Developing your ideal skin care routine is a lot like finding a perfectly fitted outfit — customization with the help of an expert is key. While a tailor can help you with all of your outfit needs, it takes a talented skin-care expert to deliver a personalized beauty routine to address your concerns. Luckily, many dermatology offices now have a technology that develops a customized serum to patients in just a few minutes, giving them the flawless complexion they’ve been working so hard for and taking their at-home beauty routines to a whole new level.
Enter: SkinCeuticals Custom D.O.S.E, a personalized, clinical-grade skin-care service that evaluates patients’ skin and then combines active ingredients into a tailor-made serum. This serum is specifically designed to target each patient’s individual concerns, whether that’s wrinkles, discoloration, skin clarity or the appearance of imperfections.
In order to identify your needs, each Custom D.O.S.E session begins with a consultation led by your skin care professional. The patented diagnostic machine directs patients through a quick, five-minute questionnaire to determine their unique skin goals, their history with certain skin-care ingredients (like retinol) and their complexion concerns. “The machine comes with an iPad [for the questionnaire] that uses algorithms to produce a patient’s best product formula,” explains Birmingham, AL dermatologist Sarah Sawyer, MD.
Once the D.O.S.E analysis is complete, the machine comes to life with the click of a button. To create the serum, a hydroalcoholic base (which is an oil-free serum) or an emulsion base (which is a light lotion) is put into the bottle depending on which one your questionnaire results determine will benefit your skin the most. “If you suffer from oily skin or acne, we choose the hydroalcoholic base,” says Dr. Sawyer. “If you have drier skin, we choose the emollient base.”
Then, the tool’s selection of active ingredient canisters spin around, stopping intermittently to deposit measured portions of ingredients into a glass bottle. When the bottle is full, your dermatologist places it into a custom compounder, which spins at 1,200 rotations per second to fully blend the mixture before it’s ready for use.
When all is said and done, the dermatologist applies a custom label with your name and the full ingredient list so you know exactly what’s in your personalized skin-care product. You also get a customized ID for refills, so the machine will know how to give you the exact formula again in the future.
Originally, SkinCeuticals Custom D.O.S.E drew from eight different highly concentrated ingredients when making serums like glycolic acid, niacinamide and retinol. Now, there’s a new ingredient available for formulation: azelaic acid. According to Dr. Sawyer, azelaic acid has been known to provide a wide variety of benefits for the skin—including improvement in skin clarity and the appearance of imperfections—making it a great addition to the already impressive active ingredient roster.
According to Dr. Sawyer, many of her patients frequently return for refills of their D.O.S.E serum, though this shouldn’t come as a surprise considering the personalized treatment plan is backed by some solid science. In clinical studies conducted by the brand, results demonstrated an 18-percent improvement in the appearance of discoloration and skin radiance1, a 34-percent improvement in skin texture1, a 42-percent improvement in skin clarity2, and a 42-percent improvement in the appearance of stubborn brown patches3.
The serum is $195 and is formulated to last about three months. Once you run out, it’s recommended that you head back to your skincare provider for an updated assessment before getting a refill. After all, skincare needs can change due to a variety of factors, whether that’s a change in seasons or even just an increase in skin sensitivity. Therefore, an update to your formulation may be necessary for the best results.
Ultimately, this proves that the days of buying a skincare product and simply hoping it’ll work well for your skin are close to being over. Customized skincare takes the guessing game out of buying beauty products. With SkinCeuticals Custom D.O.S.E, consumers are left knowing they have a product that is specifically made for their exact needs. We’d certainly consider that money well spent.
Find a provider near you today.
1Average 8-week results from seven clinical studies (each 8-12 weeks long) on N=50 healthy females with 2-3 boosters ages 30-60 with discoloration, dark spots, uneven skin tone, and global fine lines/wrinkles
28 week clinical study N=52 healthy females [ages 18-65 with appearance of pores, visible signs of imperfections and post-inflammatory discoloration using EB369 12% AzA
312 week clinical study N=50 healthy females aged 30-60 with hyperpigmentation, dark spots, uneven skin tone and melasma and/or PIH using EB238 3% TXA +1.25% Urea
