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What a genuinely high-yield skincare routine looks like without bankrupting yourself. Is it the future of skincare? Probably not. [music] Maybe. What's lacking in Bryan's skincare routine? This is where Bryan Johnson's routine goes from interesting to completely [music] inaccessible for most people. Bryan Johnson is spending nearly $1,600 every single month on his skin. Lasers, hyperbaric oxygen chambers, red light therapy, and a supplement stack that reads like a pharmaceutical catalog. And the internet is kind of losing its mind over this. But here's what nobody's actually talking about. Should you actually be doing any of this? I'm Dr. Dustin Portela. I'm a board-certified dermatologist and I see patients every single day who are confused, overwhelmed, and honestly feel like they're being taken advantage of by the health and skincare industry. So today, I'm going to break down everything that Bryan Johnson does for his skin, what it actually costs, and what the science says about these treatments. And then I'm going to tell you what a genuinely high-yield skincare routine looks like without bankrupting yourself.
Now, if you've never heard of Bryan Johnson, let me tell you who he is. Bryan Johnson is a tech entrepreneur who made a fortune founding a payment processing company called Braintree back in about 2007. And you've probably used it without even knowing it because it powered platforms like Uber, Venmo, Airbnb. Braintree ended up getting purchased by PayPal in 2013 for about $800 million. And Bryan personally profited, it's estimated that he walked away with about $300 million. Since then, he's taken a significant portion of that wealth and poured it into what he calls Project Don't Die. This is a full-scale medically supervised mission to slow and reverse his own biological aging. And it's estimated that he spends about $2 million a year on his body. He's got a team of somewhere around 30 doctors monitoring every biomarker and documents everything that he's doing publicly. He's not just trying to live longer, he's trying to prove that aging itself is something that can be engineered, measured, and eventually beaten. And his skincare routine, that's just one piece of a much larger, very expensive puzzle.
Now, before we dive into what he does for his skin, I want to be clear about something. I actually kind of respect what Bryan Johnson is doing on some level. The guy is essentially using himself as a human science experiment, something that most other people couldn't do. He has unlimited resources, essentially, a team of doctors, and a genuine obsession with slowing or reversing aging. And to me, that's fascinating. And some of what he's doing is legitimately backed by science. But the problem is he's an experiment of one. And what works for him, or what might work for him, for a billionaire with a full medical team monitoring every biomarker, is not necessarily the same thing that you or I should be doing. We don't know if his interventions could translate into the entire population. So, I want to be breaking it down to see what we should be doing. We're going to go category by category over the things that he's doing for his skin, talk about the cost, look at the evidence, and I'll tell you exactly where I would be spending my money if I were you.
We're going to break this into a few different parts, starting with his diet and supplementation protocol. Bryan's approach to skin from the inside out is an approach that I actually like. We know that the health of our body and what we put into it has a huge impact on the health of our skin. However, when it comes to supplements and a direct impact on skin health, there isn't a lot of evidence at the population level for most of these things. So, let's look at what he's actually taking. Now, all of the supplements that he uses are from his own company, Blueprint. So, I've quoted the prices on their own website and broken it down to what it would be for a 1-month supply. Some of the products are a 60-day supply, so I cut the price in half. The first thing he does is he takes collagen peptides. These are hydrolyzed collagen peptides that are supposed to trigger your body to produce more collagen, and there is some decent data on them. These from Blueprint cost about $45 a month. He also takes nicotinamide ribonucletide, or N M R. This is a precursor to NAD, which is an important molecule for biological processes, and this supplement from Blueprint costs about $49 a month. Next up, he takes an antioxidant or polyphenol supplement at about $49 a month. And every day, he's taking straight extra virgin olive oil. And he's very particular about this olive oil, saying that many of the companies on the market have additives, or they're just not as high of quality. And this would cost about 1950 a month. He also takes cocoa powder for the antioxidant benefits. And from Blueprint, that's going to be just a little over $20 a month. So, in total, that's about $183 a month just in supplements and food-based interventions. Now, this doesn't get into his specific diet that he's taking. These are just specifically the things he tweeted about for his skincare routine.
So, let's talk about what the science actually says. His own data said that collagen users had better skin elasticity than the control group. Flavonoid users showed better UV resistance than most of the control groups. Polyphenols improved the elasticity of the skin significantly. And these numbers sound great, but we do have to take into account that Bryan also wants you to be buying his supplements, and there is an agenda there. So, take it with a grain of salt. Overall, I think these are good supplements. I'm not bashing the quality from Blueprint, but they're not the least expensive things that you can get out there. My take is that you don't necessarily need Bryan Johnson's brand to get these benefits. There's a lot of good, high-quality collagen peptide supplements on the market. I personally take Vital Proteins. It's not terribly expensive. You can also eat a diet rich in plant-based polyphenols. Berries, dark chocolate, olive oil. Take care of your metabolic health. And when you do that, you'll do as much for your skin than almost anything that you put on your face. And that's actually part of his routine that I encourage people to look at, but there are ways to do it with whole foods and supplements that are going to be less expensive than what you get directly from Blueprint.
The next section that we're going to group things into is his topical skincare routine. And here's where things get a little interesting because of course, Bryan has built his own skincare line, called, you guessed it, Blueprint. Specifically because he says he spent 5 years testing serums and felt like most companies over-promise and under-deliver, a problem that I kind of agree with in many instances. And I respect that frustration that he shares, and often my patients find the same thing. So, let's get into his daily routine. He says he uses a cleanser. This is 1950 a month from Blueprint. Then he talks about the SCF serum. It's going to cost you about 2950 a month. The SCF moisturizer, about $34.50 a month. So, in total, that's about $83.50 a month on his skincare routine. The star ingredient in his routine is something called SCF, or stem cell factor. His data shows that in their clinical trials, 1% SCF outperformed 5% niacinamide in reducing wrinkles, improving texture, hydration, radiance, and luminosity. And that's a bold claim, and honestly, the early science on SCF, I think is interesting. It's a novel anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compound. Is it the future of skincare? Probably not. Maybe. Is it enough to justify the price tag over well-established ingredients? That's where I'd pump the brakes a little bit. The fact that this was compared to 5% niacinamide for wrinkle reduction, in my opinion, is a pretty low bar for the skincare industry. Nicotinamide, or niacinamide, it's a nice ingredient, and it's added to a lot of other products, but I don't know of any dermatologist who recommends niacinamide as the primary treatment to reduce wrinkles or rejuvenate the skin. Most dermatologists, myself included, are usually going to recommend sunscreen and retinol. So, I'd like to see how SCF stacks up to that. He also uses NMN and hyaluronic acid topically. As we said, NMN, kind of that NAD+ precursor that may enhance skin barrier function and antioxidant defenses. And the hyaluronic acid, of course, for moisture retention and firmness.
Now, what's lacking in Bryan's skincare routine? He pretty much glosses over sun protection. He does say that you should protect yourself when the UV index is really high, get your sun exposure in the early morning hours, but he doesn't explicitly tell anyone to wear sunscreen frequently. And as a dermatologist, I do recommend a daily sunscreen on your face and any other exposed areas to reduce the risk of skin cancer and does a good job staying out of the sun. He's not intentionally trying to get tan, and his skin does look good. But for the average person who have to go to work and have to be active outside in their lifestyle, maybe you work a blue-collar job outdoors, you should be protecting yourself. My take here is that his core principles, cleanse, hydrate, protect against antioxidant damage, they're solid. You don't necessarily need SCF to accomplish this. A gentle cleanser, a good moisturizer with hyaluronic acid, and a well-formulated serum with proven ingredients like niacinamide, vitamin C, retinol, or peptides will get you 90% of the way there at a fraction of the cost.
Real quick, I hope you're enjoying this video. I want to let you know about a really inexpensive and very high-quality skincare routine that many of my patients take home from my office that we also have available online, and it's from Mantle Skincare. Mantle has three essential products. The first is the face cleanser. This has a great feel, it lathers well, and gives you a really nice user experience. The second step in the routine is the Age Defense Moisturizer. This is a really high-quality moisturizer that's going to give your skin hydration and protection for your skin barrier. And lastly, my favorite product in the whole bunch is the Invisible Daily SPF 30. This is a gel sunscreen. It's totally clear. So, I use it all the way up over my head. If you have facial hair, for the guys out there, it does not gunk up in your beard. The line smells incredible. It doesn't feel like a regular sunscreen. It doesn't smell like regular sunscreen. And if you need the essentials in a skincare routine, you can get the whole bundle for $30 on my website. The link to that will be in the video description.
The last section that we're going to talk about in his skincare routine are the systemic therapies. And warning, this is the expensive stuff. This is where Brian Johnson's routine goes from interesting to completely inaccessible for most people. So, let's talk about numbers. He talks about red light therapy and sauna. I estimate if you just get a subscription at a local like sauna and cold plunge place that maybe has red light therapy, this could be upwards of $190 a month. He talks about using full body red and near infrared light panels at 660 and 850 nanometer wavelengths. And I do think the science here is actually pretty solid. It does seem to enhance mitochondrial function, may improve circulation, boosts antioxidant defenses, [music] and can help to improve your skin health overall. Sauna use, at least the traditional saunas, can increase blood flow to the skin by up to 70%. They may improve oxygen delivery, pore cleansing, and collagen production. And of all of his systemic interventions like this, this one is probably the more accessible one. You could purchase your own red light panel at home for a few hundred bucks as a one-time purchase. You can get sauna at home if you have room for it, but I tend to prefer traditional saunas and those are harder for people to get in their home versus a infrared sauna blanket or something. You can often access sauna at a gym membership if the price is reasonable. So, I'd say this is the most real person option in his systemic therapy stack, but it's still not cheap.
The next element is hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Brian talks about 60 sessions of breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber. His data shows a 12.8% increase in collagen fiber density, 144% increase in elastic fiber length, and a 21% reduction in senescent cells. And those are genuinely impressive numbers, but at maybe $300 a month, and that's his average cost, and many hyperbaric oxygen therapy clinics can charge $150 to $250 per session. So, the price can be all over the place on this, and this is just not a real world option for most people.
Next up, let's talk about the laser therapies that he references. He talked about a 1550 nanometer laser. If we average this out getting it done twice a year, it's going to be about $250 a month. This laser penetrates deep into the mid dermis and creates microthermal injuries that stimulate a cell in your skin called a fibroblast to produce new collagen and elastin. It can improve firmness, reduce wrinkles, acne scars, and overall structural integrity of your skin. Done every 6 months, it's like I said, going to cost you about $250 a month. Next up, he gets a 1927 nanometer laser. Again, price is about the same at $250 a month. This one targets the surface. It improves skin tone, texture, reduces the appearance of sun damage, discoloration, fine lines, and pigmentation by accelerating epidermal turnover. Again, $250 a month getting this done twice a year, probably not accessible for most people.
The next treatment that he talks about is called Sofwave. This is a non-invasive ultrasound skin tightening device. He does it about every 6 months. It delivers controlled energy to the mid dermis to stimulate collagen and elastin without damaging the surface. It improves the firmness of your skin, reduces laxity, can improve fine lines on the face and the neck. And this treatment overall is generally more expensive. When you average this out doing it twice a year, it can break down to about $333 a month. So, the total for these systemic and in-office therapies over $1,300 per month.
Now, my take is the laser treatments and the Sofwave, the science is real. These are things that we actually use in dermatology because they work. They are expensive treatments, however. They're elective, and they're not necessary for the average person to have healthy, great-looking skin. If you have the budget and you want to invest in one-off office treatments, a good resurfacing laser treatment every couple of years can really make a meaningful difference, but in and of itself, it's not the foundation for good skin. And doing it twice a year is just not realistic for most people.
So, let's add it all up. Brian Johnson's full skin protocol, we're talking the supplements, the skin care, and the procedures that he does several times a year. This gets up to about $1,600 a month. That's nearly $20,000 per year just for his skin. And look, if you're a billionaire and you're running a longevity experiment on yourself, this probably makes sense. His true skin age results are impressive. His skin at 48 years old apparently tests at a biological age of 39, and that's pretty remarkable. But here's the honest truth. Most of those results are coming from just doing the fundamentals that you actually have access to. A good, healthy diet, sun protection, consistent and inexpensive topical skin care, and maybe one or two in-office treatments every year or two. The marginal benefit of adding hyperbaric oxygen therapy on top of all that for the average person is probably just not worth $300 or more every single month.
So, what does a high-yield skin care routine look like for a real person? Now, here's what I tell my patients. Start with the foundation of a gentle cleanser. You can get something like a CeraVe cleanser, Rock Barrier Renew, or something similar for around 10 to $15 a month. Make sure that you have a moisturizer with hyaluronic acid. I love Neutrogena Hydro Boost. Again, that's going to cost you 10 to $15 a month. SPF, this is every single day in my opinion, non-negotiable. EltaMD UV Clear is one of my absolute favorites, and that is going to cost you a little bit more at about $40 a month. Now, if you want something less expensive, Neutrogena, CeraVe, they all make really good sunscreens. Just find one that you like to use. Now, that's your foundation of a good skin care routine.
Here's some upgrades that you might consider. A retinoid. Start with adapalene or Differin that you can get over the counter. Use it about every third night, and then increase as your skin tolerates it. This used to be prescription only. Now, it's over the counter, and it's one of the most evidence-backed anti-aging and acne-fighting ingredients that we have. This overall will cost you 15 to $20 a month. Vitamin C or niacinamide serum. You can put this on in the morning before your sunscreen for antioxidant protection, brightening, and barrier support. 15 to $30 a month depending on the brand that you pick up.
Now, let's talk about the lifestyle layer that you can implement in your real life. Diet, eat more plants, polyphenols, healthy fats, olive oil, berries, dark chocolate. This is Brian Johnson's supplement stack, but you can get most of it from real food that you're already going to be eating anyway. Sun avoidance during peak UV hours like 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. is free. Get your sun exposure earlier in the morning or later in the evening. And make sure that you're protecting yourself when you are out even in those hours. Everything I've just shared with you is kind of the basics that most people can have access to. If you want something that's optional that you can invest into, this is where you might get in one-off in-office laser treatments like a good resurfacing laser, microneedling, or a chemical peel once or twice a year if your budget allows. This is where you're going to see the most dramatic results from a single intervention, and the total for a genuinely excellent routine should be no more than 50 to $100 a month, the higher end if you're getting some of the lasers done.
Brian Johnson is doing something genuinely interesting. He's pushing the boundaries of what's possible in longevity science, and he's being transparent about it. And I do respect that. But the internet has a way of taking what a billionaire does and making regular people feel like they're failing if they can't replicate it. You're not failing. You don't need a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. You don't need $1,600 a month dedicated to just your skin. You need sunscreen, a retinoid, a good moisturizer, and a diet that supports your skin from the inside out. That's a dermatologist's answer, and it's not going to cost you 19 or $20,000 a year. If this video helped you cut through the noise, hit the subscribe button because I'm here to help you reclaim your health from systems that profit from keeping you confused. I'll see you guys on the next video.