Miami MD is an anti-aging brand that describes their products as “functional beauty.” The brand sells both dietary supplements and skincare products. Miami MD is co-founded by a dermatologist, which is generally a good sign for a skincare brand. The brand describes their products as "Miami's best kept age-defying secret" and the founder claims that any woman can enjoy firmer, younger-looking skin by using their products.
But do Miami MD products actually contain ingredients proven to reduce visible signs of aging? Is their supplement or their skin cream better-formulated? And are there any questionable additive ingredients in their products?
In this article we’ll answer these questions and more as we review the ingredients in two of Miami MD’s most popular products: Total Beauty Matrix (a dietary supplement) and Age Defying Lift & Firm Cream (an anti-aging serum). We'll also highlight some health claims made on the Miami MD website that we consider questionable and unscientific.
Miami MD Total Beauty Matrix Review
One of Miami MD’s most popular products is a dietary supplement called Total Beauty Matrix. It’s marketed for anti-aging, with the brand claiming this product can make users “look and feel younger than your years.”
We apologize for the low quality of the Supplement Facts label above; this is the quality published by the brand itself.
This supplement contains Vitamin C at a dosage of 100 milligrams (mg). We haven’t come across any medical research suggesting that oral Vitamin C has an anti-aging effect. In fact, a medical review on Vitamin C published in the Indian Dermatology Online Journal concluded the following: “bioavailability of Vit. C in the skin is inadequate when it is administered orally. The use of topical [Vitamin C] is therefore favored in the practice of dermatology.”
The B vitamin biotin is the other vitamin ingredient. Biotin is typically used for hair growth, and we cannot identify any medical research suggesting it has an anti-aging effect when taken orally. We’ll consider this an ineffective ingredient.
Total Beauty Matrix contains a “Proprietary Skin & Hair Complex” blend with four active ingredients.
MSM is an effective anti-aging ingredient, but we believe the amount in this supplement is vastly underdosed. A 2022 clinical trial found that oral supplementation with MSM improved signs of skin aging, but the dosage used was 3,000 mg. The average ingredient dose in this blend is only 80 mg, or 37.5x lower than the amount used in the medical trial.
Hydrolyzed collagen peptide is another ingredient that we consider underdosed. As we documented in our best collagen powder review article, the maximum effective dose of oral collagen for reducing signs of skin aging appears to be 10,000 mg daily, and the lowest effective dose appears to be 2,500 mg daily. We haven't come across any research suggesting that 80 mg of collagen is effective for wrinkle reduction.
Saw palmetto powder is a botanical ingredient in this blend. We can’t find any medical studies even testing this ingredient for its anti-aging effect. It’s typically used to treat hair loss.
L-lysine HCL is the final ingredient in this blend, and we can’t find any data supporting its use in an anti-aging supplement.
The second prop blend in Total Beauty Matrix is called “Proprietary Mineral Complex.” It contains four minerals: magnesium, zinc, copper and selenium.
We can’t find medical studies suggesting that any of these four minerals is effective for reducing visible signs of aging or improving skin quality. We recommend that consumers avoid supplements containing added vitamin and mineral blends, because taking supplemental vitamins and minerals without any evidence of a deficiency may cause the body to accumulate unsafe levels of those nutrients. A wellness brand had to recall several products from the market in early 2022 because all of their added vitamins were causing toxicity in some consumers, as reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
We do not recommend Miami MD Total Beauty Matrix and we do not consider it likely to be effective for anti-aging, given that we cannot identify one single ingredient that we consider effectively dosed.
The anti-aging dietary supplement we recommend is Bulletproof Collagen Powder. Oral collagen supplementation was shown in a medical review published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology to improve visible signs of skin aging as well as improve skin elasticity and skin hydration. The only ingredient in Bulletproof collagen is collagen peptides sourced from grass-fed animals, and it provides an effective collagen dose of 20 g.
Bulletproof collagen costs $39.95 while Miami MD Total Beauty Matrix costs $69. Interested consumers can check out Bulletproof Collagen Powder at this link.
A YouTube creator called "Auntie Sybil Makeup & Beauty" published a review of Miami MD Total Beauty Matrix that appears to be unsponsored:
Miami MD Age-Defying Lift & Firm Cream Review
Miami MD's most popular skincare cream is their Age-Defying Lift & Firm Cream. Strangely, their website states that it’s “not available on Amazon” while at the time of writing this article it is available on Amazon on Miami MD's official store, and the price on Amazon is significantly lower than the price on their website ($49 vs. $69).
This cream contains a number of peptides, including palmitoyl tripeptide-1, palmitoyl tripeptide-7 and acetyl hexapeptide-8. A medical review found that topical peptides can be effective dermatological ingredients, and a clinical trial found that acetyl hexapeptide-8 had anti-wrinkle effects. We’ll consider these ingredients likely effective.
Jojoba seed oil is used as the base oil for this formulation, and we consider it to be a good option. As we detailed in our Curology review article, jojoba is proven to be an effective skin-hydrating ingredient, which makes it a good choice for an anti-aging skin cream.
The Age-Defying Lift & Firm Cream contains sodium hyaluronate, which is one of the most effective skincare ingredients. A medical review that we often cite on Illuminate Health concluded that hyaluronic acid (which is the larger version of this compound) has “remarkable anti-wrinkle...anti-aging, space-filling, and face rejuvenating properties.”
Sweet almond oil is another ingredient we would consider effective. It’s been found in medical data to have anti-inflammatory effects, and to improve skin complexion and skin tone.
Phenoxyethanol is a preservative found in an in vitro (test tube) study to be toxic to human cells. While this is a weaker standard of evidence than human trials, we recommend avoiding skincare products with preservatives given that there are preservative-free formulations on the market.
Overall, we believe that Miami MD Age-Defying Lift & Firm cream is likely to be effective for anti-aging skincare results, given that it contains multiple science-backed wrinkle-reduction ingredients. We don't recommend the product overall due to the inclusion of a preservative.
Annie Mak Vitamin C Serum is our top anti-aging skincare serum because of its effective and clean formulation. It contains hyaluronic acid which was described as a "skin-rejuvenating biomedicine" in a medical review due to its ability to reduce wrinkles and signs of facial aging. We consider this to be the most powerful topical skincare ingredient. Most importantly, this serum is entirely free of questionable additives like preservatives or fragrance.
Interested consumers can check out Annie Mak Vitamin C Serum at this link.
One of the most popular YouTube reviews of Miami MD's cream is published by a channel called "Ratings & Reviews Channel !" and the video appears unsponsored as the creator says the product was ineffective for her:
Questionable Health Claims
There are a number of questionable health claims on the Miami MD website. On the Total Beauty Matrix product page, the brand states the following, without any citation: “Dr. J says the hydrolyzed collagen peptides are one of the only types of collagen proteins women should consider taking as they aren’t easily dissolved in the stomach.”
This appears to be inaccurate based on medical research. The entire purpose of using hydrolyzed collagen is that it’s more easily dissolvable and absorbable by the body. A medical review on hydrolyzed collagen published in the Molecules journal details how hydrolyzed collagen has a lower molecular weight than whole collagen: “The molecular weight of collagen peptides obtained from hydrolysis is very low (3–6 KDa) compared to that of its precursor native collagen (285–300 KDa).”
On the same page, the brand claims that saw palmetto “can reduce levels of the aging hormone DHT by as much as 32%” without any citation.
DHT (short for dihydrotestosterone) is a male sex hormone that’s the byproduct of testosterone. We cannot identify any medical studies suggesting that DHT directly causes aging skin, nor that reducing DHT levels improves skin quality.
We recommend that consumers entirely disregard specific health claims made by skincare brands that are without citation. If a brand fails to provide proof of a claim, the claim should be ignored.
Miami MD 4 Week Program Review
One of the most popular YouTube reviews of Miami MD is published by a channel called "mszkinni TV" and the creator uses Miami MD products for four weeks and shares her results, as well as performs product demonstrations.
She trials the Age-Defying Lift & Firm Cream, Instant Wrinkle Eraser, Dark Spot Corrector, Intense Eye Repair, and also shares before-and-after images:
Miami MD Real Customer Reviews
Miami MD products are available on Amazon which is a more objective resource for customer reviews than a brand's website in our opinion. Total Beauty Matrix is their most-reviewed product currently, with over 600 reviews and an average review rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars.
The top positive review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named "Ivi" who claims that the supplement is effective for hair and nail growth:
"Absolutely amazed at the wonders these pills have done. I had bought them because of a recommendation of a friend and now I’m in love. I suffer from hair loss and lack of nail growth and have tried everything. So when I hear of these I just thought it was another product that won’t help but I still gave it a go and I don’t regret. I absolutely recommend it."
The top negative review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named "Public Name" who claims that the product caused side effects:
"Bought this for someone and they said the first time they took it, it made them vomit. If you have a sensitive stomach that can easily be upset, I suggest buying from elsewhere. Also, you might find a better priced item with better reviews if you keep searching: because it's more expensive doesn't mean it's better."
Miami MD Pros and Cons
Here’s our take on the pros and cons of this brand:
Pros
- Cream product contains effective ingredients
- Founded by dermatologist
Cons
- Dietary supplement is poorly formulated
- Relatively expensive
- Questionable health claims
- Questionable Amazon reviews
