The Wrinkle Cream Debate: Drugstore Brands vs. Medical Grade

It’s hard for any skin care consumer not to notice.  There is a clearly defined price difference between the wrinkle cream you can purchase at your local drug store and the seemingly more effective ones sold on the internet, or in high end spas.  These products all seem to do the same thing and they certainly promise consumers the same type of results, so why the big difference in price?  These two separate kinds of wrinkle creams have caused plenty of debate among consumer reporting agencies as well as industry experts.  The author examines the two types of wrinkle creams and describes the advantages to consumers for both.  

Let’s begin by addressing one of the largest issues in this debate.  Many consumers feel that it is a safer practice to purchase from a local store than it is to order from specialty spas or the company’s website itself.  The issue here is that this is 2009, and while consumers, especially those who are using wrinkle creams the most, are not as technologically savvy.  But it is impossible to weigh and decide among the best wrinkle creams, unless you are willing to accept that many purchases are made from non-local stores and limiting yourself to only those, just may limit your ability to find an effective wrinkle cream.  

Now that we are in an objective frame of mind, we can begin by addressing some of the pricing concerns.  When you are considering between an $8.00 wrinkle cream and a $99.00 wrinkle cream, obviously there is a large gap.  Now what does this gap in price represent to you?  Well some feel that the more expensive one will work better, others feel that they are taking advantage of consumers and you can purchase the same quality for $8.00.  I am sure that all of us would love to get the highest quality treatment for the lowest price, but how do you know which ones are better?  To better determine things we must stop and think logically about things, not emotionally.

When products cost more than others two things must be occurring.  Number one, the more expensive product most likely cost more money to manufacture than the ones being sold for $8, because even the lower priced brands intend on making profits.  Number two, if they cost more money to manufacture, what is the reason for the production cost increase?  Two very different formulas can claim to eliminate wrinkles, produce collagen and make you look 10 years younger, but can both formulas deliver?  Well that depends on the active ingredient make up of the formula.  

Less expensive products either use a lower quality active ingredient, or if they use the same active ingredient, they may use a lower concentration of it.  This makes the products take longer to see the results.  This may be fine for consumers considering that it is still cheaper to purchase many of these $8.00 creams than one of the more expensive alternatives.  The reality is that by the time you use 6 months, or 8 months of these less expensive treatments the results you achieve are almost exactly the same as paying for only one months worth of the more expensive alternative.  Why spend the same amount of money over the course of 8 months, wait 8 months to see results you can see in 45 days, only to fool yourself into thinking you are saving money.  Consumers need to realize that there is no comparing the two creams, they are completely different.  One is cheap and seemingly affordable, and the other provides the treatment that you actually want, providing results in the time frame you want.  The problem is that not all consumers understand that the treatments that they actually want to receive do not and will never cost $8.00 and they will most likely never be sold at your local drug store.

When it comes to wrinkle creams, you do not have to use the most expensive brands to get results, but you need to accept that the $8, 12, and 19 dollar variety of wrinkle creams sounds good, costs the right amount, but does not deliver rapid or even effective results over the course of a time frame less than 6 months.  If you want results, and you want them soon, choosing a medical grade wrinkle cream is the option for you.