I’ve got referral codes for both Skin & Me and Dermatica in case anyone was considering trying them out (and a slightly long winded comparison of the two after over a year of use below).
First and fifth daily Skin & Me doser for only £3.50: https://www.skinandme.com/?promocode=KRISTINB5WRV
First month for £2.90 and £10 off second Dermatica order: https://www.dermatica.co.uk/referrer/PJ0DL8
I’ve been using these subscriptions for over a year now. My issues are acne (I am now mid thirties and it has been bad since I was a teenager) and melasma (thank you birth control pills…). I’ve been using treatments with azelaic acid, niacinamide, and tretinoin. I asked to avoid hydroquinone (the usual melasma treatment ingredient) as I wanted to focus on my acne first and I know that my melasma responds well to azelaic acid.
Skin & Me is probably better for starting out. They start you at a very low tretinoin dose and my skin seems to like the Skin and Me base product (whatever they mix their active ingredients into) a little more than the Dermatica one.
I’m aiming to eventually move to Dermatica though in the long run, as it works out significantly cheaper and they seem to move you up to higher active percentages than skin and me by the end. A skin & me tube lasts me exactly one month and I get 2-3 months from a Dermatica one. You can also get a discount on Dermatica by prepaying for several tubes at once.
At this stage, I’ve got a tube of each prescription and I’m alternating (usually 2 days Dermatica, one day skin & me) to get me skin more accustomed to the Dermatica one. It seems to be working. My skin is completely pimple free and my melasma is improving (it isn’t gone, but I’m happier playing the long game and having no acne than rocking the boat to change my prescription for the melasma and have my acne return). My melasma has improved to the point where I’m comfortable wearing nothing on my face but tinted sunscreen.
I’ve found that moisturising products are key to being able to cope with tretinoin and not get peeling skin. I now use Bioderma atoderm shower oil as face wash morning at night (I use it twice at night as I found my skin couldn’t tolerate a gel cleanser for a double cleanse). It comes in a massive bottle so is very cost effective! I’m also a big fan of La Roche Posay Lipikar Baume as moisturiser. I use it morning and night too (though it does leave your face a bit shiny so if I want to look put together I have to wear a setting powder over my sunscreen).
I use the shower oil and Lipikar Baume on my eczema-prone toddler as well and they’ve worked wonders on his skin.