5 Signs Your Skin Care Routine Needs a Reset

Skin care routines aren’t meant to last forever. Significant factors like puberty, pregnancy, menopause, and general aging all affect hormones that can cause a host of changes in our skin health. Further still, changes in our environment, diet, stress levels, and lifestyles can each play a significant role in skin health, but we can’t forget the impact of genetics, too! Luckily, skin reacts in ways that can offer us clues as to how to adapt our skin care routine and reset with a regimen that better supports our skin’s current needs, rather than what used to work—but that’s only if you’re paying attention. As time progresses and skin changes, be aware of the following signs, so you can ensure your routine changes in support of your skin health rather than to its detriment.

Top Signs You Need a New Skin Care Routine

New Acne Breakouts or Blackheads

Products that treat acne can be harsh and drying on aging skin. While your old skin care faithfuls may have done the trick to keep spots and breakouts in check during your teens and twenties, new or increased breakouts and blackheads that aren’t a usual response to your hormonal cycle are often a sign that these products are now drying out your skin. Alternatively, increased blackheads can also suggest that skin’s natural sebum (oil) production levels have spiked. This combination of dry skin and increased sebum is what causes skin cells to stick, blocking pores or causing skin cells to accumulate within pores that then leads to blackheads and breakouts. If your current acne treatment is too harsh for your skin, consider switching to a product with a lower active concentration or opt for an alternative acne treatment therapy, such as Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) acne reduction treatments.

Increased Dryness or Flaking

As we age, skin’s natural hydration levels decline, impacted by hormones and cumulative damage caused by ultraviolet (UV) radiation. While skin may have reacted just fine to light moisturizers and masks in the past, you may need to change up your routine to increase hydration with a collagen- or retinol-based serum. For those experiencing flaking, cut any alcohol- or acid-based products from your skin care regimen and avoid switching up products too often, as this can cause further dryness when your skin tries to balance itself out. Hyaluronic acid and ceramides are also two hero ingredients for boosting skin’s moisture levels. Finally, for a hydration supercharge during seasonal transitions or at any time your skin needs a little more than what a topical may offer, opt for a dermal rejuvenation treatment such as Venus Glow™. These treatments deliver ultra-fine jet streams of purified water deep into pores to quench tired, dehydrated skin while removing debris and impurities, resulting in an instantly hydrated, glowing complexion.

New Freckles

While you may be applying SPF on the daily, new freckles may be a sign that your sun protection routine needs an overhaul. With 80% of visible skin aging being caused by sun damage, UV rays are the main culprit behind the appearance of new freckles and hyperpigmentation. While a moisturizer containing SPF may be adequate for days when you’re simply outside for a few moments between home and work, a dedicated sunscreen is ideal for summer months or when you may be outside for longer periods. Look for broad spectrum protection with a minimum SPF of 30 and reapply every two hours. If you’re applying makeup, opt for a mineral sunscreen that acts as a reflective shield and can be applied over makeup; chemical sunscreens need to be absorbed into the skin to work, meaning applying them over makeup can hinder their effectiveness. Finally, to reverse current hyperpigmentation, a customized photofacial treatment plan may do the trick to target dark spots for a more even-toned complexion.

Increased Sensitivity

A rapid, reactionary approach to skin care rarely leads to positive results. When you switch your skin care routine up too often, adding new products each time you notice a new concern, your skin struggles to find balance. Stressed-out skin can become red, inflamed, dehydrated, itchy, and tight, all of which weakens the skin’s lipid barrier, which is essentially your natural defense shield. It takes at least two to three weeks on average for your skin to become used to a new product—even longer if it’s striving to find balance between a slew of products and active ingredients. As a result, skin sensitivity can be added to our long list of concerns as we try to counterbalance dryness, irritation, and acne breakouts all at once with an ever-expansive skin care routine. Rather than constantly changing products, consider opting for a treatment that can be added to a steady skin care routine to treat skin concerns without forcing skin to adapt to entirely new routines on a regular basis.

Increased Wrinkling and Decline in Skin Elasticity

Topical skin care can only offer so much support. As a result, over time, fine lines, wrinkles, and skin laxity inevitably creep in as your skin’s natural elastin and collagen production levels decline. While a new serum may help to slow wrinkling and skin laxity, adding too many active ingredients to a skin care routine can cancel out all the benefits you may get. Instead, opting for one streamlined and proven anti-aging skin care regimen with a few targeted products designed to work together is best. Alternatively, non-surgical wrinkle reduction treatments deliver energy deep below the skin’s surface to spur collagen and elastin production, working from the inside out for younger-looking skin. For those interested in a wrinkle reduction treatment plan, Venus Freeze Plus™ treatments are a good place to start your research. 

The Problem with Product Overload

It’s worth underscoring the impact of adding new products to address skin care concerns, rather than simply cutting products from your routine that aren’t working. In fact, for the most part, we’re mostly all guilty of overloading on skin care products and the biggest concern is that we may be spending enormous amounts of money to further damage our skin. Adding a new product to counteract the effect of an old product isn’t a sound skin care strategy. Similarly, layering multiple products with active ingredients or applying them in the wrong order can counteract the effects of each other and irritate skin. 

So, the first step is to simplify your skin care routine. Strip back the products you’re using on a regular basis and slowly re-add them, paying close attention to what may be causing your skin to react. Alternatively, you may cut back to a basic skin care routine and consider an aesthetic treatment to better help target your more specific skin care concerns, such as TriBella™ three-in-one complete facial rejuvenation treatments, exclusively from Venus Versa™. TriBella™ treatments combine three proven procedures into one complete skin renewal treatment for smoother, younger, healthier-looking skin in fewer treatment sessions. Beginning with a photofacial treatment, TriBella™ addresses discoloration, age spots, and sun damage to improve skin tone. Next, an anti-aging treatment narrows in on fine lines, wrinkles, and skin laxity for a smoother, firmer appearance. Finally, TriBella™’s skin resurfacing treatment improves the appearance of skin texture concerns like enlarged pores, acne scars, or rosacea, all of which can result from an unbalanced and overly complicated skin care regimen.

Interested in learning more about how you can incorporate aesthetic treatments to better cover the gaps in your skin care routine? Locate a certified treatment provider near you using the search field below.