The skincare world is one we love, with endless options and new products every few months, it is a very exciting industry. However, not everything that glitters is gold! There is a lot to know among all the skincare options, from your regular high-street products to your favourite specialist brands. Have you ever wondered what happens between over-the-counter products and professional skincare? Is there a real difference other than the price that sets them apart? This blog has the answer.

Before we tell you all about them, remember that skin changes with age, weather, travel, pollution, and our habits, so keep in mind what fits better for you, your current skin condition, and the ability to maintain it in the long run. Skincare is not magic but a process to be trusted.

Professional Skincare

While the first difference you probably have in mind is the cost of professional products compared to other brands, there is a lot more behind them that benefits your skin and pocket.

Professional skincare products are regularly found in beauty salons, spas, and skin clinics since they are specifically prescribed after a skin expert has evaluated your needs and knows how to address any skin concerns.

When focusing on professional products, brands can produce quality products in smaller batches, ultimately reflecting higher quality, professional testing, and more robust clinical studies which results in formulations with guaranteed results. The saying quality over quantity makes more sense every time!

Some of the best brands in the world are not top of mind names, or found through influencers, this is because professional skincare companies focus on long-term programmes, supporting professionals achieve successful outcomes by providing them with access to quality products rather than relying on regular consumer self-assessment.

Top Characteristics of Professional Skincare

• Quality, high concentration of active ingredients, and advanced delivery systems: to be considered a professional skincare product, it requires a certain percentage of active ingredients leading to higher quality and visible results.
• Clinical testing and guaranteed results: these skincare products are normally developed with industry experts such as estheticians, dermatologists, and cosmetologists to achieve high impact formulations.
• Professional approach: finding them exclusively through professionals is the key to targeting your skin correctly and not waste money on endless trials by yourself that ultimately damage your skin and budget.
• Target skin conditions: besides the regular solutions like hydration and blemishes, professional skincare products actually solve many skin conditions from sensitive skin, acne to premature aging, and most importantly prevention to keep your skin healthy.
• Customizable treatments: designing the best treatment for your skin requires personalization and a combination of facials and homecare routine. The combination of products, facials, and massage techniques is the ideal world for any skin enthusiast!
• Focus on long-term skin health: long-term is the favourite word for professional skincare, this is the reason for the programme that your skin specialist recommends keeping your skin truly healthy for a long time. It is worth the time, the price, and the effort!

Over-the-Counter Skincare

Here is where the hype starts most of the time, over-the-counter skincare are the products you see around in drugstores, retailers, and department stores. While some of them have a beauty assistant to guide you on the products, these products are not personalized for any skin; it’s the nature of this industry. Don’t get us wrong, we love what these products and brands have done to create awareness on the importance of skincare but there is still a huge gap on how they target skin needs.

Whether it’s a luxury or budget-friendly brand, over-the-counter skincare is produced in large amounts or mass-produced because they are part of a big industry with a big commercial demand. This leads to creating generic formulas that target most of the market and have low impact on the big organizations. Here are the main characteristics of these products.

Top Characteristics of Over-the-Counter Skincare

• Lower concentration of active ingredients, more preservatives: this helps the mass production to attend most of the consumers.
• One-size-fits-all: the focus of these products is to attend general skin needs without specializing or targeting on skin conditions.
• Gentle formulas: the use of lower active ingredients allows OTC products to target a big population without causing major irritation or impact that can damage the consumer and the business.
• Budget-friendly: you can find all kind of brands and products that adjust to almost all budgets, even on luxury brands, however, on the long run they can result more expensive.
• Marketing: a lot of these products are recognized thanks to the amazing campaigns and familiar faces you see around the brands, we love this fun, just keep your skin needs in mind.

The number of options available and accessible are appreciated, but it sometimes becomes overwhelming where to start your skincare journey and without a professional guidance, and by just using any product it may have a negative impact on our skin.

Why Choose Professional Products?

Our recommended approach is always go professional, this way you’ll have the best results with an expert that can target anything your skin needs across time. Remember that skin changes faster than you might notice.

If you still need some top three reasons for choosing professional products, think about long-lasting results, tailored to your skin needs, and feeling pampered when you pair products with professional treatments.

One of the top professional skincare brands leading the way is Bioline Jatò. With its advanced, science-backed formulas and high-quality ingredients, Bioline Jatò offers targeted solutions for every skin type—whether you need deep hydration, anti-aging care, or brightening treatments. Choosing professional skincare like Bioline Jatò means giving your skin the expert-level care it deserves for healthier, more radiant results.

Explore our range of Bioline Jatò products and experience the difference of professional beauty in your salon! Reach out to [email protected] and we would be delighted to take you with us on the professional skincare journey. Cheers to powerful ingredients, techniques, and partnerships!