Why Your Favorite Skincare Products Stopped Working

You're using only non-comedogenic products. You're doing the 6-step routine. You've even cleaned up your diet. So why are you breaking out again?

I see this scenario with most new clients, and in my Acne Interviews where I help people figure out what's causing their breakouts. 

Someone is using popular acne products. Those same products cleared up their acne for a while. But now their acne is back, and nothing has changed. 

If this sounds like you, you're doing anything wrong. And it's not that your products are bad.

There are a few common reasons this can happen—and they're usually easy to fix.

1. Your skin needs an adjustment.

Acne is aggressive, and it adapts. This means your skincare products need to be adjusted to stay ahead of it.
 

If your products worked for a month or so, and then stopped working, it's likely you need to change a couple of your products, also known as skin cycling. 

Your skin might need a bump up in mandelic serum, an increase in benzoyl peroxide, or you might need to add a retinol to your routine. These kinds of adjustments are easy to make, and key to getting acne under control.

2. Something is causing acne in your environment, diet, or lifestyle.

Even with great acne products, other things can interfere with your progress. These are some of most common things I see:

• Fabric softener and dryer sheets – clogging ingredients get onto your pillowcases and towels, and then onto your skin.

• Vitamins & Supplements – check yours for iodine, vitamin B12, corn oil, soybean oil, biotin, or kelp.

• Makeup – this is a common cause of acne. Stick with makeup you know is acne-safe until your skin is clear, then experiment with other brands. If you start breaking out again, it will be easy to trace.

• Shampoo & Conditioner – often linked to breakouts on the forehead, jawline, back, chest and shoulders.

• Water softeners – potassium iodide or sodium chloride are added to your water and irritate your pores, cause inflammation and breakouts.

• Other hidden causes – makeup brush cleaners, protein bars, energy drinks, and body lotion used on hands, arms or shoulders.

If you're using reliable acne products and making adjustments to your products but your skin isn't improving, these areas are worth taking a closer look at.

Treating acne is a predictable process— it's about using the right products, adjusting those products, and knowing what triggers to avoid. 
 

I've worked with clients who've had acne for years, only to find out the solution was something so simple. Like a clogging ingredient in their conditioner. Or the ingredients in their acne-safe makeup changed.