Doctors' Orders.(nonprescription dermatological products)

Byline: ELLEN MILLER

You can't find them in Sephora or CVS. You won't see their television ads during Grey's Anatomy . A growing number of companies are making skin-care products to be sold only in doctors' officesbut without a doctor's prescription. Ranella Hirsch, a dermatologist at Boston University Medical Center and president of the American Society of Cosmetic Dermatology and Aesthetic Surgery, answers our questions.

Q: Why do you think there are so many nonprescription products in dermatologists' offices?

They typically contain higher doses of active ingredients than the creams you'd find at a drugstore, but not as high as prescription ones. …