"Welcome to my Medicine Cabinet"

Doctors are always telling you what to put in your medicine cabinet, but have you ever wondered what is in theirs? I know I have. So when I saw the article entitled "Welcome to my MEDICINE CABINET" in this months Makeover issue of InStyle magazine, I had to purchase it so that I could share it with all of you. Here are the contents of three dermatologists' medicine cabinets....

GRACE PAK, M.D., age 45
Skin type: oily, acne-prone, susceptible to dark spots and melasma
Ethnicity: Asian


Morning:
Face Wash: Glyderm glycolic acid cleanser
Sunscreen: Elta MD sunscreen ("pure mineral sunscreen that is potent but super-light")

Evening:
Eye cream: Neova ("copper peptide eye cream that boosts collagen")
Lightener: Lumixyl ("hydroquinone free lightener")
Prescription Retinoid: Retin-A Micro Pump; 3 times per week ("prescription retinoid that brightens skin and helps reduce acne"

Vitamins:
VitaminD: Carlson vitamin D, 2,000 IU soft gels
Multi-vitamin: Functionalab Ultra multi-vitamins
Fish oil: GNC Triple Strength fish oil soft gels

Other:
[She] "drinks a lot of green tea"


JEANNETTE GRAP, M.D., age 52
Skin type: clear, even-toned, not overly-sensitive, freckles, drier skin
Ethnicity: Caucasian (at least from what I can tell from the picture)

A.M.
Cleanser: Aveeno Aveeno Positively Radiant soap-free cleanser
Serum: L'Oreal Paris Skin Genesis Daily Treatment serum/L'Oreal Paris Wrinkle Decrease collagen filler and Skin Genesis serum with hyaluronic acid if really dry.
Sunscreen: Neutrogena Dry Touch sunscreen SPF 85 (or SPF 30 in the winter)
Mineral makeup: Avene (Eau Thermale Avene High Protection tinted compact SPF 50) and Jane Iredale (Amazing Base SPF 20)

P.M.
Makeup Remover: MAC wipes for face and Neutrogena oil-free eye makeup remover
Cleanser: Aveeno Positively Radiant cleanser
Anti-aging Cream: Tri-Luma (prescription retinoid with 4 percent hydroquinone)

Supplements:
Miracle greens (powdered supplement)
Vitamin B
Flaxseed oil: Natural Brand flaxseed oil
Fish oil
Vitamin D3 ("important for skin repair"): Carlson vitamin D 2,000 IU soft gels

Cheaper Over the Counter Solutions
She says a cheaper over the counter version is ROC Retinol Correxion Night Cream and Olay Regenerist DNA Superstructure Cream

JEANINE DOWNIE, M.D., age 45
Skin type: small pores, even tone, no wrinkles, melasma, eczema
Ethnicity: African-American (from what I can tell in the picture)

A.M.
Cleansers: Vivite daily facial cleanser (alternates between the gentle formula and the exfoliation formula)
Sunscreen: M.D. Forte Aftercare Environmental Protection sunscreen SPF 30

P.M.
Cleanser: same as above
Antioxidant serum: Skin Medical TNS Essential serum
Retin-A Micro Pump
Moisturizer: Skin Medica Dermal Repair (on drier days)
Lashes: Latisse (prescription lash-growth serum)
Foot Exfoliation: Neutrogena microdermabrasion kit twice a week ( Neutrogena Healthy Skin Rejuvenator kit)

The above information is from the article titled "Welcome to my MEDICINE CABINET", InStyle Makeover Special Issue Fall 2010, pages 141 - 144.

Mission

I am a biomedical engineer with a passion for beauty. In my spare time, I love searching for published clinical research studies for popular beauty ingredients. We are constantly being barraged by images in magazines and commercials. How do you know what works best? The closest thing you can get to a trustworthy source is a randomized control trial. So when I am researching ingredients or investigate findings to back up claims in various media sources, I will share the conclusions from clinical research studies that I find here on this blog.