To continue using the skincare?

[worriedandworries]

I was bought some Kiehls skincare for christmas. I've never used any form of fancy skincare outside of Liz Earles plain moisturiser before.
But I've been using the Kiehls ultimate cleanser, hydrochloric acid, ultimate moisturiser cream for about 4 days.

It felt great at first, but now I'm covered in spots and redness.

Cause I'm so new to skincare, is this a process that happens when introducing an actual skincare routine initially, or am I having an allergic reaction?

Not a normal part of the process, no! You’re having a reaction. Introducing three new products at once is a lot. I would stop and let your skin calm down, then (if you want to) start one new product and give it two weeks to see if your skin likes it before adding another product.

How much of the moisturiser are you using? With the ultimate moisturiser you need very little - until you get used to the quantity, dunk a cotton bud straight in and out of the cream then put the cream that's on the bud onto the back of your hand and apply from there.

For the cleanser, you need a tiny amount, literally the size of a pea.

To start with only apply the hyaluronic acid every other day or every third day of you're reacting to it. Again, you don't need a lot.

(Kiehl's pro right here 🙂)

It just sounds like too much of a chore to me.

Go back to what you were doing before. This fancy new stuff is obviously not working for you.

Skin care products are supposed to make your skin look good, not spotty and red.

Stop using immediately

Looking at the INCI list, the cleanser alone has a tiny amount of Vitamin C which, if you've not used actives before, could be irritating your skin (though as it's a cleanser which is on your face for only a few seconds and it's so far down the list of ingredients, it's unlikely) The serum has a small amount of AHA acid in, so it might be that.

It could simply be that your skin and Kiehl's don't agree, but Liz Earle has pretty similar formulations (both companies keen to stress "naturals" and use a lot of essential oils etc.

@Zoologydragon I'm using the smallest amounts, like a tiny tip on each cheek and my forehead. I've been cautious as its expensive 🙈 and I didn't want to waste it aha.

I'll try to reduce it more, and reduce the frequency of the acid! Thank you :)

Thanks all I think I'll stop using it, give it a few days then reintroduce the moisturiser, then eventually the cleanser ans eventually the acid. But use much less of each (even though I'm using very little anyway)

Hyularonic acid always makes me break out OP. I avoid it like the plague. I would find something that suits

That's interesting. I bought a hyaluronic acid serum on recommendation from my SIL, used it twice and came out in a couple of zits.

I put it down to the vast amount of chocolate and other crap I ate over Christmas though, but maybe it was the serum.

The hyaluronic acid isn't an acid as such, it's not an active ingredient, it's just a humectant. The actual irritants in your products are the vitamin C in the cleanser and the AHA in the serum. Hyaluronic btw, should be applied to damp skin or it can have the opposite effect to that intended, as it draws moisture to it.

As above, it's probably a combination of suddenly using something with a vitamin C and an acid (the AHA in the serum) that's irritating it. Remember to always use a good sunscreen with any products containing actives.

I started a new skin care routine recently after using nothing at all and after a few days this happened to me too, some redness then tiny little spots. However I carried on and it has settled down and my skin now looks much better than before I started the routine!

Google 'skincare purging' for an explaination but I would also check the allergic reaction symptoms to make sure your symptoms fit the right category.

I break out from hyaluronic acid. I've tried it so many times over the years (and I have used it correctly) and within a few days I always start.
It seems to not agree with some people

Yes, I don't much rate it tbh, although it doesn't break me out. Some people swear by it, but it's in everything anyway these days (hard to find a moisturiser or cleanser that doesn't contain it) so I think it's a bit overkill to use a separate one. I was reading as well, that the scientific community jury is still out as to whether applied topically it even adds much moisture.

There's a lot of "fluff" when it comes to skincare.

I double cleanse (oil and then foaming) and then Tazarotene (but tretinoin is also good) and a good moisturizer, (I like Vanicream).

I used to use vitamin c and all the acids and xyz, spending a fortune and my skin was terrible.

A simple routine your skin can adjust to and something like tret or taz that has decades of research behind it is the way to go.