Perricone MD Skincare Guide: DMAE, Vitamin C Ester and Is It Worth It

Perricone MD is a premium anti-aging skincare brand built on the ideas of dermatologist Dr. Nicholas Perricone, best known for DMAE, alpha lipoic acid and "Vitamin C Ester." The evidence behind those ingredients is thin: a handful of small studies, some of them funded by industry. With serums from $75 to $249, Perricone MD is worth it mainly if you love a specific texture; for proven results per dollar, retinoids, L-ascorbic acid serums and daily sunscreen do more.

To see what a bottle contains before you buy, you can scan its barcode or label with the ingredient scanner in Pori and check it against your skin type. Pori flags ingredients; it doesn't diagnose skin conditions.

This guide covers who is behind Perricone MD, what the research says about its signature ingredients, what the products cost and which ones make sense. We compared published ingredient lists, brand claims, studies and listed prices; we did not test these products on skin. Prices are perriconemd.com prices as of November 2026, before promotion codes.

Who is Dr. Perricone and who owns Perricone MD?

Nicholas Perricone is an American dermatologist who earned his medical degree at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. He has written several popular books on diet, supplements and looking younger, and he promotes an anti-inflammatory diet alongside topical products. His company, N.V. Perricone, M.D. Ltd., sold products described in those books.

The brand has since changed hands. THG (The Hut Group), the UK online retail and beauty group, bought Perricone MD in 2020 for £51 million and lists it among its THG Beauty brands. The perriconemd.com site now carries a THG copyright line.

Dr. Perricone also has critics. Harriet Hall and Stephen Barrett, both physicians who write about health claims, have argued that some claims in his books are unsupported by published evidence. That doesn't make every product useless. It does mean the brand story deserves the same scrutiny as any other marketing.

Does DMAE work in skincare?

DMAE (dimethylaminoethanol, also called deanol) is the ingredient most associated with Perricone MD. On ingredient lists it appears as dimethyl MEA. The brand uses it in firming products such as the Vitamin C Ester Brightening Amine Face Lift and in several cleansers.

Here is what the research we found shows:

• One randomized trial, reviewed by an industry author. A 2005 review in the American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, written by an author at Johnson & Johnson, describes a placebo-controlled study in which a 3% DMAE gel used daily for 16 weeks improved forehead lines and fine lines around the eyes. Changes in coarse wrinkles, dark circles, nasolabial folds and neck sagging were trends that did not reach statistical significance. The gel was well tolerated.
• A lab study on how it "firms." A 2007 study in the British Journal of Dermatology found that DMAE made cultured skin cells swell with fluid-filled vacuoles within hours, slowed cell division and was moderately toxic at higher concentrations. The authors suggested this swelling may explain the quick plumping effect.
• A small mixed result. A 2009 study found that a DMAE formulation thickened the dermis in hairless mice. In people, after 8 weeks, skin was more hydrated with or without DMAE, and skin elasticity didn't change significantly.

Put together: DMAE seems to give a fast, temporary tightening feel, and one industry-linked trial showed modest wrinkle improvements. We found no long-term studies showing it matches a retinoid. Our guides to retinol for beginners and tretinoin cover the ingredients with much stronger evidence.

What does alpha lipoic acid do for skin?

Alpha lipoic acid is an antioxidant, listed on labels as thioctic acid. The best-known study is a 2003 trial in the British Journal of Dermatology. Thirty-three women, average age 54, used a 5% alpha lipoic acid cream on one half of the face and an identical cream without it on the other half, twice a day for 12 weeks. Laser measurements showed skin roughness fell by 50.8% on the lipoic acid side and by 40.7% on the placebo side.

The difference was statistically significant, which is encouraging. Notice, though, that the plain cream did most of the work: moisturizing alone improved roughness by about 41%. Lipoic acid added roughly 10 percentage points. Perricone MD also uses lipoic acid in rinse-off products such as the High Potency Nutritive Cleanser, where it stays on the skin for under a minute. A cleanser can't recreate a leave-on cream study.

Is Vitamin C Ester better than regular vitamin C?

"Vitamin C Ester" is a Perricone MD brand name, and the ingredient behind it varies. In the Citrus Brightening Cleanser, the only vitamin C on the list is ascorbyl palmitate. In the Brightening Amine Face Lift, it is tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate. The CCC + Ferulic Brightening Complex 20% combines 3-O-ethyl ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbyl phosphate and tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate with ferulic acid. The product page doesn't say what the 20% measures.

The brand describes its esters as highly stable, and stability is a real advantage over plain L-ascorbic acid, which oxidizes easily. The tradeoff is delivery. In a 2001 study at Duke University on pig skin, L-ascorbic acid entered the skin only when formulated below pH 3.5, with absorption peaking at 20%. Ascorbyl palmitate, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate and dehydroascorbic acid did not raise vitamin C levels in the skin at all. Tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate and 3-O-ethyl ascorbic acid have less independent research than L-ascorbic acid, so we can't say how they compare in people.

If brightening is your goal, our vitamin C serum guide and best vitamin C serums for beginners compare forms and prices. Our Drunk Elephant C-Firma review covers a fragrance-free L-ascorbic acid option, and ferulic acid benefits explains why that partner ingredient matters.

How much does Perricone MD cost?

The site often runs promotion codes of 30% to 35% off, and some sets are discounted further, so few people pay full price. Even at a discount, these serums cost several times what a well-formulated drugstore retinoid or vitamin C costs.

About the Face Lift's results: Perricone MD reports that 88% of 34 women showed improved firmness in a 4-week clinical study, and that most of 103 women said their skin felt smoother and looked more radiant. Those are the brand's own studies. The page doesn't say whether there was a comparison group, so we can't separate the product's effect from simply using a moisturizing cream.

Which Perricone MD cleanser is worth it?

Perricone's cleansers are the cheapest way into the line. Three are on the brand's site now:

• Acne Relief Gentle & Soothing Cleanser ($39): 2% salicylic acid, which the brand calls maximum strength, with glycerin, sodium cocoyl isethionate and squalane. The inactive ingredient list shows no fragrance. It is the most useful of the three for oily or breakout-prone skin.
• High Potency Nutritive Cleanser (from $19): a sodium laureth sulfate wash with DMAE, alpha lipoic acid and fragrance. A plain foaming cleanser with brand ingredients that rinse away.
• Vitamin C Ester Citrus Brightening Cleanser ($39 for 6 oz): another sodium laureth sulfate wash, with DMAE, ascorbyl palmitate and a citrus fragrance. Vitamin C in a rinse-off cleanser does very little.

A salicylic acid wash at a lower price will do the same job as the Acne Relief cleanser; see the best face wash for acne and our guide to cleanser types.

Is Perricone MD worth it?

For most people, no. The signature ingredients have little independent evidence, several products carry fragrance and fragrance allergens, and the prices are high. The money buys elegant textures and a well-known name.

It can make sense in two cases. If you already love how a Perricone product feels and it suits your skin, there is no harm in keeping it, especially on sale. And the Acne Relief cleanser is a reasonable 2% salicylic acid wash without listed fragrance, at a premium price.

If you are starting from scratch, put the budget where the evidence is: a broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher every morning, a retinoid at night, and a vitamin C serum if you want one. Our Ordinary guide, Paula's Choice guide and the serums catalogue list cheaper options. Patch test anything new, and see a dermatologist if you have persistent redness, acne or pigment changes.