Extra blog: After finishing my 5-blog series on what skincare travelers would find in the pharmacies of 10 countries around the world, I thought my international readers might ask what skincare brands are popular in the USA?
When I wrote the 1st 5 blogs of our series, I listed 5 of the most popular, best-selling skincare brands in each country featured. It's all done for fun. Truthfully, if publishing a book that one gets paid to write, a journalist would have to apply even more scrutiny to verify each entry by contacting a ton of primary sources, which I couldn't do for a personal blog. Perhaps the journalist would also visit the countries to do in-person research with funds provided by her employer, ahh, even more fun! My blogs come from reading a bunch of mostly secondary sources, deciding which are credible, and drawing from the consensus of what I find. It gives us a start and an introduction to the skincare of the 10 countries I featured.
So without further ado, our extra country!🇺🇸
In American skincare, we hear the word efficacy spoken a lot. It means the ingredients are high-performing and in the right amounts to deliver the promised results. Retinol, retinal, retin-A (tretinoin), bakuchiol, peptides, vitamin C, niacinamide, and ceramides are some of the ingredients in top US skincare products with efficacy to treat the signs of aging.
For US brands, I have two lists -- 1st I'll focus on knowing ...
1) CeraVe was developed by dermatologists containing ceramides to strengthen and protect the skin barrier. Super affordable, some of its formulas also have retinol for night and vitamin C serum with or without sunscreen for day.
2) La Poche-Posey is made in France (so I put it on France's 5 top skincare products since it is manufactured and popular in France).
3) Neutrogena offers science-based anti-aging products that target anti-aging, hydration, and acne issues. Its formulas are developed and tested in a laboratory and sold in drugstores.
4) SkinCeuticals is often recommended by dermatologists as having clinical strength ingredients like vitamins C, E, B5, and Ferulic Acid. The brand is luxury priced to boot.
5) The Ordinary continues to be manufactured in Canada, so I grouped it with Canada’s skincare. I made the assumption that because of its budget-friendly price point, it is popular in Canada, like it is in the States.
I wasn’t completely satisfied with the ↑above list. Why France’s La Poche-Posey and Canada's The Ordinary may be widely used in the USA, but we can’t claim them as US Skincare, so I did more reading. ↓Below is a 2nd list to reflect this:
5 Top Skincare Brands Manufactured and Popular in the USA are:
1) SkinCeuticals, as already stated, is science-based, antioxidant-rich skincare (often produced by L'Oréal USA, a fact I didn’t know). A double lister!
2) Estée Lauder, founded in 1946, specializes in luxury
skincare. Today, it is the umbrella company of many other skincare brands, not only luxury brands. (See my info re: The Ordinary* to follow.) Estèe Lauder now owns MAC, L’Oreal, Lamcomb, Relvon, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Darphrin, La Mer, Origins, Decium* (bought in 2021), and The Ordinary* (bought in 2024) + other brands.
3) SkinMedica is a medical-grade brand focused on anti-aging formulas. This is a new brand to me!
4) CeraVe's formulas contain ceramides to protect the skin barrier, as mentioned in list 1. Often it is cited as America’s #1 bestselling skincare. I love the popluar and bestselling CeraVe! A 2nd double lister!
5) EltaMD is known mostly for its professional-grade and lightweight sunscreen, yet it offers other skincare. A pity its superior sunscreen at $41 for 1.7 ounces is so expensive, the sun protection isn’t accessible for us common folk to use daily! Let them eat cake, eh?
Other key US brands are Aveeno and Cetaphil (the latter is another drugstore brand developed by dermatologists). I buy and like both brands.
I have the benefit of in-person research in the US, and yes, both lists seem correct, or in the words of the late great Executive Editor, Bill Bradley of the respected Washington Post during his tenure (1968 - 1991), “of getting at the best version of the truth.”:)
As it happens, Estée Lauder acquired all of The Ordinary* by 2024, bringing it under its portfolio of brands. This explains why this Canadian brand is on the 1st US skincare list. I love The Ordinary’s many products and am only too happy to add to its American success! I hope Estée Lauder doesn’t change the company (its philosophy, formulas, or price points) for the sake of profits! Critics accuse EL of buying then running MAC (also Two Face, another of its acquired companies) into the ground by lessening the quality of MAC lipstick pigments while at the same time increasing the retail price of MAC's lipsticks. Let’s hold our collective breath for The Ordinary!🙏🙏🙏
The skincare brands I buy the most are CereVe, The Ordinary, and Neutrogena. What skincare brands do you use?
You may also enjoy:
10 Leading Skincare Brands In Foreign Pharmacies - Part 1
10 Leading Skincare Brands In Foreign Pharmacies - Part 2
10 Leading Skincare Brands In Foreign Pharmacies - Part 3
10 Leading Skincare Brands In Foreign Pharmacies - Part 4
