I Tried Proven Skincare for a Month and My Skin Is Thriving

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It’s smoother, softer, and clearer

Skin is a fickle entity that needs the right combination of ingredients to keep happy — and those ingredients vary from person to person. That’s why personalized skincare products are an effective way to tackle specific skin concerns.

Proven Skincare made its debut on popular entrepreneur show Shark Tank in 2020, and all the judges passed on the idea at the time, but I'm convinced they were wrong. This customized skincare line uses AI technology to assess an individual’s primary skin concerns, weighing a range of factors via a short quiz. I took the quiz and received a cleanser, daily moisturizer, and night cream customized to my specific concerns.

“When it comes to a skincare routine, my philosophy is that simple is usually better,” board-certified dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD, FAAD tells PEOPLE. He says combining different active ingredients with a bunch of products can lead to more irritation (plus, it’s expensive), so a system like this with just three products is a good way to go.

After one month of trying these products, my skin texture was smoother, my pigmentation evened out, and for the most part, my blemishes disappeared (apart from occasional flare-ups). In short, thanks to Proven Skincare, my skin is thriving.

Read on for my experience with the personalized skincare brand.

Buy It! Personalized Cleanser, $34.99; provenskincare.com

Buy It! Personalized Day Moisturizer, $59.99; provenskincare.com

Buy It! Personalized Night Cream, $99.99; provenskincare.com

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How We Tested Proven Skincare

To begin my Proven Skincare journey, I took the skin quiz. It assessed my primary skin concerns, asked how my skin feels and looks throughout the day, and inquired about lifestyle habits — including water intake, sleep habits, stress levels, screen time, sun exposure, and much more. It’s quite thorough.

After that, the system set me up with three products — a cleanser, spf moisturizer, and night serum/cream. This matches what Dr. Zeichner recommends for his patients: a cleanser, a skin-protecting product, and a skin treatment product. He says daytime products should take sun exposure into account and have UV-blocking ingredients, and treatments should have antioxidants. For nighttime, he suggests a rich moisturizer to hydrate the skin overnight, as well as exfoliating acids or ingredients that brighten skin and stimulate collagen.

I washed my face with the Proven Skincare cleanser twice daily, and I used the SPF moisturizer in the morning and the night cream before bed. I repeated this routine for one month and was impressed with the results.

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The Results

I loved that all of the products had really natural scents rather than fragrant or chemical smells. The cleanser and SPF moisturizer were very light and almost had no scent at all. The night cream had a stronger scent — almost like beeswax — and it wasn’t a personal favorite, but that’s pretty much the only con I can think of because the efficacy of these products was stellar.

The cleanser created a beautiful lather with each use, and left my skin feeling clean but not dried out, like some cleansers. The SPF moisturizer and night cream absorbed into my skin immediately without leaving a shiny residue — a big concern for someone with oily skin — and made my skin feel so soft. My personalized system was designed to target acne and redness and as you can see in the before and after photos below: mission accomplished.

My skin’s texture has dramatically improved over the last month, with far fewer blemishes than normal. I’ve also struggled with occasional redness and this system tackled that too. My complexion color has evened out to a seamless tone. But to reiterate my earlier point, skin is fickle, so using any kind of skincare solution doesn’t mean your skin will look perfect every day. Overall though, my skin looks healthier, and I’ve seen less redness and acne most days over the past month. So, in my case, I would say this skincare solution worked.

What to Consider When Using Proven Skincare

Skin Type

When you take the skin quiz, the system asks you several questions to get beyond the surface level name of your skin type. For instance, you might be labeled "oily," but to what extent? This system determines where the oil is concentrated, how oily your skin looks and feels throughout the day, and if the feeling changes after you shower or cleanse your face. So you’ll have to reflect on your skin type beyond just the coverall label to get the most accurate formula for your skincare concerns.

Lifestyle

Your lifestyle and environment can also affect your skin in ways you might not think of. Environmental factors like humidity, UV index, water hardness, and air quality of the region you live in can impact your skin. Your lifestyle choices like how much water you drink, the types of foods you consume, the amount of sleep you get, and stress levels all take a toll on your skin. This system is unique because it looks at those factors and finds the best ingredients to help protect the barrier of your skin from external effects as well as tackle concerns before they happen — including acne, fine lines and wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, and more.

Ingredients

"Your best friend’s favorite skin care products may not be right for your skin,” says Dr. Zeichner. He says those with oily or acne-prone skin should seek salicylic acid or foaming cleansers, whereas dry skin benefits from hydrating cleansers and thick moisturizers.  “For people with aging skin, products that contain antioxidants or collagen-stimulating ingredients like retinol are ideal,” he adds.

And as mentioned, the combination of active ingredients should work in your favor, but when you use too many at once, it can cause the opposite effect. Dr. Zeichner says when you use a range of products that aren’t necessarily designed to be used together, you open yourself up to multiple possible irritants. “Plus, in situations where different active ingredients are not actually compatible, they can inactivate each other,” he says.

Other Personalized Skincare Lines to Consider

There are many benefits to ordering a custom skincare line rather than scouring the aisles at Sephora and hoping for the best. And Proven Skincare isn’t the only personalized skincare system. Other popular options include Pure Culture Custom Skincare, Dermatica, and Curology, among others. Some of these options have complete custom kits, and others work with individual products you can mix and match.

• Pure Culture Custom Skincare; pureculturebeauty.com

• Y’our Personalized Skincare System; y-ourskin.com

• Dermatica; dermatica.com

• Curology; curology.com
  

Is Proven Skincare worth it?

As someone who’s had a long history of skin concerns, I’ve tried many skincare products, and though not all winners, I can definitively say Proven Skincare is worth a try. This isn’t an overnight solution. Over the course of a month, I saw gradual growth and steady improvement in the feel and appearance of my skin.

Some of my primary skin concerns are hormonal acne, occasional red spots, and hyperpigmentation depending on the weather or seasonal changes, and I saw results in each of these categories after using this skincare regimen for a month. While everyone’s skin is different, this system is highly effective at targeting the root of each of your skin concerns and combining active ingredients to address them in as few steps (and products) as possible. So, in my experience, Proven Skincare is absolutely worth it.

Why Trust PEOPLE?

Madison Yauger is an editor for PEOPLE who’s tested hundreds of lifestyle products across all categories. With a background in news and lifestyle journalism, she has a wide network of expert sources and a penchant for accuracy. For this story, she spoke with board-certified dermatologist Dr. Joshua Zeichner, MD, FAAD.

Meet Our Expert

• Joshua Zeichner, MD, FAAD is a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City. Dr. Zeichner is specializes in both medical and cosmetic dermatology, including areas like acne, rosacea, hair loss, and more, with services spanning from Botox to microneedling. He is also an Associate Professor of Dermatology and the Director of Cosmetic and Clinical Research in Dermatology at New York City's Mount Sinai Hospital.

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