Choosing Moisturisers

Sometimes choice can be very confusing. Pop into your local chemist and have a look at moisturisers. There are the shelves of glittering ‘cosmetic’ products which are freely available to buy but not on prescription. And then behind the counter are the more sober packs of emollients that are available on prescription. The British National Formulary, a compendium of prescription medicines, lists over thirty formulations. The problem is which one is best for me?

In America, Dr Zoe Draelos* has recently compared an over the counter moisturiser (OTC) not available on prescription with a ‘clinical’ emollient which is available on prescription. It has to be pointed out that the study was sponsored by the producers of the OTC product although great care was taken to ensure impartiality and total objectivity.

Thirty patients with mild to moderate eczema involving both arms or legs were instructed to use the OTC moisturiser on one side and the prescription emollient on the other for four weeks. Another group of thirty were instructed to do the same but also apply a moderate strength steroid to both sides.  During the treatment period the patients were examined by a doctor who scored the clinical improvement for each side of the body without knowing which treatment was being used for right and left.

The results showed that both moisturising products were equally effective in both sets of patients. Dr Draelos makes the point that in the case of the two specific products used in her clinical trial the OTC moisturiser is about one tenth of the price of the prescription medicine. Prescription medicines in the USA are notoriously expensive and it is important to point out that in the UK the opposite is usually true. In general prescription moisturisers tend to be considerably less expensive than ‘cosmetic’ moisturisers.

So where does all this get us? Well, not very far to be honest. At best it supports the consensus that the best emollient for you is the one that suits your skin best. It doesn’t matter whether it has been bought off the shelf or prescribed. If you like it and it likes you, stick with it.

 

*Reference: An Evaluation of Prescription Device Moisturisers
Draelos Z 2009 J Cosmetic Dermatol;8:40-43     

 

Article Adapted By Dr Rupert Mason From An Original Article By Dr Zoe Draelos, High Point, NC, USA