If you’re weighing up using Dermatica or Skin and Me, you’re in the right place. I have tried both and will help you decide which is better for improving acne in this post.
Later on I’ll also talk about whether using Dermatica or Skin and Me is worth it, legit and safe to use.
Table of Contents
- What is the Skin and Me daily doser?
- Is Skin and Me good for acne?
- How does Dermatica work for acne?
- How does Skin and Me work for acne?
- Dermatica vs Skin and Me: other skin concerns
- How to use Skin and Me daily doser and Dermatica
- Addressing the horror stories
- What about Skin and Me making skin worse
- Why I’m a fan of Dermatica over Skin and Me
- Can I just get prescription skincare online?
- Dermatica tretinoin strength
- Is Dermatica tretinoin good?
- Skincare routine essentials when starting Dermatica or Skin and Me
- Are Dermatica and Skin and Me the same company?
- Is Dermatica legit? What about Skin & Me
- Is Dermatica safe to use?
- Dermatologists I recommend
- Overall decision: Dermatica or Skin and Me for acne
What is the Skin and Me daily doser?
The Skin and Me daily doser is simply the name given to their metal tube of product that every customer receives.
Dermatica don’t have a name for theirs, as far as I’m aware.
Everyone’s daily doser is different, in that the ingredients vary depending on your skin concerns.
Personally, it frustrates me when I see influencers advertise ‘how good’ the daily doser is – because their audience will not necessarily receive the same one!
Is Skin and Me good for acne?
When choosing between Dermatica or Skin and Me, you might be wondering if either is better for acne.
The bottom line is that they are both good for acne and breakout-prone skin.
Blemish-prone skin typically responds really well to adapalene and tretinoin, which feature most often in both brands topical treatments.
They are two of the best ingredients for acne to include in your daily routine.
In your consultation you can also leave a note to your provider, requesting either of these treatments.
I really recommend either brand if you are someone who has not had much luck with regular skincare products.
Please don’t keep wasting money on whatever’s trending. It’s much better to invest it in either Dermatica, Skin & Me or seeing a consultant dermatologist.
How does Dermatica work for acne?
The prescription retinoids in both brands speed up skin cell turnover which has tonnes of benefits.
For acne, it clears out the pores from the inside out.
By repeatedly using your daily doser or Dermatica formula, you can maintain pore clarity by keeping this skin cell turnover rate high.
This can improve all kinds of acne: cystic acne, comedonal acne (clogged pores) and typical acne.
How does Skin and Me work for acne?
Skin and Me works in exactly the same way, since they both use effective science-backed actives.
It is more than likely that both Dermatica and Skin and Me will prescribe you a formula with a retinoid in it.
If so, it will work exactly the same way to clear your acne.
For this reason, there isn’t really a superior choice specifically for acne.
Dermatica vs Skin and Me: other skin concerns
Acne is not the only skin concern that Dermatica and Skin and Me are very good at addressing.
Because you will experience less acne, they can also reduce the appearance of dark spots left behind by pimples.
Retinoids are an excellent way to fade dark marks, as long as you also wear sunscreen.
Retinoids are also the most effective topical treatment for fine lines and targeting the appearance of wrinkles, aside from SPF.
Lastly, retinoids work wonders for skin texture. They essentially force your skin to produce new skin and clear spots, rapidly.
Both brands often also include added brightening and soothing actives, like azelaic acid and moisture-locking niacinamide.
These help to soothe, improve skin tone and refine the skin’s texture.
How to use Skin and Me daily doser and Dermatica
I’ll explain why I prefer Dermatica over Skin and Me a little later on.
However, if it’s not clear by now – they both work equally well for acne.
Here is how to use the Skin and Me daily doser or Dermatica formula in your routine:
- Cleanse skin in the evening. Don’t apply the formulas in the morning.
- Pat skin dry. Skin needs to be dry to avoid extra irritation.
- If you wear eye cream, apply it now. This helps avoid the formula spreading too close to the eye.
- Apply a pea sized amount of formula on cheeks, chin and forehead. Avoid going too close to the undereye.
- Allow the formula to settle in for 10-15 minutes.
- Apply your serums and moisturiser.
Or you can watch a video of me applying my Dermatica.
Don’t use other acids (apart from hyaluronic acid) or exfoliants in the same evening as your formula.
If you have super sensitive skin you can do the buffer or sandwich method.
This is where you apply a layer of moisturiser before your formula. Be sure to allow the moisturiser to dry down before you do this.
A sandwich is where you apply more moisturiser over the top.
Addressing the horror stories
There is one narrative about Skin and Me vs Dermatica that pops up from time to time, especially when I posted this video.
Lots of people will say ‘my skin hated Skin and Me but loved Dermatica’ and visa versa.
Lots of people even go the extent of saying either one of them ‘ruined’ their skin.
I know it can really suck to try a new product and it not go to plan.
The problem with these accounts is that there are so many variables that don’t make it a ‘fair test’.
Examples of variables that affect your results
For example, one person might be:
- Using way too much formula
- Be applying it too often or too little
- Using lots of other skincare products that, altogether, are too harsh
- Going through a very emotional period that has impacted their stress and therefore skin
Having a good experience with one brand but not another
The other really important thing to remember is that, if you sign up to Dermatica after Skin and Me for example, the second companies now knows what formula didn’t work for you to start with.
Let’s say you tried tretinoin first and didn’t get on with it, which you tell Skin and Me during your consult.
They may give you adapalene instead and it happens to work well for you.
However, if you hadn’t tried Dermatica before to find this out, Skin and Me might have given you tretinoin first.
You would have disliked the treatment and gone to Dermatica, who would give you the adapalene instead.
What about Skin and Me making skin worse
If your daily doser or Dermatica is making skin worse, it’s possible you are purging.
A purge is when the skin gets worse before it gets better.
For lots of people with acne, this has to happen because retinoids in both brands speed up skin cell turnover.
The increased skin cell turnover can cause some temporary side effects:
- Dry skin
- Flaky skin
- Temporary redness
- More acne
The increased acne or skin getting worse is only temporary, for up to 12 weeks.
It’s often worse in the first month. I know it can be really hard to push through, but for me the clear skin at the other end is really worth it.
Why I’m a fan of Dermatica over Skin and Me
I have tried both brands in the past and I’m a fan of Dermatica just a little bit more.
For clarity, I have also worked with both brands so I think this is a fair comparison.
Switching from 0.1% retinaldehyde to 0.015% tretinoin definitely improved my skin.
I was already super happy with my progress just using retinaldehyde, so I wasn’t expecting much of change if I’m honest – moreso just maintenance.
However, I definitely noticed my pores seemed more refined. My skin became glowier and I got less breakouts.
Aside from this, I prefer Dermatica for the following reasons:
Price
Dermatica is cheaper by a little bit compared to Skin and Me.
Customer service and overall experience
Whenever I had to contact Skin & Me it felt like I was going all round the houses.
Dermatica are just easier to speak to and contact in my experience.
I had a couple instances where I felt my messages to Skin and Me weren’t really being read properly.
Overall brand
Skin and Me do a lot of influencer marketing in a style that I don’t love.
It feels like they’re trying to dominate social media with big influencers, whereas Dermatica’s brand is more about good results.
Non prescription skincare routine products
I really don’t get Skin and Me’s non prescription product range.
The products, the packaging… they are all just very bizarre to me.
Dermatica’s product range is miles ahead in my opinion, and is in alignment with the brand point I made earlier.
Overall, Dermatica just resonates with me way more.
I really like the centella gel moisturizer, glycerin gel cleanser and squalane cream cleanser.
So much so that I put them on my recommendation pages:
- Moisturisers for acne prone skin
- Water based cleansers for acne prone skin
- Oil cleansers for acne prone skin
Can I just get prescription skincare online?
There is an argument that says you can just get these acne treatments from your doctor.
Often people will complain that these companies cost an absolute fortune compared to the price of the raw ingredients.
However, there is a difference between getting these from your doctor vs from Skin and Me or Dermatica.
Firstly, it can be incredibly hard to get a prescription for these in the UK especially.
GPs here are not used to taking requests, especially for tretinoin when your acne isn’t severe.
Secondly, the whole point of Dermatica and Skin and Me is the personalised skin treatment.
First you complete an online consultation, then they select a few ingredients to blend together for you.
Generally speaking you can’t buy these blends elsewhere.
They also use uncommon strengths of actives, so that you can gradually increase usage of very strong ingredients.
Dermatica tretinoin strength
Lots of people who hear about tretinoin on social media, TikTok for example, go to Dermatica or Skin and Me to try to obtain it.
There’s so much information about the benefits of tretinoin for acne that it can be super intriguing.
What’s great about Dermatica and Skin and Me is that they offer personalised formulas with unique tretinoin strengths.
For example, my treatment is 0.015% whereas the ‘standard’ lowest strength on the market is 0.025%.
These may seem like small numbers, but it can make a huge difference with such a strong product.
Skin and Me also offer strengths such a 0.07%, mixed in to create the perfect combination of active ingredients.
Is Dermatica tretinoin good?
Lots of people write a Dermatica tretinoin review or Skin and Me tretinoin review, but there will be no difference between the quality of tretinoin from Dermatica or Skin and Me vs the original product.
An easy way to look at this is by comparing tretinoin to paracetamol.
Lots of products contain paracetamol, and tretinoin can be used in the same way.
Just because it’s in a different formulation, doesn’t make it ‘good’ or ‘bad’ paracetamol – it’s just paracetamol.
Skincare routine essentials when starting Dermatica or Skin and Me
There are a few skincare routine essentials for great results that I’d recommend.
Sunscreen for acne prone skin
Firstly, an SPF that you like wearing is absolutely crucial. Check out my list of the Best SPF for Closed Comedones and Acne-Prone Skin.
If you don’t wear sunscreen, your acne marks are more likely to scar and leave a dark mark.
You also won’t see the full effects of the anti ageing benefits and may be more sensitive.
Targeted barrier balm
You’ve probably heard of the skin barrier. It’s the skin’s outermost protective layer.
When you use either Skin and Me or Dermatica, your skin barrier will really be tested.
For this reason it’s a great idea to have a specific barrier health serum, toner or balm.
Here are some skin barrier products for acne prone skin that I recommend.
Plain water based cleanser
I also recommend making sure there are no exfoliating actives in your cleansers.
Even though they only provide a small amount of exfoliation, this can still be too much when using Skin and Me or Dermatica.
These are my favourite water based cleansers for acne prone skin.
Are Dermatica and Skin and Me the same company?
The short answer is no, but they are direct competitors.
Essentially they do the same thing:
- Prescription hyperpigmentation treatments (niacinamide, hydroquinone)
- Prescription melasma treatments (hydroquinone)
- Prescription rosacea treatments (azelaic acid, metronidazole)
- Prescription acne treatments (tretinoin, adapalene)
However, they are not part of the same company.
Are Dermatica and Skin and Me the same in terms of what they provide? Yes.
They will try to differentiate themselves from each other, but they pretty much offer the exact same personalized service.
Is Dermatica legit? What about Skin & Me
A lot of people ask if me is Skin and Me a con? Is Dermatica legit? So I’ll address these first.
We live in an age where we’re constantly marketed to, with tonnes of dodgy looking adverts for everything you could ever think of.
Fortunately, they are both legitimate companies with a dermatology team advising on prescription treatments.
Any online prescription skincare services won’t have access to prescription ingredients and formulas unless they’re verified and qualified to dispense them.
Dermatica in particular are a child company of MedExpress, who are a reputable online pharmacy.
Is Dermatica safe to use?
Dermatica vs Skin and Me are both safe to use.
This is because their products have undergone testing, just like any other brand that creates skincare to be sold on the market.
This isn’t a guarantee that they will suit your skin – nothing can ever guarantee this.
However, because both brands use prescription ingredients to create a personalized formula, in theory there is a high chance of it suiting you well.
Dermatologists I recommend
I often get asked if there are any dermatologists I recommend.
Sometimes you just need to see a dermatologist, and that’s okay.
But let’s be real, they can be very expensive and for most people, it’s completely unattainable to see a dermatologist privately.
Since I am based in London, I can only recommend ones based here.
I’m a big fan of Dr Anjalia Mahto at Self London. Self is her clinic, and I’ve also seen Dr Mary Sommerlad who was a gem, too.
From time to time I see Dr Sam Bunting, who helped me clear up my perioral dermatitis.
Overall decision: Dermatica or Skin and Me for acne
Neither are a bad choice for acne, but I prefer Dermatica overall when it comes to acne.
