Let’s face it, every product on the market will do something when applied to skin.  So what makes some products better than others and how much can they really do before we need to do something medical.

Products sold on the mass markets that can be picked up by anyone can not contain high concentrations of active ingredients for the simple reason that customers will miss-prescribe themselves a product that will cause some kind of undesired result.  If enough customers return certain products the store will no longer carry them.  That is exactly why over the counter (OTC) products cannot be too active.  Not to mention that some of those products have to sit on the shelf for who knows how long and therefore must contain paraben preservatives in order to keep them from spoiling.  But, yes, even the OTC products will do something; it just won’t be enough of a result that most customers are looking for.

Then there are products that have higher levels of active ingredients that can only be purchased at Spas or MedSpas.  These products are usually recommended by a trained professional that can accurately prescribe the correct product for the proper skin type and/or condition.  These professional grade products usually have higher concentrations of active ingredients.  An example of this is when a product contains over 2% of Alpha Lipoic Acid (a super/uneriversal antioxidant) instead of 1% or less in OTC products.  Once the Alpha Lipoic Acid begins to exceed 2% the chances of a skin irritation or reaction increases and therefore requires a trained professional to monitor a patients/clients skin reaction.

But, perhaps the best and way to be able to explain the true limits of skin care products would be to use an example.  If a person that is not fit and has never worked out just begins to walk regularly that person will see amazing results.  On the other hand if a person who is super fit wants to take their fitness to the next level they have to work out a lot harder and longer to be able to get to that next level.  The same is true with skin care.  If a person does not take care of their skin at all and they begin just using one product they will see amazing results.  On the other hand if a person has a complete skin care program and is doing everything possible and using every single product in the regimen (cleanser, toner, serum, eye crème, moisturize, and SPF) that has both AM and PM regimens that next level of better looking skin will be almost impossible to achieve without medical esthetic intervention.

Bottom line, the products are only as good as they are affective.  You should have higher levels of active ingredients for your skin and not just OTC products. Once you begin to plateau in your results you may want to consider the next step by seeing Dr. Cockerham.  A complete home skin care program is key to beautiful and healthy skin and to maintain any medical esthetic intervention.