lavender flour water and lavender and spearmint, which can be irritating for a lot of people. It gives you that kind of cooling sensation, but it can also be irritating to the skin. Although this is fragrance-free, those are technically essential oils and for some people could end up irritating them. Overall, it's a good affordable basic cleanser, but it's definitely not on my best of Bubble list. It's a cleanser and it will serviceably cleanse."

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61%of gurus approve

Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash

"The hero product here was Neutrogena for like ever, with that orange pump top bottle. It still is pretty effective, but it's fragranced and I think that we've made a lot of advances in skincare since then, so it's probably not the best product out there. I actually don't like the smell of the Neutrogena one even though it's the one that I use growing up. It just maybe reminds me of childhood and kind of like that Proactiv smell bothers me."

~Mixed

62%of gurus approve

Moisturizers29 reviews

Real Actives Do More Barrier Boosting Moisturizer

"I loved this moisturizer personally and I think the aesthetics of the whole line are great. It does have a slight scent to it. I think overall they really did a great job with the formula. I think it's hydrating and how it plays with your skin, especially if it's acne prone. This is a really nice from a tactile perspective, a nice moisturizer. It's somewhere between a gel and a cream. Maybe you can call it a gel cream, maybe a lotion. Absorbs really nice. Isn't greasy at all. The shea butter base is something that I personally like a lot."

✓Approved

65%of gurus approve

Eucerin Intensive Repair Lotion

"The Eucerin Intensive Repair Lotion is just empty upon empty upon empty. So good."

✓Approved

86%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Intensive Repair Lotion

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"The Eucerin Intensive Repair Lotion is just empty upon empty upon empty. So good."

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"This is used for intensive repair. It has alpha hydroxy, lactic and urea. It's both an exfoliating moisturizer, which is perfect for the hands and the feet because you want both hydration and exfoliation. You layer it and then slap on an occlusive glove or occlusive sock overnight. Once it's in, you are slugging that exfoliation and hydration together. It's great for reviving dry, cracked hands and feet."

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream

"I still reach for the Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream. I think it's a really nice moisturizer for normal skin, someone entry level into skincare that's looking for a moisturizer that is just going to be good for all skin tones, every all skin type. The Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream is still a hero for me. It keeps you super hydrated and dewy without being very heavy. So it really is just such a balanced moisturizer. If you're drier, it will leave you with moisture. If you're oilier, it won't leave you with that feeling that you don't like where you feel oily. The texture is incredible. It's a little bit more expensive, especially for a facial moisturizer, but it's one of the first ones in that budget price point."

✓Approved

87%of gurus approve

Cosrx Advanced Snail 92 All in One Cream

"It's thick, but it's not so thick you have to push it. It spreads really easily. It melts into your skin. It has still a kind of a lighter body despite being so rich. Snail mucin as an ingredient we know is incredibly beneficial for the skin. And I actually love how it sits on the skin. It's a lighter weight moisturizer, but it really brings a ton of just deep, deep hydration. It's light, non-greasy. If you have oily skin, you'll still like it. If you have combination skin, you'll still like it. But the amount of hydration it adds and the way it sets, perfect. The way that it plays with the skin is just really unlike anything else. And it keeps you super hydrated and dewy without being very heavy. If you're drier, it will leave you with moisture. If you're oilier, it won't leave you with that feeling that you don't like where you feel oily. So it really is just such a balanced moisturizer."

✓Approved

85%of gurus approve

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel Cream

"The gel cream is that lighter weight moisturizer that's going to blend well with your skin if you have oily skin. So, my recommendation is to get the Neutrogena Hydroboost gel cream if you have oily skin. The texture, I would say there's probably no other moisturizer I hear more from just from my nurses and patients that they just try this and they love it. Because of the body, the way it just sits on your skin, if you have oily skin, you'll like how this feels. Such a nice moisturizer. I feel like in the world of dupes, there's been almost no brand that's been able to dupe this formula. It really is just such a nice formula."

✓Approved

85%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Hydro Boost Gel Cream

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"This product really leans towards the lightweight side. It lives in the glycerin hyaluronic acid world. It's actually grown on me over a period of time. I tried the fragrance one first which was a mistake I didn't like the fragrance, but the fragrance free version of the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel Cream is outstanding. A texture unworldly, otherworldly lightweight for anyone hot, humid, or with oily skin this is for you. And it's also pretty budget friendly, like this is not that expensive compared to some of the other moisturizers. I'm like glowing I've got layers upon layers of hydration."

Eucerin Advanced Repair Lotion

"There's another one from Eucerin that I'm absolutely obsessed with. This is a frequently repurchased one for me and I buy them in bulk. I buy like three or four at a time because it really is just that incredible. The body of it is very thick. It's very rich hydration. It leaves like this protective feeling on it. It's not greasy though, not tacky. And also has some exfoliating acids in it, too. Takes a little bit effort to rub this one in."

✓Approved

89%of gurus approve

Eucerin Eczema Relief Cream

"Eucerin Eczema Relief is like one of the best moisturizers and they'll last you a super long time. It's such a nice thick, rich moisturizer. These I really, really like."

✓Approved

86%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Eczema Relief Cream

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"Eucerin Eczema Relief is like one of the best moisturizers and they'll last you a super long time. It's such a nice thick, rich moisturizer. These I really, really like."

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"Eucerin Eczema Relief Cream has been really a game changer for my daughter who has really dry skin. I tried so many different products, and this really works well with anybody who has dry skin, whether an adult or a baby. I use this on my daughter, but sometimes I use this on myself. It really is a thick moisturizer."

Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer

"Vanic Cream makes really nice products for sensitive skin. This moisturizer is great for sensitive skin. It's not as thick as the remedy rich cream moisturizer and not as lightweight as the remedy gel moisturizer. So, it's somewhere in between the two."

✓Approved

86%of gurus approve

La Roche-Posay Lipikar Balm AP+M

"La Roche-Posay Lipikar Balm AP+M is a good option that comes in a huge size. It can be a little thick for people's faces, but if you have really dry skin, I think you will actually quite like this one a lot. It's one that you'll really enjoy if you have more mature dry skin."

✓Approved

92%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Lipikar Balm AP+M

BEST DEALS ON THE LAST DAY OF AMAZON PRIME DAY

Weekend Live QnA

"La Roche-Posay lip balm, what I like about that is minimalistic, extremely hydrating. It's a bit of a thicker base. I feel like the wax esters are particularly prominent. That's a top tier one."

CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion

"CeraVe PM is a PM moisturizer but there's no reason you can't use that during the morning. It's got niacinamide, it's a lightweight gel moisturizer that could be used morning or night."

✓Approved

85%of gurus approve

All 5 takes on PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion

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"CeraVe PM is a little bit heavier, it's a little bit thicker than the lightweight gel but it also is going to give you that gel appearance."

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"If you're just looking for a straightforward moisturizer, I think this is a wonderful option. CeraVe is always the case, just really great for your skin barrier. This also has niacinamide in it, so it's just kind of a well-rounded basic moisturizer. Really simple, it's kind of lightweight, it's going to counterbalance any irritation you're getting from your active ingredients in the previous steps. Interestingly, this one did not irritate my skin at all. Really straightforward simple product, good option."

Summer Skincare and Life Goals, Tips, and Hacks!

"CeraVe PM is a really nice lightweight gel moisturizer."

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"If you have oily skin use CeraVe PM. At this point you just want to protect and hydrate your skin because your nighttime skin care routine when you're treating dark spots is going to be potentially very irritating and so you just don't want to aggravate the skin with your moisturizer. The goal is to stop irritation so you can be more consistent and have better results with your active ingredients."

The Ultimate Summer Skincare Routine

"CeraVe PM is a PM moisturizer but there's no reason you can't use that during the morning. It's got niacinamide, it's a lightweight gel moisturizer that could be used morning or night."

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel

"Neutrogena Hydroboost is just a really nice super lightweight gel formula. I personally prefer the fragrance-free versions of Hydroboost, so definitely check those out. I think that's a really good option for those really nice lightweight gel formulas."

✓Approved

87%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Hydro Boost Water Gel

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"Neutrogena Hydro Boost is another classic OG that patients and nurses everybody swears by."

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CeraVe Moisturizing Cream

"I recommend the moisturizing cream a lot. It's just generally recommendable, most people kind of like how it feels and it's very safe for all skin types."

✓Approved

85%of gurus approve

All 5 takes on Moisturizing Cream

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"I recommend the moisturizing cream a lot. It's just generally recommendable, most people kind of like how it feels and it's very safe for all skin types."

Skin QnA

"If your skin barrier gets damaged and everything hurts, I highly recommend switching to ointments. The petrolatum ointment base is very soothing and is not irritating for a compromised barrier. I see it in patients and I see it in myself, it's very consistent. Switching your moisturizer to an ointment base that's based out of petrolatum can help. The CeraVe healing ointment is great."

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"This is 71% petrolatum so it's got that Vaseline in it it also has shea butter um and other ingredients in it that are kind of hydrating and it has those lipids in it that are going to make your skin softer over time"

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"For cleansing definitely don't overthink it you just want a gentle cleanser in this step your results with hyperpigmentation in dark spots is going to occur with the heavy-hitting actives the treatment steps of your skincare routine and so for this gentle cleanser cavey Cetaphil Neutrogena"

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"CeraVe is probably the best formulated skincare line for sensitive skin. They have the most strict ingredient guidelines when formulating products and they tend to be a safe bet. I don't think I found a CeraVe product that I don't like for sensitive skin."

CeraVe Healing Ointment

"I recommend the ointment a lot in the clinic because we see a lot of really damaged skin so that ointment gets recommended a ton for just starters."

✓Approved

87%of gurus approve

All 4 takes on Healing Ointment

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"I recommend the ointment a lot in the clinic because we see a lot of really damaged skin so that ointment gets recommended a ton for just starters."

Skin QnA

"Switching your moisturizer to an ointment base that's based out of petroleum can help. The CeraVe Healing Ointment is great. They actually did some nice studies on that post wound. The petrolatum ointment base is very soothing and is not irritating for a compromised barrier. I see it in patients, I see it in myself, it's very consistent."

Saturday Skincare Live!

"It is super thick and a little goes a long way, but it is also super bland. I was at the point where my skin barrier was pretty irritated. I was using some of my favorites even like La Roche-Posay triple moisturizing cream, their double repair facial moisturizing cream, and some healing ointment, and even those were kind of burny and stingy, but this was not. So this has become a staple in my repair skincare routine now. I have just been wildly impressed with that product."

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"One thing that I really like for when people feel really tight and really dry I like to suggest using a CeraVe Healing Ointment. You want your fragrance-free things, you want things that are not going to irritate the skin at all, and that's what you're going to do the night when you get home and then for a few days after that."

CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion

"When it comes to a body moisturizer, I actually like the experience of their intensive moisturizing lotion the best between the regular lotion and the regular cream. The regular lotion and cream dry down a little bit better, but I kind of like that lipid slip that stays around a little bit longer. It feels a little bit greasier, like a more oily afterfeel with more slip, but I like that feeling when I'm moisturizing the body. It feels more like the lip barrier than any of the other products from CeraVe."

✓Approved

76%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Daily Moisturizing Lotion

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Skin QnA

"Even a great lotion like the CeraVe lotions can irritate and burn your skin even the Vanicream lotion, an extremely minimalistic lotion, can burn the heck out of my skin once my skin barrier is already compromised. So with that, I highly recommend switching to ointments. The vehicle matters tremendously. The petrolatum ointment base, something about it just is very soothing and is not irritating for a compromised barrier."

CeraVe Intensive Moisturizing Lotion with Urea

"When it comes to a body moisturizer, I actually like the experience of their Intensive Moisturizing Lotion the best between the regular lotion and the regular cream. I kind of like that lipid slip that stays around a little bit longer. It feels a little bit greasier, I would say some people would describe it as maybe a little bit more oily after feel, more of a slip, but I like that feeling when I'm moisturizing the body. It feels more like the lip barrier than any of the other products from CeraVe. It does have 5% urea in it which is going to have multiple benefits, but if you want a strong exfoliating benefit you really need to see 10% or greater."

✓Approved

88%of gurus approve

Tretinoin Cream

"The retinoid family consists of retinol, retinal, tretinoin, adapalene and so many more. Tretinoin is a first generation retinoid. Across the board you're going to see some of the best, some of the most impactful, most meaningful, most clearcut transitional, transformative skincare results you're going to see with any ingredient, and that's been the case for decades. Once you get to the active form of tretinoin, it works on specific receptors either RAR receptors or RXR receptors. Tretinoin is a little bit more balanced in the receptors that it binds to."

✓Approved

73%of gurus approve

All 10 takes on Cream

TRETINOIN - The GOAT of Skincare Ingredients?

"I'm four and a half years strong on tretinoin and it's the single best thing I have ever done for my skin. I consider this to be the goat of skincare ingredients, it is the greatest of all time. But it's not without nuance."

TRETINOIN - The GOAT of Skincare Ingredients?

"Tretinoin is part of that family of retinoids. There is a prescription form of retinol that's called tretinoin. I consider this to be the goat of skincare ingredients, the greatest of all time. It does everything. It does dark spots, it does collagen, it does texture, it actually can help minimize UV damage associated like pre-cancerous lesions to some extent, it protects your skin, it increases the thickness of your skin, it helps organize the collagen, it helps with the elastin, and it does all of it extremely well, especially relative to other ingredients. It's foundationally been studied like it's perhaps one of the best studied ingredients in all skincare. It has incredible staying power. Tretinoin has been around for 60 years and still kicking, so this is an ingredient you can really rely on."

TRETINOIN - The GOAT of Skincare Ingredients?

"It's really good for anti-aging, it's able to treat wrinkles, but is it going to eliminate really deep etched in wrinkles if you've never done anything for 60 years? No. Those are going to need procedures that are going to be done by your dermatologist. Here comes the downside of tretinoin. It cannot be used during pregnancy. Some of this is a theoretical risk, but it's based off of the idea that you cannot take oral retinoids during pregnancy because they're teratogenic, and if you use them topically you're going to absorb some, so that could be problematic. It's also irritating. In part, it's by virtue of what it does. It increases skin cell turnover and increases inflammation directly, but it also activates certain receptors that increases irritation, and so because of that it makes it intolerable for certain people. If you have rosacea, if you have flushing, if you feel like your face is super dry and chapped just after a simple wash, if you have a history of atopic dermatitis, you're probably going to fall more into that sensitive skin category and you'll need to approach this delicately. Regardless of whether you have sensitive skin or you don't have sensitive skin, you should ease into the use of tretinoin. Start slow and then go high, which means starting with lower doses, starting with 0.025 percent."

TRETINOIN - The GOAT of Skincare Ingredients?

"Tretinoin has a few things against it. One of which it cannot be used during pregnancy, some of this is a theoretical risk but it's based off of the idea that you cannot take oral retinoids during pregnancy because they're teratogenic, and if you use them topically you're going to absorb some, and so that could be problematic. It's also irritating. It increases skin cell turnover. Tretinoin works on multiple different retinoid receptors, some of those activate irritation. It actually increases inflammation directly and activates certain receptors that increase irritation, and because of that that makes it intolerable for certain people. If you have sensitive skin, if you have rosacea, if you have flushing, if you feel like your face is super dry and chapped just after a simple wash, if you have a history of atopic dermatitis, you're probably going to fall more into that sensitive skin category and you'll need to approach this delicately. Regardless of whether you have sensitive skin or you don't have sensitive skin, you should ease into the use of tretinoin. Start slow and then go high, which means starting with lower doses. Starting with that 0.025 percent and then increasing to 0.1 percent can be really good if you're easing into it. Starting with once every three days then going to once every two days and then once every night, just easing into it, that's going to make a big difference."

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"For acne, both are top tier very effective. Most of the studies show that high strength tretinoin is more effective than low strength tretinoin. There's a study comparing high strength tretinoin to tretinoin, and it found that tretinoin was significantly more effective than tretinoin in treating acne when you compare them head to head. It also found that they had equal or equivalent tolerability. When you compare these head to head they're both good for acne, and generally when you come to see me in my clinic I'm going to prescribe you tretinoin first. I'm going to see how your skin responds to it. I might start you on the lower dose, especially if you have sensitive skin."

TRETINOIN VS. TAZAROTENE? Which is the most POWERFUL retinoid on earth? | Doctorly Investigates

"I would still give the nod to Tretinoin in this category because of the breadth of data that we know is available for Tretinoin and going over decades just countless, countless studies delivering really consistent results, very generalizable results that anyone should expect to see when you use this. There are some studies with 0.05% showing similar benefits, and I would say that time will tell where other retinoids land, but I just don't think we're quite there yet to make that claim. In general, most dermatologists are going to start you on Tretinoin first."

TRETINOIN VS. TAZAROTENE? Which is the most POWERFUL retinoid on earth? | Doctorly Investigates

"Photo protection sun protection is paramount when using Tretinoin, although it's always important, this one certainly will make you more likely to get a burn. In the mechanism of Tretinoin there's a few things that happen that make it effective in treating psoriasis and that's a downregulation or an inhibition of ornithine decarboxylase, which is something that leads to kind of growth of your skin cells and that's why it's helpful in treating psoriasis. It also downregulates something called epidermal growth factor receptor, and so epidermal growth factor receptor is a receptor once it's triggered it leads to epidermal growth. Tretinoin will actually thicken your epidermis layer of the skin but it does it in a way that normalizes it so you don't get these abnormal cells like you do in psoriasis, so it's exactly what you want when you're treating acne or you're treating anti-aging."

The ULTIMATE Normal & Combination Skincare Routine | Doctorly Routines

"If you want to step it up, Tretinoin of course is your go-to. It's a prescription type of retinoid and it has the most data. It's what all the other retinols are built off of, so if you're looking for the one that the goat of all retinols, then Tretinoin is going to be the way to go. It is what it is. You can't say okay get a retinol and not mention Tretinoin."

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"You have prescription ingredients like tretinoin that you could use on your body as well. No rule saying you can't. In fact, it would be helpful."

SkinBetter Science AlphaRet Overnight Cream

"If we're looking at something that's expensive but probably still worth the money, I would say it would be AlphaRet from SkinBetter Science. This is what would be medical grade skincare personified, this would be the definition of that category if it existed. AlphaRet is still a great product."

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All 16 takes on AlphaRet Overnight Cream

"Medical Grade" Skincare | Doctorly Investigates

"SkinBetter Science AlphaRet is a very well formulated product with enough science to justify it being called medical grade. That product is unique, it's innovative, it's novel, it combines multiple things. I'm a big fan of that product."

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"It works really well. It's just expensive, you know. It's got your retinol and your lactic acid and your antioxidants. But it's a good product. It's just really expensive."

Viral Skincare Tested: SkinBetter Science AlphaRet | Doctorly Reviews

"I have a personal affinity for the concept of this product because I feel like it breaks all the rules. The most important thing I like about this packaging is the airless pump so you're able to get all the product out of it. The benefits of airless packaging is that there's less exposure to environmental things like the sun and air, and so a lot of those ingredients like your retinols are going to stay stable for long. Also, for a lot of products with this packaging sometimes you can skip some of the preservatives because you have a very self-contained protected product, and so you might actually end up with a more minimalistic and perhaps more gentle formulation overall purely because of the packaging."

Viral Skincare Tested: SkinBetter Science AlphaRet | Doctorly Reviews

"I have a personal affinity for the concept of this product because I feel like it breaks all the rules. The ingredient combination is what makes this product really interesting. I actually like the packaging quite a bit. The most important thing that I like about this packaging is the airless pump so you're able to get all the product out of it. I literally cracked one of my products open the other day just to see if it's true and there is really nothing for me to get out. The benefits of airless packaging is that there's less exposure to environmental things like the sun and air, and so a lot of those ingredients like your retinols are going to stay stable for long. Also for a lot of products with this packaging sometimes you can skip some of the preservatives because you have a very self-contained protected product."

Viral Skincare Tested: SkinBetter Science AlphaRet | Doctorly Reviews

"The main thing that's leading this product is that it is both an alpha hydroxy acid so you're exfoliating acids and it also has retinol in it. It has a very interesting ingredient called ethyl lacyl retinoate, it's a retinol ester. They combined lactic acid and retinol in one ingredient. They put it in one formula stable and then once it gets on top of the skin the body actually goes through a hydrolysis process that breaks it down into these two separate molecules and it does it in a time-released fashion so you're delivering that lactic acid and that retinol in a gentle way. They take what was don't use these ingredients together and they said no, no, you can do that with a very deliberate formulation. They've shown that it's stable. It's a very unique mechanism. Beyond that there's also vitamin C in there. So this is like a list of ingredients that you'll see a million TikTok videos on don't use A and B and C together and this is like, oh, here's A, B, and C and they're together and they do it well. That's very exciting."

Viral Skincare Tested: SkinBetter Science AlphaRet | Doctorly Reviews

"It's a retinol ester. They combined lactic acid and retinol in one ingredient and put it in one formula stable, and then once it gets on top of the skin the body actually goes through a hydrolysis process that breaks it down into these two separate molecules and it does it in a time-released fashion so you're delivering that lactic acid and that retinol in a gentle way. This is the intrigue, this is the mystery of AlphaRet because they take what was don't use these ingredients together and they said no, you can do that, which you can, but this is the preferred way you do it with a very deliberate formulation. They've shown that it's stable. It's a very unique mechanism. And beyond that there's also vitamin C in there, so this is like that list of ingredients that you'll see a million TikTok videos on: don't use A and C together. And this is oh, here's A and C and they're together and they do it well. I love that. Even though it's kind of on the pricier side, you also have almost like a three-in-one product. It's got this very interesting ingredient, plus it also has glycolic acid, another alpha hydroxy acid, and it also has the peptides that make up Matrixyl 3000, and it has many other ones."

Viral Skincare Tested: SkinBetter Science AlphaRet | Doctorly Reviews

"This is like a very unique mechanism and it's a very deliberate formulation they've shown is stable. There's also vitamin C in there, so this is like that list of ingredients you'll see a million TikTok videos on saying don't use A and C together, and here's a B and C together and they do it well. That's very exciting. Even though it's kind of on the pricier side, you also have almost like a three-in-one product. It's got this ingredient plus glycolic acid, another alpha hydroxy acid, and it has the peptides that make up Matrixyl 3000. Despite the fact that it has all these ingredients, it's still fragrance-free. That's one of the coolest things because it does have like a light, gentle smell but it is fragrance-free, so it's fizzy but not cluttered. It's jam-packed and deliberate, and I think that's pretty exceptional for an expensive product, because when you get into the expensive skincare world you'll start seeing a lot of essential oils and fragrant ingredients, and I think that's sometimes how they justify the cost with the experiential side. This is stripped down."

Viral Skincare Tested: SkinBetter Science AlphaRet | Doctorly Reviews

"Despite the fact that it has all these ingredients, it's still fragrance-free. It really is. I think that's one of the coolest things. It does have like a kind of light, gentle smell, but it is fragrance-free, so it's fizzy but not cluttered. It's calm and deliberate, and I think that's pretty exceptional for an expensive product because when you get into the expensive skincare world, you'll start seeing a lot of different essential oils and fragrant ingredients, and I think that's sometimes how they justify the cost. This is stripped down. Every ingredient is in there for a purpose, and it's tolerable. I do like the tolerability of this product as well. This is one of the rare products that actually has clinical studies that have been published for the public to read. Before this product was even created, there were separate studies on the ingredient where they looked at the efficacy of that and it showed amazing improvement. They looked at 30 women in the 50-year-old age range with moderate to severe wrinkles and they saw significant improvement in those results. When they compared it to retinol and tretinoin, they found that it was less irritating than retinol and tretinoin."

Viral Skincare Tested: SkinBetter Science AlphaRet | Doctorly Reviews

"Pretty hydrating. I love this product. I actually don't use moisturizer after I use this. It has that glycolic acid smell, which is very unique for glycolic acid. Texture-wise it has that silky finish. I like the texture. It's a solid texture. It has a pretty rich body and it doesn't leave you sticky. I think this product is meant for somebody who's serious about skin care, somebody who has early fine lines, wrinkles, texture issues, hyperpigmentation. It's really for somebody who wants a simple skincare routine. If you're not looking to layer like nine different products at night, then this is something that's really simple. You're just going to have a two or three-step skincare routine. So someone who wants simplicity and somebody who really wants actives in their routine."

Viral Skincare Tested: SkinBetter Science AlphaRet | Doctorly Reviews

"It's pretty hydrating. I love this product. I actually don't use moisturizer after I use this. It has that glycolic acid smell, which is very unique for glycolic acid. Texture-wise it has that squealing finish. I like the texture. It's a solid texture. It does have a pretty rich body, and it doesn't leave you sticky. I think this product is meant for somebody who's serious about skincare, somebody who has early fine lines, wrinkles, texture issues, hyperpigmentation. It's really for somebody who wants a simple skincare routine. If you're not looking to layer like nine different products at night, then this is something that's really simple. You're just going to have a one, two, or three-step skincare routine. So someone who wants simplicity, someone who really wants advocacy in their routine, and somebody who's really focusing on photoaging and anti-aging."

Viral Skincare Tested: SkinBetter Science AlphaRet | Doctorly Reviews

"It has that glycolic acid smell, this is very unique for glycolic acid, that's a smell of science. Texture-wise it has that squealing finish. I like the texture. It's good, it's a solid texture, but I get where you're coming from with not needing a moisturizer afterwards because it does have a pretty rich body. I love the texture and it doesn't leave you sticky. This product is meant for somebody who's serious about skin care, somebody who has early fine lines, wrinkles, texture issues, hyperpigmentation. It's somebody who wants a simple skincare routine. If you're not looking to layer like nine different products at night, then this is something that's really simple, you're just going to have one or two, two-step, three-step skincare routine. So someone who wants simplicity, someone who really wants efficacy in their routine, and somebody who's really focusing on photoaging and anti-aging. For acne, could it be helpful sure, but this is really not your dedicated product. I love it because it's minimalistic and I'm 30, I think it's like a good little mid-20s, 30s thing, something you can get to just stay keeping your skin in a youthful state."

Viral Skincare Tested: SkinBetter Science AlphaRet | Doctorly Reviews

"Texture-wise it has that squalling finish. I like the texture. I don't think it's like an extraordinary texture, but it's good, it's a solid texture. It does have a pretty rich body and it doesn't leave you sticky. This product is meant for somebody who's serious about skin care, somebody who has early fine lines, wrinkles, texture issues, hyperpigmentation. It's really for somebody who wants a simple skincare routine, someone who's not looking to layer like nine different products at night. If you're not like a chef in the kitchen making up your own concoctions, then this is something that's really simple, you're just going to have one or two, like two-step, three-step skincare routine. So someone who wants simplicity, someone with a little bit of a budget, and somebody who really wants advocacy in their routine. It's really focused on photoaging and anti-aging. I love it because it's minimalistic. I'm recommending it to a good amount of people because I'm a firm believer in skin care and just like quality of skin. As long as you don't have any allergies or something, I kind of don't see why not."

Viral Skincare Tested: SkinBetter Science AlphaRet | Doctorly Reviews

"If you feel like you can comfortably afford it to where it doesn't hurt your soul and you're just really looking for something that might work for you, I think it's completely justified based off of the ingredients and results. You don't need to use too much either, like one and a half pumps and you're good, so this is going to last you for a while. If you have the budget or you just simply want results and you don't want to figure out how to add all these products together, I would actually rather save and buy this product than wasting money on other products. For me, I would say it's probably worth it."

Viral Skincare Tested: SkinBetter Science AlphaRet | Doctorly Reviews

"You don't need to use too much either, like one and a half pumps and you're good, so this is going to last you for a while. If you have the budget or you just simply want results and you don't want to figure out how to add all these products together, I would actually rather save and buy this product than wasting money on other products that you're probably not even going to end up using. It's definitely expensive, but for me I would say it's worth it. If you've been on AlphaRet for a while and your skin is used to it and you're looking for a little bit higher kick, then you can go to the AlphaRet Intense, but I probably wouldn't start there."

Eucerin Intensive Repair Cream

"This is one of the best body moisturizers for dry to very dry skin that I found. I use it every single day now and I have created more empties of this bottle than anything else this year. It has exfoliating ingredients, I think it has lactic acid and urea, and the low concentrations so they kind of just help. But it's a real thick moisturizer that doesn't leave you greasy. It has a very similar sensation in terms of how well it hugs your skin and hydrates, it's got that similar thickness, but I think it elevates it a little bit with the light exfoliators in there. This is definitely one of the best of the year in the drugstore."

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89%of gurus approve

Cetaphil Healing Ointment

"This one here from Cetaphil is their Healing Ointment. This is 71% petrolatum so it's got that Vaseline in it, it also has shea butter and other ingredients in it that are kind of hydrating and it has those lipids in it that are going to make your skin softer over time."

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65%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Healing Ointment

Skin QnA

"The petrolatum ointment base something about it just is very soothing and is not irritating for a compromised barrier. I see it in patients, I see it in myself, it's very consistent. Switching your moisturizer to an ointment base that's based out of petrolatum can help. The Cetaphil Healing Ointment is great. They actually did some nice studies on that post wound."

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Cerx All-in-One Snail Cream

"The all-in-one snail cream from Cerx is very hydrating. Snail mucin has so much evidence on healing skin and sensitive skin. It's like a great foil for irritation, even for eczema and atopic dermatitis."

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81%of gurus approve

Glossier Balm Dotcom

"The Glossier Balm Dotcom, it's a balm, it's thick like wall paste. Those are extremely gentle options that really just saved my skin."

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81%of gurus approve

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Matte Moisturizer

"La Roche-Posay Toleriane matte moisturizer, another really good moisturizer gel-like moisturizer for the summer."

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84%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Toleriane Double Repair Matte Moisturizer

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"If you don't want a dedicated acne moisturizer and you lean a little bit more oily and you want something a little more gel moisturizer for acne, I'm a huge fan of the La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Matte Moisturizer. This is a great product, a gel moisturizer that's really quite effective for people with oily skin. If you have oily skin and you don't want to moisturize, this is the product that's going to actually make you less greasy. You feel like you actually took a moisturizer off your face because of its oil control and its lightweight nature. It's outstanding."

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"La Roche-Posay Toleriane matte moisturizer, another really good moisturizer gel-like moisturizer for the summer."

Glossier After Balm

"When you try new things sometimes your skin barrier gets pretty irritated. I was using some of my favorites, even La Roche Posay triple moisturizing cream, their double repair facial moisturizing cream, CeraVe healing ointment, and even those were kind of burny and stingy, but this was not. So this has become a staple in my repair skincare routine now. I have just been wildly impressed with that product."

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80%of gurus approve

La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5

"This is definitely part of the best of list from La Roche-Posay. This product is phenomenal. It also adds that dimethicone into the moisturizer. It's a little bit of a heavier balm, which gives it more healing properties than some of the other products. These are products I generally recommend in the office to people in real life, and this is for the person who's struggling with sensitive irritated skin barrier. They're looking for a recovery balm. This is where that lives."

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All 2 takes on Cicaplast Baume B5

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"La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 has dimethicone in it, it also has centella in it, and it's also super hydrating, and so these ingredients together are going to give you the best bet at keeping your skin hydrated during that stretching process to try to prevent those stretch marks."

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Neutrogena Hydro Boost body gel cream

"I really like the Neutrogena Hydro Boost body gel cream. This product is dimethicone, hyaluronic acid, and it's a really thick moisturizer, and something I've actually recommended to a lot of my friends and family who have gotten pregnant."

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80%of gurus approve

Bubble Slam Dunk Hydrating Moisturizer

"The Slam Dunk Hydrating Moisturizer feels like a heavier cream. This one I personally prefer because I like heavier moisturizers. If you have drier skin, this is something that's going to be for you."

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81%of gurus approve

E.L.F Holy Hydration Face Cream

"I have one this is I don't know my fourth fifth time talking about it this month elf Holy Hydration, obsessed with this product. It's interesting, the texture is dynamite. It matches very closely those very fine, more like middle higher-end facial moisturizers that you can find. Texturally I just think it delivers. It has hydrating ingredients, it has peptides, and for the price point it just nails it for me. It's been something I've been obsessed with for a little bit here. I'll probably get bored with it but right now I love it, it's so good."

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80%of gurus approve

Eucerin Advanced repair cream

"For the body you can add in something like the Eucerin Advanced Repair Cream. This is super nice, super friendly, budget friendly, and it also has natural moisturizing factors and ceramides which would play exactly how you would want with maturing skin."

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82%of gurus approve

Remedy Barrier Repairing Rich Cream Moisturizer

"I've been following for a long time you know that I love a rich thick moisturizer for the face especially now I lean a little bit normal to dry and so I want something that's hydrating something that's buttery something's going to leave my skin with the dewy look and so I honed in I focused on creating this product for myself and hopefully all of you will love this as well. This is perfect because it's very much in line with what I'm known for, these whipped thick ultra aesthetic moisturizers. I'm extremely excited for those of you who have dry chapped irritated skin that just needs a rescue or a remedy."

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86%of gurus approve

All 7 takes on Barrier Repairing Rich Cream Moisturizer

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"I want something that's hydrating, something that's buttery, something that's going to leave my skin with the dewy look. I honed in, I focused on creating this product for myself and hopefully all of you will love this as well. This is perfect because it's very much in line with my approach to skincare. I'm extremely excited for those of you who have dry, chapped, irritated skin that just needs a rescue. This is going to be outstanding."

Dry Skin? Introducing Our Remedy RICH Cream Moisturizer | NEW PRODUCT ALERT

"This is perfect because it's very much in line with a skin fix or triple lipid moisturizer aesthetic, and the problem I have with those is typically the cost, but knowing the ethos of Remedy, I'm sure that's not going to be a problem. I'm extremely excited for this. I'm extremely excited for those of you who have dry, chapped, irritated skin that just needs a rescue or a remedy. This is going to be outstanding. This is our first introduction to our Remedy Essentials and our Remedy routine. You would use a cleanser, you would use a treatment, and then you would use our moisturizer. This product is really meant to target normal to very dry skin."

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"We have all of these phenomenal ingredients in the product, but really it's how they came together into this beautiful formula that I'm super proud of. This is the most experiential product where your skin will feel soft and supple the day that you use it and for days afterwards. It is the product that I personally can't get enough of. I think it's a pretty incredible compromise where you get the functional aspect but you get the aesthetic aspect that you may not otherwise be able to reach for. Functionally, tons of hydration, protection for your skin from the dry environment, rebuild your skin. It's going to be incredible."

Dry Skin? Introducing Our Remedy RICH Cream Moisturizer | NEW PRODUCT ALERT

"It has four different types of ceramides and one type of ceramide that actually stimulates the endogenous production of your own ceramides. We have shea butter, grape seed oil, and jojoba oil, and all of these phenomenal ingredients in the product, but really it's how they came together into this beautiful formula that I'm super proud of. This is the most experiential product where your skin will feel soft and supple the day that you use it and for days afterwards. It is the product that I personally can't get enough of. I use all my samples up. There is an actual step up and experience when it comes to moisturizers if you invest more in these, and this is a pretty incredible compromise where you get the functional aspect but you get the aesthetic aspect that you may not otherwise be able to reach for. Functionally, tons of hydration, protection for your skin from the dry environment, and it rebuilds your skin. It's going to be incredible."

Dry Skin? Introducing Our Remedy RICH Cream Moisturizer | NEW PRODUCT ALERT

"It doesn't leave you greasy, which is a major thing for me. I hate when I put on a moisturizer and it lingers so much that if you put on a long sleeve shirt after it kind of sticks to it. This one does not do that despite having a very heavy body and an extremely rich feel. It does set into the skin. It falls into that category of rich cream moisturizer, and no matter what the climate is, no matter how dry your skin is, it really is a super reparative barrier moisturizer. It's really that performance that I think is going to blow all of you away."

Dry Skin? Introducing Our Remedy RICH Cream Moisturizer | NEW PRODUCT ALERT

"It falls somewhere in between that category of rich cream moisturizer, and no matter what the climate is, no matter how dry your skin is, it really is a super reparative barrier moisturizer. It's loaded with some of my favorite ingredients, but it's really that performance that I think is going to blow all of you away."

Sunscreen23 reviews

Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics SPF 50+ PA++++

"This is the daytime sunscreen by Beauty of Joseon. And this is actually available at Sephora. And this is using American filters. So it's got benzene and homosalate, octinoxate. It still blends really nicely because they're still applying that same philosophy around that experiential skincare that you get from any Korean brand. So, still a phenomenal sunscreen. Maybe not as elegant or maybe Dr. Maxwell doesn't love it as much, but it's still really nice."

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83%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics SPF 50+ PA++++

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"I like the Beauty of Joseon sunscreen a lot, actually."

Haru Haru Wonder Black Rice Moisture Airy Fit Daily Sunscreen SPF 50

"Haruharu sunscreen is an incredible sunscreen that blends incredibly well with the skin. This is a fully Korean sunscreen, so you're going to get that elegance. It's one of my favorites. I discovered this sunscreen and I just used it throughout the year, and I repurchased it. I took it on every single vacation. I feel like Haruharu is not getting enough hype with all the Korean brands blowing up, but Haruharu sunscreen and a lot of their products are actually really phenomenal. Just might be a little bit more difficult to purchase."

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84%of gurus approve

All 3 takes on Black Rice Moisture Airy Fit Daily Sunscreen SPF 50

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"I saw the Haruharu Wonder sunscreen. That's a sunscreen that I can definitely stand by and tell you that if you use it, you really will like that one quite a bit."

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"The Haruharu Wonder if you're looking for a Korean sunscreen that's lightweight that's dewy that's going to be great for the summer this is a really good option."

Neutrogena Collagen Bank Moisturizer SPF 30

"Neutrogena Collagen Bank couples sunscreen with micronized peptides, micropeptides that are shown to absorb better and be more effective. They have internal studies that show when somebody is using these products over time, that peptide actually helps with the elasticity of the skin. They show it by how fast skin recoils from smiling or frowning or raising your eyebrows actually recoils faster over time, which I think is really fascinating. That peptide is really nice for aging skin."

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All 2 takes on Collagen Bank Moisturizer SPF 30

Best Sunscreens of the Year | Doctorly Favorites of 2025

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"The studies that they've actually done to show that it improves the elasticity, recoil of the skin are actually quite phenomenal. They show internal videos of how quickly the skin recoils after using it compared to people who don't use the Collagen Bank, which is very interesting. It is a phenomenal product for somebody who's looking for a moisturizer sunscreen duo with something that's going to do a little bit more. And in this case, it's that peptide. So you're going to get that protection with a very elegant chemical sunscreen that blends really well with the skin, and a really good new addition to the armamentarium from Neutrogena."

Super Goop Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40

"I'm a big fan of the Super Goop Unseen Sunscreen."

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71%of gurus approve

All 4 takes on Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40

Best Sunscreens of the Year | Doctorly Favorites of 2025

"When you put it on, I kind of feel like it's greasy. Like it feels oily... but it's how it sets and it does set in a mattifying way... So I think this is a good mattifying option."

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"I'm a big fan of the Super Goop Unseen Sunscreen."

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"Super Goop is the company who started clear sunscreens, so they're the goat. They reformulated their original Unseen this year, and I still really, really like it. If you're somebody who uses Unseen, you're still going to love that product. It's still phenomenal. Super Goop Unseen has that thick, greasy quality, almost borderline ointment in a sense, so if you've ever felt like it's a little too heavy or leaves you a little too dewy, you might want to explore other options. But if that works for you, it's still a great product."

Best Sunscreens of the Year | Doctorly Favorites of 2024

"My bougie version for the chemical sunscreen is an OG: it is your Super Goop Unseen Sunscreen. The reason is this sunscreen starts out invisible and it stays invisible. It feels hydrating. It is invisible, it feels good when you put it on, it sits and sets nicely. As the original OG, it will certainly blend with all skin types. I think this deserves a continued mention because of that fact."

DRMTLGY Universal Tinted Moisturizer SPF 46

"I love their universal tinted moisturizer. It's a beautiful moisturizer."

✓Approved

73%of gurus approve

All 4 takes on Universal Tinted Moisturizer SPF 46

2025 BEST BLACK FRIDAY CYBER MONDAY SKINCARE AND DEVICE DEALS | DOCTORLY DEALS

"I used it again recently and it really is a phenomenal sunscreen. It leaves you with such a nice dewy glow. Great if you have hyperpigmentation. So if you're somebody who's using remedy for dark spots, I highly recommend using a tinted sunscreen and I really think that you'll like this one. The hybrid one is really my favorite. Over the course of probably four or five years I've been strongly recommending this brand, and this one has stood the test of time, especially in the demographic of probably 20 to 50 year old women. This is so many people's no makeup makeup look. If you're looking for that, this is a perfect option for you."

2025 BEST BLACK FRIDAY CYBER MONDAY SKINCARE AND DEVICE DEALS LIVE

"I love their universal tinted moisturizer. It's a beautiful moisturizer."

BEST and WORST DRMTLGY Products | Doctorly Reviews

"This is a top seller ultimately, but just blends super well with the skin. It's a tinted sunscreen, and I love a tinted sunscreen, especially for those who are prone to hyperpigmentation. It gives you some cosmetic benefit, but the truth is when it comes to sunscreen, the only thing that I care about is whether it's going to be cosmetically elegant and does it meet the SPF rating of its intended goal. For me, this blends super well, blends in super nice. My wife uses this as a foundation dupe. She has a fairly complicated skincare routine, and she layers her skincare with it. It works exceptionally well for her, and for easily 3 years this has been her everyday foundation dupe and replacement."

BEST and WORST DRMTLGY Products | Doctorly Reviews

"It blends super well with the skin. It's a tinted sunscreen, and I love a tinted sunscreen, especially for those who are prone to hyperpigmentation. It gives you some cosmetic benefit, but the truth is when it comes to sunscreen, the only thing that I care about is whether it's going to be cosmetically elegant and does it meet the SPF rating of its intended goal. For me, this blends super well, blends in super nice. My wife has been using this as a foundation dupe for easily three years now as her everyday foundation replacement. She layers her skincare with it, and it works exceptionally well. I don't want to wear foundation every day, so I do this instead."

Anua ZeroCast Moisturizing Finish Sunscreen

"I actually like that sunscreen a lot. I'm a big fan of that sunscreen from Anua. I actually like Anua as a brand quite a bit."

✓Approved

85%of gurus approve

Vacation Classic Whip SPF 30

"A classic combination of chemical filters does give you broad spectrum protection. Two finger lengths of this whipped sunscreen is probably not the same as two finger lengths of liquid sunscreen, so use your best guess as to when you have enough. I love the smell of this sunscreen. I would say it's kind of like a vanilla bean of sorts. It just smells like the beach but with some coconut. It smells absolutely delicious, and you'll never hear me say that about a sunscreen product ever again."

✓Approved

74%of gurus approve

All 3 takes on Classic Whip SPF 30

The Best And Worst of Vacation

"It smells phenomenally, but if you have eczema or you are sensitive to fragrances, not for you. If you love an experience, I would have to say this is 10 out of 10 on experience. My first outing with the sunscreen I hated it because I used it before surfing and I found that this sunscreen was extremely irritating when it got in my eyes. So if you're going to be running, sweating, maybe in the water and active, not a sensitive skin, sensitive eyeball sunscreen. Not gentle at all. But from the experience standpoint, this will probably elevate your beach trip and create some nostalgia to go along with whatever adventure you're having."

The Best And Worst of Vacation

"You're going to have to wear more than you would normally wear of your regular sunscreens, get a nice thick layer. It smells phenomenally. If you have eczema or you are sensitive to fragrances, not for you, but if you love an experience, I would have to say this is 10 out of 10 on experience. My first outing with the sunscreen I hated it because I used it before surfing and I found that this sunscreen was extremely irritating when it got in my eyes. So if you're going to be running, sweating, maybe in the water and active, not a sensitive skin, sensitive eyeball sunscreen, not gentle at all. But from the experience standpoint, this will probably elevate your beach trip. It will probably create some nostalgia to go along with whatever adventure you're having. Love this sunscreen."

Vacation Sunscreen

"Vacation is actually a very nice one. It's actually the most affordable option at $26 for 1.7 ounces. Now, the clear sunscreens are usually more expensive to formulate, so it is nice to get one at this price point."

✓Approved

65%of gurus approve

EltaMD UV Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46

"I've been a huge fan of UV Clear for a very long time and I've always liked it. It's one of the first sunscreens I used pretty consistently. It's got 5% niacinamide in it and it's really good for that oily acne prone skin."

✓Approved

80%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on UV Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46

The ULTIMATE Normal & Combination Skincare Routine | Doctorly Routines

"EltaMD UV Clear sunscreen is a great product, really is great for pretty much all skin types. It's got the addition of niacinamide in it, just a great product. A little bit on the pricier side but definitely gets the job done."

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EltaMD Ulta MD UV daily tinted

"I really like their UV restore also, but they sent me their UV daily recently and it's exactly the same as UV clear but more dewy and it doesn't have the niacinamide in it and in exchange for that they do more of like a hyaluronic acid hydration angle with this one. So instead of oil control they go more hydration which is really what I should have been going for. If you're looking for a UV clear alternative, you find the UV clear one a little bit on the more drying mattifying side, I think this is a really good option."

✓Approved

80%of gurus approve

CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30

"The am facial moisturizing lotion SPF 30 is a hybrid sunscreen so it has zinc oxide and it also has your chemical sunscreens like homosalate, meradimate, octanoate, octocrylene. It's a great starter sunscreen because a lot of patients just wanted something hydrating that would also protect them from the sun. Many people use this as a starter sunscreen and it gets them through the day perfectly sufficient. For most people this is a great option just to start your skincare routine, protect your skin, hydrate all in one. It's tough to blend in some ways, not in the sense that it doesn't blend with most skin types, but it's not something that's going to melt into your skin right away. It's something you have to work a little bit more into your skin, which people don't necessarily love, especially with so many more elegant sunscreens coming out. This is a great starter sunscreen, a sunscreen I love and recommend to my patients all the time."

✓Approved

74%of gurus approve

CeraVe Ultra Light Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30

"It's a pure chemical sunscreen. It blends well with three essential ceramides and hyaluronic acid. Yes, it's hydrating, yes it's moisturizing, yes it's your moisturizing SPF, pretty easy to wear for I would say absolutely anyone. It's a good sunscreen."

✓Approved

78%of gurus approve

CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion SPF 50

"Their AM SPF 50 is a new launch from CeraVe. It's a mixed chemical and mineral sunscreen. I actually find it easier to blend than the 30. The SPF 50 feels nice and aesthetically feels good. It blends a little easier, so I think as time moves forward this might become the go-to for people's starter sunscreens."

✓Approved

85%of gurus approve

CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50

"The hydrating mineral sunscreen SPF 50, I've worn this quite a bit and it just struggles to blend with darker skin tones. It's very casty. I would classify this as unwearable. This is a criminal release from CeraVe. Unless you have the lightest skin tones or you really don't care about a white cast, you will otherwise hate this sunscreen. It's a pure mineral, it's like a paste. It just doesn't blend really well at all and it'll sit on your face kind of just all white. You can't tell how it doesn't essentially blend very well with my skin."

✕Skip

55%of gurus approve

Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Moist Sun Serum SPF 50

"This is the Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Moist Sun Serum. I like it. It wasn't irritating at all."

✓Approved

69%of gurus approve

La Roche-Posay UV Mune 400

"La Roche-Posay UV Mune has this ingredient, Amiloxate, which is a name we learned about it in medical school, no one knows it by that name, but this ingredient has great UVA protection. The European sunscreens are incredible, incredibly aesthetic. European ones have great elegance."

✓Approved

80%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on UV Mune 400

Skin QnA

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"I ran out of the La Roche-Posay UV Mune 400 product, which is a product that's only available in Europe. I hate that, that makes me so mad. I've asked some of these brands at all store in Europe, I'm like please send me your European sunscreens, like I want to try them, I want the filters."

La Roche-Posay Sunscreen

"Bondi Sands and La Roche-Posay sunscreens would be a really good combo actually. There are so many good sunscreens out right now it is unreal whether it's mineral American European Korea we just have so many incredible options. I'm not sure what's changed in terms of formulation but I'm just quite happy with how sunscreen has evolved over the last years."

✓Approved

70%of gurus approve

Bondi Sands SPF 50 Sunscreen

"Bondi Sands and L'Oréal Posay sunscreens would be a really good combo actually."

✓Approved

86%of gurus approve

Super Goop Glow Screen SPF 40

"My wife's most frequently reused sunscreen by far is still the Super Goop Glow Screen sunscreen. She buys that all the time."

✓Approved

69%of gurus approve

Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence SPF 50+ PA++++

"It's the most liquidy sunscreen I've ever tried because it doesn't have that tack, and it's harder to apply. Normally I apply two finger lengths, but you can't do that with this. You almost have to apply it into your hand and dab it onto the face, so my application technique doesn't work very well. It also has a relatively strong fragrance, almost like a fresh kind of fragrance. I didn't hate this product, but I really didn't love it the way that everyone else had loved it. The spray version grips pretty well actually, the spray grips more than the lotion. The reason I say that is because a way that people go wrong with sprays is they don't rub it in. It's weird that it grips so much for a spray. The smell is subjective, but I think it's nice."

~Mixed

78%of gurus approve

Trader Joe's Daily Facial Sunscreen SPF 40

"It's fragrance free, blends super well with the skin, so this is something that a lot of people are gonna like, and it's only $14, which is pretty incredible, that's a really really good price for a sunscreen like this."

✓Approved

70%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Daily Facial Sunscreen SPF 40

2025 BEST SUNSCREENS OF THE YEAR | DOCTORLY REVIEWS

"I couldn't find any substantive commentary about Trader Joe's Daily Facial Sunscreen SPF 40 in this transcript window. The passage discusses other sunscreens (Malibu 3, Bioance squalane sunscreen, and Lush UV Hydra) but does not evaluate Trader Joe's Daily Facial Sunscreen SPF 40."

Best & Worst BUDGET Sunscreens Under $20 | Doctorly Reviews

Round Lab Birch Juice Moisturizing Sunscreen SPF 50 PA++++

"I fell in love with this. It's absolutely beautiful. You often times can't tell what brand this comes from when you try to find it on the shelf. But it's the Round Lab sunscreen and it's absolutely incredible. Now, they do have an American version and a Korean version. The American version is actually available at Target. But the Korean version, which is available from Yes Style, is the one with the Korean filters. They're similar, but I will say that the American one is slightly heavier than the Korean version."

✓Approved

84%of gurus approve

Purito Deep Sea Pure Water Sunscreen

"This sunscreen actually brings to the table a mix of US and Korean sunscreen filters to achieve things that really are hard to obtain otherwise which is water resistance. Interestingly too, this one does tout a bit of oil control, sebum control. So those of you or me with like normal to oily or normal to combination skin, this might do a lot of different things beyond just sun protection for you. And I always find that the stick, well, it depends on what the base is of the stick, but I do actually find that they give more of a dry down, but has more of like an oil finish actually, believe it or not. Even though they're touting like oil controlling ingredients, it gives you a bit of an oil finish like a skin oil almost."

~Mixed

85%of gurus approve

Retinoids14 reviews

Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Retinol Moisturizer

"The Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair is a fond one for me. It's the first retinol product I ever used. Even though the concentration is not disclosed, it is effective. They have a lot of studies backing it up. This retinol is paired with a lot of hydrating ingredients, so it offsets irritation, especially for someone who's just starting a retinol. I think this is a perfect pick. They have some really fascinating internal studies that show its retinol activity on the skin and actually having increased retinol activity acting in your skin compared to other moisturizers that have retinol in it. So they really have a lot of good science behind their products."

✓Approved

83%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Rapid Wrinkle Repair Retinol Moisturizer

Derm Compares Olay Regenerist Retinol 24 vs Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair vs RoC Retinol Correxion

"The first retinoid I ever used was the Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair, and I'm sentimental in that way, but that's also where I learned a lesson that my expectations need to be tempered. I thought it would be like a wrinkle eliminator, pore eliminator, but I was very disappointed even after perhaps using a full jar. That said, I would lean towards the Neutrogena one just because of the internal studies that I've seen. When I see a study like that, you think to yourself, okay, I can count on this working."

Best Moisturizers of the Year | Doctorly Favorites of 2025

RoC Retinol Correxion Max Hydration Cream

"The thinnest product, meaning the most lightweight formula, is the RoC Retinol Correxion Max Hydration Cream. It gives you a little bit of a shimmer, a little dewy glow moment just for a second before it absorbs really nicely into the skin. It has this silky hydrated dry down."

✓Approved

83%of gurus approve

Differin Adapalene Gel 0.1%

"Still a great product. Still a great product for blackheads."

✓Approved

78%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Adapalene Gel 0.1%

2025 BEST BLACK FRIDAY CYBER MONDAY SKINCARE AND DEVICE DEALS LIVE

"Still a great product. Still a great product for blackheads."

Ultimate GUIDE to Treating Back and Body acne | Doctorly Routines

"you could take some Differin gel or a dappling, smear it onto one of these little spatula back buddies and then just put it on your back there. I find this to be like an impractical thing to do, but if you really wanted to do it, if you really wanted to avoid oral medications, I think that there's probably some benefit in doing that."

CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol Serum

"I like the resurfacing Retinol Serum better. It has other supporting ingredients like licorice root and niacinamide, and it's a really good starter retinol for somebody who's looking to start a retinol that wants something that's going to be gentle on the skin but it's also going to be effective. It's going to help with texture, it'll help with discoloration, and it will help with anti-aging benefits and large pores. The product has encapsulated retinol so it's more stable, you can in theory use it in the daytime, it plays better with other ingredients, better dispersion, less irritation, better absorption, plus licorice plus niacinamide. If you want to start a retinol and you have sensitive skin, for aging changes whether it's dark spots, fine lines, or texture, I think this is a great starting point. I still recommend it all the time for people looking to start retinol."

✓Approved

93%of gurus approve

All 6 takes on Resurfacing Retinol Serum

Products We HATE and LOVE from CeraVe | Doctorly Reviews

The ULTIMATE Budget Friendly Anti-Aging Skincare Routine

"It's got ceramides in it, that dimethicone base so it's going to be reparative as well, niacinamide in it, licorice root in it, of course it's got its retinol. I believe this is an encapsulated retinol at a .1% concentration, plus your hyaluronic acid in it. This is going to be one of those products that has quite a bit in it and it has that MVE technology that's going to keep your skin hydrated. Overall this is a winning product. This is not an advanced retinol, but for somebody who just simply wants clear skin, healthy skin over time, this is a really good starting point."

The ULTIMATE Normal & Combination Skincare Routine | Doctorly Routines

"I like it because we're talking about mostly maintaining and preventing photo aging and this is very budget friendly. It also has multiple ingredients so it has your retinol, your jack of all trades niacinamide, and then licorice for the third component, and then like all CeraVe products it has ceramides in it as well. I think it delivers as a very comprehensive retinol product. It's a great product, it's even good as a starter retinol for people that are first getting into retinol, affordable, widely available. I've used it for a long time, didn't have any irritation with it, and it's quite effective."

Saturday Skincare Live!

"One of my favorites is still the CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol. It's just so budget friendly. It's kind of the OG of a skinimalist product because it's inexpensive. It's a retinol that also has some ingredients to help with really just most aging concerns, uneven tone, dark spots, etc. While it's probably not the most effective and aesthetically it's good but not like lights out, I wouldn't take the time to talk about how good it feels. The CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol is still one of my favorites."

The ULTIMATE Routine for Large Pores and Sebaceous Filaments | Doctorly Routines

"You can use a retinol at night, something like the CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol Serum. They pioneered retinol so they are the OGs in that category. Using a retinol is going to do a lot of the work and so I do think it's foundational to your nighttime skincare routine if you're trying to minimize the appearance of pores."

The ULTIMATE Routine for Dark Spots | Doctorly Hyperpigmentation and Melasma Guide

"The CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol Serum here is like one of my favorites, it's budget friendly, it uses encapsulated slow release retinol, it's not expensive, and it keeps it very simple because it's like one product you just use this at night Monday through Saturday."

Paula's Choice CLINICAL 1% Retinol Treatment

"They have a 1% retinol that's going to be your intermediate, somebody who's a little bit used to it, wants something that's gentle but still effective."

✓Approved

70%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on CLINICAL 1% Retinol Treatment

Products We LOVE and HATE From Paula's Choice | Doctorly Reviews

"They have a 1% retinol that's going to be your intermediate, somebody who's a little bit used to it, wants something that's gentle but still effective."

Saturday Skincare Live!

"Paula's Choice retinol, that's a great one too."

A313 Vitamin A Pommade

"I don't really see a good reason why using this product anymore. In the past when retinol wasn't as widely available or as stable as it is today, then there could be a reason to use this type of product, but I think now there are products that are way more available, way more effective, and you can really expect to see results with. I actually do not like this product. I tried it for a while and didn't love it. A313, I don't need it. I personally don't want it."

✕Skip

61%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Vitamin A Pommade

Weekend SkinCare Live!

"This retinoid is full of retinal esters. These retinal esters are not effective. There's so many studies showing retinal esters have no significant effect on the skin, and yet this is a cult favorite, like the castor oil of retinoids. There's a deep love for it, an obsession over it, but it doesn't do what you think it does. I've been to France, this is where I bought it in France. I tried the product on paper beforehand and it didn't work. Aesthetically I don't enjoy it either. So I just don't understand how that continues to get so much love."

Skincare That You DON'T NEED (But Might Want)

Generic Retinal

"Retinal, very gentle if not otherwise ineffective form of vitamin A on your lips maybe that helps I don't think it helps on the skin at all."

✕Skip

66%of gurus approve

The Ordinary Retinol

"It's inexpensive and it's a retinol that also has some ingredients to help with really just most aging concerns, uneven tone, dark spots, etc. While it's probably not the most effective and aesthetically it's good but not lights out, The Ordinary Retinol is still one of my favorite products. It's been extremely good for gentle sensitive skin."

✓Approved

67%of gurus approve

Gold Bond Age Renew Retinol Overnight Body and Face Lotion

"The Gold Bond has a retinol that has become kind of popular, at least better known. It's a body retinol, very inexpensive, and another good option."

✓Approved

86%of gurus approve

Versed Gentle Retinol Serum

"The Versed Gentle Retinol Serum, that is a good one too. I love these products that use retinol consistently."

✓Approved

80%of gurus approve

Necessaire Necessary Body Retinol

"One of my favorite products is still the Necessaire Body Retinol. It combines your retinol and your exfoliating acid into a pretty decent-sized product, and I think it is probably still one of the most complete products out there for tone on the body. It's something I recommend in the office all the time, but because it's kind of expensive I do always caveat it with a budget-friendly alternative."

✓Approved

79%of gurus approve

Skinceuticals Retinol

"I love it, it's been extremely good for gentle sensitive skin. That has actually been a game changer in my household for retinol products."

✓Approved

78%of gurus approve

La Roche-Posay Retinol B3 Serum

"Something like the rock retinol they pioneered retinol so they are the ogs in that category"

✓Approved

62%of gurus approve

La Roche-Posay Adapalene Gel

"Adapalene gel is a phenomenal acne ingredient. It's probably the most powerful acne ingredient you can find over the counter. It's incredible for those open and closed comedones and it's going to really improve the texture of your skin, short of getting a prescription medication from your dermatologist. This is definitely on the best list, but I don't think that it is superior to any of the other options out there, so if you can find it for a good price I highly recommend it. The over-the-counter version is 0.1% adapalene, which is a lower concentration than the prescription strength 3% version that exists."

✓Approved

89%of gurus approve

Masks & Peels13 reviews

Cure LED mask

"It's wireless, so you can just put it on your face and wrap it around your head. If you have a smaller face and want the portability and mobility element, then I think Cure is better. And if you want the blue light feature, specifically if you have acne, then I would recommend the Cure one."

✓Approved

75%of gurus approve

All 5 takes on LED mask

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"Consistent use of the LED mask is actually what makes a big difference. We've always been big proponents of the Cure mask. We've been big fans of the technology in general, so whether you get one from Omnilux or Current Body or there's a new one from Shark Beauty or you get the one that we love from Cure, just using that consistently is we're going to see results. Specifically when we're talking about anti-aging, we're usually talking about red light and infrared light, and it stimulates that collagen production by stimulating those fibroblasts, and by doing that your skin will be healthier for longer. But you do have to be consistent. It is a technology that we do believe in."

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"You see us rocking the LED masks all the time. It's a brand that we love."

Black Friday Deals and Skincare Q&A

"Cure is is $80 cheaper than it normally is on their website so they are truly 20 20% off um so that's lower than you'll normally find the Cure mask"

Neck and Decolletage Skincare - How to Treat Tech Neck Lines and Sun Damage

"This is one from Cure, they make the mask we love. It's just a nice simple product you wear it around your neck for a short period of time throughout the day. LED is a form of photobiomodulation where you're using visible light to stimulate collagen and rejuvenate the skin. The benefit is it's extremely gentle. There's really no limitation for a person to use this type of device, it just takes a few minutes a day. There's really no downside to something like this except for the cost, but unlike your skincare products it's a onetime investment. That LED light targets fibroblasts to increase collagen production and will have those anti-aging benefits. Especially if you get tech neck, which is the lines in the neck or wrinkling that you see through the chest, LED is really good at-home treatment for this. You do have to be consistent, pretty much with anything to see good results, but especially with LED you need to be using this at least three times a week for at least three minutes a day, sometimes for ten minutes a day, especially on the neck."

CurrentBody Skin LED Light Therapy Mask

"Current Body has an LED mask that covers the entire face. It's soft and malleable and has a cord. They also have this chin extension that's really nice to really just cup your face underneath the skin. Current Body is definitely a reputable brand."

✓Approved

84%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Skin LED Light Therapy Mask

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"Consistent use of the LED mask is actually what makes a big difference. We've always been big proponents of the technology in general, so whether you get one from Omnilux or CurrentBody or there's a new one from Shark Beauty, just using that consistently is going to show results. Specifically when talking about anti-aging, we're usually talking about red light and infrared light, and it stimulates collagen production by stimulating fibroblasts. By doing that, your skin will be healthier for longer, but you do have to be consistent. It is a technology that we do believe in."

LED mask

"I stay consistent with my LED mask, so those two things combined you won't have to get Botox today maybe in a few years but not today it's going to be a good glow."

✓Approved

70%of gurus approve

Medicube Collagen Night Wrapping Mask

"Collagen doesn't get into the skin, but it's actually a nice, great moisturizer. I actually really enjoyed this experience. I found it quite moisturizing. And if you need something really visual for your morning shed, this would be a good option. I do hate trying to get it out of the beard and hairline. That's my knock on that one."

✓Approved

81%of gurus approve

Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant

"This is a great product, great for people with oily skin, great for people with blemish prone skin, and it's their most viral product, most purchased product. If you're going to try any product from Paula's Choice, I always think this is a good starter product for you."

✓Approved

77%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant

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"Paula's Choice is an amazing brand, an incredible brand. If you're using the BHA liquid exfoliant and you need a reup, this is a good opportunity to get 25% off. They do 25% off pretty frequently throughout the year, so it's not one of those things where you have to rush to buy it."

Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 6% Mandelic Acid + 2% Lactic Acid Liquid Exfoliant

"Mandelic acid is one of the larger size alpha hydroxy acids, so because it's a larger size it doesn't penetrate as deeply into the skin, and so it's usually my preferred exfoliant for people with sensitive skin. Mandelic acid is really a great ingredient for people who want to exfoliate but also have sensitive skin. Then you add lactic acid which is slightly moisturizing, and you put it in a time-released formula, and this is really a great product for people who have sensitive skin but want to exfoliate."

✓Approved

76%of gurus approve

Medic Cube Collagen Night Wrapping Mask

"I like it because I think the ingredients are good and I think it's going to deliver on its intended purpose. If you wear it overnight it's not going to be messy and it's not going to mess up your pillow. It doesn't have any irritating ingredients like the bubble mask does. You don't need it, but you might want it, especially this winter when your skin is dry and chapped."

~Mixed

74%of gurus approve

The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution

"You have things like the Ordinary peeling solution that you could potentially use on these. They are higher strength exfoliants but you would still only want to leave those on for 15 minutes maximum and then definitely wash them off. You don't want to leave them on all day or anything like that."

✓Approved

61%of gurus approve

Bubble Overnight Hydrating Sleep Mask

"The overnight hydrating mask, I don't think it's maybe necessary for anyone. If you just pick the three that we went through before based on your skin type, that's probably where you're going to have the most success."

✕Skip

63%of gurus approve

DRMTLGY Exfoliating Body Lotion

"The Dermatology Exfoliating Body Lotion is a 12% lotion for your body like this is excellent, it's just a very straightforward product. This is going to help resurface your skin like it's a very rich moisturizer. Overall very simple minimalistic goal oriented formula. In this you have ceramides which are going to provide a backbone of support for your skin barrier along with multiple other hydrating helpful ingredients. Texturally it's great, volume is great, very thoughtful. I love this product."

✓Approved

80%of gurus approve

DRMTLGY Pumpkin Enzyme Mask

"It's experiential skin care but there's just like nothing like it. It's not a new product, every fall this one product comes back to me. It's like a fall candle for your face. If you enjoy that sort of thing, if you don't have sensitive skin, you don't have eczema, I'm a big fan of this product. Ingredient wise it makes sense, but you're going into this knowing that it's for the experience plus some functional skin care, and the fragrance is just a part of that."

✓Approved

67%of gurus approve

Remedy KP Exfoliating Body Moisturizer

"Remedy KP Exfoliating Body Moisturizer has lactic acid, urea, and retinol. Use it in the shower, rinse it off. I would recommend using this up to two times a week in the shower. What I've noticed when I use it is that not only does it improve the texture immediately of the skin on my body, but I've also noticed that my hands are a lot smoother. They're like baby soft afterwards. This will do double duty on elbows, knees, legs, hands as well. You may find that if you do this and get a little irritation, you do it less frequently. Maybe you can do it more frequently, but just tailor this to your skin type. Everyone has different degrees of sensitive skin. Whatever you can be consistent with is how you're going to get the best results."

✓Approved

73%of gurus approve

Remedy KP Exfoliating Body Scrub

"I would recommend using this up to two times a week in the shower. That's basically how I've been using it. And what I've noticed is that not only does it improve the texture immediately of the skin on my body, but I've also noticed that my hands are a lot smoother. They're like baby soft afterwards. This will do double duty on elbows, knees, legs, hands as well. I will say, if you do this and you do the Remedy for body bumps leave-on lotion, maybe you get a little irritation, you do it less frequently. Maybe you can do it more frequently, but just tailor this to your skin type. Everyone has different degrees of sensitive skin. Whatever you can be consistent with is how you're going to get the best results."

✓Approved

80%of gurus approve

Haircare10 reviews

Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer

"I think probably like the goat of hair dryers would have to be the Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer. This is a really good deal for the hair dryer currently at $399, 27% off for Black Friday, and it appears to be a lower price than it's been on sale for, not even on Prime Day."

✓Approved

84%of gurus approve

Dyson Airwrap

"The Dyson Airwrap, you get the hair dryer setting, which is kind of nice. So you get more features, you get more bang for your buck than just buying like an expensive hair dryer. I actually have both, so I kind of know, but I think the Airwrap you'll get more utility out of it."

✓Approved

71%of gurus approve

The Minimalist Hair Density Serum

"The Minimalist Hair Density Serum has kexel renil and caill and then a few other ingredients as well. This would be a good complement if you're someone who really wants to go all out for hair growth and you're looking for an over-the-counter blend to complement hero ingredients like minoxidil or Rogaine. This would be great. There are some studies showing it can be beneficial, some studies comparing it to minoxidil. It's one of those things where you're not studying it against minoxidil to show you use it instead of it. The thought process should be you should use it with it, so a nice complement for an over-the-counter hair growth hair density serum."

✓Approved

78%of gurus approve

Ketoconazole Shampoo

"There are a lot of expensive shampoos out there for hair loss but truthfully none of them has showed consistent results and independent studies the way that topical ketoconazol shampoos have. If there was one shampoo I was going to buy for hair loss that I would be pretty confident would work, it would be a ketoconazol shampoo. The yeast that causes dandruff can cause enough inflammation that it can damage the hair, and the anti-inflammatory component of the ketoconazol and the killing of the yeast might help alleviate some of that hair loss. It also is an androgen inhibitor, and because androgenetic alopecia is caused by androgens acting on the hair follicle which miniaturizes them, by blocking these androgens it can be quite effective at stopping hair loss. For these types of shampoos you want to leave them on the scalp for 2 to 3 minutes to make sure that the medication really sets in. You also want to massage it in with a little bit of a scalp scrubber, leave it in there, allow the medication to work, and then wash it out."

✓Approved

81%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Shampoo

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"Of all of those that are available out there I actually think Ketoconazole has the best evidence of everything that's there, so I do think that it's actually a really good hack for somebody who's just looking for a little bit of edge with their hair loss. Is it foundational to a hair loss routine? I think not. But I think if you're somebody like me who's doing everything to try to promote hair growth, I personally use it and I use it for other reasons such as dandruff, so for me it can't hurt and in fact I think it does help a bit. When it comes to shampoos there are very few this is one of a few that has evidence. Beyond that I mean there's not much there, and so this one I think is doctorally approved."

Nutrafol Hair Growth Supplement

"Nutrafol is definitely one you've seen more for, but because of the inclusion of an ingredient called saw palmetto in their Syneren complex, this is generally thought to be unsafe during both pregnancy and breastfeeding. The risk in pregnancy is much stronger because it inhibits DHT and that would inhibit hormones and fetal development. Breastfeeding, the risk of absorption and passing on is probably a lot less, but it's still probably something you should avoid. Nutrafol does have more studies in general, but because of the ingredient profile, it comes out as less ideal in the postpartum period."

~Mixed

69%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Hair Growth Supplement

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"There were two products that really stood out that were pretty evidence-based to me that I feel like did everything you could ask for from using evidence-based ingredients to using good formulations to doing their own clinical studies to prove that they worked. I think the research is there."

CeraVe Anti-Dandruff Shampoo with Zinc Pyrithione

"I'm super excited to know that CeraVe has something that's going to be gentle for the scalp and gentle for the skin and gentle for the hair both regular non-medicated cleansers and dandruff cleansers and dandruff conditioners which is also very unique."

✓Approved

80%of gurus approve

iRestore Laser Hair Growth Helmet

"The iRestore headlight device for hair loss, that's legitimate. The thing about red light for hair loss that's interesting is it's been around a lot longer than the public realizes. For anyone who has ever seen someone go through hair restoration surgery within the last probably 20 years, they've been using red light and red light laser devices. Your hair helmet has to have lasers to be adequately powered, not just LED lights. The iRestore one is legitimate, it's good."

✓Approved

76%of gurus approve

Generic Ketoconazole Shampoo 1%

"Ketoconazole has some data and that's probably the best shampoo you may be able to get in terms of data-based ingredients, but you're rinsing it off like how much is it doing? It's going to help but it's still probably the least impactful step in your routine."

✓Approved

81%of gurus approve

Neral Shampoo

"I use the shampoo as a body wash to try to prevent it from coming back. I am somebody who's actually prone to Tinea Versicolor, so I am on this maintenance routine about once a week. When I'm doing my dandruff routine where I'm actually treating my dandruff, I take that dandruff shampoo, usually Neral. I massage it onto my body, I leave it on for 2 to 3 minutes before I wash it off, and that keeps my Tinea Versicolor from coming back."

✓Approved

72%of gurus approve

Nioxin Shampoo

"I find it better than any clarifying shampoo that's available on the market by far. I think people underappreciate salicylic acid in hair care and scalp care. For me, the shampoo I run out of most, and I actually do rotate shampoos very frequently, it's probably the Nioxin shampoo. I've been using that this year. It's the shampoo I repurchase most frequently. It's been leaving me a little bit more residue lately, but it could just be a water quality issue."

✓Approved

78%of gurus approve

Acne5 reviews

Starface Pimple Patches

"She uses some pimple patches. We like pimple patches. I've always been a big fan, ever since I've been introduced to them to hydrocolloid pimple patches. Those ones are from Starface. They're a little bit of decoration on your face. They're great."

✓Approved

62%of gurus approve

Cetaphil Gentle Clear Mattifying Acne Moisturizer

"I love their mattifying acne moisturizer. It's really good, one of the best mattifying moisturizers, especially for those with acne-prone skin that I know of. It anchors on ceramides and the skin barrier, which are both good. It's not a product the brand really tries to push or advertise for, and people aren't really talking about it much, but it's definitely worth trying."

✓Approved

80%of gurus approve

Benzoyl Peroxide Benzoyl Peroxide

"Benzoyl peroxide is incredibly effective for your inflammatory types of acne. You can get 10% benzoyl peroxide, and these are the type of products you want to look for to actually spot treat acne."

✓Approved

77%of gurus approve

Differin Salicylic Acid Spray

"You can use the salicylic acid spray, which is like a new invention over the past maybe two years. You just spray it on and it really helps get an active ingredient onto an area that's hard to reach, and it covers most of that body surface area easily. They're fragrance free, so good by me. I think they're going to have the efficacy that you're looking for."

✓Approved

73%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Salicylic Acid Spray

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"Differin is one that I've used and it's fine. You can spray this on the arms, you can spray this on the back. I really don't like it when people spray things in the face and then breathe them in, not a huge fan of that, but you can spray it all over the body. You can also use the salicylic acid sprays for those hard to hit areas."

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Remedy Pimple patches

"I actually use those every now and then they seem to work pretty well and they keep you from itching and picking at them. You get 36 pimple patches for $7.50 right now, it's actually a pretty good deal."

✓Approved

77%of gurus approve

Tools4 reviews

Clean Skin Club Clean Towels

"I love these things. Paper towels feel rough as a pine cone compared to these Clean Skin Club towels. I ran out of these on one of my counters and I grabbed a paper towel and I used it and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, this feels horrible compared to a clean skin club towel.' And they're made of bamboo. So there is a lot of eco thought that goes into these. Even though they are a little wasteful, they're actually much more sustainable than anything else you would use, including paper towels."

✓Approved

76%of gurus approve

All 4 takes on Clean Towels

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"When you first told me about these, I was pretty resistant to this concept of using a paper towel on your face. But the more practical this has become for me, as somebody who just has to do so many loads of laundry for a new daughter, I don't have time to be washing my towels all the time. Having a clean towel on your countertop in a box that's soft, that's much softer than a regular paper towel. There is a waste that occurs here, and that's one of the things that I don't like about these paper towels is that it is wasteful in some ways. However, the practicality and the fact that I'm using a new clean towel every single time when I wash my face is really nice. All of our towels are white, so if my wife is wearing makeup or I'm using a tinted sunscreen, sometimes those white towels don't wipe wash off completely and they end up stained on that towel. It is kind of nice to get to use a clean towel every time and make sure you're not damaging your towels from whatever else is on your face. There is some practicality to this that for some reason has become like a guilty pleasure of mine. They go so far as far as I think is reasonably possible to minimize waste and to support the environment."

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"I had my initial gut reaction that this was unnecessary, like wasteful. But I had them, used them, and I was like, it's impossible to go back. The reason these are like what we like these for is every single use is obviously clean. It's fresh. The material can be made of different things including bamboo, but it's relatively eco-friendly. And then it just feels like fabric. This is not like rough. It is the softest thing you'll put on your skin. And it's also very clean. So I think for someone who has a little bit of an expendable budget or if you feel like this would fit into your lifestyle, I think this will do right by you and you'll be very happy with how this plays with your skin. The quality is just so good. And once you kind of get into this, it's kind of hard to go back."

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"Clean Skin Club towels, I love these and I know that I get flack because of how much I love them but I keep coming back to them. My nurses like to steal them from my products. There's a day-to-day utility with these and a practical application that just really makes it an extraordinary product. You'll find yourself using way more than you thought you would. The technology in these towels is actually quite nice. They're biodegradable towels so they're a little bit better for the environment even though they are disposable. They have the bamboo ones and then they have the regular cellulose ones but ultimately it feels really nice on the skin. There's utility at home for you to use a different towel every day."

Microcurrent Device

"It is causing muscle contraction and stimulating those muscles and potentially bringing back your muscle contraction in that area. Now if somebody has something like Bell's palsy where they lose the ability to contract one side of the face, this could stimulate the muscles, get them back into high gear and try to recover maybe a little bit quicker. I could see the logic there and maybe there's some studies or anecdote surrounding that. But beyond that, this is not a good treatment for getting rid of wrinkles ultimately."

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53%of gurus approve

Solawave LED Wand

"Red light is really beneficial for anti-aging, but from a practicality standpoint, if you're trying to get exposed to at least three to 10 minutes of red light in that frequency, it's going to take you a very very long time to get that much exposure through this little wand. It'll take you pretty much all day. It's like good technology with a bad application. It's extremely impractical to get three to five minutes spot by spot by spot for your whole face, and then you kind of miss out on the red light benefits altogether. That said, I do think it could be helpful for lymphatic drainage to help depuff in the morning. Do I think those have permanent benefits to the skin? No. But similar to gua sha, it is going to help move fluid and help depuff at least temporarily. If you're somebody who wakes up really puffy, you could want to go through these motions that push things along the lymphatics. This has the added benefit of vibration and red light, so not only are you pushing fluid around but you're maybe having some additional benefits with it. If you're somebody who does gua sha or anything that is moving lymphatics, this may be a good tool to deliver that. Otherwise, this is a no for me."

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69%of gurus approve

Cure Micro Infusion System

"The one we've talked about the most and certainly have backed most solidly is the Cure Micro Infusion System. And that's because this uses a sterile head single use and it's also with very deliberate length needles. So the risk of infection, the risk of irritation, the risk of damage to your skin from the needling is much much much lower than with something like a traditional derma roller. This is one of the most thoughtful uses of micro infusion because by creating these tiny breaks in the skin, it can increase the penetration of these ingredients. If you're going to do it at home, please learn how to do this properly. That means cleansing the skin before, spraying it with a hypochlorous acid spray, allowing it to dry, micro stamping, and then allowing that infusion to seep into the skin, and then afterwards just simply moisturizing. Don't use a needle tip over and over again. You just don't want to introduce infection or irritation."

✓Approved

76%of gurus approve

All 3 takes on Micro Infusion System

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"The Cure micro infusion device I think has really made headways here and the reason why we put this in the Innovation category is because I was very against any type of stamping at home and I do think that Cure, of course having conversations with them to improve these devices constantly, but I do think that they are pushing the limits towards making this more acceptable at home for me and to me that's an innovation. You have the micro infusion device which I do think and I've always held the position that it does help ingredients penetrate better into the skin by poking holes in the stratum corneum, by creating that small amount of trauma to the skin it does help the support and boost your collagen production. So there's definitely benefits to microneedling. We see it in the office. There's definitely benefits to increasing penetration of your skincare products. The concern is always like how do you do it safely and they really have pushed the limits to make it safer. So one, you have the sterile needle tips so each one comes in the sterile packaging, the same type of packaging that we get our medical devices in in the office, individually tear you use them. This is the cleanest way that you're going to get needles into the skin."

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"I think it's safe and I think it's effective. I think the reason why we love this so much is because we used to do it in clinic and we couldn't go as frequent as we would like to actually see the benefits, and that's why I think the solution works well because you can do it more frequently at a very cost effective rate. If you do it once a year you can see a huge difference in skin."

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Body & Tan3 reviews

Vanicream Deodorant

"Vanicream is a really good option. It's an aluminum-based deodorant, it's fragrance-free, and it's really just going to block those sweat glands."

✓Approved

80%of gurus approve

Remedy For body bumps

"Remedy for Body Bumps also has urea, one of those functional ingredients paired with a lot of other ingredients with complementary benefits. It has 10% urea in that formula. It's more of a comprehensive product targeted towards more textured treatments on the body as we age and even dry cracked heels, but more comprehensive formula while still incorporating urea."

✓Approved

88%of gurus approve

All 6 takes on For body bumps

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Keratosis Pilaris? Crepey Skin? New Product Alert from Remedy Science 🚨

"I'm super excited this is for body care. This is essentially formulated for keratosis pilaris but it does so much more. I am so passionate about this product. This product, when we talk about all the products from Remedy, everything is super stacked like we're taking multiple ingredients to solve a singular or many problems. The idea for this product really surrounded keratosis pilaris, which are those scaly red, sometimes pigmented bumps on the arms, on the legs, and sometimes even on the face. They're often associated with eczema, so you really need to use something that is not only exfoliating but also hydrating and can get rid of some of the redness and dark spots that are left behind around the follicles. It's a full body cream. It is very soft, blends, hydrates easily. I do an arm hair test with body products. If it blends and doesn't cling and cake to the arm hair, it's very successful. That is very successful."

Keratosis Pilaris? Crepey Skin? New Product Alert from Remedy Science 🚨

"It blends and doesn't cling and cake to the arm hair, which is a huge win. I don't smell that lactic acid smell, which can be pretty strong. Aesthetically it's great, no film, full body moisturizer, rich cream, doesn't cake. This formula was created with keratosis pilaris, body bumps, body texture, and any type of pigmentation in mind, but I also realized afterwards that this is going to do quite a bit for crepey skin as well. This product has 0.1% retinol encapsulated, 5% lactic acid, and 10% urea all into one formula. Keratosis pilaris and body bumps are increased keratin on the skin that causes that scaliness, and you get some redness because those follicles are plugged by that keratin. That redness is really only treated by retinol. Ingredients that can actually exfoliate those away, we really like ingredients like lactic acid and urea for this."

Keratosis Pilaris? Crepey Skin? New Product Alert from Remedy Science 🚨

"It is a full body cream and it is very soft, blends hydrates easily. I have this arm hair test I do with body products if it blends and doesn't cling and cake to the arm hair it's very successful. That is very successful. So that's a huge win. It doesn't smell like that lactic acid smell which can be pretty strong. No film, full body moisturizer, rich cream doesn't cake. So aesthetically it's a huge win for me. I created this formula with keratosis polaris, body bumps, body texture, any type of pigmentation that can occur on the skin in mind, but I really thought about it afterwards and I realized that this is also going to do quite a bit for crepey skin as well. This product has 0.1% retinol encapsulated, 5% lactic acid and 10% urea all into one formula."

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"If you do experience that dry flaky skin that we see commonly extremely commonly in our maturing population, this would be a perfect remedy for something like that. To use it, start with once a day, morning or night, because the retinol is encapsulated. Make sure you're wearing sunscreen in the morning if you're going to be out in the sun. This can be really used any time of the year for a lot of the different conditions."

Keratosis Pilaris? Crepey Skin? New Product Alert from Remedy Science 🚨

"I really kept my patience in mind with this one but it really does so much more. When I use it I use it all the way up and down the arms, I use it on my legs because I get like really dry skin, keratosis pilaris type of on my legs. It works really well, just effectively as a moisturizer but it also has all those extra benefits. If you do experience that dry flaky skin that we see commonly in our maturing population, this would be a perfect remedy for something like that. To use it, start using it once a day, you can use it morning or night because the retinol is encapsulated, so whatever one you feel comfortable with, start out only once a day and then definitely make sure you're wearing sunscreen in the morning if you're going to be out in the sun."

Cure Shower filter

"I personally have this in my house. So, we're super excited to show this to you and the special deal that they're having."

✓Approved

79%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Shower filter

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"I personally have this in my house. So, we're super excited to show this to you and the special deal that they're having."

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"The water filter now has much improved practical utility. You get to flip the faucet around so you could treat it like a drinking fountain if you wanted to, which I found terrific. Everything from Cure is not only functional and innovative but there's that extra layer of thought in the product development. The shower filters are actually pretty sick, I've showered with that many times now and I can't wait to install mine."

Eye Care3 reviews

Biossance Marine Algae Eye Cream

"I still also like their marine algae eye cream. I quite haven't found anything that I like as much as their eye cream."

✓Approved

82%of gurus approve

All 5 takes on Marine Algae Eye Cream

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"I still also like their marine algae eye cream. I quite haven't found anything that I like as much as their eye cream."

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"Biossance is still my number one favorite eye cream. Marine Algae, I just think it's incredible."

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"My still my go-to eye cream is still the Biossance Marine Algae Eye Cream. It's a little thicker, so if you're on the really milia prone side I would be very cautious of that. It has those marine algae complexes in it and those algae complexes make a huge difference for creepy skin underneath the eye."

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"I love that one if you haven't had a chance to try it this would be a really good time to try it. Love that one."

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"The Biossance Marine Algae Eye Cream is an incredible eye cream that has stood the test of time for me. It's thick, moisturizing, and does for some reason help with my under eyes. I don't know why I love it, but it works. The marine algae in this, I don't know what it is about this because there's no ingredient in this that really should be having the effect that it's having for me, but it does. It has peptides which are super gentle, great in an eye product. The peptides here help grow collagen long term and have numerous benefits."

RoC Retinol Correxion Line Smoothing Eye Cream

"The RoC retinol eye cream, I'm bothered that I like that one so much because this is a brand that's not super transparent with the concentration encapsulation, so I love it. It's been extremely good for gentle sensitive skin, which I don't really have, but my wife does and she's been tolerating it fine. So that has actually been a game changer in my household for retinol products."

✓Approved

76%of gurus approve

DRMTLGY Brightening Eye Masks

"On paper it should be on one of the best lists because it's got caffeine which helps with puffiness around the eyes and peptides that really help with anti-aging collagen and barrier around the eyes. But I'm not a huge fan of disposable eye masks like this one specifically that just sit on top of the skin. I like the eye masks more that have the little micro needles in them because at least they have the added benefit of increasing the penetration of your products, whereas this is just going to sit on top of your skin like a serum and maybe the elusiveness of it would give it a little bit more penetration but it's really not going to be much better than just any topical eye cream that you have, which then won't have that disposable component to it. The other reason is Dr Maxfield and I both tried these and we both somehow got irritated by them even though they don't have any really common allergens or irritating ingredients in them. It looks good on paper, it has your caffeine, it has your peptides, it minimizes any potential allergens and irritants, but the irritation was a real issue for us."

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65%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Brightening Eye Masks

BEST and WORST DRMTLGY Products | Doctorly Reviews

"This is just going to sit on top of your skin like a serum and maybe the elusiveness of it would give it a little bit more penetration but it's really not going to be much better than just any topical eye cream that you have which then won't have that disposable component to it. The second reason why is because Dr Maxfield and I both tried these in a previous video and we both somehow got irritated by them even though they don't have any really common allergens or irritating ingredients in them. It looks good on paper, it has your niacinamide, it has your caffeine, it has your peptides, it minimizes any potential allergens and irritants, but we also had the anecdote of the irritation when we used them previously. So these eye patches, although again a nice experience, it just didn't resonate. This one's on our no list."

Procedures3 reviews

Botox Botox

"I do Botox in my jaw, I do it to my armpits, it's literally a miracle injection. And I also stay consistent with my LED mask, so those two things combined, you won't have to get Botox today, maybe in a few years, but not today."

✓Approved

67%of gurus approve

All 4 takes on Botox

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"Since doing Botox, it's changed the way that my wrinkles form. And I don't like that as much. I think that I would have started lasers and retinols earlier so that I had a higher quality of skin for longer so that I could actually prolong the need for Botox. I would focus on more skin treatments first so I could prolong the need for Botox."

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"Botox is heavily demonized but it is a miracle injection because it does so much more than just treat fine lines and wrinkles. It was initially developed for blepharospasm where people were getting contraction of the eye and then people noticed that it got rid of the wrinkles and that's how it became a cosmetic injection. It stops the release of acetylcholine and by doing that it also helps stop you from sweating and it also has other benefits like stopping muscle contraction for people who get tension headaches. It's good for people with bladder spasms and so it really is truly a miracle injection. It gets a bad rap because it's botulism toxin and people think toxin like why would you inject a toxin into the body but it's very safe and in batches that are not contaminated we've never really seen any negative or widespread consequences of using it. Botox is probably the greatest ingredient ever made because of the demonization of it. Everything is like Botox in the bottle, everything is your Botox alternative and none of them deliver."

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"Botox is truly a miracle injection and it really does get a bad rap because it's botulism toxin and people think toxin like why would you inject a toxin into the body but it's very safe and in batches that are not contaminated we've never really seen any negative or widespread consequences of using it. Botox is probably the greatest ingredient ever made because of the demonization of it, everything is like Botox in the bottle, everything is your Botox alternative and none of them deliver. All of these brands that utilize botulin toxin, they are effective, you will get what you pay for in terms of results, nothing mimics the effects. As far as safety it's really extremely safe compared to most other procedures. It's a toxin and it's thoughtfully used, deliberately used and it delivers."

Dysport Dysport

"All of these brands that utilize botulinum toxin, they are effective. You will get what you pay for in terms of results. Nothing mimics the effects, and as far as safety, it's really extremely safe compared to most other procedures."

✓Approved

75%of gurus approve

Juvederm Juvederm

"Except for Discord and Jubo to be clear they are botulin toxins"

✓Approved

71%of gurus approve

Toners3 reviews

The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution

"This Ordinary Glycolic Acid solution is a really great product, it's incredibly affordable, it's a good concentration of glycolic acid to accomplish quite a few things. That being said, keratosis pilaris is 50% of the time associated with eczema-like conditions, so dry skin, sensitive skin, irritated skin, and glycolic acid, especially at that pH that you find in that formula, is going to really irritate the skin barrier in somebody who has keratosis pilaris, especially when overlapped with something like eczema. The glycolic acid does exfoliate and it can be helpful for textured skin, so it could be helpful for KP if you are someone who has eczema, which will be a lot of people who have KP, then this might not be the best ingredient for you, or this might not simply be the best product for you. There are other glycolic acid products that either have a lower concentration or a more moisturizing base that might be a better option for sensitive skin."

~Mixed

65%of gurus approve

All 2 takes on Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution

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"The Ordinary glycolic acid is a good start. When we're talking about single ingredient acids, The Ordinary you can always find an affordable option."

Isntree Green Tea Toner

"I love these green tea toners I really do recommend these in the office to patients too. Love the green tea toner to start off your routine if you have oily skin. These feel good, they're functional, they're great."

✓Approved

80%of gurus approve

COSRX Hydrium Watery Toner Plus

"The can make mermaid skin gel or skin uvf one it's another amazing Korean option it just sits nicely Blends invisibly feels like your Skin's naked but it's not"

✓Approved

77%of gurus approve

Lip2 reviews

Aquaphor Lip Repair

"From a functionality standpoint it actually works incredibly well, the problem is it does have those potential allergies in it. Aquaphor is one of the most moisturizing products available on the market and because it has that petroleum base it's going to be incredibly reparative to the lips."

~Mixed

64%of gurus approve

Remedy Lip Balm

"My go-to ends up always being Remedy for dry lips because it's just not decoration for the lips. Any type of lip product, like I pretty much can't go any without it on me, like I start to get frantic."

✓Approved

67%of gurus approve

All 5 takes on Lip Balm

7 Skincare Products We Can't Live Without | Dermatologist Favorites

Dark Spots? Large Pores? Dry Lips? REMEDY BY DR. SHAH IS FINALLY HERE!

"This just feels nourished. I will say all the products that we've created and I've had friends and family and testers testing these products for the past year, this is the product that I get phone calls on. People text me and they go, I need more Remedy for my lips, which to me sounds really cool. This is the product I've gotten the most refill requests on because people love the way that it makes their lips feel. This is a product that I don't go anywhere without at this point, mainly because there's nothing worse than having dry lips for me, especially when you're on camera and you're thinking about your lips being dry the whole time."

Dark Spots? Large Pores? Dry Lips? REMEDY BY DR. SHAH IS FINALLY HERE!

"This is the product I've gotten the most refill requests on because people love the way that it makes their lips feel. This is a product that I don't go anywhere without at this point, mainly because there's nothing worse than having dry lips for me, especially when you're on camera and you're thinking about your lips being dry the whole time. You feel like you have to lick them and then you know that it's only making your lips worse if you do that. So I take this with me everywhere I go."

Dark Spots? Large Pores? Dry Lips? REMEDY BY DR. SHAH IS FINALLY HERE!

"This feels really hydrating. I would say it even errors on the hydration part even more than like if you use a beeswax lip balm. This just feels nourished. This is the product that I get the most refill requests on because people love the way that it makes their lips feel. This is a product that I don't go anywhere without at this point, mainly because there's nothing worse than having dry lips for me, especially when you're on camera and you're thinking about your lips being dry the whole time."

Weekend Live QnA

"Remedy for lips, what I like about that is it is also minimalistic, very hypoallergenic, extremely extremely hydrating and nourishing. It's got a little bit of a lighter vehicle so if you don't like the feeling of like a wax protective layer you would probably prefer remedy for lips."

Mists & Essences2 reviews

Tower 28 SOS Daily Rescue Facial Spray

"Tower 28 is sort of the leaders in the category and they remain that way. This one also has salicylic acid and some other skincare goodies in it. I see Dr. Maxvi kind of take this with him everywhere he goes. I actually really like it as a really non-drying hand sanitizer. The practical utility of it cannot be overstated."

✓Approved

82%of gurus approve

COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence

"Snail mucin is although thought to be gimmicky, snail mucin has been studied in the setting of sensitive skin that being atopic dermatitis and eczema and also in the reparative skin sector for wound healing so I actually think snail mucin is a very reasonable ingredient post procedure if you so feel inclined."

✓Approved

82%of gurus approve

Blush & Bronzer1 review

Omnilux Contour Face

"The Omnilux mask is FDA cleared, it's a soft flexible material that lies flat and you wrap it around your face, and it also has a handle that you attach with a remote. It's a nice mask and you're going to see results with that red light. If you have a smaller face and want something that's more malleable and moldable that gets a bit more coverage, the Omnilux mask is great for that."

✓Approved

72%of gurus approve

All 5 takes on Contour Face

2025 BEST BLACK FRIDAY CYBER MONDAY SKINCARE AND DEVICE DEALS | DOCTORLY DEALS

"Omnilux is one of those malleable masks that kind of conforms to the general shape of your head, but it can be very comfortable and it's data driven. Definitely a trusted brand. I do like wearing that one as well. I'm not a big fan of the cord thing, but that's a nuance. It's a good giftable item, and I think it's definitely something you can get for yourself, get for a friend, family member, and it'll work for your skin."

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"Consistent use of the LED mask is actually what makes a big difference. Whether you get one from Omnilux or Current Body or there's a new one from Shark Beauty or you get the one that we love from Cure, just using that consistently is going to help you see results. Specifically when we're talking about anti-aging, we're usually talking about red light and infrared light, and it stimulates that collagen production by stimulating those fibroblasts. By doing that your skin will be healthier for longer, but you do have to be consistent. It is a technology that we do believe in."

Skin QnA

"Omnilux face mask, it's good. There are a lot of good LED masks out there. I would never spend more than $500 on a mask, never spend more than $1,000 certainly, and I would never spend less than $100 at this point. Quality does matter. This one has blue in it, which is good. I actually do like a mask that has blue and red, especially for younger individuals, because although red light is great, if you can switch between blue and red I think it's even better because for breakouts blue light is much more effective and I like the freedom to do that."

Black Friday Deals and Skincare Q&A

"This is not really it's not really a great deal um the deals are really better if you buy more so you would have to buy two devices from omnilux to really benefit from the sale"

Fragrance1 review

Remedy For dandruff

"This does help keep my dandruff under control. I also use it as a face wash. If you ever feel like you get dry skin in your ears, behind your ears, along your nose and your beard, you also can use it as a face wash. You can use it as a body wash. Let it wash your feet. This has so many benefits beyond just the simple dandruff shampoo. And for me leaves my hair feeling extremely clean. Often times now at the end of the day I'm like extremely grungy and I just want to feel very clean and this just leaves my scalp and hair feeling like clean clean. So I love that feeling. Extremely unique product. I personally don't use it every day. I use it twice a week when I'm rotating it with my other shampoo. And so you can use it less often, especially if you're using it for dandruff and for hair density support like I am."

✓Approved

79%of gurus approve

All 6 takes on For dandruff

7 Skincare Products We Can't Live Without | Dermatologist Favorites

6 DERMATOLOGIST CLEANSING HACKS TO IMPROVE YOUR SKIN

"I'll just use Remedy for Dandruff in my hair, find my ears to get this in your ears, your beard, and it really does a great job of keeping it at bay. With Remedy for Dandruff, we formulated it to be like a scalp health product. So it's not formulated like shampoo, but it's not formulated like a traditional shampoo. So no fragrances, no irritating surfactants, no common preservative allergens. And so it is really kind of scalp and skin friendly in that way. So if you're looking for something that has these ingredients but isn't going to be just made for hair, which some of those products are really not great for the skin, that is definitely a product there."

Dandruff? Seborrheic dermatitis? Flaky scalp? MEET REMEDY FOR DANDRUFF!

"This product treats the root cause of the problem, which is the yeast that causes the underlying inflammation. What makes this product so unique is the active ingredient being salicylic acid and the complimentary ingredient ketoconazol. I've been waiting for this product for years. It's definitely something I'm going to use regularly for myself because all of my shampoos over the last 15 years have been dandruff shampoos. It took a long time to formulate and stabilize this product because you're taking ingredients that have never been formulated together, and it's also fragrance-free and our first shampoo. We looked at the entire market and the last three decades of dandruff products, and universally there's only four ingredients that are used to treat dandruff: selenium sulfide, zinc pyrithione, ketoconazol, and salicylic acid. This product is truly innovative in the space."

Dandruff? Seborrheic dermatitis? Flaky scalp? MEET REMEDY FOR DANDRUFF!

"You don't need nearly as much product with this than I do with other shampoos. A little bit comes out as a gel, a thick gel, and the lather is really nice, it's like a rich lather. It's a really good experience in the shower as you're working it in. Afterwards, the quality of the hair is a question too. This was not nearly as drying as I thought it would be. Dandruff shampoos can be drying, but this I'd say is like kind of middle of the road, and for the strength and the efficacy I would have accepted a much more drying version of this, but it really is not."

Dandruff? Seborrheic dermatitis? Flaky scalp? MEET REMEDY FOR DANDRUFF!

"The applicator tip is the unique feature, this is both my most favorite and least favorite thing about this product. The reason I like it is because a dandruff shampoo's main goal is to get the product to the scalp and when you have just a traditional shampoo you're going to lose a lot of that product into and on the hair before it actually gets to where it needs to go. The tip helps it get there to be more effective. The reason I don't like the applicator tip is because it's kind of hard to push out. But I will say you don't need nearly as much product with this than I do with other shampoos. A little bit of this comes out as a gel, like a thick gel, and the lather is really nice. The quality of the hair is a question too. This was not nearly as drying as I thought it would be. Dandruff shampoos can be drying, but this I'd say is kind of middle of the road, and for the strength and the efficacy I would have accepted a much more drying version of this."

Dandruff? Seborrheic dermatitis? Flaky scalp? MEET REMEDY FOR DANDRUFF!

"Remedy for Dandruff should be a good option for you. It has 1.8% salicylic acid, 1% ketoconazole, niacinamide, and is fragrance-free with a unique applicator tip. I'll be using it for the foreseeable future."

Ingredients1 review

Tazarotene Tazarotene

"Tazarotene is more irritating in general than tretinoin. When I start a patient on it, I usually get more complaints of flaking, purging, and irritation starting on tazarotene than I do with tretinoin. I almost never would start someone on tazarotene. It would always be a lower strength tretinoin or something like that, which is another newer specific retinoid. There is some nuance here especially when it comes to pregnancy. It is one of the few, if not the only one, that's category X."

✕Skip

63%of gurus approve

All 6 takes on Tazarotene

TRETINOIN VS. TAZAROTENE? Which is the most POWERFUL retinoid on earth? | Doctorly Investigates

"Tazarotene is outside of that conversion model. Once you get to the active form of any of these retinoids it works on specific receptors, either RAR receptors or RXR receptors. Tazarotene is very similar and a little bit more balanced in the receptors that it binds to. Both are acting on these nuclear receptors that exist in the nucleus of our cell and they're specifically made for retinoids."

TRETINOIN VS. TAZAROTENE? Which is the most POWERFUL retinoid on earth? | Doctorly Investigates

"Tazarotene is very effective. High strength Tazarotene is more effective than low strength tretinoin. When you compare them head to head, Tazarotene was significantly more effective than tretinoin in treating acne, and they had equal or equivalent tolerability. When I do switch to Tazarotene after tretinoin, I generally see an improvement over the tretinoin. I don't know if that's because it's binding to different receptors and your skin has gotten used to the tretinoin or whatever, but there seems to be in my clinical experience a breakthrough when switching to Tazarotene."

TRETINOIN VS. TAZAROTENE? Which is the most POWERFUL retinoid on earth? | Doctorly Investigates

"I do find that in some people who say hey I've been on Tretinoin for 5 years and I'm not seeing improvement, I find that switching them to Tazarotene they're generally pretty happy because they'll undergo that peeling process again and they'll start to notice oh wait maybe this thing is starting to work for me again. In the studies it's hard to know whether or not one is more effective than the other when it comes to photoaging, but I do think that Tazarotene is stronger in some ways and can be more effective in some cases, but otherwise the studies aren't really clear. When it comes to tolerability, they've done some tolerability studies comparing Tazarotene to Tretinoin and Tazarotene to Adapalene, and you know it really does seem to depend study to study. You'll find some studies that say that Tazarotene is more irritating than Tretinoin, which Tretinoin is then more irritating than Adapalene, and then I've also seen some studies, a specific tolerability study that show that Tazarotene was more tolerable than Tretinoin."

TRETINOIN VS. TAZAROTENE? Which is the most POWERFUL retinoid on earth? | Doctorly Investigates

"Tazarotene seems to be the opposite in terms of photosensitivity. I would say it very clearly does make you more sensitive to the sun. It's even on the package insert. Photo protection and sun protection is paramount when using tazarotene. Although it's always important, this one certainly will make you more likely to get a burn. In the mechanism of tazarotene, there are a few things that happen that make it effective in treating psoriasis. There's a downregulation or an inhibition of ornithine decarboxylase, which leads to a kind of growth of your skin cells, and that's why it's helpful in treating psoriasis. It also downregulates something called epidermal growth factor receptor. Epidermal growth factor receptor is a receptor that once it's triggered, leads to epidermal growth. Tazarotene will actually thicken your epidermis layer of the skin, but it does it in a way that normalizes it so you don't get these abnormal cells like you do in psoriasis. So it's exactly what you want when you're treating acne or you're treating anti-aging. But what I would say is that if you're somebody who's decided to invest a lot of money in a growth factor product, tazarotene and that product could cancel each other out because if it downregulates your epidermal growth factor receptor, there won't be a receptor for these growth factors to bind to."

TRETINOIN VS. TAZAROTENE? Which is the most POWERFUL retinoid on earth? | Doctorly Investigates

"If you're getting pregnant or you're planning to get pregnant or you are pregnant, just don't use tazarotene because it is absolutely contraindicated."

Supplements1 review

Heliocare Polypodium Leucotomos Supplement

"Polypodium leucotomos has probably the best evidence for preventing damage from the Sun. It's in Heliocare with the cornerstone ones."

✓Approved

78%of gurus approve

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