How Long Will It Take for You to See Results?
We get it — you come see us, you’re spending your hard-earned money on skin care products and treatments.
You want to know when you’re going to see results.
Let’s start with skin care products. Depending on what you’re using, it takes time for your skin to build up tolerance to certain ingredients, and sometimes you have to get past a certain point to see the benefits.
For example, some ingredients cause redness and peeling, but eventually yield the beautiful, glowing skin below.
If you’re not sure what ingredients are in your products, ask us! If you want a quick cheat sheet for reference (and you can't read that tiny print on the bottle), here you go:
AHAs (glycolic acid, lactic acid, malic acid, mandelic acid) and BHAs (salicylic acid):
You can start seeing results within minutes of the first application, but peak results — such as anti-aging effects — don’t appear until 12 weeks.
Hyaluronic acid:
Results are immediate and only get better with continued use. You'll see increased skin hydration, improved skin volume and a more youthful appearance.
Niacinamide:
Niacinamide is a great ingredient for its tolerability, preventing skin aging and treating inflammation and pigmentation. Most results take 8–12 weeks.
Retinols:
Retinols can work wonders on your skin, reversing sun damage and signs of aging, decreasing fine lines and improving skin tone and texture. But retinols also take some time to get used to. Depending on the sensitivity of your skin, you may need to use sparingly to begin with, and then work your way up to regular usage. We recommend consulting with a dermatology provider – we’re available! – so we can determine if a more gentle OTC retinol or medical grade retinol is better for you. In 3–6 months, you should see results.
Rx retinoic acid:
Same rules as above, as these are prescription-strength versions of retinoids. Because they’re stronger, you can expect to see results in 6–8 weeks.
Vitamin C:
This powerful vitamin is effective in protecting against photoaging of the skin. You can expect to see results after 3+ weeks.
Kojic acid, hydroquinone, mulberry extract, arbutin:
These lightening agents improve the overall appearance of your skin tone. The potency, tolerability and effectiveness of these ingredients can differ greatly, so we recommend consulting your provider prior to use to decide which one will be best for you! You'll start seeing results within 8–12 weeks of use.
