Why the Dollars and Cents of Skincare Products Don’t Always Make Sense
Every time I peruse beauty websites and social media content, my eyes bulge at some of the recommended skincare product prices. I’ll often find a $200 serum or a $400 night cream on a list of top beauty buys. Many of these products are recommended for women in their twenties and thirties, who are often in the early stages of their career and climbing their way through low-paying jobs. Buying expensive skincare products can be difficult for younger women (and people at any age), which begs the question: do you need to spend big bucks to get high quality products?
Consumers frequently buy products that don’t work for them, which makes spending a lot on a product sting even more. The beauty industry is increasingly learning that skincare is not one-size-fits-all, and as a result, it’s easy for people to unknowingly buy products that don’t work for their skin type. Imagine dropping $400 on a lotion only to discover it makes you break out — frustrating, and hard on your wallet. Many companies over-promise the benefits of their products, so you wouldn’t know they aren’t for you until after you purchase them. “Somebody walks into a high-end department store and hears, ‘This product will do miracles for you,’” said Ming Zhao, co-founder of Proven Skincare, the first company to secure a patent to protect personalization in skincare. “And then somebody else walks in who is in a completely different age range, has completely different skin, is a completely different ethnicity, and then they will hear the same thing, that this product will do miracles for them. Even logically, that makes no sense.”
Luckily, it is possible to find products that yield great results for your skin and don’t require a big chunk of your paycheck. According to cosmetic chemist Joyce de Lemos, many affordable options are just repackaged formulas from high-end brands, minus signature ingredients like fragrance. That’s good news for those of us looking to spend less — if you can sacrifice the bells and whistles in your products, you can find a great formula. Also, board-certified dermatologist Dr. Julia Carroll said that at a certain point, there’s a law of diminishing returns when spending tons of money on skincare. “For someone to spend over $500 on a product, I can’t even imagine what would be in something to be worth that,” she told Chatelaine Magazine. If you are willing to drop that kind of cash, she said, professional skincare treatments are a more beneficial use of your money.
While you don’t need to spend crazy amounts on your routine, some products are worth paying a little more for than others. “How much you spend depends on the step and on the ingredient,” board-certified oculofacial plastic surgeon Chaneve Jeanniton, MD, told Well and Good. Dr. Jeanniton recommended saving on cleansers, moisturizers, and sunscreen, since there are a plethora of great drugstore options. Like with any product, it’s important to do research to determine which one will work best for your skin, but with all the options available, you should be able to find something effective. If you’re not sure which one to go for, seeing a dermatologist can help you discover your skin type and find products to address your concerns.
When it comes to certain ingredients, it may pay off to invest a little more. De Lemos recommended looking for “tried-and-true ingredients that work,” such as retinol, Vitamin C, vitamin E, and ferulic acid, which all have studies to back up their effectiveness. Some brands even create clinical tests to prove their products work. The key is to be strategic with where you spend — if an ingredient has science-backed evidence that it produces results, and if the product works on your skin type, it may make sense to pay for higher quality. A great place to start is a skincare ingredient decoder like INCIDecoder — simply type in a product name and the database will highlight its prominent ingredients, and the skin concerns they target.
It’s unfortunate how difficult it is for consumers to wade through the vast sea of unfamiliar products and ingredients. However, you don’t need to break the bank to establish a good skincare routine. Ultimately, doing a little research ahead of time can save you hundreds of dollars down the line. And when in doubt, seeking professional advice can guide you in the right direction, and help you feel confident that you are getting the most out of your money.
Author: Stephanie Friedman
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Works Cited
1. Yadav, Ekta et al., host. “Customization of Skincare Is Here ft. Ming Zhao of PROVEN Skincare.” Skincare Anarchy, episode 328, 3 August 2022, https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e-328-customization-of-skincare-is-here-ft-ming-zhao/id1522162686?i=1000574928112.
2. “Are Pricey Skincare Products Worth It?” Byrdie. https://www.byrdie.com/is-expensive-skincare-better. Accessed 8 September 2022.
3. “How Much Should you *Really* Spend on Skincare Products?” Chatelaine. https://www.chatelaine.com/living/budgeting/how-much-should-you-spend-on-skincare/. Accessed 9 September 2022.
4. “With Some Skin-Care Products, It Doesn’t Matter If You Spend $7 or $700 — Here’s When To Save and When To Splurge.” Well and Good. https://www.wellandgood.com/how-much-spend-skin-care/. Accessed 9 September 2022.
5. INCIDecoder. https://incidecoder.com/. Accessed 9 September 2022.
