Does My Skin Get Used to Products?

So you’ve been seeing the same guy or gal for awhile now and it was all rainbows and butterflies, but lately have you started to feel like you’ve lost that fiery spark? It’s called relationship plateau and it happens to the best of us. But more importantly does that happen to our skincare routine?

Have you been noticing lately that your favorite beauty arsenals aren’t providing you that extra glow that they used to? Before you go switching out all your products, give this a read.

What’s the sitch?

The short answer: No, your skin doesn’t really ‘get used to’ your skincare products. We know that might not be the answer you were looking for, but at least now you don’t have to buy an entirely new routine. Now the real question is: why isn’t your skincare working like it used to? Here are three possible reasons why your skin is no longer showing signs of improvement:

1. The Inside and Out

All kinds of factors from the seasonal changes, hormone imbalances, sebum creation, the food you’ve been eating, your lifestyle, and even climate can truly affect your skin and how it reacts to your products. Who would’ve known!

2. The Dirty Work is DONE!

Most treatment products that contain active ingredients aka what we classify as  ‘supplementary skincare’, like our Kale-lalu-yAHA, do one of the following:

• Help your skin normalize its pattern or cycle.
• Replenish the nutrients that your skin is lacking so your skin can be in a happy and balanced state. 

Our body is incredibly smart and a genius at regulating and maintaining itself. If you happen to be low in Vitamin C and use supplements, it will help your body get back to a healthy state. If you over-supplement on Vitamin C, most of it gets flushed away. Our body has no need to hold on to all the Vitamin C. This is just like how AHA’s can work! Their mission is to remove dead skin cells and they will push your skin to go the extra mile to do so! Think of it as someone telling you to do 10 push-ups on a regular basis when your original capacity is only 5. By keeping up this streak you of course notice a huge difference in the beginning! Supplementary items, such as Vitamin C and AHAs, are used to help boost your skin not something you should depend on. The goal is to eventually have your skin and body run on it’s own without the extra help (unless your skin and body is rapidly aging or constantly inflamed). This may be a reason why you no longer see those intense changes in your skin.

3. Something Old ≠ Something New

A freshly made Vitamin C serum versus the one that’s been sitting on your shelf for 6 months really makes a big difference in terms of effectiveness. Once a product is opened, the integrity and the efficacy of the product will slowly become compromised. If a product does have active or natural ingredients it could be easily affected by air or UV exposure. Think of it as unopened almond milk! Yes it will last a while, but once opened it is best to keep it in the fridge and drink it sooner rather than later.

The Only Exception

While your skin won’t get used to certain products, it can definitely become accustomed to some potentially irritating ingredients, such as glycolic acid and retinol. This is why many dermatologists recommend people to start of with low doses of an exfoliant then gradually increase the potency to avoid potential irritation. Our Kale-lalu-yAHA contains 5.25% of glycolic acid for this very reason: so it is mild in concentration for beginners.

Keepin’ It Spicy

We advise to commit to your Core Series products (a cleanser, moisturizer and SPF) for minimizing any unnecessary skin irritation. However, always listen to your skin and create adjustments to your supplementary products based on what it craves! It’s definitely fun to switch things up every now and then to find a serum or toner that works for you (if you need it).

Your skin may not be showing immediate signs of improvement like it did in the past, but the best skincare product is one that protects and maintains your skin to help it function at its best! Use skincare that works with your skin, not against it.