I will admit it… and I am sure many people will agree with me… I love trying new products. It really excites me and as soon as I find something new I want to try, more likely than not I’ll be trying it that same day or the same week because I simply cannot resist temptation. Working in the beauty industry means there’s always something new to try, always things we want to review and it can be a little overwhelming for the skin sometimes. This is something that I have found happening recently and I want to tell you what my solution was, because it was a simple one.

Here’s a little background on me. I’m in my mid-twenties, so I’m not looking for and in no need of wrinkle reduction cream or potent products aimed at anti-ageing. In the products I’m testing out, I’m looking for a glow, hydration and improving the texture of my skin. So that’s what I’ve been looking for in my products and for a while, it worked. I felt glowy, hydrated and plumped and I was feeling great.

But over time, what I found was happening was my skin was starting to break out more. Nothing too bad, but I always had one or two active breakouts at a time, as one healed, more would pop up. I’ve been prone to a few spots all my life, so I expected them and didn’t really notice at first, but soon they got more frequent. Where I used to have weeks where my skin would be pretty much clear, I started to always have at least one breakout. So I started to try more products aimed at spots to try and calm them, but they would continue. So I’d try more… and, well, you get the idea.

Something wasn’t working.

So I stripped my routine back to the bare bones. A cleanser, my trusty Body Shop balm cleanser as it’s incredibly gentle but still cleans my face really well, and if I’ve been wearing makeup during the day or feel like my skin needs that extra clean, I’d double cleanse with the 3107 Heart and Soul Cleansing Balm. I love this all-natural balm because it leaves my skin feeling heavenly, but I like to take my time and really treat myself with this one so I don’t usually use it every day. I’ve posted a full review of this cleansing balm here. I’ve been using both of these products for nearly a year now so I know they both work well for my skin and don’t irritate or dry it out.

Then I would follow up with a moisturiser and eye cream, most recently the DHC Eye Cream and the Alpha H moisturiser. Sometimes, I’ll be honest, I would also skip the eye cream just for the sake of time. I’ll include no extra pots and potions, no oils and serums or even any overnight masks. Just a moisturiser and I will say that I have still been changing up the moisturiser a little depending on how I’m feeling (naughty, I know, but I’ve not found any issues changing up my moisturiser so I’m going to continue changing that up).

In the evening, I’ll acid tone either with the Alpha H Liquid Gold a maximum of once a week for a real treatment or the Nip + Fab Glycolic Night Pads in the evening as I don’t tend to physically exfoliate much anymore as I feel like it is too harsh for my skin, but I still want to use something to encourage cell renewal and remove dead skin cells. Glycolic Acid, which is present in both of these products, is a winner for me and I have found that the texture of my skin has been better since using them.

Since then, my skin has cleared right up. I’ve reset the table. My skin isn’t quite as glowly as it had been, but I’m okay with that. I’m still getting the occasional spot, but they’re not nearly as inflamed and are much less frequent. But for the most part, it’s clear and even and less irritated.

So for now I’m giving my skin a chance to readjust, to rebalance. And then slowly, slowly, I’ll introduce new products and see if I can rebuild a routine, but one thing at a time. When my skin is ready.

So my advice is that if you’re ever feeling as though nothing is working, no matter what you’re trying, perhaps you need to give your skin a break. Try stripping your routine back for a week or two, let your skin breathe. Find those essentials that your skin loves and then go from there. I saw a difference in my skin within a week. Because sometimes, less really is more.

Jessica x