Skin routine - trouble shoot me please

[myladyjane]

have been focusing on a Korean based approach since Xmas. Went a bit ott to start, caused some break outs but have looked again at products, weeded out a few and added a couple of new ones back in an. Oue
of weeks ago and skin has been looking quite good.

however, today have broken out on my cheeks again after seeing the start of improvements. I got an led face mask last week but only used very minimally as per the guidance which came with it so don’t think it’s that.

am:
wash off cleanser, I have two I use, one lives in the shower and one is finishing off I used happily for a couple of months.
pdrn toner - newish but seemed to suit well
vit c serum - newish but seemed to work and my skin has always liked vit c
moisturiser - nice gel based one from brand I use a lot
spf - same as always, always been fine.

pm:
oil cleanser - been using a few months, seems ok
foamy cleanser - newish but seemed to be fine
same toner as above
serum - alternate between a peptide one, a nicamide one and a retinal one I’ve used for months.
same moisturiser as am.

I’ve reduced down the frequency of the retinal (it’s a medik-8 one) to twice a week only.

i think it’s something in the evening routine as skin seems happy in the morning. I use the LED on cleansed skin before anything else.

oh and I started hrt about 3 months ago but it’s going well and this doesnt seem to be hormone spots.

it’s a bit frustrating because over the last 2 weeks I seemed to be seeing some nice glowy signs and my pores are clearer now feels like I’ve set it off again but not sure how unless the LED

I think it's a bit tricky to know without the ingredients, etc. of the products. It also sounds like you've changed a few things at once, which is never a good idea with skincare IME - one new product at a time.

How old are you, what's your skin type like, are you usually prone to breakouts?

You could ask AI - I find it's advice is pretty spot on with skincare. It will also be able to analyse the ingredients in all the skincare products you use and pin point any that might be linked to breakouts.

I would only ever introduce one new product at a time and use this for several months before changing anything else. as @OldMaaa says, it could be a sensitivity to a particular ingredient. I feel you have a lot going on with too many products, this could be stressing your skin out. I'd cut it back to some basics and let things calm down

I also feel you’ve a lot going on here and don’t seem to be using products consistently, which generally you need to do to see results. So your skin is never getting thr results of a given product always jist getting different stuff.

Thank you - I think you are all right and also came to the same conclusion myself when typing it all out tbh.

am 51, not prone to breakouts really. Always had oily skin prone to dehydration but pretty good for my age (genetics- thanks mum).

I think I will keep on with my core routine and brand I know work for me. I think I got a bit overexcited re all the promises on instagram of glowy skin! Lesson learned……

Generally you need to use something twice a day for at least 3 months before you even start to see results, so your skin is just being bombarded with lots of different stuff and nothing used consistently enough to give results.

It looks like you’re using a lot of products. Specially a double cleanse in a morning, this isn’t needed, your potentially stripping and drying out your skin, once you do this, your skin will go into over drive and produce more oil which leads to breakouts. Your also using two different ones for at night, just use an oil to breakdown any make up and spf and re use the one you use in the morning. A lot of the products you use are also active ingredients, they can also be quite harsh when used and cause a reaction when used in conjunction with one another.

I keep seeing older ladies with very shiny skin which looks like it has been varnished. I am not sure that the Korean look is actually very flattering. Young peoples skin never looks naturally like that.

It’s not the Korean stuff, there is a lot of highlighter and illuminators in the market and people don’t know how to use it correctly, especially the cheaper stuff, and it doesn’t look good,