Drugstore Brand vs. Professional Skin Care Products
By Melissa Brooks

There are so many questions about buying a professional skin care product: Will it work better? What makes it work better? Is it worth the money? Well, I'm here to help you sort through it all - you just need some guidelines to make the right choices. There some fundamentals that are the foundation to all I have to say on this topic:

There are professional skin care products that work very well and are very inexpensive...there are also some very expensive professional products that are terrible! With this in mind, let's break it down so that you are armed with the knowledge you need to make smart purchasing decisions. What exactly is a "professional skin care product?" Well, there are a couple different ways to consider this. Skincare products fall into four general categories:

1. Products that an esthetician uses in the salon and does not provide for resale

2. Products that an esthetician may use on you in the salon and does offer them for re-sale

3. Products available at department stores, usually at a premium price

4. Products available at your local drugstore or grocery store

Let's go through each category and explain. You'll soon realize that it is ALL ABOUT INGREDIENTS.

Type I - Products used in salons but not available for re-sale. These are not typically sought after by most women, but they do require a short discussion. When you get a facial, depending on your skin your esthetician may use a product that is much stronger than anything you would (or should) ever use on your own. This is usually a highly concentrated glycolic or salicylic acid peel. These are Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA's) or Beta Hydroxy Acids (BHA's) respectively. While you may very well use a product containing an AHA or BHA, you should not be using anything stronger than an 8% solution for AHA or a 5% solution for BHA. Stronger than those concentrations, you may be susceptible to irritation and swelling. The decision to go to a higher concentration should only be left to a qualified skin care professional. Your esthetician may apply a 20-30% peel in some cases, if you have skin that is very thick or is in desperate need of major exfoliation. Some common reasons would be for severe acne, severely neglected skin, or maybe for a smoker (did I tell you smoking is BAD for your skin, among other things?). Bottom line is that peels of this strength should NEVER be self-administered. Using this type of professional skin care product is best left to only qualified estheticians.