Wondering where to buy SkinMedica products online? We are an authorized dealer and we run ecommerce for over 280 doctors that sell SkinMedica. We can help you shop by your skin type to find products from one of the best selling medical-grade skincare brand - SkinMedica®?   As a dermatologist and skin care expert, I understand the importance of using products that are effective, evidence- based and recommended by dermatologists.  I will help you find the best SkinMedica products online.

SkinMedica is a top skincare brand that was founded by a dermatologist, recommended and sold by many dermatologists, and has gained recognition for its groundbreaking use of growth factors in skincare. SkinMedica products were the first to contain growth factors in an antiaging skin serum.

I will help you find the best SkinMedica products for your skin type! Then I will discuss the technology known as TNS, how it was developed, and the history of SkinMedica.  Don't miss the SkinMedica company history section at the end of this blog- it is fascinating!

Ready to shop for SkinMedica products?

Step one is to take the quiz to find out your skin type.  After the quiz you will receive a custom skincare routine where you can combine SkinMedica products with other skincare brands in your routine.

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In my Miami dermatology practice, I like to pick the best skincare products from SkinMedica and combine them with other brands in a custom skincare routine that matches my patient's skin type. These are the products that I tend to recommend the most and a brief description of why I like them. Click the individual product to see a complete dermatologist review on that SkinMedica product. (These are being added so  not all products have these yet.)

Link to shop for all SkinMedica products is here.

The very best SkinMedica product combines the TNS technology with the TNS-MR technology. You can read more about these different technologies and how they were developed below. The SkinMedica TNS Advanced + Serum is the most advanced and best growth factor serum with TNS (tissue nutrient solution).

SkinMedica is most known for their serums. They have good antiaging, skin lightening, and hydrating serums. Take the skin type quiz to see which SkinMedica Products are best for you. In this section I will give you the same advice that I give me patients on how to choose a SkinMedica serum to use in your skincare routine.

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SkinMedica has several types of antiaging serums with different combinations of these antiaging ingredients:

1. Growth factors
2. Tissue Nutrient Solution
3. Retinol
4. Vitamin C
5. Hyaluronic acid

You can click on the ingredient above to learn about it or continue reading to get advice on how to choose which SkinMedica antiaging serum is best for you.

Retinol is always the first antiaging serum you should buy.  It is the most effective and has the most evidence-based research. The SkinMedica retinol serum is well made, has a good form of retinol, and is manufactured and bottled in a light and air free environment that helps keep retinol stable and effective. 

These are some of the best dermatologist-recommended retinols.  They come in 3 strengths.  Retinol beginners should always choose the lowest strength and follow these how to use retinol instructions.  Do not use retinol if your skin is stinging, peeling, or you have active rosacea. 

Many SkinMedica products have growth factors and it can be hard to choose.  This guide can help you figure out which growth factor serum to buy if for some reason you do not want to take the free skin type quiz  which will also tell you which SkinMedica product is right for your skin type.

The SkinMedica HA5 serum contains five distinct molecular weights of hyaluronic acid (HA) ranging from 800 kDa to less than 10 kDa. This allows the product to provide both surface hydration as well as deeper skin penetration and hydration. The 800 kDa HA is an extremely long chain molecule that creates a moisture-binding film on the skin's surface, acting as a humectant. The longer chain 500 kDa and 200 kDa HA molecules also provide humectant properties while being small enough to penetrate into the epidermis. The 50 kDa medium chains and less than 10 kDa short chains are able to penetrate through the epidermis into the dermis. These tiny HA fragments bind water and help the serum carry other ingredients, like vitamins and antioxidants, deeper into the skin where they can provide more targeted treatment.

In addition to the multi-weight HA, the HA5 also contains several peptides including Tripeptide-29 and Tripeptide-1. These peptides boost collagen and elastin production in the dermis, helping to firm and smooth skin texture. 

Overall, the combination of different sized HA molecules, collagen-supporting peptides, antioxidants and other ingredients allows the HA5 to deeply hydrate while also treating signs of aging for a more youthful appearance

The best serum from SkinMedica to lighten dark spots is SkinMedica Lytera 2.0. This was the first topical serum on the market to contain tranexamic acid.This is one of the most popular serums to treat dark spots because it blocks melanin production in many different ways.

SkinMedica's journey as a bestselling skincare brand began when the interest in injectable dermal fillers grew to the point that research was looking into how to make dermal fillers from human collagen instead of cow collagen. The process of growing human tissue in the lab developed into the discovery of Tissue Nutrient Solution (TNS) and the birth of one the top 10 bestselling skincare brands in the world.

Scientist Gail Naughton and her team first described using fibroblast cell culture media  for topical use around 1999.  They named this growth factor rich serum NouriCel . ^(3,4)At this time injectable collagen (Zyderm® and Zyplast®) were new cosmetic procedures and fillers known as CosmoDerm® and CosmoPlast®  were being developed from fibroblasts grown from a piece of foreskin using technology developed by Dr. Naughton.  The rumor was that the donated skin was from a circumcision of someone in the company's son but I have no idea if this is true. CosmoDerm® and CosmoPlast® were approved by FDA as dermal fillers in March 2003. The fibroblast cells used to make CosmoDerm and CosmoPlast grew in a conditioned media that was full of growth factors produced by the growing fibroblasts.  This media was called Nouricel® and later Nouricel-MD® but now is known as Tissue Nutrient Solution® (TNS). 

I was a Professor at the University of Miami running the Department of Cosmetic Dermatology when Dr.Richard Fitzpatrick began lecturing on the use of growth factors to rejuvenate the skin.   I was doing research trials for the company Inamed® who made the CosmoDerm® and CosmoPlast®  fillers from which TNS was extracted. I remember being very excited about this new technology. It was so new that growth factors were only briefly mentioned in my textbook on cosmetic dermatology which was the first cosmetic dermatology textbook in the world.  That's how new growth factors were at the time! But we all knew they would play an important role in skin rejuvenation and restoring skin collagen.

Human Fibroblast Conditioned Media is the INCI name found on the product ingredient label and is essentially the same thing as Tissue Nutrient Solution (TNS) or Multipotent Resignaling Complex (MRCx).  It is the name for the solution that contains growth factors.  

SkinMedica Is owned by Allergan: Allergan is owned by the pharmaceutical company Abbvie. Allergan acquired SkinMedica in 2012 for approximately $350 million. It is not one of the top science-based medically proven skincare brands in the world.

The best skincare brand for you depends upon which of the 16 Baumann Skin Types you are, your values, and budget.

 Take the free skin type quiz to find out which  products are best for you and build a custom skin care routine.

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1. Baumann L. Antiaging Ingredients in Ch. 37 of Baumann's Cosmetic Dermatology Ed 3. (McGraw Hill 2022)
2. Baumann, L. Cosmeceuticals and Cosmetic Ingredients (McGraw Hill 2015)
3. https://patents.google.com/patent/US6372494B1
4. https://patents.google.com/patent/US7118746B1
5. www.skinmedica.com/us/time_line
6. https://www.medestheticsmag.com/news/article/21147679/allergan-acquires-regenica-line-with-plans-to-expand-histogen-growth-factor-technology
7. https://www.genengnews.com/news/allergans-skinmedica-to-market-histogen-proteins-growth-factors/
8. Sundaram, H., Gold, M., Waldorf, H., Lupo, M., Nguyen, V. L., & Karnik, J. (2015). Pilot, Multicenter, Open-Label Evaluation of Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of a Novel, Topical Multipotent Growth Factor Formulation for the Periorbital Region. Journal of Drugs in Dermatology: JDD, 14(12), 1410-1417.
9. https://truthinadvertising.org/class-action/skinmedicas-tns-products/
10. Herndon, J. H., Makino, E. T., Jiang, L. I., Stephens, T. J., & Mehta, R. C. (2015). Long-term multi-product facial regimen in subjects with moderate-to-severe photodamage and hyperpigmentation. The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, 8(8), 16.
11. Atkin, D. H., Trookman, N. S., Rizer, R. L., Schreck, L. E., Ho, E. T., Gotz, V., ... & Mehta, R. C. (2010). Combination of physiologically balanced growth factors with antioxidants for reversal of facial photodamage. Journal of Cosmetic and Laser Therapy, 12(1), 14-20.
12. Gold, M. H., Wilson, A., Makino, E., & Mehta, R. (2023). Improvements in skin quality parameters in postmenopausal participants after use of topical growth factor serum. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 22(1), 236-244.
13. Mehta, R. C., & Fitzpatrick, R. E. (2007). Endogenous growth factors as cosmeceuticals. Dermatologic therapy, 20(5), 350-359.

1. Baumann L. Antiaging Ingredients in Ch. 37 of Baumann's Cosmetic Dermatology Ed 3. (McGraw Hill 2022)
2. Baumann, L. Cosmeceuticals and Cosmetic Ingredients (McGraw Hill 2015)
3. https://patents.google.com/patent/US6372494B1
4. https://patents.google.com/patent/US7118746B1
5. www.skinmedica.com/us/time_line
6. https://www.medestheticsmag.com/news/article/21147679/allergan-acquires-regenica-line-with-plans-to-expand-histogen-growth-factor-technology
7. https://www.genengnews.com/news/allergans-skinmedica-to-market-histogen-proteins-growth-factors/
8. Sundaram, H., Gold, M., Waldorf, H., Lupo, M., Nguyen, V. L., & Karnik, J. (2015). Pilot, Multicenter, Open-Label Evaluation of Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of a Novel, Topical Multipotent Growth Factor Formulation for the Periorbital Region. Journal of Drugs in Dermatology: JDD, 14(12), 1410-1417.
9. https://truthinadvertising.org/class-action/skinmedicas-tns-products/
10. Herndon, J. H., Makino, E. T., Jiang, L. I., Stephens, T. J., & Mehta, R. C. (2015). Long-term multi-product facial regimen in subjects with moderate-to-severe photodamage and hyperpigmentation. The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, 8(8), 16.
11. Atkin, D. H., Trookman, N. S., Rizer, R. L., Schreck, L. E., Ho, E. T., Gotz, V., ... & Mehta, R. C. (2010). Combination of physiologically balanced growth factors with antioxidants for reversal of facial photodamage. Journal of Cosmetic and Laser Therapy, 12(1), 14-20.
12. Gold, M. H., Wilson, A., Makino, E., & Mehta, R. (2023). Improvements in skin quality parameters in postmenopausal participants after use of topical growth factor serum. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 22(1), 236-244.
13. Mehta, R. C., & Fitzpatrick, R. E. (2007). Endogenous growth factors as cosmeceuticals. Dermatologic therapy, 20(5), 350-359.