My derm told me to stop using $80 Vitamin C serums

Went to a dermatologist in Chicago last month for acne scarring and she said those expensive serums are mostly water with a tiny bit of active ingredient. She wrote me a prescription for a $12 generic cream instead and my dark spots are already fading after 3 weeks. Has anyone else switched from fancy serums to prescription stuff with better results?

2 comments

2 Comments

sandra9163d ago

The expensive ones do usually have more water in them, but it's not like they're totally useless. A lot of those $80 serums have really good delivery systems that help the Vitamin C actually absorb into your skin, and some have stabilized forms that don't break down in the bottle. Prescription stuff is definitely stronger, but it can also be more irritating for some people depending on what's in it. That $12 cream probably has a different active ingredient altogether, like azelaic acid or tretinoin, not Vitamin C. So it's less about fancy water vs real medicine and more about getting the right type of active ingredient for your specific scarring.

richardh443d ago

Basically your derm told you to stop paying for fancy water and start paying for actual medicine. I'm shocked, shocked I say that a $12 prescription outperforms the stuff marketed with "scientific" words and a picture of a glowing woman. Next thing you'll tell me is that the $50 moisturizer I bought is just glycerin and regret.