Best Skin Care Products: How do I decide?
With over 25 years practicing aesthetics in medical offices and having formulated some of the best skin care products with some of the finest chemists in the industry, I’m often asked to comment on over-the-counter brands such as Lancome, Estee Lauder, Clinique, etc. I encourage patients to bring in their current skin care products so I can look at the ingredients and give them my honest opinion. Unfortunately, many of the high end brands will list ingredients on a box that is most likely thrown away, leaving me no basis to form an opinion. Even if I do have an ingredient listing, there are wide variables in quality—are the ingredients cosmetic or medical grade. For example, a label can state there is green tea in the product; however, I need to know how that ingredient was grown (were any herbicides, pesticides and/or fungicides used), harvested (did the plant reach full maturity), and processed (distilled with heat, alcohol etc). All these affect the quality of an ingredient and determine whether it’s beneficial or just an ingredient to make people think the product is good. With skin care a multi-billion dollar a year industry, you can bet many manufacturers are using the least expensive ingredients in order to make the most profit. All the companies I’ve contacted over the years regarding the sourcing of ingredients have told me the information is “proprietary” and will not disclose their source.
In general, all skin care products sold over the counter, excluding sun protection products and soaps, are considered cosmetics and unregulated by the FDA who defines cosmetics as “articles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body or any part thereof for cleansing, beautifying, and promoting attractiveness.” Any claims that a product somehow alters or changes function and/or structure are not allowed and most cosmetic benefits will disappear when the product is discontinued. So, the next time you read or hear product claims that suggest changes to the skin, look at the fine print, and I bet you’ll see the phrase “changes the appearance of”.
Our private skin care line, Visage Essentials MD, is manufactured in an FDA approved lab under strict guidelines, formulated by experienced chemists, the ingredients are selected by our clinical staff and are of the highest purity and considered medical grade, and all products are approved by our board-certified Facial Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Mike Majmundar. We consider these to be some of the best skin care products available that can treat any skin type. Call for a complimentary skin care consultation today at 770-475-3146.
