Esthi approved acne routine

[elizwitz]

hi guys,

i've been going to an esthitician and dermatologist in beverly hills for quite some time now for acne treatment, and both of them are always expressing their hatred for sephora skincare lines. i want to know from other licensed estheticians and/or dermatologists, what are your thoughts on sephora skincare? what routine would you recommend? 

if you aren't an esthi, have you tried sephora skincare brands for acne? has it worked? what brands would you stay away from?

[WinglessOne]

Hi @elizwitz ! I'm curious: does your esthetician or dermatologist sell their own in-house skincare brand? If not, what brands do they like? Are they part of the "medical grade skincare products are best" crowd? Why exactly do they hate the brands Sephora sells? 

I'm neither an esthetician nor a dermatologist*, but I do have a derm and have talked with a few other derms about specific skincare issues. My derm doesn't turn his nose up at every brand sold at Sephora (or Ulta, or Dermstore, or Nordstrom, etc.). Heck, he's the one who recommended I try Avene's 0.1% retinaldehyde product once he and I determined my skin wouldn't tolerate tretinoin well. 

To me, a good dermatologist takes various products and price ranges into account when making recommendations, with no "price = quality or efficacy" nonsense. It's fine for a derm to dislike specific brands; my derm has nothing nice to say about Sunday Riley, for instance (neither do I, though my reasons have more to do with the brand's shady practices), and there's a certain other Sephora-sold brand he thinks is wildly overpriced for what it offers—and he's not alone there. But he has good things to say about several of The Ordinary's products. He likes some Paula's Choice products. Sephora doesn't sell COSRX but when I showed him which of their products I use, he approved. 

A good-for-you acne routine may depend on which type of acne you have, your skin type/behavior (besides acne-prone), and any other skincare issues/goals you have. A routine could be as simple as any brand's gentle cleanser, a retinoid (doesn't even have to be Rx tretinoin; could be OTC adapalene), any brand's very hydrating and fairly (or very) occlusive moisturizer, and a broad spectrum sunscreen for daytime. I get random acne more often than I used to these days. To treat it, I rely on azelaic acid (usually Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster for Redness Relief 1 oz/ 30 mL but I've been testing and liking Peach Slices Redness Relief Azelaic Acid Serum; at some point, I might move on to Rx-strength azelaic acid) + salicylic acid (Paula's Choice makes my favorite leave-on BHA products, especially their 4% BHA and Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting BHA 9 Treatment 0.3 oz/ 9 mL ). I'm not sure if I'm still allergic to benzoyl peroxide, otherwise I'd add that to the mix a few times a week. 

*To my knowledge, there are no dermatologists on BIC aside from certain brand founders who hop on BIC for special chat threads. But I think there are some estheticians. Maybe even a medical esthetician or 2.