Forgive me face for I have sinned!

I committed the cardinal sin of skincare.  No, I didn't use St Ives Apricot Scrub.  I started using all of my new goodies with only a few days between each product.  I know, I know, I'm supposed to wait two weeks between each new product.  I gave in to temptation and I have already started all of the products I mentioned in the last post.  Lets see, that would be:

• Vitamin C serum from GoW
• Niacinamide serum from GoW
• TO AHA/BHA acid peel
• TO Squalane
• TO Natural Moisturising Factors

Something has broken me out and not just on my cheeks like my normal breakouts, but on my forehead and a little on my chin too.  Forgive me face for I have sinned!

So, what's the plan?

I already have taken a few days off all new products to regroup and think about how to fix this and what to do next.  The Vitamin C serum is the new product I like the most because, after an initial flush that 30-60 seconds, I do feel like my skin looks brighter and more refreshed.  The niacinamide is the one I'm most hopeful about helping with my Post Inflammatory Erythema.  Those are the two products that I am most eager to have in my routine.  The peel is the one that I don't think is breaking me out, unless it's purging, because I've used AHAs and BHAs with no issue before in the past.

What I've done is go back to my previous routine that I know helps my skin stay relatively acne free.  I've added in a morning mask of benzoyl peroxide on problem areas.  I'm calling it a mask because I'm only doing short contact therapy.  I put on the BP, wait ten minutes, and then wash it off with my regular Eucerin Cleansing Milk.  If you've not heard of short contact therapy, definitely give it a google!  It's been shown to be as effective as leaving BP on your face for long periods, but it minimises the negative side effects that BP sometimes causes.  Given that last summer I felt like I burned my face off with BP and couldn't use anything other than Nivea Soft without extreme pain, I think that minimising the side effects is definitely the way to go for me.

I am continuing to use the Vitamin C serum morning and evening and the AHA/BHA peel once a week.  If I continue to break out, I'll cut out the Vitamin C.  I've put a note on my calendar to start the niacinamide in two weeks, the NMF in four weeks, and the squalane in six weeks.  Provided it isn't the peel that's causing the breakout, I think this'll help me figure which product doesn't agree with me.

Let my spots be a lesson to you!  Start new products gradually!  I know it's exciting getting new toys to play with, but when it goes wrong, you really do want to know what's causing it.

The only problem now is that I'll have to put off my next payday splurge: Niod's Copper Amino Isolate Serum...probably for the best though.