Quality Skin Care Products
Quality Skin Care Products
Quality skin care products such as, targeted serums, creams and other treatment products are more expensive than the simpler items in virtually any product line, whether it’s sold in Wal-Mart or Neiman Marcus (or a doctor’s office or salon). And you’ll get much better results in you invest in the pricier products (sorry, Wal-Mart). Even if you buy the most expensive product in an inexpensive line, you’re most likely going to be disappointed in the end. Find quality skin care products, start with the ingredients.
In general, you can expect to find better quality ingredients—and more of them—in higher ticket items. This is particularly true when you’re looking at the active ingredients (the first items on the ingredients list) in specialty treatments like anti-aging serums, acne gels and exfoliating creams. These products often include high-tech things like peptides, retinoids, seaweed extracts and other relatively sophisticated compounds to produce the desired effect. This is simply a case of economics: these compounds were expensive to develop and are expensive to make, meaning that a manufacturer simply can’t sell a product made with top-shelf ingredients at a bargain-basement price.
Medical-grade Ingredients
In fact, even if you see the same or similar active ingredients on the label of a less-expensive product, it’s safe to say that the cheaper formula simply won’t contain the formulation or concentration of active ingredients necessary to deliver results. And if you’re looking to treat a specific concern with the most powerful weapon you can find without a prescription—what’s known as medical-grade ingredients—you’ll definitely need to spend more than you would at the drugstore.
For example, consider two lotions for acne-prone skin. Both the drugstore brand and the higher-end product might contain salicylic acid, which is an effective exfoliant that’s used in many acne products. But the cheaper brand will most likely contain a lower concentration (probably around 0.5%) than the better brand, which has 1.5% salicylic acid.
Another example is vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid), a popular ingredient a range of skin care products, both expensive and not so much. When it’s used properly (that is, when it’s part of a product that’s been manufactured correctly), vitamin C can build collagen and reduce skin damage caused be sun exposure and other things. At higher concentrations, it can also help to lighten age spots and other areas of excessive pigmentation. But the vitamin C molecule is what the experts call “unstable,” meaning if it’s not manufactured correctly it will break down and become ineffective. And if it’s not present in sufficient amounts, it won’t do anything for your skin. Bargain products typically contain between 5 and 10% vitamin C, while higher end products contain as much as 20%.
But there is good news for the budget-minded looking for quality skin care products: Experts agree that most people can get great results with lower-priced skin care basics, like cleansers and sunscreen lotions. Because these things perform more mundane functions—they’re just getting your skin clean or shielding it from UV rays, not erasing wrinkles or eradicating acne—they don’t need all the super-pricey ingredients to get the job done with quality skin care products.