Agency Skincare is a customized skincare brand led by dermatologist recommendations. The brand describes their offerings as “elevated essentials for your skin’s daily needs,” and suggests they have an anti-aging effect.
But does Agency Skincare use research-backed ingredients for anti-aging? Does the brand use any unhealthy ingredients? Is personalized skincare actually better than off-the-shelf cosmetic products? And how do real users rate and describe the effects of Agency Skincare?
In this article, we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Agency Skincare to give our take on whether or not the brand is likely to be effective, and whether or not it's healthy.
We’ll share our thoughts on personalized skincare as a whole and whether it’s a gimmick, and feature real customer reviews of Agency Skincare.
Key takeaways:
- Contains potent, anti-aging active ingredients
- Contains inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy
- We do not currently recommend Agency Skincare
Ingredient Analysis
We input test answers into the Agency Skincare website health questionnaire indicating our goal was to fight wrinkles.
The active ingredients prescribed are shown below:
Azelaic acid is typically used for acne, but may also have an anti-aging effect. A 2010 medical review states that “Topical bleaching agents such as hydroquinone, kojic acid and azelaic acid can reduce signs of aging.”
Tretinoin is a derivative of vitamin A that appears highly effective against wrinkles.
A medical review published in the International Journal of Women’s Dermatology found that topical tretinoin was effective against wrinkles in all clinical studies analyzed, and concluded that the treatment “could significantly improve wrinkling.”
Niacinamide is clinically shown to reduce the visible appearance of wrinkles, as we documented in our review of Ambi Fade Cream.
Dexpanethnol promotes cell growth according to a 2021 clinical trial, which suggests it may also be effective against aging.
Tranexamic acid was shown to prevent photoaging in a 2020 animal study, which is a weaker standard of evidence than human studies.
We consider all of the active ingredients in Agency Skincare’s anti-aging formulation to have significant research backing.
Polyacrylamide is a stabilizer described as a “demonstrated neurotoxin in humans” in a 2005 medical review. This review does not prove that this ingredient is absorbed through the skin, but we feel this information is worth highlighting.
BHT is a synthetic preservative that breaks down into BHTOOH, which was described as a tumor promoter in a clinical trial published in the Carcinogenesis journal.
Phenoxyethanol is another synthetic preservative that’s clinically shown to be toxic to human cells.
Overall, we consider Agency Skincare highly likely to have an anti-aging effect given its prescription-strength active ingredients.
We don’t currently recommend this product due to the inactive ingredients highlighted above.
Real People Try Agency Skincare
A YouTube creator named Chris Gibson shared his experience after using Agency Skincare for four months:
A TikTok creator named Mary Margaret has an unsponsored video where she explains why she considers Agency to be a more convenient option than standard prescription skincare:
@mary_hayes Unsponsored honest review of agency’s retinol prescription service-i was gifted this but under no obligation to post this is my opinion after one month! #skincareroutine #tretinoin #tretinoinjourney #agencyskincare ♬ original sound - Mary Margaret
Is Personalized Skincare a Gimmick?
Personalized skincare is becoming more and more popular, and while we all have individual genetics and environmental constraints, we haven’t come across any convincing clinical evidence suggesting that this modality of treatment is better than standard off-the-shelf products or personalized skincare recommendations from a regular dermatologist.
There’s also the issue of data security.
Agency’s website asks a variety of health questions including pregnancy status, gender and more.
As we discussed in our Reverse Health reviews article on another personalized health brand, sharing this information with an online-first healthcare provider may increase the risk of data breaches compared to an in-person provider.
It is worth noting that personalized skincare may lead to better aging results at least in regard to sunscreen recommendations, according to a medical review published in the Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology journal.
Overall, we think that personalized skincare may have benefits, but isn’t worth significantly increased cost based on the current stage of research and our understanding of individual cosmetic factors.
Agency vs. Other Personalized Skincare Brands
A popular beauty vlogger named Abbey Yung compared four personalized skincare brands, including Agency Skincare, in a video with over 100,000 views:
Our Clean Skincare Pick
MindBodyGreen Best Skin+ is our top anti-aging skin supplement.
It contains orange extract which is clinically shown to increase skin moisturization, skin elasticity and skin radiance.
This supplement also contains astaxanthin which is clinically shown to cause "wrinkle formation reduction."
This supplement is free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.
Agency Skincare Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of Agency Skincare in our opinion:
Pros:
- More convenient than a visit to a clinic
- Prescription-strength
- Likely to have anti-aging effect
- All active ingredients have research backing
- Very favorable online customer reviews
- Personalized skincare may be optimally effective
Cons:
- Contains synthetic preservatives
- Contains polyacrylamide
- Custom, proprietary formulations don’t appear clinically tested
