Shopping Skincare

These days, you can buy skincare products just about anywhere: department stores, pharmacies, hair salons, and even from your favorite influencer on social media. With so many skincare brands saturating the market with products claiming to “regenerate younger-looking skin” or “infuse skin with healing energies,” it is getting increasingly difficult to figure out which products will give you real, long-lasting results. As you’re shopping around, shuffling through different products, you may be asking yourself, “What’s the difference?” and “Do they even work?”

Before making your next skincare purchase, whether you’re shopping in-person or online, consider these game-changing factors:

Ingredients

The first thing you should be looking at is the ingredient lists. Skincare products often have a long, winding list of ingredients, but what you should be focusing on is the list of active ingredients.

Most skin care products are formulated to suit all skin types, so they contain small to no amounts of active ingredients. Without any active ingredients, the product is likely to sit on the surface of the skin, where dead skin cells are located, rather than penetrating deep where significant change can take effect. Consequently, it can take months to see any improvements; meaning that you’ll ultimately end up spending more money on more products that can only provide minimal results.

To get the results you desire, invest in products that have the right concentration of active ingredients. Next time you find yourself at your dermatologist’s office, or at your next virtual consultation, make sure to ask about their recommended products, their active ingredients and how they can help your skin.

Delivery + Scientific Innovation

“Delivery system” may be the newest buzzword in the industry, but it is just as important to the efficacy of a product as its’ active ingredients. The delivery system of a product is the method by which key ingredients can access the skin’s deeper layers.

The skin is made up of three layers: epidermis, dermis, and subcutis. The epidermis is the outermost layer of the skin that protects you against external factors such as environmental damage, dangerous UV exposure, viruses and other bacteria. You can just imagine how difficult it is for any skincare to penetrate this layer and deliver much-needed peptides and vitamins down to the dermis, where they are needed the most. Skincare products with active ingredients, but with an inefficient delivery system, lie on top of the skin. They can have moisturizing and protective functions but cannot effect any considerable change in the skin.

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are your best friend when researching which skin care product will give you the best results. Clinical trials play a key role in proving product claims, while also ensuring that it’s safe and effective for you, as a consumer. Clinical trials are often done by third parties, using different units of measurements to provide accurate data and scientific backing.

For instance, one year ago this month, ZO® Skin Health revealed Firming Serum, an innovative product that visibly improves the appearance of skin sagging and laxity. This product is supported by a comprehensive 12-week clinical study of 45 participants—97% of participants showed significant improvement in skin firmness, 93% of them showed significant improvement in mid-face and jaw line sagging. These results were assessed using measurement techniques widely accepted by the scientific community.

Some brands may forego any clinical trials for many reasons, including time and cost, which can affect many smaller brands. Nevertheless, when choosing between products with similar claims, wouldn’t you prefer the product backed by science with proven results?

Still unsure if a product is worth the time and money that you will be investing in it? Ask yourself these three questions before making your next skincare purchase:

• What is the percentage of active ingredients in this product?
• Is this product innovated to properly penetrate the skin deeply and effectively?
• Is this product backed by adequate clinical trials and research?

Take advantage of your physician or skin care specialist and ask them these questions to make sure the products you are purchasing are right for your skin and will give you the results you are looking to achieve. To find a ZO® provider near you, please visit our physician finder here. Virtual consultations and curbside pickup are currently available from various physicians and providers for your comfort and safety.