Dr. Somji Skin, cosmetic surgeon: 112 products reviewed

Every review.

All 112 products Dr. Somji Skin has reviewed, grouped by product type. Click a product to see the full guru consensus.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Against the gurus

Type

Serums29 reviews

"Certain vitamin C serums are fantastic after dermaplaning -- the SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic, it's fantastic. If you really have [...] skin that's a little bit more sensitive, maybe you just want to follow up with just hyaluronic acid instead."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

Finacea Azelaic Acid Gel 15%

"I find myself prescribing a lot [...] at two different concentrations, one at 15% which is known commercially as Finacea, that's a prescription I have to write. [...] These are prescriptions that are available for most pharmacies once I write out the prescription for the patient that they can use at home, and I find that you get great results using these prescribed skincare compared to high street stuff."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

Facetheory Azelaic Acid 15

"With the Face Theory product they probably put a lot into it to be able to put 15% on the label, but is it a true 15%? That remains to be seen."

~Mixed

76%Guru Score

The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%

"There's nothing better for the Skin Barrier than niacinamide and the Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% from The Ordinary is quite good. [...] Don't get scared with a 10% because it's almost [...] like a sugar coating on a label, they say it's 10% but really it's not too strong. Most patients don't really irritate from there, but I would still use it sparingly."

✓Yay

69%Guru Score

The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%

"Azelaic acid makes it into most of my routines mainly because it helps with redness, pigmentation, it helps with open and closed comedones, it's great for the functioning of the skin and this you want to put on the skin immediately after cleansing and drying and that's really going to help that redness that you get within the skin."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5

"The Ordinary have a great hyaluronic acid that you can use which is really nice to just kind of hydrate the skin. Because the superficial skin is a bit more dehydrated with rosacea, it's going to hydrate both in the upper levels of the skin and also the mid layers of the skin as well because of the different molecule sizes that you see within a product, and your body will then draw in moisture to that area so it's going to help with hydration."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil

"I'm a big fan of oils. You just got to make sure that you're not acne prone within the area and it's more that you've just got kind of sensitivity. So you could cleanse the skin, you could use the oil and then you can use the azelaic acid over the top and you should be absolutely fine."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

SkinCeuticals H.A. Intensifier with Arbutin and Azelaic Acid

"Eyes clinical um hydrating serum high um is very very good um and I would use that too as well"

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

The INKEY List Polyglutamic Acid Serum

"There's a fantastic one from the Inkey List which can is great at attracting water. This is the first thing that you want to put on the skin."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

The INKEY List Niacinamide Serum with Hyaluronic Acid

"You've also got The INKEY List hyaluronic acid and niacinamide, you can use as well if you don't like The Ordinary."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster

"I like azelaic acid so up top you'll be able to see things like Paula's Choice azelaic acid which is a fantastic product to help with redness and sensitivity that's going to be your go-to."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

The Ordinary Alpha Arbutin 2% + Hyaluronic Acid

"If you're going to have another serum I would add the alpha arbutin 2% and you can get this from The Ordinary. For those of you that don't want to buy an extra product, this particular one's got ascorbic acid 8% in it which is vitamin C, so you've got vitamin C and alpha arbutin mix. Alpha arbutin is what we call a tyrosinase inhibitor, it blocks the production and transport of melanin, which is what pigmentation is."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

Vichy LiftActiv Vitamin C Brightening Skin Corrector Serum (15% formula)

"You've got the Vichy vitamin C which is a nice example of a serum, it's got multiple different types of things in there as well so it's got things like vitamin E in there and it's got glycerin which helps with the skin barrier and it's also got a few nice extracts that are going to really help with making sure that you're not getting many breakouts as well"

✓Yay

73%Guru Score

The INKEY List Hyaluronic Acid Serum

"The Hyaluronic Acid Serum from The Inkey List does exactly what it says in the tin. It's made of hyaluronic acid and is designed to have a thin layer. It should rapidly absorb because it's not a thick cream, it's a serum. Once you've got hyaluronic acid within the skin, that's going to help with moisture."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Ultra Concentrated Serum

"La Roche-Posay's Effaclar Ultra Concentrated Serum not only helps with anti-imperfection, which is more for acne, helps with dark marks as well as daily peeling. This has got salicylic acid in there which is great for acne, glycolic acid which is also great for pigmentation, and it's also got soothing niacinamide so it's going to help people with sensitive skin and impaired skin barriers."

✓Yay

71%Guru Score

La Roche-Posay Niacinamide 10 Serum

"The La Roche-Posay Pure Niacinamide Serum 10% is formulated for this purpose. If you were using your hyaluronic acid and you had some dry skin, you'd want to use this serum. The key is you don't want to just use one serum; you can combine those two serums with different ingredients to get more of a result. Niacinamide can help with things like pigmentation, so if you've got mild pigmentation and some dryness within the skin, you're going to choose hyaluronic acid and niacinamide."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil

"If you've got increased bacteria, marula oil from Drunk Elephant is fantastic."

✓Yay

60%Guru Score

The Ordinary Virgin Marula Oil

"Marula oil from the drunk elephant and from the ordinary are fantastic"

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

The Ordinary Ascorbic Acid 8% + Alpha Arbutin 2%

"If you've got pigmentation that's a little bit more apparent or a little bit more severe then you can use the Ascorbic Acid 8% and Alpha Arbutin 2% so it's double the strength but also it's mixed with vitamin C. We know that vitamin C is fantastic for pigmentation too because it's got some effect on tyrosine as well. Now if you combine the two you're going to get more of an effect."

✓Yay

74%Guru Score

Drunk Elephant C-Firma Fresh Day Serum

"One of my favorite ones is the Drunk Elephant C-Firma Fresh Day Serum because it's stabilized in a good formulation. There's good packaging that doesn't damage it, that doesn't allow the environment to damage it, and it stays stable for a longer period of time."

✓Yay

71%Guru Score

The INKEY List Squalane Oil

"You can put your serums on and then if you're really serum-based and you want to repair your skin barrier without having so many creams on, you can put your squalane on afterwards and it's fantastic for locking in the moisture. You can incorporate squalane into your slugging protocol as well. Just remember to make sure that the squalane in your products is sourced from plant-based rather than animal-based sources, since squalane was previously derived from shark livers, which isn't humane."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Bio-Essence Squalane Oil

"I've been researching a few squalane products over the last few months and the one that came top of my list was the Bio-Essence squalane, which has not only got some probiotic in there but also omega repair. I thought it's a fantastic idea because you're building that skin barrier and you're doing something different than anybody else. You're preventing loss of essential omega-3 acids as well and you're adding that all in one, especially with a probiotic, which is extremely fantastic."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

CeraVe Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Serum

"I think it's a fantastic price point. For the price you're getting quite a bit. You're getting the hyaluronic acid, you're getting the three essential ceramides, you're also getting vitamin B5 in this as well. You've got sodium hyaluronate which is fantastic, panthenol which is quite high up, and then you got your three ceramides as well which is great. You got a kind of mild citric acid lower down as well so it just helps remove any dead skin at the same time. It's a nice formulation."

✓Yay

68%Guru Score

Revolution 2% Hyaluronic Acid Serum

"One of the most good valuable value for money ranges that I've seen with the Revolution hyaluronic acid skincare. They've clearly mentioned they haven't mentioned their weight of the hyaluronic acid, but they have said that they've researched and included both high and low molecular weight hyaluronic acid. This is a cheap and cheerful way of hydrating both the upper and lower layers of your skin, and if you combine this with certain moisturizers afterwards then your skin will feel moisturized."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Rhode Peptide Glazing Fluid

"There's nothing kind of groundbreaking from it, but it definitely will help with hydration. There's no doubt about it with those ingredients. [...] It's actually fantastic. The packaging is fully recyclable, less harm to the peptides because they've got some great packaging from recycled tin materials. Overall it's a nice kind of clean brand [...] with no nasties in it, but again not going to change your skin too much."

✓Yay

71%Guru Score

Clinique Smart Clinical Repair Wrinkle Correcting Serum

"So it's not a terrible product, but it's not going to change your skin overnight. One of the reasons why it's got such good ratings for skin being a lot smoother is a combination between the hyaluronic acid and things for the skin barrier. As long as you have those two things, your skin will feel better, might not necessarily reduce things like wrinkles."

~Mixed

71%Guru Score

Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum

"I think it's a nice blend of acids, mixture of AHAs and BHAs, had good concentrations actually, and safe concentrations for maintenance. The vitamin E is actually probably the best ingredient there because it's a great antioxidant for skin and it's used in a lot of advanced skincare formulations. The only concern I have is that probably there's only enough squalane in there, and this is the reason why they recommend you to use it with their luxury facial oil as well."

✓Yay

68%Guru Score

Drunk Elephant B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Serum

"It's super thin so it's easily absorbed, there's no doubt about that, but it's thin. It really needed that thickener. There are better other hyaluronic acids on the market that we've talked about in previous videos. Yes, there's some additional B5, but it's so low down the list that it's not really going to make a difference. I personally don't think that this product's worth it. I think there's other things on the market that can do probably much the same job if not better."

✕Nay

61%Guru Score

La Roche-Posay Cicaplast B5 Face Serum

"I'm going to give it a four simply because of the mix of ingredients"

~Mixed

79%Guru Score

Cleansers17 reviews

CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser

"CeraVe is a good one because it's got the ceramides in there so you're going to cleanse the skin but the ceramides are going to feed your skin barrier so you don't over strip it. It's really really quite nice."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

Cetaphil Hydrating Foaming Cream Cleanser

"If you have sensitive skin but you have oily prone skin, so if you've got combination skin, you can use a product like the Cetaphil Gentle Foaming Cleanser because this not only adequately cleans the surface of the skin so you get that nice squeaky clean look, but also what it does it gives it supplements your skin barrier so it gives things like nice ceramides to the skin so it doesn't over strip your skin. So if you want that nice cleansing feeling then this is pretty good."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

CeraVe Micellar Cleansing Water

"If you wear makeup, micellar water is fantastic as that first cleanse. I've got [...] the CeraVe Micellar Cleansing Water which obviously contains the three essential ceramides and niacinamide to help with your skin barrier. This is fantastic you can massage this into your skin with a cotton pad or even with your hands to really give you that first step clean and sometimes for some people that's enough."

✓Yay

61%Guru Score

Dermalogica Active Clay Cleanser

"I love that mix in terms of the cleanser. What that does is slowly draw out the oil from the skin but also reduces some of the oil that you're going to produce a little bit later on, so therefore will help you with that delay when you get that oil surge. [...] It also sinks slowly into the skin so it doesn't actually damage anything as well."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser

"There's some great salicylic acid based cleansers from brands such as CeraVe, and you want to be doing that a.m. and p.m. if you're prone to getting the pores filaments particularly around the nose area."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

iS Clinical Cleansing Complex

"You can use the iS Clinical Cleansing Complex which is a little bit more of a higher price point but it's got a great blend of lactic acid salicylic acid glycolic acid it's going to really remove that debris from the area and it's also going to loosen the area so if you're really extracting and you want to just prep the area you can use a salicylic acid based cleanser."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser

"My most favorite cleanser within the Ordinary range is the squalane based cleanser. Squalane is a great ingredient that's not only anti-inflammatory but it's also non-comedogenic so it's not going to break you out. It's very calm to the skin and it's also going to decrease inflammation. So squalane based cleanser is going to be your first point of call."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser

"The CeraVe hydrating cleanser is quite nice. It's a creamy cleanser that just moisturizes even whilst cleansing."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

LMS Cleansing Balm

"Balm sometimes feel a lot nicer a lot more therapeutic some of them smell nice too you got to be careful with the amount of perfume in it the LMS Cleansing Balm a lot of my patients use but if you've got any form of sensitivity you might want to stay away from that because they do have perfume and fragrance in there which can sensitize the skin"

~Mixed

69%Guru Score

The INKEY List Oat Cleansing Balm

"If you've just got generally good skin on the High Street, the probably cheapest and the most safest thing to use is the oat blend in balm from The INKEY List. Fantastic because oat, it's one of the properties of oat is to help with a Skin Barrier, but this gives a good clean and a lot of patients love this that come to my clinic so it's really nice to use if you do wear a little bit of makeup and you don't have much time."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

Drunk Elephant Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser

"I do love this jelly based cleanser from Drunk Elephant because it's got that nice kind of gel based cleanser but it also kind of purifies and melts things, so it incorporates a gel based cleanser and a more almost like a balm type effect as well. It's got salicylic acid, lactic acid, and glycolic acid within it, [...] all botanically derived. It's got a nice blend of surfactants and makeup dissolving emollients and it leaves the skin feeling very soft but without damaging the skin barrier."

✓Yay

59%Guru Score

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser

"It's a water-based cleanser that's great for the skin barrier. It's got jojoba seed oil in it, mafengpro seed oil in it, also nice triglycerides and things that will just help with the skin barrier. There's nothing really terrible here. It's not going to really get rid of absolutely everything, so you probably need a double cleanse to get rid of a full face of makeup, but it's not going to damage the skin and that's the main thing."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm

"A lot of my patients actually like the Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm. They say it helps really remove makeup. [...] The Clinique cleansing balm has got some interesting ingredients: you've got safflower seed oil, caprylic triglycerides which are great for the skin barrier, and some vitamin E as well. [...] So essentially it's just a fatty acid cleanser that helps with the skin barrier. It's amazing that it was able to take off a lot of heavy makeup."

✓Yay

78%Guru Score

Clinique Cleansing Milk

"The milk is not really going to be a cleanser. The ingredients in the other cleanser that she was using was not going to be enough so really she actually does need that sort of toning stage."

~Mixed

77%Guru Score

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser

"Cetaphil is in the name: cetyl alcohol, which is wonderful for the skin barrier, highly moisturizing, and it's also got some nice ceramides. [...] This is a cream-based cleanser I tend to use when I go to sunny countries, maybe my skin's a little [...] dry and hot and bothered, and maybe my skin barrier is impaired if I haven't been very good with my SPF. It's fragrance-free, it doesn't clog pores, and it can be more moisturizing for the skin."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

CetaPhil Oily Skin Cleanser

"If you have oily skin, a company like Cetaphil actually shows exactly what you need. You've got the Oily Skin Cleanser, which is essentially a foam cleanser. This is going to help minimize pores, reduce sebum production, but without stripping the skin. If you look at some of the ingredients, it's got exactly the things that you need in a cleanser. It's water-based, it's got glycerin that's going to help with your skin barrier."

✓Yay

65%Guru Score

Cetaphil Nourishing Oil to Foam Cleansing Face Wash

"It's a non-drying formulation, left my skin feeling quite soft and smooth, a little bit more radiant. It contains niacinamide, white seed daffodil extract, which together helps skin brighten. It's fragrance free and non-comedogenic, so it's going to help with people with congested skin like blackheads and whiteheads, and also just generally if you have a little bit more oily skin [...] and you don't want to strip things too much, this is quite a nice cleanser."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Moisturizers16 reviews

Cosmelan Cosmelan 2 Cream

"One cream that I like to give patients is called the Cosmelan 2 Cream. You can apply it just to the orbital bone, it will fuse around the eye area and it also lightens that area and it can be used quite nicely."

✓Yay

76%Guru Score

The INKEY List Bio-Active Ceramide Repairing & Plumping Moisturizer + Barrier Strengthening

"The INKEY List is great at repairing the skin barrier. It's got loads of essential fatty acids, triglyceride, and glycerin in this product. It's fantastic for nourishing that barrier and just calming the skin down."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA

"One of my favorite products [...] is Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA. When you look at the ingredient list, it's water-based with caprylic triglycerides in there, so derived from coconuts, fantastic for helping the skin barrier. Cetyl alcohol, which is one of the main ingredients of Cetaphil, so it's a really calming, really soothing formulation that's also got hyaluronic acid in there that's going to help retain the moisture."

✓Yay

71%Guru Score

Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer

"You can use a daily moisturizer from Cetaphil. This is really nice, it's got hyaluronic acid inside there as well and it's also dermatology tested. No parabens in this, no fragrance, no nothing. It's really nice."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion

"It's great because [...] it helps with dryness even within your moisture barrier within one week. It's a niacinamide base, it's got panthenol, vitamin E, these are things that are great for the skin barrier to make sure that your skin is nourished. Ceramides are really important as well, and CeraVe is a great brand for ceramides, it contains the three essential ceramides for function of that skin barrier so you don't lose moisture and your skin is a lot more calmer as well."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

Cetaphil Rich Hydrating Cream

"This is a rich night cream from Cetaphil which is much thicker. It's still got the nice niacinamide, the panthenol, the vitamin E in it, but it's really going to stop any moisture loss because it's thicker in texture."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Epiduo Epiduo Gel

"I have this, it's prescribed to me and I've had it for a really long time, but it's the Epiduo Gel, fantastic. It's proven for acne and breakout, changed the game for me."

✓Yay

78%Guru Score

Laneige Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Acid Cream Moisturizer

"I use the LANEIGE Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Acid Cream Moisturizer. I take it, rub it, and lather it all over. Literally the first time I used this, I woke up and I thought my skin was a baby's bottom, it was so soft. Because everyone's skin was so dry while we were filming, I ended up getting a bunch of their moisturizers and products for the rest of the cast, and in the trailer for hair and makeup, and everyone started using them and becoming addicted."

✓Yay

66%Guru Score

La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5

"La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5, which is really popular, some people put this on like nappy rash, all sorts of things, is a soothing repairing cream but if you layer this, if you layer anything too thick, it's going to be comedogenic. So there's a word of warning and cautiousness. I wouldn't put it in any products now because there's so many other things that you can add, you've got olive oil derived ceramides to help with the barrier, for instance."

✕Nay

92%Guru Score

Clinique Moisture Surge 100H Auto-Replenishing Hydrator

"The Clinique Moisture Surge is an interesting product. [...] It's got a lot of silicone in there, [...] so if you're acne prone layering too many silicone products is probably not going to be a good thing. It has some green tea extract just to calm down the skin, some aloe vera, as well as a few acids such as citric acid just to make the skin feel a little bit more [...] moisturized. It may reduce [...] the cases of sensitivity secondary to retinoid."

✓Yay

74%Guru Score

Rhode Barrier Restore Cream

"I'm going to apply the Rhode Barrier Restore Cream, [...] a great moisturizer that is absolutely key for me. This pairs really well and [...] seals in the moisture and locks everything in beautifully. It would be good because [...] if she was using things like retinol and dry skin, then she could lay this on afterwards."

✓Yay

72%Guru Score

Clinique Clarifying Lotion One

"On their website it's designed for people with very dry sensitive skin. [...] If we look at the ingredients of this clarifying lotion, it does have witch hazel in it, which [...] I'm not a big fan of because of the tannins involved and how it can actually make sensitive skin like this a little bit more sensitive over time. It does have coloring in there with yellow coloring and blue coloring, which is a little bit disappointing."

✕Nay

46%Guru Score

Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream

"Now if you put olive oil in your skin it's going to feel like this, it'll feel good. But hey, you are overpaying for this product. You know it's marketed as a polypeptide cream, but the peptides are so low down on the ingredients list that it may as well not be a peptides cream. It's basically an olive oil cream."

✕Nay

65%Guru Score

Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Whipped Cream Rescue & Recovery Moisturizer

"It feels nice as a product but there's nothing in these ingredients that are going to do anything for your skin. The ingredients are probably not going to change your skin. It's all about the price you're paying. If you're going to be paying like kind of High Street prices, these are great formulations but these are the same prices as some of the things that I stock in my clinics and my patients would kill me because they'd say look, my skin hasn't done anything."

✕Nay

67%Guru Score

Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion

"The Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion is great to almost lock in that moisture. It's [...] a lower version of slugging in that you're just layering lightweight stuff and the thickest thing you're going to put on is probably a moisturizing cream. [...] If you're seriously breakout prone and you've got compromised skin, this is not a bad option and it's better and safer than slugging if you're worried about breakouts."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream

"You've got petrolatum in there, and I use this [...] after I put my retinol on [...] as like a mini kind of sandwich method, and it's great to restore the skin barrier especially if you're using retinol and you're in the sun. [...] There's nothing in there that's going to [...] make us more sensitive."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

Retinoids10 reviews

ZO Skin Health Retinol Skin Brightener

"This retinol from ZO Skin Health is a Retinol Skin Brightener but it's a good quality retinol and if you're going to use your A, vitamin A, C and E, maybe you want to spend a little bit more money on it. [...] Having formulated my own skincare, there's different levels and grades of retinoids. So even retinols, there's so many different grades of it you can get, encapsulated retinol, etc."

✓Yay

71%Guru Score

The Ordinary Retinol 0.2% in Squalane

"I would recommend the ones that are mixed with squalane because they also help with the skin barrier and the protection of that skin barrier as well. So you want to be using a retinol in your PM routine after using your salicylic acid based cleanser."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

The INKEY List Super Solutions 1% Retinol Serum

"You've got this one from the INKEY List which is quite nice, it's a simple one to start with and it's something you can use on a daily basis and is not too strong."

✓Yay

70%Guru Score

Differin Adapalene Gel 0.1%

"If you're acne prone you might want to use specific retinols for acne prone skin. One that I like to prescribe within clinic is Differin Adapalene Gel, which is great."

✓Yay

94%Guru Score

The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion

"You've got the Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion, which is more for patients with oily skin. It's creamier in texture, it's better for beginners, that's what I would start as a beginner. [...] Because the Granactive retinoids are more close to retinoic acid, it's much more likely that you will get a better result with the Granactive range than you would with the retinol range, but as I said, not every retinoid is good for each patient, so you have to try each one out."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane

"It's the strongest one out there in the whole ordinary range. Exercise extreme caution with 1% in squalane, but sometimes you get some really good results from it, especially for anti-aging. It's got squalane in it which is going to help with the skin barrier, but you have to [...] exercise caution when using this retinol, especially if you're going to be using other chemical exfoliants within the range as well."

~Mixed

84%Guru Score

The Ordinary Retinol 0.5% in Squalane

"This can be a little bit more irritating than the 0.2%. If you've got oily skin, you might use the 0.5% rather than 0.2% because it won't irritate you as much. But if you've got irritated skin or a compromised skin barrier, repair that first and then start on 0.2%. If you've gone up the ladder, this is a great thing, but still be careful. Don't just start using this every day. Start using it alternately or even three days a week, and then week on week increase."

~Mixed

61%Guru Score

The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid 5% in Squalane

"Because the granactive retinoids are more close to retinoic acid it's much more likely that you will get a better result with the grand active range than you would with the retinol range"

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

CeraVe Skin Renewing Retinol Serum

"They've got their encapsulated ceramide MVE technology which they always talk about and it's kind of behind most of their success, which is fantastic. Using this retinol when I've tested it on the back of my hand, I think it's fantastic. It's something that can really help. They talk about dimethicone and the use of it, and it's a silicone that helps with skin softness and coverage without making things heavy, which is what makes a product feel quite nice. They really justify their use of it."

✓Yay

74%Guru Score

Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream

"This is a great retinol you can see that it's at good concentration it's got a nice blend of emollients. You're not going to feel very dry after this you can build up this retinol really quite nicely. I'd probably do it once every alternate days but yeah definitely this is a product I would definitely get."

✓Yay

55%Guru Score

Masks & Peels6 reviews

The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Mask

"It's at lower concentration so you're very unlikely to damage your barrier unless you're using this not according to the instructions that are written on the pack and you're overusing it. You can use this product according to the pack daily and [...] it's very difficult to ruin your skin with this. Stuff in the High Street is at lower concentration and that might be better for you if you've got sensitive skin types because medical grade products might be too strong."

✓Yay

87%Guru Score

The Ordinary AHA 2% + BHA 2% Exfoliating Serum

"You've got The Ordinary AHA 2% + BHA 2% Exfoliating Serum, which is fantastic at a slightly more cheaper price point."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Ren Ready Steady Glow Daily AHA Tonic

"You've got the REN Ready Steady Glow Daily which is an AHA tonic, it's got AHAs and BHAs such as salicylic acid in there. You've also got lactic acid which is a great AHA to include for people with sensitive skin, and it's also got salicin in there as well which is great for acne prone skin. Unfortunately, although this toner is good, it's good for most skin types, if you've got sensitivity or if you've got problems with things like rosacea, it's got fragrance and perfume in there."

~Mixed

71%Guru Score

The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution

"You can use [...] the AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution [...] 2 to 3 times a week after cleansing. You want to use 5 drops of the serum, spread evenly around the face, making sure that you only leave it on initially for a few minutes and then slowly progress to a little bit longer. Then you cleanse that off and continue your routine. [...] You want to do that 2 or 3 times a week because you want to be peeling those layers, especially if your pigmentation is deeper."

✓Yay

58%Guru Score

Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Universal Daily Peel Pads

"Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Universal Daily Peel has two parts: first one exfoliates, you wait 2 minutes, and then there's a neutralizer. It's a nice daily peel to use just to make sure that you're doing a chemical exfoliant, which is much better than a physical exfoliant. I was getting weird rashes around my mouth or nose area, and I started using these and it helped it go away."

~Mixed

70%Guru Score

Laneige Water Sleeping Mask

"The Water Sleeping Mask is mainly made of silicon, glycerin, and a few extracts. Glycerin is an amazing ingredient for skincare that helps with the skin barrier and makes things feel nice. However, fragrance is quite high up in the formulation, and it also has essential oils such as linoleic acid oil, which can sensitize the skin if left on."

~Mixed

65%Guru Score

Other6 reviews

Obagi Nu-Derm System

"The Obagi Nu-Derm is prescribed and I like it because they have active ingredients you can prescribe tretinoin which is one of the highest strength retinoids that you can get you can prescribe hydroquinone for temporary periods of time for depigmentation."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Weleda Skin Food

"When I was using it for a good couple of weeks, I noticed that my elbows and knuckles, which normally get a lot drier, were a lot more moisturized and the skin barrier was a lot better. It's got a thick base of pure plant oils and beeswax, and beeswax is fantastic for [...] an impaired skin barrier. In terms of the ingredients, it's a water-based formulation with sunflower seed oil, which is great, sweet almond oil, which is one of my favorites, as well as the beeswax."

✓Yay

78%Guru Score

The Ordinary Ascorbyl Glucoside Solution 12%

"Ascorbyl glucoside is very very popular now, you've got The Ordinary Ascorbyl Glucoside, I think it's 12%, and it's very very popular mainly because if you have sensitive skin or you've previously been sensitive to ascorbic acid then you can use ascorbyl glucoside and it's great for sensitive skin and is one of my recommendations."

✓Yay

72%Guru Score

The Ordinary Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate Solution 20% in Vitamin F

"I recommend The Ordinary's Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate, which from what I see is 20%. A lot of patients like that because it's something that can sit on the shelf for a long period of time. If you don't quite need Vitamin C but you just need that little bit of boost every now and again, it can be added into your regime really easily. I like this product. It can be mixed with some of the hyaluronic acid serums for added effect as well."

✓Yay

88%Guru Score

Softwave Softwave

"Softwave is extremely effective if you read one of the clinical studies looking at patients that were treated with one treatment of softwave, 88% of patients had a significant improvement in fine lines, wrinkles, and lifting on the face. There was also high patient satisfaction with the treatment. There is some pain involved with softwave because it is a very powerful treatment, but [...] we have some good tactics to help with pain. We numb the area for a good hour prior to the procedure."

✓Yay

76%Guru Score

Olaplex No. 6 Bond Smoother

"What I like to do at night is use this Olaplex No. 6. This is essentially going to help colored hairs. It's got a lot of essential ingredients for not only hair health but also scalp health as well."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Toners6 reviews

The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution

"It claims that it doesn't have any fragrances in there or anything that harms the skin. It's good for patients that maybe are lighter skin types that want that little bit more of a cleanse. [...] I know that skincare by hm has really discounted this product mainly because of the Rosa damasa within there, which is a fragrant essential oil. [...] It's a little bit higher up on the ingredients list but not many patients would report a lot of sensitivity with it."

✓Yay

73%Guru Score

Pixi Glow Tonic

"So while this smells nice, feels nice, a significant proportion of people have got problems with this. When you look at some of the posts I did on Instagram and TikTok, I've got so many comments of people saying oh my God this is the reason why my skin has suddenly gone bad. It's even got [...] color in there which I don't think is good for the skin. You can use a glycolic acid serum instead of this, without all the nasties."

✕Nay

65%Guru Score

The INKEY List Glycolic Acid Toning Solution

"This is a clean formulation that can be used as a nice toner. It's got glycerin in there as well, and it will give you that nice ceramide. If you want to include a toner, this is something that I really do recommend. [...] The INKEY List is definitely something that you should use for all skin types."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

Environ Moisturizing Toner

"I absolutely love this toner. It keeps my skin glowy and soft and very hydrated. [...] You've got some great floral extracts here with sage leaf extract, rosemary leaf extract, a lot of different extracts within this so it's something that's just going to kind of heal the skin. It's nice and botanical, it's not going to harm the skin at all. [...] There's a lot of active ingredients that are just plant-based, some great niacinamide in there as well."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

The INKEY List Polyhydroxy Acid Toner

"The Inkey List PHA is different from AHAs and BHAs and they're a lot milder. It contains a product called gluconolactone, which is a mild exfoliant that's a little bit more gentle in terms of its exfoliation, so it doesn't damage the skin and it can be used by all skin types. [...] What's really nice within the ingredients is they've included niacinamide, which is a skincare favorite, [...] and also it's got glycerin in there as well."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Kylie Skin Vanilla Milk Toner

"The problem here is that there's perfume in this, which is really sad actually because there's a lot of nice things here with avocado extract, apple fruit extract, [...] castor oil, jojoba seed oil, and one of my favorite ingredients, centella asiatica extract, which is great for the skin barrier and great for collagen building as well. But [...] it's just ruined by the addition of the fragrance, which really I don't feel like they need it."

~Mixed

62%Guru Score

Balms & Ointments4 reviews

Vaseline Original Healing Jelly

"Vaseline is not going to help take off your makeup; it might help keep it in because it's a barrier. There's no evidence to show that putting Vaseline on eyelashes and eyebrows helps grow it. It just gives you a little bit of coverage on the hair follicles and hair shaft, giving you the illusion that it's a little bit thicker, but it's not actually going to thicken the hair."

~Mixed

85%Guru Score

CeraVe Healing Ointment

"The CeraVe Healing Ointment is like an inclusive dressing that you can apply to the skin when you want that little bit of repair. It can be put on dry, cracked areas, so if you've got dry, cracked skin, especially if you're someone like me that washes your hands like 50, 60 times a day, it's really really useful for those rough kind of areas. It's formulated with petrolatum, which is basically very similar to petroleum jelly or Vaseline."

✓Yay

87%Guru Score

CeraVe Baby Healing Ointment

"So you add those three ceramides and then you add a little occlusive dressing over the top with petrolatum jelly and hyaluronic acid, which keeps the moisture within the skin. You're limiting evaporation, you're drawing moisture from inside your own body, and you're also starting with the building blocks of skin by putting in those ceramides. Post resurfacing, even things like post sunburn, if you put this healing ointment on it's going to help that process."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Aquaphor Healing Ointment Advanced Therapy

"I like Aquaphor as a lip gloss. It's got a petroleum jelly base but then it's also got some great essential oils in there and it's great for slugging. It's very natural. I use it post laser resurfacing as well and it's actually pretty good for the lips."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Body & Tan4 reviews

Eucerin Urea Repair Body Wash

"It says it's got a soothing scent, which is basically code for it has perfume in it. I'm not a fan of perfume. It feels like a cleansing product, and it's quite smooth and definitely has got some glycerin. There's a gliding effect on the skin. So if you've got impaired skin and you feel like when you go in the shower your skin gets a lot more drier, you would use this. But if you've got dry sensitive skin, then you might not want to use this because it can probably make it worse."

~Mixed

75%Guru Score

CeraVe SA Lotion for Rough and Bumpy Skin

"If you want to treat this at home then using things like CeraVe SA Lotion are a great option because it's got salicylic acid in there that prevents buildup of milia"

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

CeraVe SA Cream for Rough and Bumpy Skin

"I really like it. It's a salicylic acid based smoothing cream for dry rough and bumpy skin. If you get those bumpy little bumps, that you see with keratosis pilaris, salicylic acid washes in the shower and then using something like the SA smoothing cream is going to be really really useful. You've got urea, you've got glycerin, you've got cetyl alcohol."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

Laura Mercier Amber Vanilla Body Lotion

"Oh it's so nice and it smells so good. I feel like everybody that knows me when they smell this, it just smells like me. Hydrating body is always a good thing, especially the backs of the arms, elbows. Mine tend to get quite dry as well."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Haircare4 reviews

Rogaine Minoxidil 5% Foam

"I think it's got some decent ingredients in there, nothing really too strong. If you've got male or female pattern hair loss, this product is good. [...] Stick to what you're using that's FDA proof for hair loss, and you can use it as an add-on just to improve the health of your hair, that's how you should be using this product."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Serum for Hair Density

"But if you've just got hair that maybe you've heat treated too much, you've got split ends, it could look a little bit healthier, fuller, and you don't have male and female pattern hair loss, then this product is good. If you've got male and female pattern hair loss, like Yours Truly, then stick to what you're using that's FDA approved for hair loss and you can use it as an add-on just to improve the health of your hair. That's how you should be using this product."

~Mixed

68%Guru Score

Nizoral A-D Anti-Dandruff Shampoo (1% Ketoconazole)

"If you're diagnosed with fungal acne, definitely using things like Nizoral A-D Anti-Dandruff Shampoo are great. I normally tell patients to put that on the face, wash with these shampoos, put that on the face, let it sink in for about 5 to 10 minutes, and then wash off the medication."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Moroccanoil Perfect Defense Heat Protectant Spray

"One of the favorites that I used to use was Moroccanoil Perfect Defense Heat Protectant Spray, but it has denatured alcohol in it."

✕Nay

70%Guru Score

Sunscreen4 reviews

The Ordinary Mineral UV Filters SPF 30

"The Ordinary have an SPF 30 which is mineral based SPF 30 which I don't really like so much."

✕Nay

56%Guru Score

Dermalogica Invisible Physical Defense SPF 30

"We've got this Dermalogica sunscreen which is a nice SPF 30 with high protection protects against UVA light and is primarily chemical in terms of its sunscreen so it will absorb very easily."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Vichy Capital Soleil SPF 50

"It's made to be portable, you can travel with it, put it in your pocket or your handbag and it's absolutely fine. [...] I've chosen this mainly because it has got certain ingredients, certain probiotics that are going to help with anti-pollution as well. So not only will this actually protect you from UVA and UVB rays, they actually protect you with essentially daily life, so dirt, grime, debris that we all suffer with when we're going in most urban areas as well."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Clinique Mineral Sunscreen Fluid for Face SPF 50

"You've got the Clinique mineral SPF 50 which is actually quite nice because it's a lightweight formulation. It's something that can be easily reapplied, and that's my main theme that I always talk about with sunscreens, because the effectiveness of sunscreens isn't about whether it's mineral or chemical or what ingredients it has. It's about how many times you apply it and whether you're consistent with it."

✓Yay

60%Guru Score

Lip3 reviews

Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask

"She's got a Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, which is great for hydrating lips. It's a vanilla flavor, and without looking at the ingredient list, it's good to put something on your lips at night. She's generously applying it to her lips."

✓Yay

73%Guru Score

Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment

"There's many different formulations but a lot of celebrity skincare brands have got lip products, and I'm assuming this has got peptides to help nourish the lips as well as helping the skin barrier with nice essential oils as well. And this is the Salted Caramel scent and it's so yummy smelling."

✓Yay

76%Guru Score

Drunk Elephant Lippe Balm

"It's applied to lips as a sheer lip balm but maybe used under or around the delicate eye area to hydrate and smooth crow's feet. I actually agree this would be a great product to use around the eyes especially for the thinner skin and to give you that bit of hydration particularly when ladies complain of like little makeup lines in this area. This is a great product that you can put underneath your makeup."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

Eye Care2 reviews

The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG

"Because it's a water-based product, you can either use this after your hyaluronic acid or you can actually use it just before your azelaic acid in nighttime, so you can either use it a.m. or p.m. and if it works really well for you, you can basically do both a.m. and p.m. and it's a great upgrade and a top tip that you can use for your rosacea."

✓Yay

73%Guru Score

The INKEY List Retinol Eye Cream

"The Inkey List has a specially designed Retinol Eye Cream which is actually fantastic for that area if you're going to be using retinol around the eyes. Maybe you want to use some encapsulated retinols that will help just resurface and exfoliate the skin so that you get down to that base and also it can help reduce the appearance of milia as well."

✓Yay

68%Guru Score

Acne1 review

The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution

"The Ordinary Salicylic Acid [...] is fantastic for acne prone skin. [...] If you've [...] got slightly darker skin type and you've got really a lot of congestion then salicylic acid is going to be a good option."

✓Yay

78%Guru Score

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