Adverse Skin Reaction Or Not?

Skin reactions can be normal reactions when you have introduced new products into your skin care routine.

– Dryness, flaking and peeling are normal reactions when you start using exfoliating ingredients (e.g. AHA’S like glycolic acid and lactic acid) for the first time.

It is best to use low concentrations at the start, and as the skin gets used to the AHA’S you can increase the concentration.

– Even tingling or very slight burning can be normal reactions when you start using exfoliating ingredients for the first time.

– Dryness, redness & irritation are all very normal reactions when you introduce retinol (vitamin A) for the first time. It is essential to introduce any retinol product slowly and only at night.

We would advise to use retinol twice in the first week, every other night the second week and by the third week, it should be fine to use it every night.

Obviously not everyone will be able to tolerate retinol every night, so it should be applied just twice a week if you have sensitive skin or are in any doubt.

Again with retinol, it is best to use low concentrations at the start and as the skin gets used to the retinol and tolerance increases, your next product could contain higher concentrations.

– Breakouts can be a normal skin reaction when you start using exfoliating ingredients – this is just due to clearing out of the pores.

Whatever you do don’t stop using the product because the pores will only block again and you will be going round in circles. Just stick it out for a few days and it will soon resolve.

– Don’t be surprised if you experience excessive oily skin after an exfoliation treatment like microdermabrasion. This can strip oil from the skin which causes the oil glands to work more than usual to make up for the loss. So you will probably get oily skin after dry skin and it might take a few days for everything to settle down.