Make a beauty budget for 2019!

I cannot tell you how often I walk in to see a patient and am confronted with bottles on bottles lined up in row, products that didn’t quite live up to the hype and didn’t deliver the incredible skin clearing results they claimed. Personally, I always want to see my money go far and it pains me to see how much is spent on products that may be enticing (beautiful packaging, good advertising, celebrity endorsements, etc), but in reality, perform as well as that $13 jar of Cetaphil. But, believe me, I, too, have been in that Sephora vortex and walked out having spent way too much money on fancy creams that did not work.

So in 2019, don’t clutter your medicine cabinets with half used products and be kind to your pocketbooks - make a beauty budget for the year! You will feel good that your money is going to be used in the most effective way to achieve your skin care goals: be it clearing your acne, having a youthful, smooth forehead, or just keeping that glow going.

Here are some guidelines to follow:

• Look for that active ingredient! For example, the active ingredient in Pro-Activ is benzoyl peroxide, which you can also get in a $5 drug store face wash. Save your coins for an occasional in-office glycolic acid peel, instead.

• Prescription acne medication will almost always work better than something bought over the counter. $70 spent on prescription tretinoin will get you farther than that fancy mud mask.

• Botox works. Fancy wrinkle creams, eye creams, super serums, hemorrhoid creams will never ever get your forehead as smooth as a 16 year old or make your crows feet disappear. If you are someone that spends over $500 a year on creams, masks, and non-medical grade facials, consider diverting some funds to Botox instead. You will be happy you did.

The bottom line is be smart! Don’t let the beauty industry dupe you into giving away all your hard earned money and make Suze Orman proud!