Comments on: The Myths of “Medical-Grade” Skincare

By: Michelle

Michelle — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 08:27:58 +0000

In reply to Tea. I think they're trying to say that 2.5% retinol is equivalent to 0.25% tretinoin...

By: Tea

Tea — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 14:23:50 +0000

To further confuse me, I just found a reasonably priced retinol serum on iherb with good reviews, and upon wondering what percentage of retinol it has, I found this answer on their site:
“Our 2.5% Retinol is cosmetic grade which is the equivalent of .25% medical grade. ” (this is the page I read that on, in the Q’s section:
https://yeouth.com/collections/retinol/products/retinol-2-5-serum-with-hyaluronic-acid-vitamin-e-and-aloe-vera )
Does not only chemistry but math as well somehow work ‘differently’ depending on’ cosmetic vs medical’? Isn’t percentage, well.. a percentage?
Or if you know what they mean by that, please feel free to jump in 🙂

By: adorable-beauty-solutions.

adorable-beauty-solutions. — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 19:31:53 +0000

Indeed!! Much obliged to you Michelle. I love that you’re utilizing this space to call for greater trustworthiness. I’ve commonly tracked down that the ‘calmer’ and ‘forthright’ item portrayals/claims are more reliable.

By: Sabrina

Sabrina — Mon, 11 Jan 2021 10:02:19 +0000

As an esthetician I completely agree with you! I recently was scrutinized by other estheticians about recommending “over the counter” products saying I should know better as an esthetician *eyeroll* this is exactly why I left the industry to begin with… I hated the better than attitude and how it’s an Industry for only “the rich and privileged” not everyone can afford or has access to these “medical grade” “professional” products.. does that mean they shouldn’t be given product reccs that do for within their budget?! Not at all.. therefore I’ll continue recommending products based on my knowledge of ingredients etc and not based on the price. All this to say, I am glad someone wrote this article!

By: Jason

Jason — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 03:24:04 +0000

In reply to Shawn. Salicylic acid is derived from the same ingredient used to make aspirin. Ergo, it too is regulated like a drug. Of course because of this requirement, a lot of indie or clean beauty brands avoid salicylic acid since regulation would be expensive for them. They therefore use willow bark extract instead to avoid the drug regulation and pretend it’s the same thing even though it’s not.

By: Jason

Jason — Sun, 06 Dec 2020 20:09:42 +0000

In reply to Turok.

@ Turok, your comment makes absolutely no sense.

Michelle is talking about how some brands and their pushers use false logic to promote expensive products (sometimes junk) as “medical-grade” skincare which supposedly is more effective than drugstore brands.

Drunk Elephant would be a beneficiary of bullshit arguments favoring more expensive products; Michelle is saying the exact opposite that cheaper products can be just as good. Why would Drunk Elephant want to sponsor an argument against its own interest?

By: Robin

Robin — Sun, 06 Dec 2020 04:06:01 +0000

Thank you for helping people to understand how they are misled. I also admired you recently, doing the same with your exposé on Clean Beauty.

By: Audley Aldwyn

Audley Aldwyn — Sat, 05 Dec 2020 13:35:03 +0000

Hi Michelle,

Great work as always. Thank you.

Please consider a study/post on surgical scar prevention/mitigation. I am having my thyroid removed along with a partial masectomy. You might think scarring is the least of my worries, but it helps to have something else to think about. Any recommendations on collagen sheets vs products like Mederma? Or old wives tales about onion skin?

Keep fighting the good fight.

Cheers,

By: Georgia

Georgia — Sat, 05 Dec 2020 13:34:12 +0000

Huge! I visited a skin clinic last week (in Melbourne) that tried to sell me into their “cosmedical” products even after I’d told my esthetician that I was really happy with my skincare products and routine. She tried to sell me nearly identical products to things I already use and noted in my client form – saying that these “cosmedics” are of a different grade to drugstore items. Never going there again.

By: Jasmine

Jasmine — Sat, 19 Sep 2020 10:30:48 +0000

I was re-reading this and read the link your provided. From what I saw from the FDA, the terms aren’t recognized but a cosmetic vs. a drug is based on intent. And their example was essential oils: fragrance=cosmetic, aromatherapy= drug.