Skin is personal, and so is the medication that treats it. Carebridge prepares custom dermatology compounds on Main Street: the strength your skin tolerates, the base it accepts, and combinations that replace a shelf of products. No prescriber yet? We can connect you with a licensed BC doctor online.
Commercial skin products come in fixed strengths and fixed bases. Real skin does not. One patient needs a strength gentler than anything on the market; another has built tolerance and needs more; a third reacts to the preservative or fragrance in the commercial base itself.
Dermatology is one of the most established uses of compounding. Your prescriber or dermatologist specifies the active ingredients, the exact strength, and the base (cream, ointment, gel, or solution), and Carebridge prepares it for you alone. When a routine involves several products, a prescriber can often combine compatible ingredients into one preparation your skin actually tolerates.
Each panel below shows one example of a compounded formula a prescriber may consider, and why the combination is used. These are educational examples, not recommendations: the strengths, base, and ingredients are always adjusted by your prescriber to match your skin, and every preparation requires a prescription.
Why a combination. Acne has several drivers at once: blocked pores, acne bacteria, and inflammation. A single compounded formula can pair a retinoid that unblocks pores with an antibacterial and an anti-inflammatory, so one nightly application does the work of two or three separate products, which makes it far easier to keep up.
Strengths, base, and ingredients are adjusted to your skin. Sensitive or dry skin can start lower and in a richer base; oilier skin can use a lighter gel.
Why a combination. Rosacea is driven by inflammation and, in many people, the skin mite Demodex. Pairing an anti-inflammatory agent with an antiparasitic in one gentle base targets both, while a well-chosen base avoids the ingredients that commonly trigger rosacea flares.
Strengths and base are adjusted to your skin, and steroid ingredients are deliberately avoided in rosacea and perioral dermatitis.
Why a combination. The most studied approach to melasma pairs a pigment-blocking agent with a retinoid that speeds cell turnover and a low-dose anti-inflammatory that reduces the irritation those two can cause. Compounding lets a prescriber set each strength for your skin and rotate them over time, which is how melasma is usually managed.
Strengths are individualized and often cycled; hydroquinone is used in supervised courses, not indefinitely.
Why a compound. Reactive skin often flares from the vehicle, not just the active: a fragrance, preservative, or additive in a commercial product. A compounded preparation can deliver a prescriber's chosen anti-inflammatory in a plain, barrier-supporting base free of the ingredients you react to.
The corticosteroid strength, or a non-steroid alternative, and the base are chosen by your prescriber for the affected area and your skin.
Why a combination. Plaque psoriasis often responds best to two actives together: a vitamin D analogue that slows overactive skin-cell growth and a corticosteroid that calms inflammation. Compounding can combine them in one base and add a keratolytic to lift thick scale where a prescriber wants it.
Strengths, the choice of keratolytic, and the base are set by your prescriber for the site (scalp, body, or folds).
Why a compound. Perioral dermatitis is often worsened by topical steroids, so treatment deliberately avoids them and uses anti-inflammatory antimicrobials instead. A compounded formula delivers those in a light base, which is helpful because commercial options are limited.
Strengths and base are individualized; steroids are avoided, and a prescriber may pair topical treatment with an oral course.
Why a combination. The best-evidenced prescription approach to photoaging is a retinoid, which improves fine lines, texture, and tone over months. Pairing it with niacinamide and an antioxidant in one preparation supports the barrier and helps skin tolerate the retinoid, so the routine stays sustainable.
Retinoid strength is stepped to your tolerance, and the base is chosen for your skin type. This is the compounding side of our Skin Renewal virtual clinic.
Why a compound. Raised or discoloured scars are often managed with a silicone base to soften and flatten the scar, into which a prescriber can add ingredients targeting redness or pigment. Compounding allows a single preparation matched to the scar and the skin around it.
Added actives and strengths are prescriber-directed; new, spreading, or painful scars should be assessed in person first.
Why a compound. Nail fungus is hard to treat because standard topicals do not penetrate the nail plate well. A compounded antifungal in a penetration-enhancing base, sometimes paired with a keratolytic, is prepared to reach the nail bed; skin formulas can combine an antifungal with an anti-inflammatory for irritated areas.
The antifungal, strength, and base are prescriber-directed; stubborn or spreading nail infection may need oral treatment your prescriber assesses.
These formulas are examples only, provided for education. Compounded preparations are not Health Canada approved manufactured products; they are prepared for an individual patient under provincial pharmacy regulation, and several uses shown are off-label. Whether any preparation is appropriate, and at what strength, is a decision for your prescriber.
A prescription should not be the reason you go without treatment. If you do not have a prescriber, Carebridge can connect you with a licensed BC physician or nurse practitioner for a virtual visit. They assess you online and, if it is appropriate, write the prescription, which we prepare and deliver.
Request a visit for the skin concern you want to treat, in a few minutes online or by phone.
A licensed BC prescriber reviews your history and, where useful, photos of the area.
If treatment is suitable, the prescriber writes it. If not, they will tell you why.
Carebridge prepares your formula and delivers it free across Metro Vancouver.
Assessment and prescribing are performed by an independent licensed prescriber. Requesting a visit does not guarantee a prescription. A dedicated online intake form for dermatology is [status to confirm]; in the meantime our team arranges your visit directly.
Your prescriber or dermatologist writes or faxes the prescription, or we arrange an online visit for you.
We confirm the formula, strengths, and base, check interactions and allergies, and call your prescriber if anything needs adjusting.
Compounded on Main Street under NAPRA non-sterile standards, with documented formulas and pharmacist verification.
Most preparations are ready within 1 to 2 business days, for convenient pickup at our Main Street location or free delivery across Metro Vancouver.
We are building a focused prescription-skincare experience for acne, melasma, and skin renewal, connected to this pharmacy for compounding, dispensing, and delivery. Our Skin Renewal virtual clinic and tretinoin program will live there and link back here. Ask us to be notified when it launches.
Have your prescriber fax it to (604) 875-6808, drop it off, or ask your current pharmacy to transfer it. We confirm price and timeline before we prepare it.
Call (604) 876-6410We connect you with a licensed BC prescriber who can assess you online and prescribe if appropriate. We handle the pharmacy side from there.
How the visit worksFormulation support, base selection guidance, and direct pharmacist access for your dermatology compounds. Fax (604) 875-6808.
Prescriber informationCompounded medications are personalized prescriptions. They are not appropriate for everyone, are not a substitute for medical assessment, and may not be covered by all insurance plans. Some dermatology ingredients increase sun sensitivity or are not appropriate during pregnancy, including retinoids and hydroquinone; review this with your prescriber and pharmacist. See a doctor promptly for any skin change that is new, growing, bleeding, or changing colour, or a rash with fever or rapid spread.
Yes. Every compounded dermatology preparation is made from a valid prescription written by a physician, nurse practitioner, or dermatologist. If you do not have a prescriber, Carebridge can connect you with a licensed BC prescriber for an online visit who can assess you and prescribe if appropriate.
Yes, when prescribed. Tretinoin is commercially available in a small number of fixed strengths; compounding lets a prescriber start a sensitive patient below the lowest commercial strength, step up gradually, or combine tretinoin with other prescribed ingredients in one preparation.
Not necessarily. The formulas shown are educational examples of what a prescriber may consider. Your actual preparation, its ingredients, strengths, and base, is set by your prescriber for your skin. We compound exactly what is prescribed.
Reactions are sometimes caused by the vehicle rather than the active: a fragrance, preservative, or lanolin. A compounded version can often be prepared in a different base without the ingredient you react to, when appropriate for the formula.
Most compounded skin preparations at Carebridge are ready within 1 to 2 business days. Pickup is at 101-4484 Main Street in Vancouver, and delivery across Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby, North Vancouver, and West Vancouver is free.
Many private drug plans cover compounded prescriptions in whole or in part. Carebridge bills your plan directly where possible and confirms the cost with you before preparing the medication.
Independent clinical and regulatory sources on the topics covered above. External links open in a new tab.
Bring us the routine that is not working, or let us connect you with a prescriber. We will prepare a formula your skin accepts and deliver it to your door.