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SkinCeuticals Skin Care Review

9.14/10

SkinCeuticals Skin Care Review

9.14/10

Quick Overview
  • Difficulty
    Moderate
  • Cost
    High
  • Trial Period
    30 Days

SkinCeuticals is a premium-quality skin and beauty product manufacturer that was originally founded in 1997. Since then, SkinCeuticals has earned an impeccable reputation among skincare professionals including dermatologists and plastic surgeons, allowing them to distribute their products in over 35 countries across the world.

SkinCeuticals' mission is simple: to provide advanced skin and beauty products based on scientific evidence. Many of the company's products are designed to be used as a system with the goal of correcting existing damage, protecting healthy skin and preventing future damage.

SkinCeuticals products are designed to truly protect the integrity of the skin, as opposed to just improving its cosmetic beauty on a temporary basis.

As you browse the SkinCeuticals product catalog, you may be taken aback by some of the company's prices. While SkinCeuticals products are indeed more expensive than most manufacturers within the premium sector of the skincare market, the vast majority of customer testimonials indicate that the quality, effectiveness and consistency of the products are well worth the steep prices. In fact, many of the products sold by SkinCeuticals are the same ones you'd find in a professional skincare provider's office.

SkinCeuticals is utilizing SkinCareRx.com as one of its primary online distributors. By purchasing SkinCeuticals products from SkinCareRx.com, you'll receive a number of discounts that can make your purchase more affordable. The company offers free shipping on orders of $49 or more, 10% discounts for email newsletter subscribers, free samples for qualifying orders and some of the best customer support in the industry, thanks to a team of licensed estheticians. All products include a 30-day money back guarantee.

Pros

    • Focus on research and scientific testing.
    • Exceptional product quality.
    • Used by skincare professionals.
    • Positive user testimonials.
    • Free shipping on orders over $49.
    • Extensive product catalog.
    • Customer support with licensed estheticians.

Cons

    • Some artificial ingredients.
    • High retail prices.

Quality

Skincare professionals and medical doctors rely on SkinCeuticals products on a daily basis, a testament to the quality of the company's product line. All products are formulated with premium quality ingredients in order to ensure maximum potency and effectiveness, and to expedite the process of correcting existing skin conditions while preventing future damage. Although this level of quality comes with a rather high price tag, it's a perfect fit for consumers seeking the same type of results they could experience with a visit to a plastic surgeon or dermatologist.

SkinCeuticals has partnered with a wide variety of scientific and charitable organizations, including the Melanoma Research Alliance, in order to provide educational services and improve the health of the general public. The company shares scientific research regarding lifestyle choices, environmental elements, UV light and other things that can affect the health of the skin. This information is also passed along to skin care professionals in order to help them develop both corrective and preventative skincare programs.

SkinCeuticals' quality is also apparent in the design of its website. Products can easily be browsed according to category (e.g. Prevent, Correct, Moisturize), skin condition (e.g. dry skin, sensitive skin) or keyword. The individual product pages come with a full description, benefits list, usage instructions and an overview of key ingredients. The company stresses the importance of receiving a skin evaluation from a trained professional on a regular basis, and allows you to search for skincare professionals near your locality directly through the SkinCeuticals website.

Ingredients

Although the product pages found on the SkinCeuticals website only contain partial ingredient lists, the ones found on SkinCareRx.com feature full ones. Each product page contains two ingredient lists: key ingredients and full ingredients. The key ingredients list usually mentions the active ingredients, or the most important ones, and states the reasoning behind their inclusion. The full ingredients list is comprehensive and designed to offer total transparency, ideal for those who must know exactly what a product contains such as to prevent allergic reactions.

SkinCeuticals makes no claims in terms of the types of ingredients they choose to include in their products. While all-natural skin and beauty product manufacturers never put artificial ingredients such as petrochemicals, parabens, chemical fragrances, dyes, preservatives, phthalates and other additives in their products, SkinCeuticals may. While the company does claim to use pharmaceutical-grade ingredients (hence its name), there's no mention of how many ingredients are organic, where the ingredients are sourced, or how the ingredients are tested to ensure potency, purity and efficacy. Regardless, the company's products continually receive excellent reviews from consumers, the mainstream media and skincare professionals. Although there's no reason to doubt the safety of the products from SkinCeuticals, those expecting all-natural products may be disappointed.

Clinical Studies and Research

Since their inception in 1997, SkinCeuticals has displayed a strong commitment to clinical studies and scientific research. This research allowed them to bring the very first topical vitamin C formulation to the skin and beauty market. SkinCeuticals works with some of the best scientists in the world from the fields of medicine, biophysics, chemistry and molecular and cellular biology in order to develop its products and further its understanding of skin conditions and the skin aging process. SkinCeuticals is personally responsible for funding the clinical testing of skincare products at the National Institute of Health and Duke University Medical Center, among other respected institutions.

SkinCeuticals deserves praise not only for conducting scientific research, but for making the results of this research available through its website. Information of this type is available under the Science area of the SkinCeuticals homepage. This area offers a number of peer-reviewed abstracts covering topics such as antioxidant serum, sunscreen, skin lightening, retinola, soy isoflavones and more. The abstracts help to inform users of how SkinCeuticals makes decisions in terms of ingredients, product formulations and manufacturing methods. The claims posed in the abstracts cite a variety of reputable medical journals and other scientific publications, ensuring that real, verifiable science is the foundation of SkinCeuticals' research and development process.

Effectiveness/Testimonials

The effectiveness of the skin and beauty products sold by SkinCeuticals can be measured by viewing the customer testimonials found on each product page on SkinCareRx.com. Each review contains a star rating between 1 and 5 in addition to a review summary. SkinCareRx.com also allows users to comment on existing testimonials, which often provides helpful insight into why a product may be either effective or ineffective for a particular user. Users can also rate whether a particular review is helpful, and it's possible to sort the reviews according to which have been rated most highly by other reviewers. The review scores are averaged and placed at the top of each review section, allowing you to see an overall customer consensus at a glance.

In general, the customer testimonials found at SkinCareRx.com indicate that the SkinCeuticals product line is extremely effective, though some products are more highly rated than others. Many of the reviews focus on how SkinCeuticals products are an excellent value despite their relatively high price, mostly due to how the products are fast-acting and effective while minimizing skin irritation. Although the company has received very few negative reviews, a few customers have complained about defective product packaging or temporary results when permanent results were expected. Many of these negative reviews may be due to a failure to follow the product's suggested usage instructions.

Customer Support

SkinCareRx.com is known for offering some of the best customer support in the skin and beauty product industry, with direct customer service available via phone, email and live chat. Phone support, which is available free of charge, is offered Monday through Friday from 7:00am until 7:00pm MT, as well as Saturday from 9:00am until 2:00pm MT. Live chat is available during the same hours. To access live chat, you must click the Live Help link and enter your name, subject, email address and a brief description of the problem. The fact that SkinCareRx.com offers live chat support for SkinCeuticals sets them apart from most skincare retailers, as even the SkinCeuticals website only offers support via email.

While the customer support teams of the vast majority of online skin and beauty product retailers can only answer questions regarding ordering, returns, tech support and other similar questions, SkinCareRx.com's support team is made up of licensed estheticians. This allows them to thoroughly and accurately answer questions regarding to product formulations, skin types, skin conditions and more. Considering the expense of the SkinCeuticals product line, it's crucial to have this type of high quality product advice to prevent you from making a regrettable purchase.

In addition to their excellent direct customer support methods, the site offers Skin Care 101 and a Skin Care Dictionary. The former is an articles database covering popular skin and beauty topics, while the latter includes definitions of ingredients and other terms commonly heard in the skincare industry.

Product Return Policy

SkinCareRx.com stands behind their carried product lines, including the one from SkinCeuticals, with a 30-day money back guarantee. This allows you to try the product or products for up to one month from the time of purchase before deciding whether to keep, return or exchange the item. If you received the incorrect product, or if the product arrived in damaged or defective condition, you'll be eligible for an exchange. If you have a negative skin reaction, are dissatisfied with the results, or simply decide that you no longer want to keep the item, you may return it for a full refund. Note that shipping and handling costs are not covered under the refund. Products with less than 50% of their contents remaining are not eligible for a refund. This is a fair policy that's shared by many premium skin and beauty product retailers.

In order to initiate the return of a SkinCeuticals product to SkinCareRx.com, you must first contact the latter company's customer service department to request a return authorization. Following this, the item must be shipped with tracking and insurance, as SkinCareRx.com is not responsible for any return items that are damaged during shipment. If you attempt to purchase, use and return the same product more than once, your request may be denied.

Cost

Although some of the products sold by SkinCeuticals are affordably priced, most of the products cost significantly more than what you may be accustomed to in the skincare industry. The products are intended for uncompromising consumers who are willing to deal with steep prices in exchange for some of the absolute highest quality skin and beauty products available. The company's A.G.E. Interrupter moisturizer, for example, has a price tag of $152 for 1.7 oz. Despite the obvious sticker shock, the reviews specifically indicate that the product is worth the money. The company also sells a more basic daily moisturizer for $59 for 2 oz., which is more in line with the competition. By offering a wide range of prices, the company makes its product line more accessible, even if the cheapest products are still relatively pricey.

Fortunately, it's possible to receive discounts on SkinCeuticals skin and beauty products by purchasing them from SkinCareRx.com. Many of the most expensive items come with a free $25 gift card, allowing for significant savings off of your next order. The SkinCareRx.com email newsletter offers rotating sales and promotions, as well as 10% off discounts that apply to every purchase made after subscribing. A number of free gifts, including tote bags, product samples and cosmetics, are offered on orders of minimum qualifying amounts. All orders over $49 ship for free within the United States.

Finally, SkinCareRx offers a Price Matching Guarantee in which it will match the lowest advertised price of any competitor on SkinCeuticals products. The company will even match a lower price that results from a coupon code, a free shipping offer or a cashback rewards program. This is hugely beneficial, as it allows you to consolidate your skin and beauty product purchases to a single site, saving you both time and shipping fees.

Summary

Although SkinCeuticals products come with a hefty price tag, many individuals are willing to pay a premium for a product that's safe, consistent and actually delivers the promised results in a reasonable amount of time. The company consistently receives positive testimonials from both skincare professionals and skincare consumers, indicating SkinCeuticals' ability to offer an excellent value albeit with a large upfront cost. All of the products sold by SkinCeuticals are developed based on scientific research and clinical testing, and this research is thoroughly detailed on the company's website.

SkinCeuticals conducts a large portion of their sales through SkinCareRx.com, a major online skin and beauty product retailer. By making purchases through this company, you'll have access to several cost-saving opportunities including free shipping, email newsletter discounts, automatic delivery and a 30-day money back guarantee. Better still is the fact that SkinCareRx provides customer support through licensed estheticians instead of general phone reps, allowing you to receive expert SkinCeuticals product recommendations based on your skin type, conditions and preferences.