Reale Actives is a skincare brand by social-media influencer Alix Earle, developed with board-certified dermatologist Dr. Kiran Mian. The brand sells products for acne-prone skin and claims their hero serum is "Clinically Proven" to reduce post-acne marks.
But does Reale Actives Go Deep Serum contain research-backed ingredients for treating acne? Does it contain any unhealthy ingredients? Why do we take issue with the brand's clinical claims? And is Reale Actives Go Deep better or worse than other popular skincare brands like Medicube?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Real Actives Go Deep Serum to give our take on whether or not it's likely to be effective for treating acne, and whether or not it's healthy.
We'll also share our concerns about the brand's "Clinically Proven" claims, and compare Reale Actives Go Deep to other popular skincare brands to pick our winners (and losers).
Key takeaways:
- Contains research-backed active ingredients
- Brand makes questionable clinical claims
- We currently recommend Reale Actives Go Deep Serum
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Reale Actives Go Deep Serum are shown below:
image source: https://realeactives.com/
Mandelic acid is an alpha-hydroxy acid (AHA) clinically shown to reduce both active acne lesions and post-acne hyperpigmentation, according to a clinical trial published in the Dermatologic Surgery journal.
Reale Actives Go Deep features 8% mandelic acid, which is within the effective clinical dosing range.
Hexylresorcinol is clinically shown to reduce skin hyperpigmentation as effectively as 2% hydroquinone, without the side-effect risks of hydroquinone.
Licorice root extract is clinically shown to brighten skin and reduce hyperpigmentation.
Squalane is a research-backed emollient clinically shown to improve skin moisture and help repair the skin barrier.
Centella asiatica has an anti-inflammatory effect on skin, as we documented in our Incellderm reviews article.
There are no ingredients in this formulation that we consider unhealthy.
Overall, we consider Reale Actives Go Deep likely to be effective for treating active acne and reducing the appearance of post-acne marks, and we currently recommend this serum.
Questionable Clinical Claims
The brand claims Go Deep is "Clinically Proven" to deliver multiple aesthetic results, as shown below:
image source: https://realeactives.com/
The fine print clarifies that this claim is based on an independent 31-subject clinical study over 8 weeks, evaluated using dermatologist grading and instrumental measurements.
While we appreciate that Reale Actives uses dermatologist grading and instrumental measurements rather than purely consumer self-reporting, we cannot identify a peer-reviewed publication of this study, and the brand does not link to the full study methodology on the product page.
We consider clinical claims based on small, brand-funded studies that have not been published in peer-reviewed journals to be essentially useless to consumers, due to the potential bias.
The clinical research we cite in the Ingredient Analysis section above is published in peer-reviewed journals, which is the highest standard for quality and reducing risk of bias.
We urge Reale Actives to publish the full clinical study so that researchers and consumers can independently evaluate its methodology and results.
Reale Actives vs. Popular Skincare Brands
Here's how Reale Actives compares to other popular skincare brands in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:
Frøya Organics
Like Reale Actives, Frøya Organics contains research-backed active ingredients with no unhealthy additives in the formulations we've reviewed.
The brand uses sea buckthorn oil, which is clinically shown to have anti-acne effects, alongside other research-backed botanicals.
However, Frøya's actives target general skin quality and anti-aging rather than acne specifically, while Reale Actives Go Deep features mandelic acid at a clinical 8% concentration.
Reale Actives Go Deep is the winner from a potential efficacy perspective for acne care.
Winner: Reale Actives
Medicube
Medicube's Zero Pore Pad contains research-backed actives like lactic acid and salicylic acid, but also contains multiple essential-oil fragrance ingredients that may irritate sensitized skin, as we documented in our Medicube review article.
Reale Actives Go Deep is fragrance-free, which gives it the edge from a health perspective.
Winner: Reale Actives
Oliveda Skincare
The Oliveda Green Retinol Face Elixir we previously analyzed contains fragrance, limonene, and citronellol, which we consider unhealthy.
Reale Actives Go Deep contains no unhealthy ingredients, which gives it the edge from a health perspective.
Winner: Reale Actives
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.
Reale Actives Pros and Cons
Pros:
- 8% mandelic acid is effective dose
- Multiple research-backed actives for acne and post-acne marks
- No unhealthy ingredients
- Co-developed with board-certified dermatologist
- Healthier than some competitors
Cons:
- "Clinically Proven" claim isn't peer-reviewed or independently verifiable
- We can't find independent lab testing
