DRMTLGY is a popular skincare brand that sells a wide range of products including topical serums, sunscreens, moisturizers and much more. The brand describes their product line as “Medical Grade Skin Care” and most products are priced on the luxury end of the market.
But does DRMTLGY use ingredients that are proven to have anti-aging effects? Does the brand use unhealthy ingredients? And is DRMTLGY better or worse than popular skincare brands like La Roche Posay?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in two of DRMTLGY’s best-selling products (Needle-less Serum and Tinted Moisturizer) to give our take on whether or not they're likely to be effective, and whether or not they're healthy.
We'll also compare DRMTLGY to other popular skincare brands in terms of formulation quality to pick our winners (and losers).
Key takeaways:
- Both products reviewed contain research-backed active ingredients for skin
- Both products contain inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy
- We do not currently recommend DRMTLGY
Needle-less Serum Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in DRMTLGY Needle-less Serum are shown below:
There are a number of active ingredients in this formulation clinically shown to have anti-aging effects.
Palmitoyl tripeptide-1, palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7 and palmitoyl tripeptide-5 are all peptides, and topical peptides were shown in a 2020 clinical trial to significantly reduce wrinkles.
Ceramide EOP, ceramide AP and ceramide NP are ceramides, and this class of compounds is clinically shown to improve skin hydration and restore the skin barrier, as we discussed in our review of CeraVe Moisturizing Cream.
Sodium hyaluronate is one of the most well-studied anti-wrinkle ingredients.
It has a low molecular weight, and a clinical trial published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology found that this ingredient can significantly reduce wrinkle depth.
Niacinamide was shown in a medical review published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology to help protect skin from UV rays and to repair the skin barrier.
There are two inactive ingredients that we consider to be questionable from a health perspective.
Phenoxyethanol is a common synthetic preservative that was shown in a clinical trial to be toxic to human cells.
Ethylhexylglycerin is a synthetic preservative shown to potentiate the toxic effects of phenoxyethanol in a 2016 medical review.
Overall, we consider DRMTLGY Needle-less Serum likely to be effective for improving skin quality, for reducing visible effects of aging and for improving skin barrier function.
We don't currently recommend this product due to the synthetic preservative combination discussed above.
Tinted Moisturizer Ingredient Analysis
DRMTLGY’s tinted moisturizer also functions as a sunscreen with an SPF rating of 46.
This moisturizer contains two active ingredients for the sunscreen effect — zinc oxide and octinoxate:
Zinc oxide is an excellent choice, because it’s a physical sunscreen ingredient that was shown in a 2019 medical review to be effective at blocking UV rays and to be entirely non-toxic.
Octinoxate is a chemical sunscreen ingredient, and as we documented in our review of another sunscreen brand called Elta MD, this ingredient has been clinically shown to be harmful to human health, and is actually banned in Hawaii due to the environmental damage it causes.
The inactive ingredients in this product, shown below, are primarily for moisturizing effect.
Niacinamide and sodium hyaluronate are effective moisturizers as we documented in the previous Ingredient Analysis section.
Glycerin was shown in a clinical trial to increase skin hydration at a concentration of 20%, but the glycerin concentration in DRMTLGY’s moisturizer isn’t currently published.
Phenoxyethanol and ethylhexylglycerin are also included in this product.
Overall, we consider DRMTLGY Tinted Moisturizer likely to be effective as a sunscreen and as a moisturizer.
We don’t currently recommend this product due to the inclusion of a chemical sunscreen ingredient with questionable health effects, and the synthetic preservative combination discussed above.
DRMTLGY vs. Popular Skincare Brands
Here's how DRMTLGY compares to other popular skincare brands in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:
ZO Skin Health
Beyond fragrance, this brand uses artificial dye in at least one of their formulations, and synthetic dye is clinically shown to be absorbed through the skin and have potentially harmful effects.
DRMTLGY has healthier formulations.
Winner: DRMTLGY
La Roche Posay
La Roche Posay Cleanser contains fragrance, which is considerably unhealthy.
However, it's free from the toxic preservative combination in DRMTLGY's serum, and the octinoxate in DRMTLGY's sunscreen is worse for health than anything in La Roche Posay's products.
Winner: La Roche Posay
Agency Skincare
Some formulations contain polyacrylamide and BHT; both compounds worse than anything in DRMTLGY.
Winner: DRMTLGY
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.
DRMTLGY Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Effective formulations
- Needle-less Serum should be anti-aging
- Tinted Moisturizer should protect skin from UV damage
- Mostly positive online customer reviews
Cons:
- Both products reviewed contained phenoxyethanol
- Both products reviewed contained ethylhexylglycerin
- Tinted Moisturizer contains octinoxate
