Will I Ever Outgrow My Acne Regimen?

Since acne is genetic, people prone to acne have to live by a different set of rules. It’s not all bad though! But if you are wondering when you can stop using the products or stop following the rules, spoiler alert – you can’t. However, there are some great ways to evolve your regimen. Let us help you learn how to grow with your regimen. 

First, a cautionary tale

Don’t be the person who clears their skin and then starts acting as if they never had acne in the first place. They start using new products, makeup, oils, and even kitchen products on their face! They start taking new supplements and working out without amping up their face-washing habits (or even stop washing their face!). They start buying their skincare at the same place they buy their groceries because they think, “Hey, my skin is looking just fine!” This will probably work for a few months or longer, but if you test fate with the acne gods long enough, you will start to break out again, and then you will have to start the clearing process all over. 

Consistency is key

But what if you are just plain sick of using your acne regimen? Well, let’s talk about what an acne regimen is. It’s a strict regimen of acne-safe and acne-fighting products. These products have ingredients to treat the pores and acne, because acne is a disease. A trained acne expert is your best bet for assessing your skin, helping you pick these products, and teaching you how to use them. Many of the ingredients in a good acne regimen are also good for overall skin health, not just acne. If you use your regimen twice a day, every day, and don’t use pore-cloggers, your skin will improve, and overall, it will usually look brighter and even healthier. 

Can you ditch the acne topicals?

The answer is sometimes – it depends on what mood your acne is in. But you should do it slowly and selectively trade it out for an alternative, not just any old trending skincare product. Professionals understand acne and acne-prone skin, and if you are getting facial treatments, it is so important to stick to the protocols. If your skin is clear, don’t take that for granted and keep doing what’s working. It takes one to three months for a pimple to form, so those acne topical medications are the reason your skin is staying so clear. Treat it like a medicine and don’t just hop on and off, dial in your usage. 

Retention hyperkeratosis is the trademark of acne-prone skin. This is genetic and means you produce a lot of dead skin that sticks inside your pores. Acne-prone people always need to exfoliate to keep the dead skin from building up. If you start going rogue with your regimen, you may miss the key ingredients that exfoliate your skin. But you will not get away with it for very long. Exfoliation keeps skin bright and pores clear. 

How can I evolve my acne regimen? 

If you also have the common question, “How can I start treating my skin for aging instead of acne?” here is a straightforward answer that is good news too. Most acne-treating ingredients, with the exception of benzoyl peroxide (BP), are anti-aging and healthy skin ingredients.

You can mature your regimen by potentially switching benzoyl peroxide products to mandelic acid products. Mandelic acid brightens, stimulates collagen production, refines skin texture, evens out skin tone, and fights acne. Benzoyl peroxide is not bad (in fact, BP is basically a topical miracle for acne), but there are no skin benefits beyond treating acne and oil-rich skin. So, if we are super sure your acne is a thing of the past, you may be able to switch out a BP cleanser or medicine with a mandelic acid one. Some people are so fearful of acne coming back, they use BP indefinitely – which is totally fine too!

Other than swapping BP for mandelic acid, the next simplest way is to add in an acne-safe (and Skin MPLS-approved) treatment or nourishing serum or mask. Don’t take any of your products away. Add a product recommended by a professional, and never add more than a couple of things at a time. It’s really important not to start collecting random products, because they'll just end up collecting dust or clogging your pores. Popular nourishing ingredients are hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, antioxidants, peptides, and oils.

Whether you are someone who thrives on routine or you get bored with using the same stuff over and over again, an aesthetician will advise you on how to mix business with pleasure when it comes to treating your acne! Get facial treatments whenever your schedule and budget allow, because those are a true long-term investment in your skin. Resist the temptation to buy new skincare products just because someone else says they are amazing, unless you are willing to pay the price (literally and figuratively) when it comes to your skin!