Skin is the worth it's ever been since I started a propper routine.

[Lottiebugz22]

I do the routine of:

Double cleanse
Acid tone
Spray hydrate
Serum
Moisturiser

My skins just a spotty mess now.
Anyone else find the more products they use the worse their skin goes?

No, personally I think if it’s upsetting the skin then stop.

Too much acid toning maybe. I can’t use acids much.about once a week or so.

So I’d start by cutting that out for a few weeks.

What products are you using?

When you say acid tone down you mean glycolic acid? That should be 1-2 a week not daily. Or retinol? I find those two strip my skin so only use 1-2 a week. I’d strip back to cleanse and moisturise and maybe serum and see how you go.

Is a single cleanse and moisturise not enough?
It’s too many chemicals clogging up your skin.

I know what you mean! The more I do to my skin the worst it seems to get. I used to just wash it with shower gel or bar soap in the shower and then put a bit of moisturiser on if it felt a bit tight or dry. Now I have all these products and my spots and lines keep multiplying

Did you introduce one new product at a time? I changed my skin routine in January and it took 4-5 months before I added the final product. That way you can see if you have a reaction to one product. I’d strip it right back to a non-foaming cleanser and a moisturiser that suits your skin and SPF. Then slowly introduce one product at a time.

Acid toners WRECKED my skin for over a year! It was all the different Pixi toners that seemed to be the culprit. I regret ever reading about it on here. My skin was worse than it had ever been as a teenager and nothing could calm it down.

The only thing that fixed my skin after a long while was going back to a very simple skincare routine.

I think it's a myth that you need all this stuff. I think a lot of times these products just conflict with each other and confuse the hell out of your skin.

I've sensitive skin so I'm careful what I use regardless but all I ever use is a cleansing balm (currently decleor) that's rich enough to shift make up and I double cleanse with that at night and single cleanse in the morning.

Then a moisturiser - I'm a big fan of M&S sleep cream (I have dry skin and I use a foundation or tinted moisturiser with SPF).

At night I pop on some Sunday Riley Luna oil after cleaning.

So 3 products - that's it.

My skin is great and I'm told I look about 5 years younger than my actual age.

Sorry just to add the only time I got suckered into buying toners/serums my skin went to shit also managing somehow to be both dry: flaky and oily/spotty simultaneously

Yes I tried some serums and creams I got in the boots advent calendar and I came out in spots .
I don’t normally use anything except a wipe at night time to take make up off (I am 44 so shouldn’t be getting spots )

I use coconut oil to remove makeup then a thin layer of it to moisturise.
I never have break-outs, my skin is calm and soft and strangely my life-long oily t-zone has pretty much completely gone.

All acids do is strip the goodness out of your skin and like a pp said, all the different products just conflict with each other. There’s no need for it! Total waste of money and headspace.

Which products are you using? You aren't using many products but it depends what they are.

Is it a glycolic or a salicylic toner?

Which cleansers? Are your products perfumed? Is your moisturiser just that or does it contain actives that maybe react with the ingredients in the other products? Are you using a harsh cleansing cloth?

It really is down to individual skin tbh, I've never had a problem with a nightly glycolic toner but the M&S sleep cream mentioned above made me want to tear my face off with the itching.

At the end of the day, all you truly need is to get your makeup off, then cleanse your face (so I don't double cleanse on days I don't need to remove make up) and moisturise your skin. These are also the two products you spend the least on- no point buying posh cleansers when they're on your face for 30 seconds just to get it clean. And any old moisturiser you're happy with will do. In the past I've fallen for the Elemis/Decleor/Chanel/Dior/l'Occitabe Divine products and their hefty price tags...was my skin any better than when I used Nivea? Nope.

Serums and toners are an optional.
I like both and for an old bird get a lot of compliments

Nadine Baggot's videos on YouTube are worth a watch. She explains the science that's really there, and debunks the bollocks that's not.

@TwilightPeace that's interesting, I love coconut oil and was going to use it on my face, but then I read that it's comedogenic and would cause horrible breakouts! Maybe I should try it after all.

The more products I add the worse my skin is.

I do cleanse (once, only a double if I have very heavy makeup on which I don’t, ever)
Eye cream
Serum
Moisturise

Exfoliators/acids are awful for my skin no matter how gentle they claim to be or how often I use them

I massage it into my face then use a warm wet facecloth to gently wipe of makeup.
Then really massage it in when moisturising.
Farrrr better than any other cleanser or moisturiser I’ve used.

Def give it a go. It’s so cheap you might as well try it.

Since lockdown I've been washing my face with Palmers skin solution soap, and moisturising with almond oil. Skin has never looked and felt better!

I'm currently using:

Pixi double cleanse caroline hirons
Pixi glow tonic
Dermalogica ultracalming mist
Superdrug pure hydrating serum
Kheils ultra facial cream
Ultrasun spf face 30

Well obvious my bet is on the Pixi as it gave me cystic acne.

I react to some SPFs as well.

The way I identified it was the Pixi was by stopping for months then introducing product by product. Only their Rose range doesn’t break me out. Both the Glow Tonic and the Retinol range breaks me out horrendously every single time.

Aye, it'll be the Pixi I reckon.
Does the cleanser have any actives in it as well?

This is not going to go down well on here but here goes:
All this facial routine is a trap set by capitalists. Your skin doesn't need to be abused by all that on a daily basis.

Spoken as an ex-acne sufferer whose skin finally healed after I stopped being conned that the acne was because I wasn't using every product going on it. Now I use St Ives at night and sensitive soap in morning.

Definitely-my skin doesn't cope with a many stepped am/pm skincare routine, too many different chemicals I think.

I use an acid toner once or twice a week & only double cleanse if I've been wearing heavy makeup.

So the basic routine is
Cleanse
Serum
Moisturiser (always with spf)

Eye cream when I remember and often use a facial sun cream without a moisturiser underneath

I'm not particularly brand loyal but generally re purchase clarins, alpha h & Elemis.

❗️❗️❗️❗️
Do not use an acid based toner or a toner with high alcohol it's strips the oil from the skin then your skin makes double the oil to compensate which then causes blocked pores then breakouts.
You can remove nail varnish with that shit!
I'd try dermalogica if it's a breakout problem

Pixi products ruined my skin! Caused me years of perioral dermatitis and acne. The acid toner and double cleansing will be stripping your skin and damaging the skin barrier, allowing bacteria to enter.

Stop acid toning, only cleanse once and allow the skin barrier to heal. Try the Elemis balm cleanser (I like the rose version) - it’s the only cleanser my skin could tolerate. Once your skin has healed, you can slowly introduce acid toning, once a week maximum. I like the alpha h toner.

I think alot of these "beauty" products do more harm than good.

Chucking alot of chemicals on your skin every day is asking for trouble.

As I wear light make-up a ew times a week, i do clean my skin sometimes but I try to keep it to a very, very light non-astringent toner and a good moisturiser every 2-3 days (no more, because I believe it stops the skin producing its own oils!)

Alpha H is a strong acid toner- the lower % ones like Olay anti wrinkle that don't even call themselves acid toners can be used more often but obviously not if your skin doesn't like them.

DD tried Dermalogica- for breakouts and because it contains various essential oils (including ginger) made her skin worse.

It really is trial and error, but definitely the simpler the better (but don't use Simple- it's really not!)