After Years Of Testing Skincare Products, This Is The One Thing That Has Finally Resolved My Problematic Skin
You’d think us beauty editors would have the whole skincare situation down to a fine art, wouldn't you? It’s fair to assume we’re all privileged enough to be walking around with skin that exemplifies the current beauty standard: clear, uniform, enviably blemish-free.
While that actually is the case for many of my peers (although I’d attribute the reasons more to genetics and lifestyle than the landslides of skincare we’re lucky enough to test), it has never been for me. Like many women – research has suggested that up to 95 per cent of the population will be affected by acne at some point – my skin has always been as temperamental as a toddler, no matter how many serums I slather on, with hopes of finding a ‘miracle’ product fading with every failed formula.
The truth is, how our skin appears on the outside is largely affected by what’s going on on the inside: hormones, stress levels and lifestyle factors all play a defining role in determining skin condition. The skincare industry would rather you didn’t consider that as you delve into their next big beauty thing, full of hope. While of course, some topical products have proven revolutionary for some, and there are plenty of ingredients out there with hefty studies to support their efficacy (retinol, for example) if you’re hoping to tackle a more acute or persistent skin issue it’s the honest truth that the solution probably doesn’t lie in a serum alone: or at least, an over-the-counter serum, that is.
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Skincare products can be divided into over-the-counter and prescription-only: the former is what lines the shelves at Space NK, and while these products can contain moderate doses of what the industry calls ‘active’ ingredients, for the strengths and formulations required to make real change to tricky skin conditions, you likely need a prescription-only product, as well as a professional to confirm it’s the right thing for you.
Historically, these supercharged formulas were only available via a dermatologist appointment, which of course can be costly. But since the pandemic, we’ve been seeing a welcome shift in the accessibility of these prescription topicals: it started with services like the excellent Get Harley, who will link you up with a dermatologist online for the fraction of the cost of a real-life appointment. Then, brands such as Dermatica and Skin + Me began to democratise dermatologist skincare further, offering prescription-strength skin serums to treat acne, rosacea and pigmentation for as little as £20 a month.
What’s next? The custom skincare boom is here: and there’s one brand already miles ahead of the rest. Klira is a new skincare service from one of the UK's leading dermatologists, Dr. Emma Craythorne, aiming to offer what she calls ‘the ultimate night cream’. And really, the premise is promising: you simply tell her prescribing team about your skin, and they whip you up a completely customised cream, packed with precise doses of active ingredients designed to get right to the root of your skin’s imbalances.
‘The main idea behind Klira is that, as a dermatologist, I completely understand what works for people’s skin,' Dr. Craythorne tells me. ‘I know how to assess the skin, what treatment is going to be effective, and I know what keeps people using treatments: when the product looks nice, it feels nice and, most importantly, it works.’
The idea behind Klira was to provide an online platform where people could experience the true high end of dermatology care, she says, while 'fusing the world of medical treatments and luxury skincare. I wanted to create something that is not just beautiful to use but also very effective and has the highest class of evidence to show it can make the changes we want within the skin.’
I came to Klira already familiar with the idea of custom skincare: I’d tried both Skin + Me and Dermatica, and while they are admittedly brilliant services for some, I found both were too strong for my delicate skin, and the customisation didn’t quite go far enough to remedy this. But Dr. Craythorne’s name is one I trust, so I eagerly jumped onto the initial skin questionnaire.
This is where it gets a little complicated, but rest assured it’s all for a good reason. Dr. Craythorne (rightly) claims the traditional skin ‘types’ are reductive and outdated, and so she’s designed her own framework for categorising skins. The Klira Skinsizes run from 1 to 12, and are determined by assessing the skin in terms of collagen, melanin, sebum and barrier.
Your Skinsize helps the Klira team to really fine-tune your prescription, and there are many key ingredients that may make it into your tube, from azelaic acid, tretinoin, hydroquinone, kojic acid, peptides and even simvastatin, a promising new active to treat inflammation.
‘For some patients that have acne, a retinoid in the form of a tretinoin can be a gold-standard treatment, while for patients with rosacea, a combination of azelaic acid and ivermectin can be used in combination with small doses of tretinoin,’ explains Dr. Craythorne. For melasma? It may be hydroquinone and azelaic acid, while patients presenting with pigmentation may receive kojic acid and niacinamide.
Quiz complete, I learn I'm Skinsize 1: a temperamental complexion, predisposed to acne, rosacea and melasma, that’s particularly tricky to treat (as I’m already well aware). My first Special arrives: a combination of 0.001% tretinoin alongside 15% azelaic acid in a soothing aloe base, and I keenly ditch the arsenal of products on my dresser (keeping just a basic Dermalogica moisturiser and gentle Cerave cleanser) to give my new super-cream chance to do its best work.
Past experiences with tretinoin in particular have left me red in the face, with irritation and dryness causing me to jump off the journey before I’ve had a chance to see any real benefits. Raising my concerns to Dr. Craythorne, she confirmed that the tretinoin purge is indeed a real thing. ‘When we first start using tretinoin there is an increase in skin-cell turnover, which can be slightly inflammatory at the beginning and lead to dermatitis: in other words, a redness of the skin, particularly around the nose and the corners of the mouth.’
‘The other thing that can happen is that where patients had spots that were grumbling along, there may be an increase in spots in those follicles that are already slightly blocked or irritated. So in other words, they were probably going to come out anyway, but by applying the retinoid you get a lot more coming out all at once,’ she adds.
However, what sets my Klira prescription apart from past dalliances in tretinoin is the soothing base the actives are tempered with: the added aloe and ceramides are clearly balancing out any drying effects. While I do experience a mini bout of breakouts shortly after starting, the dermatitis and dryness of products past is notably absent. In fact, after applying my Klira every night for two weeks, I’m impressed by the complete lack of irritation: my skin is already looking clearer and – dare I say it – calmer.
Within a month, I’ve survived a full cycle without the usual hormonal acne flare-up and I’m telling anyone within earshot about Klira: my rosacea flare-ups are quelled and I’ve forgotten all about foundation.
Now, four months in, my prescription has been dialled up: a 0.04% tretinoin and 15% azelaic acid. Still, no angry irritation or flaking skin to be seen, and that bottle of high-coverage foundation is gathering dust.
Of course, the women behind those remarkable before-and-afters on Klira's Instagram will have you intrigued, but take it from me: this is more than smoke and mirrors. I should know: I’m one of them.
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