Are expensive skin creams better than drugstore brands?
Does price matter when it comes to over-the-counter skin-care products? No one knows for sure, since most companies do not publish clinical research on their creams. But many dermatologists agree that, generally speaking, expensive brands aren’t any better for you than less costly creams. “Price is irrelevant from the point of view of whether it works or not,” says Dr. Charles Zugerman, associate clinical professor of dermatology at Northwestern University Medical School. So what exactly are you paying for when you buy a fancy skin cream? “A lot of what is spent in cosmetics is on packaging and advertising,” says Dr. Robin Ashinoff, director of cosmetic dermatology at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, N.J. The cost can also be determined by the contents of the cream. “Some ingredients can be very exotic and expensive or difficult to prepare,” says John Bailey, executive vice president for science for the Personal Care Products Council (formerly known as the Cosmetic,
