Beyond Acne: How Personalized Skin Care Evolves With Patients Over Time

Personalized prescription skin care is not necessarily designed around a single diagnosis or endpoint. As patients’ skin changes, their treatment goals may shift as well—from clearing active acne to addressing post-acne changes, pigmentation, prevention, and long-term skin health.

In the first part of Dermatology Times’ conversation with Whitney Tolpinrud, MD, FAAD, chief dermatologist at Curology, Tolpinrud discussed the evolution of personalized prescription dermatology and how virtual care has expanded clinicians’ ability to tailor ingredients and concentrations to individual patients.

In the second part of the conversation, Tolpinrud explored what comes next: how personalized regimens can evolve after acne is controlled, the growing interest in preventive skin care and skin longevity, and why ongoing clinician involvement remains important as patients’ needs change.

When Acne Clears, Skin Care Does Not Necessarily End

For patients who initially seek treatment for acne, achieving clear or nearly clear skin can feel like the end of the treatment journey. Tolpinrud said she encourages patients to think differently.

“Even though your acne becomes well controlled, it doesn't mean that skincare should stop,” Tolpinrud told Dermatology Times.

Instead, the focus of treatment can shift.

“You shouldn't stop with your skincare journey. You should continue it, but the ingredients change and the percentages change,” she said.

A patient who initially requires acne-focused ingredients, for example, may no longer need all of those components once the disease is controlled. Tretinoin concentrations may also be gradually adjusted according to tolerability, response, and changing treatment goals.

Tolpinrud pointed to her own experience as an example. She initially began using tretinoin in her early 20s to manage forehead acne. Although the acne subsequently resolved, tretinoin remained part of her regimen as her skin care priorities evolved.

The broader goal, she explained, is to recognize that a patient's needs at one stage of life may look different several years later.

From Treatment to Prevention

Tolpinrud said younger patients are increasingly thinking about their skin beyond treating an immediate concern. Patients in their 20s and early 30s may not yet have prominent visible signs of skin aging but are nevertheless interested in prevention and maintaining skin health over time.

“We're able to meet patients where they are, no matter where they are in their skincare journey,” she said.

That range of patient needs is reflected across Curology and its sister brand, Agency. While Curology has traditionally focused on acne and other common skin concerns, Agency focuses on personalized prescription skin care for aging concerns and skin longevity.

Tolpinrud explained that maintaining the 2 sister brands allows each to address different patient populations, priorities, and stages of the skin care journey while sharing an emphasis on personalized care.

A Growing Focus on Skin Longevity

Through Agency, Tolpinrud said she has seen growing interest in the science behind skin longevity, with patients increasingly asking why specific ingredients are included in their regimens.

“They are starting to ask about that science. Why are you including this ingredient? What does it do for my skin?” she said.

According to Tolpinrud, Agency's approach considers biological processes associated with skin aging, including inflammation, oxidative damage, DNA damage, protein degradation, and cellular repair.

Rather than requiring patients to navigate an increasingly crowded landscape of individual ingredients and products themselves, the goal is to create streamlined regimens incorporating ingredients that may address multiple processes.

“We want to make it simple for the patient, but try to maximize the efficacy,” Tolpinrud said.

This focus also reflects a broader shift from treating visible signs of aging after they develop toward patients taking an earlier, more preventive approach to their skin health.

Personalization Goes Beyond the Formula

Although customized topical formulations are central to the model, Tolpinrud emphasized that personalization extends beyond selecting ingredients.

Patients have continued access to clinicians as their treatment progresses, allowing regimens to be modified according to clinical response, tolerability, and changing goals. When appropriate, clinicians may also incorporate systemic acne therapies such as spironolactone or doxycycline.

That ongoing relationship can also help identify when virtual treatment is no longer appropriate. Certain skin findings or concerns may require an in-person examination, additional diagnostic evaluation, or care outside the platform.

Ultimately, Tolpinrud views personalized prescription skin care as a continuum rather than a static regimen.

Both are certainly grounded in patient first, customized personalization, customized prescription skincare, and then ongoing support and care, — Whitney Tolpinrud, MD, FAAD

For clinicians, that approach highlights an important consideration as personalized dermatology continues to expand: Successful treatment of the condition that initially brought a patient to care does not necessarily end the clinician-patient relationship. Instead, the next step may be reassessing what that individual patient wants—and needs—from their skin care.

References

1. Curology. Custom Formula Rx: personalized acne treatment. Accessed October 9, 2026. Curology Custom Formula
2. Agency. Longevity skincare, personalized and prescribed. Accessed October 9, 2026. Agency Skin