I use drug store skincare products. Does it really matter?
I’ve stood in the drugstore aisle, furiously googling products like Physicians Formula Matcha 3-in-1 Cleansing Balm, or Neutrogena Hydro Boost City Shield Facial Gel Mist, and asking myself questions like “if I get the one with Hydro Boost does that mean I should use less misting sprays or more?” and after Google fatigue sets in, “does any of this stuff even really matter?”
Eventually I started wondering how I was saving money with drugstore products when I’d have ten half used bottles at the end of the month, because each week I found a new shiny label with, “super-blueberry detoxifiers,” or “antioxidant coconut oil,” to buy. The claims on the $10 drugstore products were the same as the ones on the $100 pharmaceutical skincare products, except my friends who bought the expensive ones didn’t seem to mind taking selfies at 9:00 am when the sun was out.
Ingredients…. That might be the difference
Pharmaceutical grade skincare products (PGS), have formulas with higher concentrations of active, proven extracts and ingredients. The quality and strength of ingredients in the average drugstore product is not going to be the same as a pharmaceutical grade skincare product, even when the two have ostensibly the same ingredients on their labels.
The quality and strength of ingredients in the average drugstore product is not going to be the same as the quality and strength of ingredients of a pharmaceutical grade skincare product.
Like getting a cake from Papa Hadyn or Safeway Food & Drug. They’re both using eggs, butter, flour but one of them gets an eye roll when you bring it out on your daughter’s thirteenth birthday and the other one makes you a hero.
PGS products stay away from unnecessary fragrances or dyes, and the active ingredients have a higher concentration of rare extracts instead of synthetics. The quality of ingredients also means that PGS products often have smaller molecules.
The way they go on about it, you’d think we’re all crazy for not knowing this already, but apparently smaller molecules means PGS products can penetrate deeper into skin. Down past the first layers of outer skin to where all the new skin cells, collagen and elastin are found.
Smaller batches vs Mass production
PGS products are also produced in smaller quantities. One huge benefit of which is that scientists and dermatologists, who are paid amounts that make me want to switch my major decades after graduating, can tweak PGS product formulas on a regular basis.
That means newer and better formulas are coming out all the time, instead of just throwing in a “green tea cucumber extract.” When skincare products are made in large batches it’s not easy for them to update their formulas, or incorporate new medical research.
The Takeaway
In the end, did I find the answers I was looking for? Some of them. I’ve used pharmaceutical grade skincare products for years now, but everyone has to decide what’s best for them. I have my opinion and I think they’re worth it, but I still don’t have many morning selfies in my timeline.
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