Dermology Skin Care Review
8.29/10
Quick Overview
- Difficulty
Moderate
- Cost
Average
- Trial Period
90 Days
Dermology manufactures skin and beauty products and is an online retailer that introduced its line
of skincare products to the public in 2002. Since then, the company has developed a focused product line designed to treat the most common and problematic skin conditions and concerns.
The Dermology product line currently includes an acne cream, stretch mark cream, skin brightener cream, hair removal cream, cellulite solution and anti-aging solution. While several of Dermology's competitors maintain larger product lines, Dermology has instead opted to pursue and refine just a few.
The vast majority of skin and beauty product companies manufacture their products before making them available through their own website, larger online skincare retailers, and often physical stores as well. Products are typically available as single units. Dermology takes a much different approach: they exclusively sell their products through their own website, and all purchases are treated as a subscription instead of a one-time purchase. This is a highly divisive business model; those who are accustomed to traditional skincare product ordering may be dismayed by having to manage an ongoing subscription, while those who typically take advantage of auto delivery programs at larger online skin and beauty product retailers anyways should feel right at home.
Although Dermology does offer average pricing, they have several shortcomings worth noting: ingredients lists are not provided, testimonials sections are vague and uniformly positive, customer service is outsourced and cannot provide product recommendations, and detailed clinical trials are nowhere to be found. With that said, the company does offer an exceptionally affordable trial period that allows you try any Dermology products for a full two weeks before determining whether to cancel your subscription.
Although the Dermology website can be difficult to navigate (virtually every link results in the opening of a new window, which can lead to confusion rather quickly), the product pages themselves are smartly designed and offer plenty of information regarding each Dermology formulation. Generally, this comes in the form of an overview of a certain skin condition, how it occurs, how it can be prevented, and how it can be treated through the use of a Dermology product. The pages also include a list of specific benefits, as well as testimonials from Dermology users.
Sadly, Dermology provides very little information regarding their actual products beyond a brief description of key ingredients. The company does not disclose the source of the ingredients, nor do they state any details pertaining to their manufacturing process aside from mentioning that the products are made in the United States. As such, it's difficult to accurately assess the quality of the company's actual products. Although Dermology advertises that their products have been featured on news networks and websites including Fox, CNN, MSNBC, USA Today and CBS, the company quickly clarifies that this is in the form of paid advertising and not actual reviews.
Dermology strives to include high quality ingredients in all of their skincare products. The company bases its ingredient formulations on proven science, and a brief explanation of this science is offered on the company's product pages. For example, Dermology Anti-Aging Complex contains three key ingredients: Hyaluronic acid (which moisturizes cells and firms skin), Argireline (which smoothes surface wrinkles while relaxing muscle fibers) and Matrixyl 3000 (which promotes collagen growth). Unfortunately, the company doesn't state what's not in their products, indicating that the company likely relies on artificial ingredients including dyes, fragrances, emulsifiers, preservatives and other chemical additives. Since many premium skincare product manufacturers utilize similar ingredients, this fact alone should not sway average customers away from Dermology.
Skincare product purists will be dismayed to find that the Dermology website does not contain full ingredient lists. When you navigate to a product page, you'll be treated to a brief description of that product's key ingredients (such as caffeine in the Dermology Cellulite Cream), as well as details as to why those ingredients were included in the product and how they can address a specific condition. However, by witholding full ingredient lists, Dermology makes its products less accessible to skincare consumers with allergies, as well as those who justly insist on knowing exactly what's in a product before applying it to their skin. The fact that Dermology's products are not sold in physical retail stores further prevents customers from reading product labels before actually purchasing a product online.
The Dermology skincare website offers very litte in the way of scientific research and testimonials. While each product page includes a list of benefits such as "Results in a few weeks," "No residue or bad odor" and "Works for both men and women," this is as specific and detailed as the information becomes. In fact, the company's extensive Terms, Legal and Herbal Safety Guidelines area specifically states that Dermology's products have not undergone the rigorous double-blind testing that's normally associated with clinical trials. As such, there's no way of knowing how effective a particular product will be until you try it yourself.
The Dermology website contains a number of before-and-after photos demonstrating the results of the company's products on actual customers. However, many of the images are saddled with a footnote stating that the pictures are dramatizations displaying atypical results, and that there's no guarantee that you'll experience the same effects. Although the company should be praised for this honesty, average customers may assume that the photos indicate the same results they'll experience.
The Dermology website includes several positive testimonials that describe the effectiveness of the products, and how they were able to deliver results when products from competing companies could not. However, there are a few caveats worth mentioning, chief of which is the lack of negative testimonials. All of the reviews are brief and rather generic, and simply state that the products work without going into further detail. In addition, there's no interface with which customers can post testimonials of their own. This is a detriment to Dermology's credibility, and indicates that the company may be filtering any negative reviews it receives in lieu of posting them to the website.
To get a better idea of the true effectiveness of Dermology's product line, it's best to read independent third-party testimonials away from the company's website. A brief survey of these testimonials yields mixed reviews. Some consumers have achieved the results they were expecting with Dermology's products, while others have been disappointed. Fortunately, the Dermology trial period allows you to try the company's products with little risk to your pocketbook.
Dermology relies on an outsourced customer support model that increases availability while preventing customers from receiving detailed product recommendations and advice based on skin types and conditions, such as would be provided by a dedicated in-house support team. Support is offered by phone from 6:30am until 5:00pm, PST, Monday through Friday. Phone support is always offered free of charge for U.S. customers. Dermology is unique in that it offers support in several languages aside from English, including German, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
Dermology maintains an online customer support area in which you can enter your email address, order ID or credit card number in order to gain access to several service applications, such as order tracking, refund requests, auto shipment cancelation, billing inquiries and more. Utilizing this area of the Dermology website can save you from making a call directly to the company's customer support team.
Dermology offers a lengthy product return policy in which you'll have 90 days from the original purchase date to determine whether a return is necessary. Unfortunately, this return policy only applies to sealed containers of product. This prevents you from actually trying a given Dermology product before returning it. In addition, Dermology will not refund the cost of shipping and handling for any return orders.
Although it does not represent a no-risk guarantee, Dermology does offer a 14-day trial period in which you may cancel your subscription to the Dermology automatic delivery program and discontinue charges to your credit card. You'll still need to pay the initial $5.95 fee that begins all Dermology product subscriptions.
If you do determine that you'd like to return a product to Dermology, you'll need to request a return merchandise authorization number from the company's customer service team. Dermology requests that customers complete this process online instead of by phone.
Unlike the vast majority of their competitors, Dermology does not offer single, one-time purchases of their skin and beauty products. Instead, the company has opted to utilize an automatic delivery sales model in which your purchase doubles as a subscription. As such, you'll receive Dermology products on a monthly basis, and you'll be billed separately for each delivery. The subscription will continue until canceled.
An initial 30-day supply of any Dermology product can be purchased for $5.95 directly from the company's website. Following a 14-day trial period, you'll be charged an additional $79.00 and enrolled in the company's automatic delivery program. From here, you'll receive an additional 30-day supply of the product every month for $29.97. An additional shipping fee of $16.97 is applied to each order.
Despite Dermology's claims of affordability, the company's products are actually just as expensive as those from more popular premium skin and beauty product manufacturers. This is due to the company's exceptionally high shipping fees, along with the fact that many competing skincare products are designed to last longer than 30 days.
Summary
Dermology is a popular skincare manufacturer selling beauty products exclusively through its website. Originally founded in 2002, the company has a relatively lengthy history of delivering acne treatments, anti-aging solutions, cellulite creams, skin brighteners and hair removal formulations to customers through a subscription-based, auto-delivery format. This is a point of conflict for potential users who would prefer to purchase the products one time and one time only before committing to future purchases.
Unfortunately, Dermology has a bevy of negative traits, making the company difficult to recommend over many of the premium skin and beauty product manufacturers reviewed elsewhere throughout this site. Ingredient lists, clinical trials, manufacturing information and details of the company's owners and history are nowhere to be found on the site, with the first shortcoming alone essentially putting Dermology off-limits to allergy sufferers. While the site contains some user testimonials, they're not affixed with the names of the reviewers, and there's no way of uploading your own reviews. While Dermology's products are indeed effective for some users, there are too many superior skin and beauty manufacturers to be found elsewhere, making Dermology an alternative option at best.
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