Clients often tell me about their beauty routines and ask whether or not BB, CC and DD creams are beneficial. Let’s start by reviewing what each of these types of products are used for and then figure out if using them is good for your skin.
What Are BB Creams
Often short for “beauty balm” or “blemish balm,” BB cream first became popular in Korea before gaining buzz across the globe—and for good reason. Essentially, BB cream is makeup formulated with skin care benefits. These benefits can range from sun protection to hydration to shine control, depending on the BB cream formula you use. There are BB creams available for all different skin types, including oily skin and dry skin.
What is a CC Cream
“Color correcting” or “CC” creams are designed to reduce redness and even out complexion issues with added sun protection benefits. The true difference between BB and CC cream is subtle. BB cream is more of a primer or foundation while CC’s are focused on evening out skin tone and hiding distinct imperfections. They can also help to minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. CC creams also tend to be thicker with a dewy feel, however, this is not absolute.
CC cream usually provides a little more coverage to disguise imperfections like dark spots or redness. Because CC creams offer more coverage than BB creams, they tend to have thicker, heavier formulas. CC creams are often formulated for aging skin that may need more coverage to help smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and also offer sun protection.
What Are AA and DD Creams Used For
The terms AA and DD creams never really took off the way the beauty industry had hoped. AA stands for anti-aging while DD has a variety of definitions such as daily defense, do all, and dynamic do all. There are a handful of brands who sell DD creams and which offer moisturizing, camouflage, priming, extra sun protection, and color correction benefits. AA’s are simply any cream that offers anti-aging benefits. These creams may include antioxidants, peptides, and retinols.
Lastly, there was a small push to use the term EE which stood for “extra exfoliation”, but you can use any exfoliant to receive these benefits so the term fizzled out.
Are BB, CC and DD Creams Beneficial
To answer that question it’s important to understand how the skin functions and apply products based on the health and well-being of your skin.
If I had to pick one of theses alphabet creams, I would probably go for CC creams. The main reason is they don’t claim to offer moisturizing benefits, but they do offer sun protection. My least favorite skin care product claims are the ones that say they are “saving you time” by combining moisturizer and sun protection. I do not believe it is in the best interest of your skin to use a blend of moisturizer and SPF. You’ll find my mantra consistently threaded throughout TheFreckle, like in this post. The safest way to protect your skin is to let a standalone moisturizer soak in and dry for at least 10 minutes. Then layer on your SPF followed by everything else.
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