Over-the-Counter vs. Perscription Skin Care

Over-the-Counter VS. Prescription Skin Care

Keeping care of the health of your skin is important. Here is a little information to help you decide what’s best for your skin.

What is the difference between over-the-counter cosmeceutical (OTC) and pharmaceutical skin care?

OTC Cosmeceutical stands for over-the-counter skin care products and represents any product that can be purchased without a prescription. They are often referred to as Salon or Spa grade. OCT’s do not contain the same percentage of active ingredients, or are lacking certain ingredients, found in a prescription medical line based on FDA regulations.

Often, OTC products found in drug and department stores actually contain ingredients that are not good for you, have high water or filler content and contain petrochemical, perfumes and dyes. One often pays more for high-dollar advertising campaigns and packaging than the product itself.

One of the greatest differences in OCT products and their medical counterparts is not only the active ingredients and their amounts, but the ability for these ingredients to penetrate beyond the surface layer of the skin into the dermis and actually treat, change and improve the skin on a dermal and cellular level, while helping to remove old skin cells and encourage new cellular turn-over. This dermis layer is also where the collagen, elastin, and pigmentation reside as well as where our new skin cells are produced.

This does not mean that OTC products are all bad or do not work for basic cleansing, hydration and surface exfoliation, it just means that they are less effective and do not alter the lower layers of the skin.

If you are looking for significant changes in your skin, such as tightening, treatment of pigmentation issues, acne, wrinkles and fine lines, and skin elasticity, the best option is to seek out a Licensed Clinical Esthetician. Ask for a thorough analysis of your skin and address your concerns with a practitioner that can recommend and prescribe products that will truly transform.

When looking for skin care products to ensure safe and FDA approved skin care lines, it is best to talk with a licensed esthetician, physician, or dermatologist. Avoid over the counter products to ensure the safest skin care products for your skin type. A couple approved pharmaceutical lines include obagi and IS clinical.

Skin care ingredients to avoid:

FD&C color and pigments-synthetic colors from coal tar that contain heavy metals salts that deposit toxins in skin. Absorbtion can cause depletion of oxygen and death. Animal studies show almost all are carcinogenic.

DEA, MEA & TEA-This foam booster is a skin and eye irritant and causes contact dermatitis. Easily absorbed through skin to accumulate in body organs and the brain.

Dioxin– Wont appear in ingredients. Often in antibacterial ingedients like triclosan, emulsifiers, PEGS, and ethoxylated cleansers like sodium laureth sulfate. Dioxin is known to cause cancer, reduce immunity, nervous system disorders, miscarriages and birth deformity.

Parabens (Methyl, Butyl, Ethyl, Propyl)- used as preservatives not always labeled. Used in deoderants and other skin care products, have been known to cause breast cancer. May contribute to hormone imbalance.

PEG (polyethylene glycol)- Made by ethoxylating propylene glycol dangerous levels of dioxin have been found as a by-product of the ethoxylation process.

Propylene Glycol (pg) $ Butylene Glycol-petroleum plastics. EPA considers PG so toxic it requires gloves, clothing, goggles, and disposable by burying.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) & Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES)-used in car washes, garage floor cleaners, engine degreasers, can lead to eye damage, depression, and skin irritation.

Sunscreen chemicals: Avobenzone, Benzphenone, ethoxycinnamate, PABA- commonaly used ingredients that are known free radical generators that are believed to cause damage to DNA and lead to cancer.

Trisclosane-synthetic antibacterial ingredient, registers as it as a pesticide.

Photo Source(s): Google Images

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