We all know from experience that not all skin care products are worth the time – or the price tag. To get the facts on which skin care options really work, we turned to board-certified dermatologist Dr. Karen Allen. Here are her quick picks and personal favorites in products to help you enjoy healthier, younger-looking skin even years down the line:
Younger.com: What are the most important over-the-counter beauty products that we should be incorporating into our daily routine?
Dr. Allen: I love to paraphrase Oprah on this question: "The top three beauty product that every woman should have are sunscreen, sunscreen and sunscreen." Aside from daily sunscreen/daytime moisturizer products, I do recommend a good cleanser, and a nighttime moisturizer that contains some variation of alpha-hydroxy or glycolic acids (sometimes called beta hydroxy acids). These ingredients have different names and percentages and it is often difficult to sort through the tiny printed labels on packages, but I have a few favorites that I recommend to my patients depending on their skin type. Oil of Olay makes a good exfoliating product with AHA.
In general, I tell patients to skip the toner type of products; those are one case where "less is more." As far as which sunscreen, the bottom line is to find one that you like — because if you don't like how it feels or smells, you are not going to use it. There is nothing magic in the higher priced sunscreens that is not available in the lower-priced name brands such as Olay®, Neutrogena®, Eucerin®, Aveeno®, etc.
Younger.com: Plenty of high-priced prescription products and name brands claim to be worth the investment -- would you agree?
Dr. Allen: Similar to my answer to the above question on sunscreen, No (with the exception of Retin-A, which was discussed earlier and again below). In general there is nothing magic in the higher-priced sunscreens that is not available in the better lower-priced name brands, and the bottom line is to find one that you like so that you will use it regularly.
I am not a big believer in anti-oxidants or creams containing vitamins and other ‘serum peptides’. Most of these products, although they might be good moisturizers because of the vehicle or base they are in, contain extract or vitamins that are either highly unstable or very unlikely to penetrate below the dead skin layer to the epidermis where they are purported to do their ‘repair’.
Retin-A/Tretinoin may be the one exception to prescription products that may be worth the price tag because it thickens collagen and can be very effective for certain types of spots (see previous discussion). Similarly, there are higher strength bleaching ingredients such as hydroquinone (HQ) that are available as a prescription and can be worthwhile for dark patches, but in general over-the-counter products with 2% HQ can do the job.
Younger.com: What about your personal favorite – what is the best beauty product that you can't live without?
Dr. Allen: Vaseline® Petroleum Jelly; I recommend it for just about everything and must hand out 50 samples a week of Aquaphor® Healing Ointment (which is basically just white petrolatum) by Eucerin for everything from eye make up removal to wound healing to diaper rash.
Karen Allen, MD, is a board-certified Templeton, California dermatologist offering a broad selection of services ranging from skin cancer screening and Moh’s surgery to BOTOX® Cosmetic and other skin rejuvenation options. She completed her medical doctorate and dermatology residency at the University of California, Irvine, and treats dermatology patients from San Luis Obispo County and the entire California Central Coast. She has no financial interest in any of the companies or services recommended in this article or website.
Younger.com: What are the most important over-the-counter beauty products that we should be incorporating into our daily routine?
Dr. Allen: I love to paraphrase Oprah on this question: "The top three beauty product that every woman should have are sunscreen, sunscreen and sunscreen." Aside from daily sunscreen/daytime moisturizer products, I do recommend a good cleanser, and a nighttime moisturizer that contains some variation of alpha-hydroxy or glycolic acids (sometimes called beta hydroxy acids). These ingredients have different names and percentages and it is often difficult to sort through the tiny printed labels on packages, but I have a few favorites that I recommend to my patients depending on their skin type. Oil of Olay makes a good exfoliating product with AHA.
In general, I tell patients to skip the toner type of products; those are one case where "less is more." As far as which sunscreen, the bottom line is to find one that you like — because if you don't like how it feels or smells, you are not going to use it. There is nothing magic in the higher priced sunscreens that is not available in the lower-priced name brands such as Olay®, Neutrogena®, Eucerin®, Aveeno®, etc.
Younger.com: Plenty of high-priced prescription products and name brands claim to be worth the investment -- would you agree?
Dr. Allen: Similar to my answer to the above question on sunscreen, No (with the exception of Retin-A, which was discussed earlier and again below). In general there is nothing magic in the higher-priced sunscreens that is not available in the better lower-priced name brands, and the bottom line is to find one that you like so that you will use it regularly.
I am not a big believer in anti-oxidants or creams containing vitamins and other ‘serum peptides’. Most of these products, although they might be good moisturizers because of the vehicle or base they are in, contain extract or vitamins that are either highly unstable or very unlikely to penetrate below the dead skin layer to the epidermis where they are purported to do their ‘repair’.
Retin-A/Tretinoin may be the one exception to prescription products that may be worth the price tag because it thickens collagen and can be very effective for certain types of spots (see previous discussion). Similarly, there are higher strength bleaching ingredients such as hydroquinone (HQ) that are available as a prescription and can be worthwhile for dark patches, but in general over-the-counter products with 2% HQ can do the job.
Younger.com: What about your personal favorite – what is the best beauty product that you can't live without?
Dr. Allen: Vaseline® Petroleum Jelly; I recommend it for just about everything and must hand out 50 samples a week of Aquaphor® Healing Ointment (which is basically just white petrolatum) by Eucerin for everything from eye make up removal to wound healing to diaper rash.
Karen Allen, MD, is a board-certified Templeton, California dermatologist offering a broad selection of services ranging from skin cancer screening and Moh’s surgery to BOTOX® Cosmetic and other skin rejuvenation options. She completed her medical doctorate and dermatology residency at the University of California, Irvine, and treats dermatology patients from San Luis Obispo County and the entire California Central Coast. She has no financial interest in any of the companies or services recommended in this article or website.
