Medical Grade vs. Over the Counter.
This is one of my favorite topics to talk about, mainly because I feel it is so important to educate yourself on what you are spending your money on as well as what you are putting on your skin. Majority of people I talk to are not aware of the key differences in medical grade products vs. over-the-counter products and why it’s so important to know them, so let’s break it down!
The biggest and most important difference you need to know between the two is that medical grade products are required to have ingredients that are 99% pure. Over-the-counter products are not held to the same standard and contain fillers. With that being said, the FDA regulates how deep over-the-counter products can penetrate your skin. They are not allowed to penetrate past the dead tissue layer on the surface of your skin. It doesn’t matter if it’s a $300 serum, these requirements are held for all over-the- counter products across all price points. So yes, a $12 serum is penetrating the same amount of skin as a $300 serum.
This is why medical grade products are so powerful and why the price tag is usually a little bit higher, they are meant to penetrate down to your dermis (the deepest layer of your skin) containing pure ingredients and high concentrations of active ingredients.
To make it more interesting, your skin sheds an entire outer layer of skin every 2-4 weeks. Meaning, the dead tissue layer we were talking about earlier is completely gone every 2-4 weeks and we are given a new layer of skin from beneath. So, what happens to the results we were given from the over-the-counter products we were using? Well, its gone, along with the rest of the dead tissue layer that was there. This is why over-the-counter products usually have an “immediate gratification” effect but long-term results are not achievable.
Medical grade products are exactly the opposite. They are penetrating all layers of the skin to start working their powerful ingredients into the dermis. This is why you will always hear “these products will take time to see results”. The reason being is because the deep skin they are working their magic on has to eventually come to surface as we shed our layers of skin over the months. Medical-grade products take at least three months to see the results but when we do, they can be pretty amazing.
Another common thing I see is people falling for a good social media trend and/or a company that puts a lot of $ into their marketing. This typically makes their products more expensive than they should be given the quality of the actual product. This is why it’s so important to know your stuff before just giving your money away to a skincare fad!
To conclude and answer the question that’s probably running through your head, no, I don’t think your entire routine needs to be medical grade! I do highly suggest your “treatment” products like acne, anti-aging, actives, retinoids + hydroquinones to be medical grade for the obvious reasons stated above!
Although I am pretty faithful to my ZO product routine, I do have a few over-the-counter products I love to use for basic needs such as cleansers, moisturizers, masks, and SPF (blog post coming soon). I hope this post sheds some light on the key differences between the two and helps you make a better decision for your future skincare goals and needs!