SkinID is a Neutrogena product marketed as a treatment for acne. They make some incredibly bold claims (“2x as effective as proactive”) (“100% of SkinID users showed improved skin”)
The site makes an attempt at offering a personalized product recommendation based on 18 questions on your skin. What type of skin do you have (oily, dry, combination), where your trouble areas are, what is your skin tone, is your skin sensitive, etc. Unfortunately, the app is painfully slow to use and after I spent 15 minutes filling it out, there was a crash:
Interestingly, the site doesn’t even appear to allow you to place an order unless you complete the skin evaluation. I can’t knock that, but it does make it impossible to see what SkinID actually sells — without a product/ingredient list, it’s hard to write a proper review. So I went back and completed the evaluation a second time. This time the process worked and I was recommended a cleanser, an anti-acne treatment, and treatment pads:
The treatment pads and the cleanser are both are a standard salicylic acid acne solution, while the ‘treatment’ is a topical benzyol peroxide. This no different than the vast majority of acne treatment kits in drugstores across the country, so it’s a little hard to believe their claims of twice the effectiveness of Proactiv (which uses a glycolic acid and benzoyl peroxide combination).
We have written about our distaste for benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acne treatments elsewhere on this site (if you are interested, start at the homepage). If you want to give SkinID a try, give it a shot. There is nothing majorly wrong with it, we just view topical acids/creams as a horrible long term way to treat acne compared to diet, lifestyle, and managing your circadian rhythms.
Please tell us about your experiences with SkinID for acne.
