In this article:
How to get the results you want
Can your skin care routine stop working?
How often should you change your skin care routine?
How long should you do a skin care routine to see results?
When it comes to your skin care routine and the products you've selected, it's easy to get confused and wonder whether they're really working for you. Even more frustrating, you might wonder if the routine is making things worse.
We understand how perplexing this can be, especially when you're using an advanced skin care routine with several products. However, knowing what results to expect and why you might not be seeing exactly what you were hoping for—or seeing unintended results—is critical.
We want you to understand what's possible and what isn't. Having realistic expectations is important, because hoping for what isn't possible can get your budget and skin out of whack. Accurate expectations plus consistent use of an outstanding skin care routine is the only way to have the best skin of your life.
Below, we get into the steps you can take to make sure your skin care routine is helping-not hindering- your skin.
How to get the results you want
How do you really know you're getting the best results possible from your skin care products? The list below and the table that follows are what we use as our guidelines to determine success. Follow them to quickly get the most from your skin care routine!
1. Ignore exaggerated product claims. Product claims can sometimes be misleading or outright false. A minor example that always disturbs us is a daytime moisturiser that claims to address all the signs of ageing but doesn't contain sunscreen. If you're not using a sunscreen or greater 365 days a year, rain or shine, signs of ageing such as uneven skin tone, post-breakout marks and other concerns will linger and, over time, keep getting worse.
2. Stop looking for one miracle ingredient or one miracle product. The fact is there's no single magic ingredient or miracle product for skin. Just like our bodies need a wide variety of nutritional foods to stay healthy, our skin also needs a balanced "diet" of state-of-the-art beneficial ingredients supplied through consistent use of a superior skin care routine.
Everything your skin needs cannot fit into one product and certainly can't be provided with one ingredient. Many powerful ingredients cannot mix well together in one product, as they inactivate each other. Searching for a miracle ingredient or one product that can do it all cheats your skin. You'll be losing out on the dramatic improvements you could get from using an array of necessary products that contain essential ingredients.
To get a better look into a skin care formula overall and the ingredients it contains, use our Beautypedia Skin Care Ingredient Checker. This tool rates the ingredients in a chosen formula based on in-depth research, giving you a better idea of whether a particular skin care product will work for you.
3. Use a carefully selected skin care routine. For some people, a basic skin care routine can work just fine but for others, it’s not enough for the best results. Depending on your skin type, skin concerns and preferences, a more advanced skin care routine may be important for you. Keeping skin replenished with essential beneficial ingredients, protecting it from sun damage, keeping it hydrated and nourished with skin-restoring ingredients to fight ageing, and maintaining an even skin tone requires an array of appropriate products.
4. Be consistent. For the best results, you must use a skin care routine regularly. Some products you’ll need to use twice a day (cleanser, toner, serum), others once a day (sunscreen during the day and moisturiser at night and, for some, once-daily exfoliation), and some products may just need every other day or weekly usage, such as retinol or retinoid products, targeted solutions and advanced exfoliants. It's also important to use products in the right order. Learn how to put together a skin care routine so you know what types of products are best for addressing different concerns, and in what order to apply them.
5. Don't skip exfoliation or sunscreen. Few things are as impressive for skin as the results of a well-formulated, gentle, leave-on AHA (alpha hydroxy acid) or BHA (beta hydroxy acid) exfoliant. Even more important is dedicated use of a sunscreen every single day. This is the fundamental way to start keeping every aspect of your skin young and beautiful. When used as directed with other sun protection measures, this also plays a pivotal role in decreasing the risk of skin cancer (1).
6. Don't expect instant results. You didn't suddenly wake up with sun damage and wrinkles, so don't expect to be able to radically diminish them overnight, either. There are products that can provide dramatic overnight results (especially an AHA or BHA exfoliant), but for the most part, it takes time for a product to make a visible difference. Continued use is necessary to maintain the results, so again, consistency is key. For example, products for uneven skin tone or fading dark spots can take several weeks to months before results become visible.
7. Avoid products with harsh or irritating ingredients. Gentleness is the most pivotal aspect of exceptional skin care, especially if you have sensitive, allergy-prone or dry skin. Non-irritating skin care products are vitally important. Products that cause sensitivity will leave your skin vulnerable to environmental damage. Routinely causing your skin to be sensitised hinders its ability to renew and restore itself plus causes constant damage to its protective barrier. Avoiding problematic ingredients (including strong fragrances) is critical (2).
Also keep in mind that your skin's surface doesn't always show negative reactions to problematic ingredients, yet the damage is still taking place, beyond where you can see it. You may not see or feel the reaction, but damage is still silently occurring.
8. Your personal sensitivity to ingredients. You can’t know ahead of time exactly how your skin will respond to even the best formulated products, so you have to pay attention to how your skin reacts. Tingling is a problem because it is a sign of irritation, not a sign that a product is "working."
Can your skin care routine stop working?
The short and sweet answer to this question is “no”. Your skin doesn’t get used to active or inactive ingredients in a skin care formula; if the product you’re using is well-formulated and suited for your skin type, it will continue to work for you no matter how long you use it.
The reason many people feel their skin care routines stop working is in part because they’ve achieved the results they set out for when they started a certain product. Wrinkles might appear less visible, or pores look more refined. Just because you’re not seeing the more drastic results you saw when you started a product doesn’t mean it isn’t still working; the fact that your skin has leveled off means those products are working to maintain the impact they made in the first place. Keep up the good work!
How often should you change your skin care routine?
In general, if you have a skin care routine that works well for you then you don’t have to change it. There are exceptions, of course, but those are for specific circumstances. For instance, if you have bouts of hormonal blemishes, you can add a benzoyl peroxide treatment during the time of the month you experience breakouts.
If you notice seasonal skin changes – your skin gets oilier during the summer months and drier during winter – then you can switch to formulas that are more lightweight or more moisturising as the situation demands.
How long should you do a skin care routine to see results?
The following table can help you understand the products you are using and what is possible. If the products you are using contain brilliant skin care ingredients specialised for your skin type and concerns, these are the kind of results you can realistically expect.
Keep in mind that you should discontinue use of any product if you experience redness, continued flaking, increased dryness, stinging or discomfort. The adage "no pain, no gain" doesn't apply here!
|
Product Category |
What results can I expect? |
How long until I see results? |
It's not working—now what? |
|---|---|---|---|
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Face looks clean and even-toned. Dirt and makeup are easily removed from the skin. After rinsing, skin feels soft and smooth, not dry, greasy, or tight. |
Skin can look immediately refreshed, healthier, and renewed. |
Depending on your skin type, try a cleanser with a different texture (gel, cream or lotion). For oily skin, consider using a gentle washcloth or a gentle cleansing brush to be sure you're getting all your makeup off. |
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|
Skin looks radiant, feels softer and smoother. Last traces of makeup disappear. For oily skin, pore size appears diminished. |
Within 1 to 2 weeks for redness and pore size improvements, but you may start seeing results right away. |
Many toners are poorly formulated, containing mostly skin-aggravating ingredients along with skin-sensitising fragrance (synthetic or natural) and little else. Finding a great toner is really all you need to start seeing a difference, then you'll never want to be without this step. |
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Surface of skin looks and feels smoother. Enlarged pores appear smaller. Dullness fades as skin becomes renewed and feels silky-smooth. Signs of ageing start appearing lessened and skin tone appears more even. |
You may see improvement as soon as overnight plus increased improvement after 5-14 days. Ongoing use is required to maintain results, although you can experiment with applying less often. |
Try exfoliants at different concentrations (1%–2% for BHA; 5%–10% for AHA) or, depending on your skin type, in a different texture (gel, liquid or lotion). Adjust frequency of application. Exfoliants require some experimentation to find what frequency of use works best for you. |
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|
Moisturiser for Normal to Dry Skin |
Skin feels hydrated, but not greasy. Skin looks healthy and moisturised with a smooth, radiant texture. Lines from dryness are eliminated and age-related fine lines and wrinkles appear smoothed and "plumped." Hydration lasts throughout the day. |
Depending on the products you were using before, you may see an overnight improvement. Enhanced results will occur within 2–8 weeks, and will increase and be maintained over time. During the day, your moisturiser or foundation must contain sunscreen or you will not get the best results. Without daily use of sunscreen, signs of ageing will increase, not lessen. |
If your skin appears too dry or too oily by midday, you may need to switch formulas or textures. For dry skin, a more emollient and enriched formula will make a significant difference. You can also try adding a facial oil to your lightweight moisturiser. |
|
Moisturiser for Combination or Oily Skin |
Skin feels hydrated, but not greasy. A soft matte finish combats shine. Product absorbs quickly and feel weightless. Skin texture is even and smooth with almost no feeling left behind. Congested pores should not increase and skin should not feel oilier. |
Depending on the products you were using before, you may see overnight improvement. Enhanced results will occur within 2–8 weeks and will increase and be maintained over time. During the day, your moisturiser or foundation must contain sunscreen or you will not get the best results. Without daily use of sunscreen, signs of ageing will increase, not lessen. |
If your skin appears too dry or too oily by midday, you may need to switch formulas or textures (gel, weightless serums, or liquids work best for oily/combination skin types). It's fine to layer two lightweight moisturisers over slightly dry areas of otherwise oily skin. |
|
Skin feels smoother and looks radiant as visible signs of ageing diminish. Over a short period of time, skin begins to look and feel younger with an increased feeling of firmness and diminished appearance of wrinkles. Uneven skin tone become less apparent. |
After twice daily usage for 4-6 weeks. Ongoing use is required for continued improvement. Results will continue to improve over time but do not expect to look 20 years younger or for any anti-ageing product to replace what a cosmetic medical procedure or surgery can provide. This is the realistic expectations we referring to above! |
With so many ingredient and formulary options, it can be difficult to know what to do next. Our article "Anti-Agieng Ingredients Your Skin Needs Now" is a good place to start! |
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Blemishes are greatly diminished. Frequency and severity of breakouts decreases. Skin becomes clearer, congested pores and white bumps are diminished. Dryness (flaking) or other signs of tenderness or redness should be minimal, if they occur at all. |
When using products that contain benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid (the gold standard of blemish treatments), you may see immediate results, but overall improvement should be apparent after 6-12 weeks of consistent use. |
If your skin has not improved significantly after 12 weeks of daily use, consider other blemish treatments or visit a dermatologist to discuss medical options. |
Learn more skin care tips.
References for this information:
- International Journal of Molecular Sciences, June 2013, pages 12,222–12,248
- Allergologie Select, August 2017, pages 190–199