I've Been on Curology for 2 Years, and You Need to See My Face
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After two years of using Curology, I can say that this is my longest, most stable skincare relationship to date. I've been known to ghost, dump, and rebound quickly with all the other skincare products of my past, but my custom Curology formula? We're committed. Curology, FYI, is an online service that provides customers with personalized prescription skincare products and expert advice without having to go to the doctor's office. I'm someone with acne, melasma, clogged pores, fine lines, and nothing to lose, so I decided to try the skincare subscription service and review it for the first time back in February 2020, and well, here I am still using it.
Despite my major skepticism in the beginning, I've come to find that the skincare line deserves all the hype it gets on social media. Ahead, I'll fill you in on my results after 60 days, after a year, and after two years of consistently using Curology, pictures and all. But before I get into my Curology reviews (yep, I reviewed after six months, one year, and two years, just for you), let's go over what it is and how it works.
Meet the expert:
David Lortscher, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist and the CEO of Curology.
What is Curology?
Curology is an online service that pairs you with a medical provider to create custom prescription creams for your skin needs. The process is as streamlined and simple as it gets: Submit photos of your face, take an online skin assessment, then get matched with a licensed medical provider (yes, it’s a real, living, breathing person) who cocktails a prescription cream to help with your specific skin concerns, primarily focused on acne. Within a few days, you’ll receive a personalized treatment plan and your prescription in the mail.
Now, a little bit about those prescription creams. The custom formulas combine three of the following ingredients, depending on what your skin needs:
tretinoin (a prescription retinoid)
niacinamide (vitamin B3)
azelaic acid (an anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial)
zinc pyrithione (a fungus fighter)
clindamycin (an antibiotic)
tranexamic acid (a skin brightener)
metronidazole (an antibiotic)
The brand also offers a prescription dark spot corrector for melasma and hyperpigmentation, which follows the same format as the original custom cream and is made from a combination of three of the following:
hydroquinone (a skin-lightening agent)
hydrocortisone (to treat irritation from the hydroquinone)
ascorbic acid (an antioxidant)
kojic acid (a skin brightener)
azelaic acid (an anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial)
Every time you receive a new shipment (which is every 2 months), you also get a free credit for a consultation with your provider. So as your skin changes, you can work with your provider to adjust your formula and ask them any questions you have along the way.
Does Curology use real dermatologists?
According to board-certified dermatologist David Lortscher, MD, all of your direct medical care is done by nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs), but Curology also has dermatologists on staff who are responsible for training and overseeing NPs and PAs and answering questions for them. So no, you’re not actually working closely with a board-certified dermatologist (which can be a con), buuuut you also don’t need to physically go into an office, either (which can be a pro).
How much does Curology cost? Does insurance cover Curology?
When you’re starting out, you get a one-month free trial of your custom formula or the dark spot formula (you just gotta cover the $4.95 shipping and handling fee). After that, the cost totally depends on what you order, and Curology doesn't accept insurance. Depending on how many add-ons you order, Curology can cost anywhere from $39.90 to $89.80 a shipment (or $19.95 to $44.90 if you break it down by month). Because the large custom bottle will last you about two months, your subscription is only sent out every two months, which means you're only billed every 60 days, too.
What products does Curology offer?
In addition to the custom prescription cream and dark spot corrector, Curology offers a handful of other daily skincare products to make it easier to put together a Curology-approved skincare routine. Before I started my trial, my bathroom counter was like a grab bag of products that I mixed and matched and used because I didn't want to waste them. Once I started my Curology review, I was prompted to dissect the ingredient list of every single product I own and skip anything that contained common pore-cloggers or any ingredients that could potentially cause irritation when used in conjunction with my custom cream.
What I discovered? Not many of the products I was currently using passed the test. While you can use your current gentle cleanser or moisturizer for your skin type, if your product lineup looks like mine, and you don't own many things on the approved list of products, you'll want to check out the extras below when you build your subscription kit.
The Curology Set
For an extra $20 per shipment ($10 a month), you can complete the set with both the cleanser and choice of one of two moisturizers.
Cleanser: This milky, fragrance-free gel formula removes every bit of residue without sucking all of the life out of your skin, too. It's simple and gets the job done.
Moisturizer (regular or rich): If you have dry skin, choose the rich formula, which has a creamy lotion consistency and ingredients like hyaluronic acid and shea butter. If you have oily skin, you can opt for the standard moisturizer, which has a gel-cream texture and more of a lightweight feel.
Other add-ons
Acne Body Wash: If you have back acne or chest acne, throw in a bottle of this 2% salicylic acid acne body wash for an extra $12 per shipment.
Emergency Spot Patches: For less than five bucks ($4.95 per shipment, to be exact), you can get 20 hydrocolloid patches to help your active pimples heal even faster.
The Micellar Makeup Remover: If you are a regular makeup wearer, you might find that the cleanser alone doesn't quite do the job on tough waterproof makeup. For an additional $8 per shipment, this micellar water will help you remove every last bit on your eyes and face.
The Lip Balm: The very last step in my skincare routine is lip balm, and if that's the case for you, too, order one of these vegan lip balms in one of four flavors for an additional $4.95 per shipment.
Heads-up, these extra products are only available to those who have a subscription to receive the large custom formula or the Curology Set, but that's the best part (hello, it's made for you), so you're going to want it anyway.
Does Curology make your skin worse?
If your Curology cream has new active ingredients in it that you've never used before (like retinoids or acids), then yes, your skin might “purge," aka temporarily break out while your skin adjusts to the new exfoliating ingredients. But! It doesn't happen for everyone. “We see purging in a very small amount of people, and the reason we do is because we have the philosophy of starting people out with a really gentle formulation,” says Dr. Lortscher.
What that means is that although it might take you a little bit longer to reach your skin goals (since your custom mix is lower-strength at first), you’re also less likely to go through the experience of your skin getting “worse” before it gets better. Pick your battles.
What are the side effects of Curology?
As laid out in the guide to Your First Weeks on Curology, which I clung to every night before bed those first two weeks, dryness, mild irritation, redness, flaking, and temporarily worsened breakouts (aka purging), are all normal things to experience, particularly if your formulation includes tretinoin (mine did/still does). Dr. Lortscher recommends talking to your provider if you experience any discomfort to discuss changing the strength of your formulation or the frequency of use.
Can I use other products with Curology?
One more thing to add about purging and red, irritated skin: You're gonna want to hit pause on most other products while using Curology, at least for the first few weeks. While your skin adjusts to your new routine and prescription formula, it’s best to stop using products that contain other active or potentially harsh ingredients, like salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, glycolic acid, vitamin C, and physical exfoliators (face scrubs and facial cleansing brushes).
If your skin has adjusted swimmingly after a couple of weeks of your new routine, you can slowly start adding your old faves back into your routine (the slower, the lower the risk of irritation).
Does Curology really work?
It absolutely can! ...Buuuut it also might not, because that’s just how skincare products work, especially when you're dealing with acne. “We use ingredients that can address any type of acne, whether it’s super mild or super cystic,” Dr. Lortscher says, “but that’s not to say we can successfully treat every type of acne.” Of course, every person’s situation is unique, and some may require treatments outside of topicals, and for that reason, everything is approached on a patient-by-patient basis.
How long should you use Curology for?
Dr. Lortscher says although the time it takes to see results varies from two to 12 weeks, you should start to see some effects within six weeks. I tried it for 60 days initially before making any judgments, but I started seeing my skin look clearer and brighter in the first three weeks. As for my hyperpigmentation, Dr. Lortscher says it could take six months before I started to see results. Good thing I’m more patient now than I was at age 13 when my skin first started rebelling, right?
My curology review:
A little background: I’ve gone to derms inconsistently throughout my life, partly because they’re expensive, partly because they’re hard to get an appointment with (I once had to wait six freakin’ months), and partly because there are so many over-the-counter products with pretty packaging that I’d rather try than the medicinal-looking prescriptions you get from the derm, TB totally H.
But obviously, my approach to skincare hasn’t been working or I wouldn’t be here as an adult still talking about my zits. Thanks to oral prescriptions (spironolactone has worked wonders ), I now have my major breakouts under control, but I still deal with everyday whiteheads, blackheads, and hyperpigmentation. So basically, I was down for some help.
My 60-day review:
The only way to describe my relationship with Curology is to compare it to the best friend you didn’t super like at first but now you’re obsessed with. Like, sometimes first impressions aren’t great, and people (or in this case, products) need time to grow on you.
It all started with an online skin assessment. The questionnaire asked me what I was looking to improve and gave me six options to choose from: breakouts, clogged pores, dark spots, firmness, texture, wrinkles. I chose all of them (lol). It then asked about my skin type, health history, any products I’ve tried in the past, and prescriptions I’m currently taking.
My only concern? The questionnaire was a little too brief and impersonal for someone as obsessed with talking about their skin as I am. I had the option to leave an additional note at the end of the assessment, which I used to write a dissertation nitpicking my face. And for someone who has zero inkling what’s wrong with their skin or is a first-time skincare user, the process is definitely not as thorough as it would be with an in-person dermatologist appointment.
I also had to send along a few photos of my face. And, as if my skin knew I’d be taking a photo of it to blast it on the internet, it ended up looking uncharacteristically good on the day I took my “before” photo at the start of the experiment. Even still, you could see I had hyperpigmentation and congestion in my T-zone.
Anyone with acne knows how annoying it is to wait for help, so I was pumped when it only took three days from the time I submitted my skin assessment and photos to receive my custom prescription and treatment plan in the mail. Less than 24 hours after completing the questionnaire, I was matched with a provider (hi, Sarah!) and told of my prescription custom formula, which was made of three ingredients to help with acne and aging: .01 percent tretinoin, 2 percent azelaic acid, and 4 percent niacinamide.
As directed by my provider, I stopped using every other product of mine (even makeup, although I didn't have to), and limited my routine to just a gentle cleanser, moisturizer, my prescription cream, and a sunscreen. I started out applying the prescription three days a week for the first two weeks, then bumped it up to every other day for another two weeks. After the first month, I started applying it every night. My skin peeled a lot in the beginning, so I found it worked best for me to mix my moisturizer with the cream before applying it to my face.
I’ll spare you 60 days' worth of details (you can scroll through the pictures for the play-by-play), and skip to the final thoughts: Overall, lots of pros and very few cons. Did my skin clear up overnight? No. It took time and a consistent routine to get clearer skin, and after 60 days, I was better off than when I started, but still had some work to do on my hyperpigmentation.
My 2021, one-year-later Curology review:
It’s been a year since I opened my first box of Curology (actually, a year and four months if we’re counting), and I’m still a devoted user, even if it didn't magically fix my skin forever. A few weeks after my 60-day review, I got a smattering of cystic zits on the lower half of my face—hormones, ty—and six month later, my face had another freakout in the form of small bumps everywhere.
But in both instances, I was able to reach out to my care provider, who got back to me within 24 hours (even on a weekend!) with advice, explanations, and recommendations for additional non-Curology products to help with what we figured out was mask acne and fungal acne. Not only that, but they reviewed photos and asked a number of questions to decide on a new custom formula to address my current skin concerns until I was back on track.
Originally, I was attracted to Curology because it took the guesswork out of a skincare routine and reduced it to just three easy steps with fragrance-free and prescription-grade formulas. But since quarantine, I actually feel like the reason I like Curology so much and have stuck with it is because I know someone is available to listen to me and provide a plan of action when I'm freaking out about my face. Anyone experiencing any kind of skin thing knows how isolating it can feel, and it was comforting to know that I wasn’t alone.
Maybe one day (maybe) I’ll grow out of acne completely and can move on to prevention and fine-tuning my skin, but in case that day never comes, it’s nice to know that my Curology mix (and Sarah) will be there to adjust to my changing skin needs. And yes, I know I sound like an infomercial here (not even slightly sponsored, promise! But, um, feel free to pay me, Curology 😎); I'm really truly just a big fan of it.
My 2022 Curology review after two years:
You might be curious to know why I'm still using Curology two years later since I say it worked so well for me. That's the thing about all skincare, though. To achieve results, you have to be consistent (and patient) and to maintain those results, you have to be equally as diligent. If I were to suddenly stop using my skincare products because I had finally achieved “perfect skin,” there's a big chance my skin could revert back to its old ways.
But let's be honest, my skin's not perfect, and now that I have my acne under control, I can focus on other concerns I have, like my fine lines and my chronic pigmentation. My current formula contains tretinoin, azealic acid, and niacinamide, all of which help with pigmentation, acne, and skin aging, and I've seen gradual improvement in all the above.
I truly can't remember the last time I had a breakout, which means between my medication and skincare routine (I still use The Curology Set trio), I've found a combination of treatments that work—for now. I know my skin will change again, and eventually I'll need to change my formula, but it's nice to know that my Curology custom formula can adapt to skin's evolving needs.
Is Curology worth the money?
Although Curology is a good option for those who don’t have access to a dermatologist, it doesn’t replace the need for seeing a dermatologist in person. Simply put, a dermatologist (who isn't associated with a brand or product) will have access to all of the ingredients, prescriptions, and in-office treatments that can address and fix significantly more skin issues than Curology can.
So for me, I’ll still be making in-person visits for skin-cancer screenings and for in-office treatments. But if you're someone who is just seeking guidance on choosing skincare ingredients that work for your specific, mild skin concerns? 10/10 would recommend Curology, even all these years later.
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