Help - my skin's reacting and I don't know what to do!?!

[Girlywurly]

First of all, apologies for the somewhat click-baity title. I'm having some unpleasantness with my skin that I was hoping MN's skincare mavens might be kind enough to advise me on...?

Yesterday, I applied The Ordinary's Alpha Arbutin first the first time, along with their niacinamide and also some grapeseed oil, which is what I usually use. I've been really excited about using this product as I have some issues with hyperpigmentation that I was hoping it would deal with.

After a few hours, I noticed that my skin felt hot to the touch and that I had a rosacea like rash down both cheeks.

Is this an initial purge or acclimatising phase, or should I accept that alpha arbutin is not for me? I don't know if I should carry on applying it and hope my skin settles down, or give up now before it gets any worse...?

... this is a pic of the flare-up, with a bit of BB cream applied over it...

I'd stop, your skin doesn't like it.

I would stop too and just use the simplest priducts for the next few days.

I recently developed rosacea and though i cant be certain i think perhaps it was linked to persisting with a vitamin c serum even though it stung because i was warned that it would tingle.

Take an anti histamine (hay fever tablet) which can help calm your skin. You've used a combination of products so just use one at a time for now and take it from there to eliminate the culprit

Thank you, every one who has replied. I think the culprit is definitely the alpha arbutin, as I've been using the other stuff for ages.

margarita, sorry to hear you've developed rosacea. That was one of the things I was worried about, as I think my skin is prone to it too.

Great idea about the anti histamine, Tantpoke. I hadn't thought of that.

I hope it clears up soon.

I should have added that if you are using a foaming cleanser, you could try stopping that for a few days. I always thought it was precoius nonsense that they are bad for sensitive sking but in fact stopping using one has made the biggest single improvement in my skin of all (bar the rosacea medication)

Thanks, margarita. I use coconut oil so my cleanser is pretty mild, but I might ditch some of my other serums for a few days while my skin settles down. It feels a bit cooler to the touch this morning.

Sorry to hear this. Definitely stop - I fucked up my skin by persevering. I don't get reactions very often now because I have a minimalist regime but when I do, I use nothing but olive or almond oil until it clears up, then re-introduce other products very slowly, one at a time.

Thanks, Floisme . I've gone back to basics today, and my skin is feeling much calmer.

Actually, thinking about it... I did a glycolic mask at the end of last week... was supposed to leave it for just 10 minutes, but fell asleep in it and woke up in the morning feeling a little tender , then on top of that I did a turmeric mask... so I think my poor skin has had a bit of a battering in recent days.

I'll keep everything simple for the next few weeks, at the very least, and see if it settles down.