Joining that Curology train: First impressions and hesitations

I think at this point, it is safe to say I am by no means a skincare trendsetter.  I am never on the cutting edge, lending my face for the good of skincare-kind by testing out the latest new products.  I just enjoy Asian beauty, makeup, and skincare as a way of taking care of myself.

Pretty much me in the skincare scene || Source

Which is why, given my long absence from /r/AB since starting grad school, I had no idea what Curology was until I saw this Instagram post from Joan of Kinseng (everyone should go check out her awesome blog, by the way!).

A photo posted by kinseng (@kinsengnsq) on Dec 27, 2015 at 7:55am PST

I had heard the term floating about, but never took a serious interest in the brand and its products until Joan's IG post.  I decided to do some research into them (aka a cursory Google search).

What is Curology?

Curology's home page

Curology is a US-based dermatology service based out of California that allows you to get access to a certified dermatologist who customizes a prescription treatment based on your skin concerns and needs.  These concerns are mostly related to acne and aging.  However, Curology's services aren't limited to just facial skincare, but also neck and body skin concerns as well!

Curology was known as PocketDerm up until the end September 2015 when it renamed and rebranded itself.  During this rebranding, it combined its acne treatments and anti-aging treatments into one treatment instead, so you can fight acne and signs of aging with one prescription medication.

Hesitations

There are so many rave and glowing reviews about it from many a beauty blogger about this service.  Despite this, I will say, I was a bit hesitant to try it out.  I considered quitting mid-sign up several times.  Why?  I was just nervous about utilizing a virtual healthcare service, as silly as that sounds!  It seems so new, and I have worked so hard at taking care of my face to get it to where it is now that I was a bit uneasy with possibly screwing it up with prescription medication from a provider who would never get to see my face except from the pictures I uploaded.  Not to mention, I balked a bit at the thought of paying $19.95/month after my first month free trial was over.

For awhile, I kept going back and forth with myself saying that I don't really need this service.  My skin was fine, except for the occasional hormonal breakout along my left check and chin.  Even with those small breakouts and lingering hyperpigmentation marks, I had mostly accepted my skin for the nice, yet imperfect thing that it is.  Would this service even truly help me?  Was this really going to address my skincare goals?  Would it be worth the price?

In the end, I decided to bite the bullet and sign up.  What changed my mind, in the end?

• I have learned a lot about my skin, and am more vigilant at monitoring it when things go sour.  As such, if I start using this prescription and everything goes to hell, I can stop it immediately.  I am fortunate that I have never truly experienced a terrible breakout from product use, so my current arsenal of skincare products should be sufficient enough for damage control.
• This is only a trial month, so it won't cost me to use it for a bit and cancel before the month is over.
• This service is with certified dermatologists - there is some credit to that, right?
• Even if I were to continue with this service, $20/month is not bad, considering my skincare budget, and what I normally spend on skincare anyway.  If I spend $20/month and get to invest less in acne products and hyperpigmentation lightening products, then I consider that a cost-effectiveness use of my money and time (time since I'd be spending less of it scouring for reviews for such products!)

First impressions

I must say, I have been very impressed by Curology so far, and I haven't even received my prescription yet!

Firstly, the sign up process was very easy and painless.  I signed up on the website, where I filled out a form asking about my skincare troubles and concerns, as well as uploaded a picture of my front, left, and right side of face (I just used my iPhone camera for this).  I submitted my form and pictures on Saturday, 2 January.  I did not expect to hear back from my assigned provider until the next business day, given it was a weekend and all, right after New Year's to boot.  However, she reached out to me less than 12 hours after I signed up, and had already customized my prescription!

My provider's message to me via Curology's messaging portal

Her message was detailed, friendly, and extremely thorough.  She gave me a breakdown of my prescription components, what they do, and what to expect when using it (super sad at the lack of acid use, by the way D:).  I sent her a message asking her what else to expect, given my tendency to get dry patches and flakiness due to the cold weather.  Her turnaround time was less than 6 hours, and was as detailed and as friendly as her initial message.  Her tone has been nothing but polite and respectful - which is similar to what many other reviewers have mentioned about their assigned derm through Curology.

Overall

I know I signed up very recently, but my initial interactions with my provider have really warmed me up to Curology.  I am more excited to start using my prescription when it comes, and curious to see how the results will be!  As I have to document my progress for my dermatologist anyway, I will hopefully post some before & after photos when I update later with progress from using this service in about a month's time (perhaps that will be my single February post?  Look at me, already planning ahead!).

As I mentioned, the service comes at a price of $19.95/month.  However, I am currently trying it out for free for the first month.  You can too if you sign up here*! 

***NOTE: This is a referral link, so I may get credit if you click there and sign up!

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Are you interested in trying out Curology?  Have you tried it yet?  I'm a bit nervous, but excited with the results, so I would love to hear your thoughts and comments below!