Strut Health / Melasma Formula
A hydroquinone, tretinoin, hydrocortisone and kojic-acid compound with a stated price and mass. Product-specific concentrations and a personal stop or reassessment plan remain necessary before the auto-refill offer is meaningful.
There is a real reason to hesitate. Read the finding before you buy.
ASSESSED ON 15% OF THE MODEL. 5 CRITERIA LEFT UNSCORED — SEE SCORING FOR WHY.
Ask the prescriber for exact concentrations, application area and the reassessment or stopping plan.
Hydroquinone, kojic acid and niacinamide for dark spots. From $54.99 / month advertised.
VIEW Spot OnREAD OUR REVIEWThe verdict
The product-specific description names a recognizable melasma treatment approach and publishes $69 for 15 g. The FAQ calls the blend a short-term treatment, which is relevant to the plan.
The page also includes unrelated eye and neck formula sections. We do not assign their percentages to the melasma cream. Without a reliable individual formula and course plan, this is a purchasing caution rather than a formulation recommendation.
- Price and fill mass are visible.
- Names all four intended ingredient types.
- Describes the treatment as short term in its product FAQ.
- Unrelated formula sections weaken the page as a prescription reference.
- A list of ingredients does not settle the actual prescribed concentrations.
- The auto-refill offer needs to be reconciled with the clinical course.
Every active, assessed
- HydroquinoneCONFIRM ON INDIVIDUAL PRESCRIPTION
Pigment treatment ingredient
- BENCHMARK
- Exact concentration and vehicle required for comparison
- ASSESSMENT
- An ingredient name is recorded here without assigning a concentration from another product or a different section of the website.
- TretinoinCONFIRM ON INDIVIDUAL PRESCRIPTION
Retinoid
- BENCHMARK
- Exact concentration and vehicle required for comparison
- ASSESSMENT
- An ingredient name is recorded here without assigning a concentration from another product or a different section of the website.
- HydrocortisoneCONFIRM ON INDIVIDUAL PRESCRIPTION
Topical corticosteroid
- BENCHMARK
- Exact concentration and vehicle required for comparison
- ASSESSMENT
- An ingredient name is recorded here without assigning a concentration from another product or a different section of the website.
- Kojic acidCONFIRM ON INDIVIDUAL PRESCRIPTION
Pigment treatment ingredient
- BENCHMARK
- Exact concentration and vehicle required for comparison
- ASSESSMENT
- An ingredient name is recorded here without assigning a concentration from another product or a different section of the website.
| ACTIVE | CONC. | BENCHMARK | ASSESSMENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| HydroquinonePigment treatment ingredient | CONFIRM ON INDIVIDUAL PRESCRIPTION | Exact concentration and vehicle required for comparison | An ingredient name is recorded here without assigning a concentration from another product or a different section of the website. |
| TretinoinRetinoid | CONFIRM ON INDIVIDUAL PRESCRIPTION | Exact concentration and vehicle required for comparison | An ingredient name is recorded here without assigning a concentration from another product or a different section of the website. |
| HydrocortisoneTopical corticosteroid | CONFIRM ON INDIVIDUAL PRESCRIPTION | Exact concentration and vehicle required for comparison | An ingredient name is recorded here without assigning a concentration from another product or a different section of the website. |
| Kojic acidPigment treatment ingredient | CONFIRM ON INDIVIDUAL PRESCRIPTION | Exact concentration and vehicle required for comparison | An ingredient name is recorded here without assigning a concentration from another product or a different section of the website. |
Scoring
- EVIDENCE FOR THE ACTIVEWEIGHT 30%NOT ASSESSED
Ingredient background is discussed separately. No performance score is assigned to an untested service or to a prescription that varies by patient.
- FORMULATION INTEGRITYWEIGHT 20%NOT ASSESSED
The exact dispensed preparation, manufacturer or patient-specific base was not inspected.
- DISCLOSUREWEIGHT 15%45/100
Names the product-specific ingredients, mass and price, but the page contains unrelated formulas. No reliable complete set of melasma-specific percentages or individual course is established here.
- TOLERANCE IN USEWEIGHT 15%NOT ASSESSED
No patient panel or personal treatment course. Cannot infer tolerability from ingredient names or testimonials.
- TEXTURE & WEARWEIGHT 10%NOT ASSESSED
No product-in-hand testing.
- COST PER APPLICATIONWEIGHT 10%NOT ASSESSED
Published fees are compared in the text. Actual dispensed quantity, application amount and usable duration are needed for this criterion.
Open the review comparison tray →
First establish what is being treated
The American Academy of Dermatology describes melasma care as a combination of diagnosis, sun protection and selected treatments. It discusses hydroquinone, retinoids and corticosteroid combinations among the options. That supports discussing this treatment family with a clinician; it does not prove that an unspecified compounded recipe is the right one for every dark mark.
The concentration must belong to this product
Strut's product-specific section names hydroquinone, tretinoin, hydrocortisone and kojic acid. Other parts of the same retrieved page describe eye or neck formulas with their own percentages. We exclude those figures. Ask for the four actual concentrations on the prescription and the pharmacy label rather than trying to reconstruct a formula from the entire page.
A purchase interval is not a clinical course
The purchase panel states $69 for 15 g and advertises auto-refill. The FAQ describes short-term use. Those statements can coexist only if the individual plan makes clear when to reassess and what happens to dispensing at that point. Ask whether another shipment occurs automatically, how to stop it and what the clinician plans after the initial course.
The published amount permits a simple $4.60-per-gram calculation. It cannot establish cost per treated area or per application because the prescribed area and amount are unknown. A face treatment, a spot treatment and body application are not interchangeable price units. More cream is not a reason to expand the treatment area.
What we would need to recommend it
A coherent product specification, individual course and follow-up arrangement would make this offer more assessable. Compounded status also means the finished blend has not undergone FDA premarket review. The caution here concerns the missing and conflicting purchasing information; we did not test a batch and make no allegation about a particular pharmacy's quality.
Who this is for
- Someone with clinician-diagnosed melasma who receives a specific supervised course and a verified formula.
- You are pregnant or planning pregnancy; discuss alternatives to hydroquinone and tretinoin.
- You want a cream to use indefinitely without review.
- Your pigmentation has not been assessed or its cause is uncertain.
Ask the prescriber for exact concentrations, application area and the reassessment or stopping plan.
Hydroquinone, kojic acid and niacinamide for dark spots. From $54.99 / month advertised.
VIEW Spot OnREAD OUR REVIEWThis is an editorial assessment of published information about aprescription product. It is not a diagnosis, not a prescription and not a substitute for your own prescriber. Hydroquinone and tretinoin are drugs. Decisions about them belong with a clinician who has seen your skin.
Sources
- S-01Strut Health — Melasma Formula $69 for 15 g, four named ingredients, auto-refill and short-term-use wording. Unrelated eye and neck formula sections are excluded from this review's ingredient record. Checked 13 September 2026.
- S-02American Academy of Dermatology — melasma treatment Diagnosis, sun protection, hydroquinone, retinoid/corticosteroid combinations and alternative topical treatments. Checked 13 September 2026.
- S-03American Academy of Dermatology — pregnancy skin care Guidance to avoid retinoids and hydroquinone during pregnancy. Breastfeeding decisions need separate clinician advice. Checked 13 September 2026.
- S-04FDA — understanding compounded-drug risks Compounded preparations do not undergo FDA premarket review for safety, effectiveness or quality; they can meet individual medical needs. Checked 13 September 2026.