Products you can get ready to use may promise to instantly brighten dark spots, disguise wrinkles or alleviate redness, but we know from experience that they usually don't work as immediately. We all know that skincare products can be an expensive investment, and the more products you use, the higher the total price. Combining products and ingredients can be an affordable way to approach your skincare regimen. First of all, you may not need to buy as many products as often, since by mixing two products you will use half of each one per application.
However, with that said, you should always use a quality cleanser, scrub, eye cream, and moisturizer that uses only high-quality ingredients. In the case of vitamin C, for example, it inhibits the production of the pigment melanin, which takes longer. Zamani recommends changing only one product at a time so that we can evaluate skin changes and maintain those changes for at least four to six weeks to get the most benefit. If you also switch from a retinoid to other acne products on different days, you may not see any changes during longer.
However, if you stop using a product for a period of time and then use it again, you may see that it starts to work again. Switching between products with the same active ingredients, such as switching from one salicylic acid cleanser to another, is less likely to affect your progress. An increasingly popular trend in the skincare community is to select products that work well together, as they offer a range of benefits that could change your skincare style forever. This is where combining skincare products can make a big difference for many women, from night serums and moisturizers to exfoliating treatments.
Charlotte Cho, co-founder and curator of Korean beauty mecca Soko Glam, says it's possible that the ingredients in skincare products weaken over time due to tachyphylaxis, which is when a product loses its effectiveness over time as the skin adjusts to it. And that estimate is based on the assumption that you use the product consistently at least once a day, he explains, which probably won't happen if you regularly change it for other things. While it's clear that combining skincare products can provide a variety of benefits for any skin type, you should do so carefully, as certain ingredients don't go together very well. While it's normal at first for some types of products (such as retinoids or AHAs) to cause irritation, it's not necessarily a sign that the product is doing something good for you.
For example, the bathroom isn't the best place to store skincare products, says Cho, who adds that the heat and humidity of hot showers can make some products less effective, especially those with active ingredients, such as pure vitamin C. But remember that no single product or ingredient can do all of these things, so product combinations help you keep your skin healthy. The most obvious benefit of mixing skincare products is the ability to customize your skincare routine to best suit your exact skin needs.
