The Benefits of Customized Skin Care Products

Skin problems getting you down? Whether you’re 14 or 40, there’s a solution to help you relieve problem skin issues – but it can take a bit of trial and error to find the right product for each new issue. This is mostly a result of standardization in the beauty industry; rather than making products for individuals, companies make products for the average person. That doesn’t leave much room for specialized beauty needs, like allergies or sensitive skin. Luckily, as technology has advanced, there are now ways to create customized skin care products to match all your needs.

Your dreams of gorgeous skin doesn’t have to be just a fantasy; with the help of your local pharmacy, you can access customized skin care products made just for you. These pharmacy-customized compounded skin care products contain individually-adjusted ingredients. Therefore, you get less of what isn’t good for you and more of what is. Whether you’re battling an allergy or just trying to fight off wrinkles with sensitive skin, compounding cosmeceutical products gives you access to these benefits (and many more).

One Size Does Not Fit All

You are an individual with your own individual biochemistry, and that means your skin is individualistic, too. What works for another patient may be totally incorrect for your skin due to subtle chemical and genetic differences in the body. Compounding customized skin care products eliminates this concern by identifying and targeting your skin for your skin care problems. It into consideration all of the wonderful and unique biological processes that make you truly you.

Lowered Allergy Risk

If you’re someone who has tried multiple commercial products in the past, only to experience irritation, redness, contact dermatitis, hives, or even anaphylaxis, you may shy away from skin care altogether. That’s easy to understand; no one wants to risk a nasty allergic reaction while trying to resolve simple skin care needs.

Compounded skin care is a must for people with allergies for a few different reasons. Firstly, your pharmacist can work with you to identify your allergens. Once you have a better picture of what the problem chemicals or substances are, he or she can reformulate your favorite products without the problem ingredient. If you’re allergic to multiple ingredients, it may even be possible to find alternatives or create a whole new formula from scratch to achieve the same results.

It’s all about meeting your needs and keeping you safe!

Less Water; More Product

Commercially-available skin care products contain a variety of ingredients. There’s a tendency for brands to pack in as many ingredients as possible to “sell” the product as more useful. While this is occasionally the case (there are useful combination products), sometimes it’s more of a marketing gimmick than anything else.  That can impact concentration.

Think of your skin care product as a pie chart. Every section of the pie is a different ingredient within the formula. If you keep adding in ingredients or “pie slices,” eventually you run out of space and need to remove a portion of another slice to fit it in.

By the time a product reaches 10, 12, or 14 ingredients, the main beneficial substances may be present in tiny amounts – too little to have enough impact on your skin struggles. Some companies may also “water down” ingredients, leaving you paying for a product that’s mostly water. While water usually won’t hurt your skin (in fact, it’s a must in many skin care products) too much of it makes for a product that isn’t always as effective as it should be.

When creating customized skin care products, pharmacists can skip over commercial formulas and include only the ingredients necessary for use. This naturally leads to products with a more even balance of ingredients and/or medicinal and active ingredients. More balanced formulas often show better results when tackling skin care concerns like wrinkles, rejuvenation, breakouts, and dry skin.

Sometimes concentration isn’t desired; commercial products may be too harsh or too strong for patients. This is often the case with teens, children, and the elderly, who often have sensitive, highly-reactive skin. Customization also provides pharmacists with the option to de-concentrate a formula with a gentler balance of ingredients, achieving results without irritation, redness, or side effects.

Dermatologist-Directed Solutions

The compounding pharmacist is the dermatologist’s best friend. Both professionals work together to identify skin conditions and treat them with highly-specific medicinal or cosmeceutical solutions. The dermatologist investigates and diagnoses, writing a prescription for medicated treatment measures specific to the patient’s needs. Every prescribed skin care product (and the ingredients inside) is dermatologist-directed, evidence-based, and dermatologist-approved for skin care.

Next, the compounding pharmacist creates the prescription from scratch. Starting with base ingredients, the pharmacy adds ingredients one by one until achieving the right balance in the right dosage format.

As the patient’s skin care situation changes as a result of improvement, decline, or even just age, it can be adjusted. This achieves a better care standard and vastly improved skin management over time – no matter how long or how short the intended treatment. If the patient develops new skin symptoms, formulas are tweaked to resolve the new symptoms as well as the old.

For patients with chronic or long-term skin care concerns, this is by far the best way to manage skin care over time. This is because it provides constant monitoring and adjustment. Your pharmacist and dermatologist will continue to work together for as long as needed to provide continuance and reliability in care.

Customized Skin Care Products Target Specific Problem Areas

Have cystic acne? Struggling with psoriasis? Can’t seem to break free of your overly large pores? These are all common skin care concerns. However, when you have more than one problem, finding a solution can feel a bit like playing whack-a-mole. You manage to correct one issue, but the formula triggers or worsens another. Maybe it even introduces a whole new issue and makes your treatment more complex.

It all starts with your own personal assessment; you can visit your local pharmacy for more information. Together, you and your pharmacist can assess your skin care concerns to identify what’s most important. If you have sensitive skin or allergies, he or she will consider these when recommending a custom product. Once both of you have a clearer picture of the solution needed, custom product production begins from scratch right in the pharmacy.

Benefits of Compounded Skin Care

These customized skin care products have many benefits, including:

• Bust acne without causing irritation and over-drying
• Moisturize and plump without causing oily breakouts
• Even out skin tone without causing skin degradation
• Reduce fine lines and wrinkles without irritating the skin
• Stick with all-natural ingredients instead of drugs or chemicals
• Target just one concern or address then all at the same time
• Reduce dark spots without over-bleaching or irritating the skin
• Protect your skin from the sun without causing blemishes or breakouts
• Use exfoliation or chemical peels to remove skin cells while protecting skin
• Tighten the skin to reduce wrinkles without causing over-drying or itching
• Address serious skin conditions like psoriasis or eczema without irritation

That means customized skin care products are especially useful for patients with extremely complex or multifaceted health care and skin care concerns. It’s also relatively easy to access; just speak with your pharmacist if you’re curious about what’s available to you!