After trying multiple different products and visiting a dermatologist in an attempt to cure my acne, I decided to give Curology a try. They offer you a free one-month trial if you pay for shipping, so I went with that for the first month. It comes with a whole routine– face wash, the custom formula, and moisturizer. After the four weeks, I realized it wasn’t enough to truly decide if it was having an effect or not, so I bought two more months worth, which is around $60. After about six to eight weeks, I was sold. Before starting Curology, I had some cystic acne, and my acne wasn’t awful, but it definitely affected my confidence. My skin was quite textured, and the acne would be painful at times. After starting Curology, my skin was significantly less textured and I’ve only had cystic pimples or painful acne a handful of times since in the year I’ve used it (and when I have, it’s gone away in two days max).
As for the products themselves, they recommend using the face wash and moisturizer twice a day (morning and night), and the custom formula once a day (only at night). There is an option to just purchase the custom formula, either a one- or two-month supply for $20 or $40 respectively, but I love the face wash and moisturizer, so I get a two-month supply of all three. The face wash and moisturizer are both so light and gentle, but leave my face feeling and looking fresh and clean. My skin feels so soft after using them, so I definitely think they’re worth it, plus it’s super nice to not have to worry about getting it at the store when you run out, but instead having it show up at your door every two months. The custom formula itself is also great. Everyone’s formula is different of course, so I can only speak for mine, but none of my formulas have ever been heavy, and always leave my skin feeling great in combination with the face wash and moisturizer. Although my provider recommended easing into it at first by using it three nights a week and slowly increasing the frequency, the formula never irritated my skin.
With Curology, you get a personal provider who you can talk to about your concerns from your phone. After having a terrible experience with a dermatologist and having an allergic reaction to what they had prescribed me, I was nervous about trying Curology. However, the questions they ask before they prescribe a formula to you eased my mind, as they asked about any allergies or anything else I wanted them to know. You are also able to message your personal provider whenever, as you get a new credit to talk with them each time you get a new shipment of Curology. Although this could be difficult if you have a lot of questions or have problems with your formula, I’ve never had a problem with not being able to talk to my provider when I needed to, and even have credits saved up since I haven’t talked to my provider for a while. Nevertheless, it’s nice to know that you can talk to them when you need to, and they respond fairly quickly (mine respond either the same day or next day at the latest). Each time you message them, Curology requires you to send photos of your skin, which helps them to diagnose and see your progress (as the patient, it’s also nice to have those photos to look back on and see the progress). You can even talk back and forth about the problem easily online, and I’ve also had them recommend other products for me when I had issues with texture on my skin. It’s also nice that the formula is curated specifically for you, and if you have any questions or concerns, you’re able to discuss them with your provider who may change up your formula according to your concerns, recommend other products to help, or suggest different routine or techniques.
I’m not going to sit here and tell you that Curology solved all my problems, but I honestly have had such a great experience with it. Although it’s not the cheapest, a trip to the dermatologist’s office plus prescriptions can ring up similarly, and to me, it’s worth it to have a product that addresses a lot of my concerns while also having a provider that I don’t need to go see in person, and can just go online to reach out to when I have concerns.