So, I went to a dermatologist. And for someone who knows a lot about skincare, I left my appointment eager to share some of the new things I learned. I was shocked! I also left with a SkinCeuticals Custom D.O.S.E to target the issues in my skin. So what did I learn? Keep reading.
If you’re local to Chicago, I went to Premier Dermatology for the sole reason that they are the only location that has a SkinCeuticals Custom D.O.S.E machine near me. The trend with skincare lately is to personalize it. Your skin needs something different than the person sitting next to you and your skincare should target that. Your skin also needs something different every season, especially if you’re in a climate that actually has 4 seasons!
The SkinCeuticals Custom D.O.S.E is a customized corrective serum created with the goal of fighting the issues that you’re most concerned about. Mine was melasma (aka brown spots). Before the consultant makes your serum, you take a short quiz about what you want to fix and the type of skin you have (dry, combo, etc.). It’s really easy and once you get your results, they walk you through what each ingredient that is going into your serum will do for your skin. My formula ID is HB236. Here is what went into my serum:
- H+H: refines skin texture, replenishes and maintains moisture levels
- TXA: fades the appearance of discoloration (i.e. melasma)
- PXN: supports skin’s matrix and improves firmness
- HB: hydroalcholic basic that is oil free
Then, you watch it being made! Did you catch that on Instagram Stories? The SkinCeuticals Custom D.O.S.E appointment is really quick too – you can be in and out in 15 minutes!
Each corrective serum is made without preservatives (yay!) and can be reordered directly from the dermatologist. Each last about 90 days if you are using 4-5 drops every morning and night. Given I live in Chicago, we talked about changing up the formula for my next bottle since it will be fall and my skin will likely be a little drier by October.
After my Custom D.O.S.E consult, I had a chance to speak Dr. Kelleher, Premier Dermatology’s board-certified dermatologist, to assess my skin overall. He was incredibly knowledgeable and perceptive. He explained the various products that I should be using as part of my general skincare routine. After sharing with him that I felt like I’ve aged 3x as much since moving to Chicago, he recommended a few things! Here they are:
- Antioxidants prevent damage from the environment and ozone (yes, ozone can be bad too!) around you. SkinCeuticals makes a few but he recommended C E Ferulic to reduce the appearance of lines, improve firmness, and brighten skin.
- If you have melasma, using a retinoid can irritate it!
- Excessive exfoliating (guilty!) can also irritate melasma.
- Sun exposure to your retina can trigger your skin to produce more pigmentation. Wear sunglasses!
- Wear a broad-spectrum sunscreen every day. Make sure that your choice of sunscreen doesn’t just protect against UVB. Dr. Kelleher recommended the SkinCeuticals UV Defense sunscreen. I got to try both the tinted and regular and prefer the tinted!
- Using the SkinCeuticals HA Intensifier delivers moisture to the skin without clogging pores and improves skin’s texture.
If you’re concerned about anti-aging, all of the above tips are for you. I’m excited to see the results of using my Custom D.O.S.E and will share them on Instagram! I also started using the SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic antioxidant!
While I was talking through my skincare concerns, I mentioned the wrinkles in my forehead were really starting to bother me. I have an expressive face so the wrinkles are formed from consistent movement! So I also got a little neurotoxin in my forehead as a test! Premier Dermatology has such a wide range of services if you’re looking for a board certified dermatologist (which I strongly recommend)!
Have you tried SkinCeuticals before? Does the Custom D.O.S.E sound like something that might be a fit for you?
*In partnership with Skinceuticals and Premier Dermatology.
Disappointed in this post. As someone who promotes Beautycounter & cleaner options, I feel like promoting Skinceuticals is a poor and misleading choice. Also call a neurotoxin what it is, Botox, & own it.
Katie, thank you for sharing your option! I speak to this on Instagram Stories quite regularly but just in case you’re new, it’s my job to try all brands even though I personally may use clean beauty a majority of the time! Choosing safe beauty is a VERY personal decision that I believe everyone should make for themselves without judgement from others. Not all of my readers are interested in safe beauty products and I’m not interested in shaming them for their choices. Only educating so that people can make their own choices based on their priorities. It’s my job to test new options and share them with you. If I never tested another brand, I wouldn’t have a benchmark with which to measure the performance of Beautycounter or any other beauty brand. This would make me very poorly informed and very difficult to trust. I shared this on Instagram as well but I test new brands every 3 weeks. My mission is to find the most effective beauty products out there – if possible, 100% safe options. Unfortunately, the industry just isn’t there yet but it’s definitely come a long way in the last 5 years that I’ve been a part of it. I can’t wait to see how brands evolve over the next decade and catch up to the industry leaders!
I’ve also said before that efficacy is highly important to me along with the ingredient list. Sometimes, it’s impossible to achieve high efficacy along with 100% clean ingredients. I struggle with melasma and given the stubborn (and persistent!) nature of hyperpigmentation am always looking for viable solutions to help people. While melasma may not bother me to the point of debilitation, I have MANY readers who have DMed me desperate for a faster and more effective solution. I truly love the SkinCeuticals Custom D.O.S.E and have noticed an improvement in my melasma within the first 3 weeks. As someone who has had melasma for 20 years, that is VERY impressive. It is 100% something worth sharing! If I’ve found a product to help even just one reader, that is worth writing about!
I’d also love to understand more about why you say SkinCeuticals is a “poor and misleading choice”. I’m well aware that internet research on certain ingredients can be outdated and spotty at best (like EWG’s database which ranks SkinCeuticals a 2-3 which is pretty good – https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/brand/SkinCeuticals/) but I would love to learn what you know! It always helps to learn more! If you have additional research you can share, please send it over!
Lastly, this post was about SkinCeuticals so it wasn’t appropriate to overshadow with another brand name (i.e. Botox). This was at the request of the brand. I’m not not owning it, in fact, I’m very much owning it because I was not required to write about it in this post! The focus was the SkinCeuticals Custom D.O.S.E serum. I discussed my internal conflict with Botox on Instagram a few weeks ago and also spoke to how personal of a decision it is for every individual! I’m just doing me! Everyone has different priorities. I AM about being transparent though so I did want to disclose!
My approach to safe beauty is realistic, not extremist and I continually communicate this. I always encourage people to do what they can, when they can, and when it’s right for them. My platform isn’t about instilling fear or shaming someone for their beauty choices. Everyone’s skin is different and responds differently to products (which is why custom products are so innovative). It’s impossible for any beauty brand to make a complete line of products that perform the best so being a brand loyalist might not always be in your skin’s best interest. I’m the first one to tell anyone who asks where to splurge, save, try a new brand, etc. My goal is for everyone to have the best skin they can possibly have! Watch my “Safe Beauty” highlights on Instagram for more on this too!
Let me know if you have any other questions and I look forward to learning what you know about the SkinCeuticals ingredients!
I have used SkinCeuticals Phloretin CF serum every morning for well over 10 years. I credit this effective serum for my lack of wrinkles, dark spots and wellness of my skin. Their is science behind this brand. Thank you for the review. I will defiantly be looking into this new product at my next dermatologist appointment.
Yes, so many people are unaware that Botox is a brand. There are many brands in the neurotoxin space. Botox was just there in the beginning and have the biggest marketing budget.
Let’s all stop judging each other’s paths and start loving one another. I guarantee we will live longer with less wrinkles!
Thank you Janna!
xx Tammy
http://www.HerFashionedLife.com