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 do DRMTLGY products contain ingredients proven in medical research to improve skin quality and reduce the effects of aging, or are these just marketing claims? Do they have any unhealthy additives? What retailer has DRMTLGY for the best price? And how do real users rate and describe the effects of DRMTLGY products?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we review the ingredients in DRMTLGY’s best selling products based on medical studies to give our take on whether they’re worth the money. We’ll analyze the ingredients in DRMTLGY Needle-less Serum and DRMTLGY Tinted Moisturizer.
We’ll also share which online retailer has the brand at the best prices, and highlight real, unsponsored user reviews of DRMTLGY products.
Needle-less Serum Review
The ingredients in DRMTLGY Needle-less Serum are shown above. There are a number of research-backed ingredients for anti-aging.
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.
Ceramides are clinically shown to improve skin hydration and restore the skin barrier, as we discussed in our review of CeraVe Moisturizing Cream. DRMTLGY contains three different ceramides.
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 type of lightweight 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.
Clearly, DRMTLGY has a number of effective active ingredients. However, it also has one questionable additive.
Phenoxyethanol is a commonly-included synthetic preservative that was shown in a clinical trial to be toxic to human cells. This was a test tube study so it’s a weaker standard of evidence than a trial with human participants, however we believe that health-conscious consumers may wish to avoid this ingredient.
Overall we consider DRMTLGY Needle-less Serum likely to be effective for improving skin quality, reducing visible effects of aging and improving skin barrier function. This is one of the most potent anti-aging formulations that we’ve reviewed on Illuminate Health.
A beauty influencer named Tiffany Lee explains why she likes this product in a TikTok video that includes a product demonstration:
@beautystylelist Needle-Less Serum @drmtlgy #serums #serum #antiaging #skincare #skin #skincareroutine #imobsessed #niacinamide #learnontiktok ♬ r&b loop - Official Sound Studio
Tinted Moisturizer Review
DRMTLGY’s tinted moisturizer functions also 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 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 over 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 section.
Glycerin is another potentially effective moisturizer. This compound was shown in a clinical trial to increase skin hydration at a concentration of 20%, but the glycerin concentration of DRMTLGY’s moisturizer isn’t published so we can’t say for certain.
Phenoxyethanol, the synthetic preservative we highlighted in the previous section, is also included in this product.
Overall we consider DRMTLGY Tinted Moisturizer to be likely effective as a sunscreen and as a moisturizer. We don’t recommend the product due to the inclusion of a chemical sunscreen ingredient and a synthetic preservative.
A TikTok user named Cait reviewed this product and explained how well it blends and whether or not it has a scent:
@beauty.with.cait if this was a tad bit lighter it would be one of my favorite tinted sunscreens #drmtlgy #tintedmoisturizer #tintedsunscreen ♬ original sound - Cait
Where to Buy DRMTLGY for the Best Price
DRMTLGY is sold at a wide variety of online retailers. Here’s the price breakdown for their anti-aging sunscreen at the time of publishing this article:
Walmart: $40.72
Brand website: $26 (plus shipping)
Amazon: $25.95 (free shipping depending on plan – link to official Amazon listing)
Amazon appears to have the best prices on DRMTLGY products, but not all products are available on Amazon. Their best-selling product, the Needle-less Serum, appears to be only available for sale on the brand’s website.
For those shopping on the DRMTLGY website, you may want to try Honey first to check for coupon codes and discount codes. It’s a browser extension that automatically scans retail websites for discount codes prior to checkout, and automatically applies them if any are available.
Real Customer Reviews of DRMTLGY
DRMTLGY is sold on Amazon, which is a more objective resource for customer reviews than a brand’s website in our opinion. The brand’s most-reviewed product on Amazon is an exfoliating scrub called RENEW.
This product has over 7,900 reviews and an average review rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars.
The top positive review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named “Nia” who claims it’s effective when used intermittently:
“I've been using this product for a few years now and I must say it's definitely worth it. I have sensitive skin, so I only use this once sometimes twice a week, but again you shouldn't use microdermabrasion daily anyways. When I do use it, I notice how nice my skin feels afterwards. I began using it to get rid of dark acne marks and although it takes some time it does work to exfoliate on a deeper level.”
The top negative review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named “Sheldon” who claims it’s ineffective:
“I tried this product for two days and not impressed. It didn't have a scent ,(which most would like) but it sort of smelled like dirt ,which is probably from the fine pumice. The cream was like a body cream and I just thought it was a waste of money and returned. I felt that it did not expoliflate my skin anymore than me using a facial cloth.”
Our Non-Toxic Skincare Recommendations
We recommend skincare products if they contain clinically-proven ingredients and are free of harmful additives.
Annie Mak Vitamin C Serum is our top serum pick. 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. Topical vitamin C is also clinically shown to improve skin hydration and reduce wrinkles.
Interested consumers can check out Annie Mak Vitamin C Serum at this link to the product page on the official brand's website.
HydraGlow is our top moisturizer pick. It features bakuchiol as an active ingredient which was described in a 2014 clinical trial as "clinically proven to have anti-aging effects." In the linked trial, topical bakuchiol reduced wrinkles, improved skin elasticity and firmness, and reduced skin damage from UV rays.
Interested consumers can check out HydraGlow at this link to the product page on the official brand's website.
The only oral supplement we recommend for skin quality improvement 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.
Interested consumers can check out Bulletproof Collagen Powder at this link to the product page on the official brand's website.
All three products recommended here are entirely free of harmful additives.
