Your Smart Skin Care Swaps

Smart Skin Care Swaps

Beauty breakthroughs and cutting-edge ingredients (not to mention your skin's changing needs) offer compelling reasons to stray from your tried-and-true skin care routine.

 

Escape a Skin Care Rut

If you're still smearing on the same cleanser and moisturizer you started using when you got your first pimple, it's time to give your skin care routine a makeover. The reason?
Your skin changes over time, thanks to season, hormones, and your general health. "I tell patients to listen to their skin and adjust their skin care accordingly," says Jessica Wu, M.D., assistant clinical professor of dermatology at USC Medical School and a dermatologist in Los Angeles. "If you've always had dry skin and used a rich moisturizer, but you start breaking out and feeling oily, it's time to reevaluate your routine." Likewise, step up your skin care if you're seeing unwelcome changes — laugh lines and age spots, we're looking at you!
There's another reason to shake up your skin-care routine: Thanks to scientific breakthroughs, many over-the-counter skin care products (and their delivery methods) have become safer, stronger, and more effective, says Dr. Wu. "If you're not getting the results you want, it's time to upgrade," she says.
Just don't switch too frequently. Dr. Wu says it's critical to give a new product time to work (unless, of course, it makes your skin red or itchy, in which case you should stop using it). For an acne treatment that may be two to three weeks; for an anti-aging product, it may take six weeks or longer to see results. So if you're looking for something new, from cleansers to creams, scrubs to serums, keep reading to find out what's worth trying now.