Many over the counter skin treatments promise to treat the same conditions, so what actually sets them apart?

Prescription and over the counter treatments usually contain the same ingredients, so they both have the potential to treat these conditions, the difference is that prescription ones tend to focus on one thing while over the counter medicine target a number of different ones, reducing the effectiveness for specific issues. This is a principle which occurs in most pharmaceuticals.

So long as you have a specific issue you’re trying to treat rather than take a holistic approach to your skin’s health, you should use the prescription. In addition, the prescription treatment is going to have a limited cost on account of it being a prescription, while an over the counter treatment won’t have the same limitation, and the price will most probably be higher.