Is medical-grade vitamin C stronger than drugstore serums?

A bottle that says "medical-grade" invites you to assume a stronger vitamin C inside. The first thing to check is what that label is actually promising.

What the label promises

Yahoo News reports the claim in careful terms. It says medical-grade skin care "is touted to be better formulated, with higher quality and more effective ingredients that can reach deeper into the skin." Touted means advertised, so the claim sits on the label before it sits in any test result you can see.

Where strength meets the prescription line

Concentration is the number worth looking for. In the same Yahoo News piece, the line on strength reads: "Once you go over a certain concentration per the FDA, you are entering drug/prescription territory," Olu said. A serum can be strong enough to change category, and that change is worth noticing on the box.

Reading more before you buy

For general background on caring for your skin, see Dermatologist-Approved Tips for Healthier Skin from the Cleveland Clinic newsroom and the AAD's skin care secrets. MedlinePlus also keeps a page on health screenings for men ages 18 to 39.

Reading the concentration on the box

Look for a stated concentration on the label rather than the word medical-grade alone. Anyone in St. Johns, Florida, who notices redness or stinging after switching serums can show the bottle to a provider and ask what is in it.