As a beauty writer, my vanity, medicine cabinet, bedside table, and nearly every other drawer or empty box in my apartment is filled to the brim with makeup and skin-care products. What can I say? I’m a little obsessed. Plus, it’s kind of my job to try different products, right? At least that’s how I justify it.
Still, one thing I’ve learned over the years of trying and testing just about every single product line I can get my hands on is that there’s no one-size-fits-all: what works for your skin might not work for someone else’s, especially when mixing and matching is involved.
I had to learn the hard way: after breaking out and getting greasier than an empty pizza box after using a cleanser, toner, serum, moisturizer, eye cream, and face mask from a myriad of different companies as part of my daily and weekly regimen. I realized I was doing something (or many things) wrong.
I went to see my derm, whose first question was: which skin-care products are you using? I gave her the full list. That’s when she explained to me that this hybrid of formulas was most likely the culprit. “Some active ingredients used in skin-care products can act as irritants when mixed with others, particularly in individuals with sensitive skin,” explained Joyce Imahiyerobo-Ip, M.D., Director of Cosmetic Dermatology at South Shore Medical Center.