Is There a Difference In Skin Care Products?

Very often I hear the question is there really a difference between skin care products sold in stores or by estheticians? You may have heard or read reports from beauty editors that there is no difference. I am here to set the record straight. YES, there is a difference! We begin by looking at what factors may determine the cost of a product.

Concentration of active ingredients such as vitamins/anti-oxidants, minerals, essential oils; production costs, advertising and packaging. Let's take a closer look. Drug store brands usually contain lower amounts of active ingredients and are primarily made up of water and fillers. That is how they keep the prices so low. Department store brands have a higher percentage of active ingredients, however, they spend a lot on packaging and advertising, which is passed on to the consumer. When you purchase products from a department store, salespeople with no skin care experience are making the recommendations. Do I need to spend $100 on a moisturizer to have it work, you may ask? The answer is NO. If a manufacturer is adding ingredients of the highest quality and the price of the cream is between $30 and $50, than what would justify another cream selling for $100? The $50 cream has the highest quality ingredients, right? It comes down to packaging, gimmicks, name recognition, and celebrity endorsements. The only exception is when you are purchasing serums, eye creams and specialty products. However, even these should never exceed $100.

In addition, you should always look for products that have no synthetic, toxic ingredients. A natural organic product that uses high quality ingredients should not have to carry a higher price tag than a high quality toxic product.

Professional skin care products contain the highest percentage of active ingredients that are available without a prescription. Therefore, these professional products will be able to treat the skin more effectively. More importantly, the products you purchase from your esthetician will be the correct products for your skin type. There is no guessing or chance of purchasing the wrong product.