Disclaimers & Editorial Policy

This page sets out the disclaimers and editorial standards that apply to all content on sarahskinmd.com — the Journal and the independent review desk authored by Dr. Sarah Elspeth Vane, FAAD. By using this site you acknowledge the policies below. They exist to protect your health, to make our independence verifiable, and to be clear about the few ways this work is funded.

1. Medical Disclaimer

The information published on this site — including the Journal, the product reviews, and any general guidance about skin, ingredients, or conditions — is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It reflects the professional opinion of Dr. Vane based on her clinical training and experience, but it is general in nature and cannot account for your individual history, medications, or skin.

Reading this site, contacting us through it, or following any suggestion here does not create a doctor–patient relationship. No doctor–patient relationship with Dr. Vane is created through this site. Nothing on this website should be relied upon as a diagnosis, a treatment plan, or a substitute for the individualized care of a qualified physician who has examined you.

For anything that warrants a clinician's eye — a changing or new mole, a persistent or spreading rash, a wound that will not heal, signs of infection, or any condition that is not improving — please see a board-certified dermatologist near you rather than relying on the general information published here.

2. Editorial Independence & Review Policy

Independence is the entire reason this review desk exists. Every review reflects Dr. Vane's professional opinion, formed through hands-on testing against a fixed, published rubric — never a marketing brief. We hold ourselves to the following rules, without exception:

• No paid placements, ever. No brand can pay to be reviewed, included, ranked, recommended, or given a kinder score. Money does not buy coverage or position here.
• Products are purchased at full retail. Where a PR sample is used, it is disclosed and is never weighted differently from a product we bought ourselves.
• No copy approval. No company sees a review, a score, or a ranking before you do. Brands have no opportunity to edit, soften, or veto our findings.
• Scored on a fixed rubric — evidence (30%), formulation (25%), tolerability (20%), elegance & adherence (15%), and value (10%) — rather than trends or vibes.
• Conflicts are disclosed at the top of every review.

Reviews are professional opinion, not laboratory certification or medical advice for your specific skin. A product that earns Editor's Choice is the one Dr. Vane found most effective under her testing conditions; it may still not suit you. For how the rubric is applied in detail, see our methodology and editorial standards.

3. Affiliate Disclosure

In plain English: some of the links in our reviews are affiliate links. If you click one and buy the product, we may earn a small commission. This comes out of the retailer's margin — it never costs you anything extra, and you pay exactly the same price you would by going to the retailer directly.

Affiliate links appear only after a product has earned its place on its own merit. The commission does not influence whether a product is recommended, how it is scored, or where it ranks. A higher-paying link will never beat a better product — the rubric decides the order, every time. Many products we recommend carry no affiliate relationship at all, and we routinely advise against products that we could have linked for commission.

4. Testimonials & Results

Any testimonials, reviews, or case descriptions on this site reflect the experiences of specific individuals and are shared for illustration. Individual results vary. Skin differs by genetics, age, hormonal status, health, sun history, and consistency of use, so an outcome one person experienced is not a promise, prediction, or guarantee that you will see the same result. No content here should be read as assuring any particular clinical or cosmetic outcome.

For transparency on this demonstration version of the site: the testimonials shown are illustrative placeholders pending verified patient and reader consent. They will be replaced with genuine, consented quotes before publication, in line with medical advertising and patient-privacy obligations.

5. External Links

This site may link to third-party websites — retailers, scientific journals, professional bodies, or news outlets — for your convenience and reference. We do not control, endorse, or take responsibility for the content, accuracy, privacy practices, or availability of any external site. Following an external link is at your own discretion, and the policies of the destination site, not ours, will govern your use of it.

6. Accuracy

We work to keep the information on this site accurate, current, and grounded in the best available evidence. Even so, dermatology advances, formulations change, prices move, and errors occasionally slip through. Content is provided "as is," without warranty of completeness or accuracy, and may be updated or corrected at any time without notice. Where a page reflects a point in time, look for the "last updated" date near the top.

7. Contact & Corrections

We take accuracy and disclosure seriously and welcome corrections. If you believe something on this site is wrong, out of date, or unclear — or if you have a question about a review, an affiliate relationship, or this policy — please get in touch and we will review it promptly.

• Email: hello@sarahskinmd.com
• Location: Beverly Hills, California
• Online: use the form on our contact page

For medical questions specific to your skin, please consult a board-certified dermatologist in person rather than using these channels — general correspondence is not a substitute for examination and cannot establish a doctor–patient relationship.

This policy applies alongside our Privacy Policy and Editorial Standards. The credentials, statistics, and testimonials referenced across this site are realistic placeholders created to demonstrate the design and should be replaced with verified information before publishing.