Is Dermstore Legit? Our Complete Guide

Dermstore

Dermstore is an online retail store that houses a wide variety of skincare and beauty products from around 400 brands. It’s owned by The Hut Group, a UK-based eCommerce brand and is an authorized seller of several popular beauty brands, and is totally legit.

Who owns Dermstore?

Craig Kraffert, a dermatologist, founded Dermstore in 1999. It specialized in professional skincare.

In 2012, Dermstore gradually expanded from professional skincare to commercial cosmetics brands.

Dermstore then opened its flagship store in Hermosa Beach, California.

In August 2013, Dermstore came under the radar of Target Corporation, one of America’s biggest retail stores. Target then took over the Dermstore Beauty Group. It became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Target and operated as a separate entity under its online name, Dermstore.com.

July 2019 saw the Dermstore partnering with the American Academy of Dermatology to provide skincare education.

In December of 2020, The Hut Group announced its intention to buy Dermstore from Target Corporation. The Hut Group is a British Direct-to-Consumer eCommerce company that operates over 100 eCommerce websites. The deal was closed in February 2021.

Where is Dermstore based?

While Dermstore stocks brands that may have their own retail stores, Dermstore is purely an online shop. Its headquarters is based in El Segundo, California, United States.

Does Dermstore sell real and authentic products?

Dermstore has tied up with several international and local beauty brands. All products sold on the website are authentic and made by the brand on the label.

Some of the brands available on Dermstore include Amarte, CeraVe, Dermalogica, Elizabeth Arden, Jack Black, Marvis, Oribe, Sunday Riley, and Versed.

Does Dermstore sell fake products?

While Dermstore claims to not sell any fake products through its website, consumers have a few ways to test the authenticity of their purchase.

They can check if there is a slight change in the logo or if the packaging has been tampered with. Checking the bar code, serial number, and manufacturing details is another way of making sure you are not duped by online sellers.  

Is Dermstore an authorized dealer for Obagi?

Obagi is a skincare brand created solely for giving your skin the utmost importance it can get. It is a globally recognized pharmaceutical company known for its advanced scientific innovations in skin health.

It can minimize the appearance of lines, premature skin aging, acne, and damages due to intense exposure to the Sun. It is primarily available through skincare professionals.

Dermstore is an authorized dealer for Obagi and Obagi products can be bought from Dermstore online.

Is Dermstore an authorized dealer for SkinCeuticals?

SkinCeuticals is a high-end skincare brand that is devoted to delivering the latest skincare formula with its extensive experimenting and testing. Founded in 1997, it is now owned by L’Oreal. 

Dermstore is authorized to sell SkinCeuticals products and you should often find them available for a discount on the Dermstore website

Is Dermstore an authorized dealer for SkinMedica?

SkinMedica is known for its advanced products in protective and corrective skincare. It offers products with a tinge of medicine in them. It is said to result in healthy, younger-looking skin.

SkinMedica can be purchased from Dermstore as it is one of the authorized dealers. To be on the safer side, it is advised to make a note of all authorized websites before ordering a well-priced product.

Is Dermstore an authorized dealer for EltaMD?

EltaMD is a skincare brand that protects the skin from harsh exposure to the sun. Its wide range of suncare and skincare products protect, renew and heal skin resulting in healthy skin. 

EltaMD is a brand that sells only to certified physicians. However, it considers Dermstore an authorized dealer for its products as Dermstore is run by a team of physicians and has a board-certified dermatologist. 

Is Dermstore an authorized dealer for Eminence?

Eminence is an organic skincare brand popular for its organic, natural products. It is one of the leading organic products suppliers to spas around the world. Eminence Organics was founded by a family of estheticians and they strongly recommend regular visits to spas.

Dermstore is an authorized dealer for Eminence Organic Skin Care. Dermstore has an array of Eminence products ranging from night creams, lip serums, moisturizers, and acne care advanced kits. Eminence claims that all these products are made from hand-picked ingredients with no chemicals added. It also boasts of using only recycled materials for its packaging.

Where does Dermstore ship from?

Dermstore ships from the US. Once an order is placed, it is processed within 24-48 hours, except on weekends where it is delayed till Monday. Orders can be expected to be delivered in 3 to 5 days, barring weekends and public holidays.

In case of deliveries to military locations and PO boxes, the United States Postal Services is used. If an order that has been shipped is refused at the delivery location, a fee of $15 is charged. This nondelivery fee is subtracted from the users’ refund account or store credit if available.

Does Dermstore offer free shipping?

Dermstore has a minimum bill value of $50 to avail free shipping across the country. If the bill amount does not sum up to the required amount, a fee of $7 is charged for delivery. The regular shipping of products takes 3-5 days for delivery.

If the customer requires the products to be delivered faster than the regular delivery, they could pay $10.95 for expedited shipping. This would take between 2-3 days to reach its destination.

Dermstore also gives its users the choice of receiving products overnight. This comes at a price of $29.95. It is important to note though, that expedited shipping does not deliver to PO boxes.

Does Dermstore have sales?

Dermstore offers seasonal discounts on products. New users have promo codes that can be used at checkout.

If you are subscribed to the Dermstore newsletter, you should receive regular promotional emails with discounts. VIP account holders get exclusive access to sales and gifts. A review of one of their products gives you an additional 50 points per review.

Being a Dermstore account holder also gives you points every time you shop and after you accumulate a certain number of points, they become redeemable on the next order.

Every USD spent earns you 5 points. For every 100 points earned, you waive $5 off from your bill. 

Does Dermstore have free returns?

Dermstore has a 60 day free return period for their products. This is calculated from the day you place the order (not when it gets delivered).

On returning a product, you could ask for a full refund or take store credit and find something better. 

In case you are past the return period, you can contact customer service to help with returns.  

While most returns are free from shipping charges, some products like perfumes have to be returned through the United States Postal Services and these charges will have to be borne by the customer.

It can take up to two weeks for a return and its refund to be completely processed.

Does Dermstore have Afterpay?

Afterpay is an initiative started to help shoppers shop when they want without having to wait for their payday. An item can be bought and paid for in four installments every two weeks without interest. 

Dermstore supports Afterpay with some ground rules. The customer should be a US resident of age 18 years or above, and it is mandatory to give details of their credit or debit card and a US cell phone number to avail this payment option.

The minimum bill value to use Afterpay is $35. No interest (or penalty) is charged as long as the customer sticks to the payment timeline. 

Does Dermstore take HSA?

HSA or health savings account is a savings account that saves on paying taxes for insurance coverage. The employer or employee makes regular contributions to this account to pay for qualified medical expenses like dental and cosmetics.

HSA funds can be used for medicines without a prescription. Unused balances at the end of the year can be carried forward to the next year. So, HSA savings can be used at Dermstore for purchasing tax-free. 

Can you use FSA at Dermstore?

FSA which is a Flexible Spending Account is a special account that you put money into to pay for non-life-threatening health complications. The money that is used from this account for expenses like cosmetics is exempt from paying taxes.

FSA cards cannot be used directly on the Dermstore website. A purchase can be made through a debit or credit card and then reimbursed.

Can I use Paypal on Dermstore?

Dermstore uses a variety of payment methods and Paypal is one of them. Paypal is a very secure method of payment. When you pay through Paypal, the payment is seen as pending until the order is shipped. 

Can you cancel your Dermstore subscription?

Dermstore launched a subscription service called BeautyFIX in 2008. This is a thoroughly curated beauty box containing products for skincare, hair care, and makeup. The box has to be paid for by the 28th of the previous month and the box is shipped within the first five days of the next month. The box has products of a value of $100.

Single products can also be subscribed to for any required number of months. In the case of a single product subscription, the subscription can be easily paused or stopped by going to the user’s account and using the options.

If it is a BeautyFix box subscription that you are trying to cancel, it is a bit more complicated than that. You would have to cancel the subscription 14 days before it auto-renews. The subscription will be stopped only after the user receives all the boxes that have already been paid for. 

Do Dermstore points expire?

Yes, Dermstore reward points expire. For every dollar spent, you accumulate 5 points. When you gather 100 such points, you can redeem $5 on the next shopping bill. These reward points do have a certain validity period and it is wise to keep an eye on the expiration date to take full advantage of a discount.

References:

  1. https://www.dermstore.com/
  2. https://incidecoder.com/products/dermstore-daily-mineral-sunscreen-spf-40
Anand Srinivasan
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