Dr Jart Review

What is Dr. Jart?

Launched online in 2005, Dr. Jart is a Korean skin care brand founded by dermatologist, Dr. Sung Jae Jung and architect, Chin Wook Lee. The combination of dermatological science and art has developed into what the brand represents today through its quality formulas and bright, colorful packaging. A fun fact about Dr. Jart is that this brand was among the first to develop and introduce BB Cream to the United States. In this review, we’ll discuss the brand’s best selling products, key ingredients, Dr. Jart reviews from real customers, and more.

What Are The Top 5 Dr. Jart Skin Care Products?

Dr. Jart is known for their BB creams and face masks, but the Dr. Jart skin care collection includes everything you need in your skin care routine, from cleansers to serums to eye care products and more. In this section, we’ll discuss the top 5 best selling Dr. Jart skin care products.

Black Label Detox BB Cream
One of the most popular Dr. Jart skin care products is the Black Label Detox BB Cream. It is formulated for those with combination and oily skin to provide light coverage while also correcting the skin tone. The formula also contains botanical actives to purify and calm blemish-prone or irritated skin.

Shake & Shot Rubber Hydro Mask
This Dr. Jart Face Mask is a peel off rubber mask that penetrates the skin more deeply than a sheet mask to deliver ingredients such as panthenol (provitamin B5) and amino acids. Dr. Jart Shake & Shot Rubber Hydro Mask is said to moisturize and revitalize the complexion.

Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment
The Dr. Jart Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment is a green-to-beige color-correcting treatment that corrects redness and helps protect skin from environmental aggressors. It provides SPF 30 protection from UV light, and it forms a dust barrier to protect the skin from the environment while enhancing the skin’s viability.

Ceramidin Cream
The Dr. Jart Ceramidin Cream contains the brand’s proprietary 5-Cera Complex (ceramides) in order to strengthen the skin barrier and shield from water and moisture loss. However, as you’ll learn in the next section, the brand uses very low concentrations of these “key” ingredients in this formula.

Cicapair Tiger Grass Cream
The final best selling Dr. Jart skin care products is the Cicapair Tiger Grass Cream, a soft cream that moisturizes and soothes dry, sensitive skin. It is formulated with Jartbiome, a proprietary microbiome complex to help strengthen, balance, and improve skin’s defenses against dryness.

What Are The Key Ingredients in Dr. Jart Skin Care?

Before we get into the key ingredients that you’ll find in Dr. Jart skin care products, we’d first like to point out that the brand claims certain “key” ingredients are used in their products when these ingredients are actually used in very low concentrations. One example is the Dr. Jart Cicapair Tiger Grass Cream. The key ingredient tiger grass (Centella asiatica extract) is the very last ingredient on the ingredient list. This means that it is the lowest concentration ingredient in the formula! With that being said, we’ll still discuss the supposed “key” ingredients in these products, but just know that they are used in low concentrations.

As you probably noticed above, tiger grass is a key ingredient used in several Dr. Jart skin care products. Tiger grass is one of the common names for the Centella asiatica, a perennial plant native to the wetlands in Asia. Tiger grass is a rich source of natural bioactive substances, including triterpenoid saponins, flavonoids, phenolic acids, amino acids, and sugars. According to a publication in the journal Advances in Dermatology and Allergology, the most important compounds in Gotu kola are asiaticoside, madecassoside, asiatic acid, and madecassic acid, due to their pharmacological activity as pentacyclic triterpenoid saponins.

A large number of scientific reports involving in vitro and in vivo experiments have shown that these compounds can cause a significant increase in the percentage of collagen and cell layer fibronectin, as well as significantly improve the tensile strength of newly formed skin. For example, a 2006 study published in Planta Medica discovered that asiaticoside induces human collagen I synthesis through TGFbeta receptor I kinase (TbetaRI kinase)-independent Smad signaling. Collagen is the main structural protein found abundantly in the skin’s extracellular space, as well as many other parts of the body. It is what gives our skin strength and durability. Thus, by increasing collagen production, the Dr. Jart skin care products that include tiger grass should help to restore a firm, youthful appearance to the skin.

Jartbiome, brand’s proprietary microbiome complex, is another key ingredient that can be found in several Dr. Jart skin care products, including the Cicapair Tiger Grass Serum. The microbiome is a population of many types of bacteria (over 10,000 different species) that live on the skin. There are good bacteria that help to protect the skin, but sometimes bad bacteria can begin to populate, which may lead to acne, redness, and dryness. Jartbiome is intended to balance the microbiome by supporting the good bacteria and helping to eliminate the bad bacteria, thereby strengthening the skin and improving skin’s defenses against dryness.

Ceramides are the key ingredients found in Dr. Jart Ceramidin Cream (although they are the very last ingredients on the ingredient list). Ceramides are a family of waxy lipid molecules that are naturally produced by the skin and are vital in supporting the stratum corneum. The stratum corneum is the outer layer of skin, which can be thought of as a “brick and mortar” system. The bricks are the corneocytes (dead skin cells) and the intercellular lipids (ceramides) represent the mortar. Without ceramides, the skin barrier is weakened, just like without mortar a brick wall would be weak and unstable. The result is skin that can easily become dry, itchy, or irritated. A properly functioning stratum corneum is essential for healthy skin as it maintains epidermal hydration and serves as a barrier that responds to environmental stressors, infections, irritants, and allergens. Topical application of ceramides can help to replenish ceramide levels, thus restoring the skin’s natural barrier.

Like we mentioned above, most of the Dr. Jart skin care products contain low concentrations of these “key” ingredients. The Dr. Jart formulations mostly consist of emollients, humectants, and silicone. There’s nothing wrong with these ingredients. They will keep your skin soft and moisturized. But we just think it’s a little misleading to point out the benefits of certain key ingredients when these ingredients probably won’t do anything at all since they are used in such low concentrations.

Where is Dr. Jart Sold?

Dr. Jart skin care products are sold on the brand’s website, as well as several third party online retailers such as Sephora, Amazon, and more.

What is The Dr. Jart Return Policy?

The Dr. Jart return policy states, “We want to ensure you absolutely love your Dr.Jart purchase! If you are not fully satisfied, our Customer Care Team will be happy to assist you with eligible returns of new or gently used items for a refund or store credit within 30 days of your purchase. Initiating a return is easy! Simply email us at [email protected] and we will provide a prepaid return label and return instructions for all eligible returns.”

Is Dr. Jart Cruelty Free?

Dr. Jart is not cruelty free because Dr. Jart skin care products are sold in mainland China where animal testing is required by law.

Dr. Jart Reviews

Dr. Jart reviews are a mix of very positive and very negative. For example, one Dr. Jart review for the Black Label Detox BB Cream says, “Bought Dr.Jart+ V7 Priming Moisturizer. Absolutely HORRIBLE smell – medicinal odor like a failed science project. When it dried (I could still smell it) my skin was super soft but didn’t look very matte. Looked better when powdered w Lancome Dual Finish. I will use up this Dr.Jart+ product just 2 get rid of it, but would never re-purchase. Odor lingers on fingers, who needs that???”.

References:
1. Postepy Dermatol Alergol. 2013 Feb; 30(1): 46–49.
2. Planta Med 2006 Mar;72(4):324-8.