5 Signs Your 12-Step Skincare Routine is Wrecking Your Face

We get it: there’s a lot of buzz around skincare routines. They all promise to deliver a healthy, radiant complexion, but they follow different philosophies. Choosing what’s best for you isn’t as straightforward as we’d like, however, there are some clues that perhaps, you’re using more products than you actually need. 

One trendy approach stems from the east: the Korean skincare method. Usually involving double-digit steps from facial steaming and double-cleansing to serums and massaging — it can take a solid thirty minutes or more to complete each evening. In theory, it may seem like the type of indulgence your pores are craving, but in practice, it could be wrecking your face. 

Here, some key signs that your skin prefers a minimalist approach (hello, Covey!) to keeping your pores their healthiest: 

Your skin is flaky, itchy and red. 

After a long day lounging and basking under the sunshine, you may return home to find a slight tint in your complexion. A mild sunburn can cause your pores to become red, itchy and flaky as it heals from the damage. However, when you haven’t laid on a beach in months and you don’t have a sunburn, your skin definitely shouldn’t be acting as if you were just on vacation. 

Healthy, nourished skin doesn’t turn different hues, and it won’t flake off. So if part of your lengthy skincare routine is using a plethora of exfoliation techniques, your skin could be retaliating. Intense retinoids and acids, microdermabrasion tools and brushes, and harsh facial exfoliants can all cause irritation. And hey, generally speaking, this is a skincare step that’s not necessary regularly. 

Your skin is always shiny. 

Many of us lust after a fresh, dewy texture on our faces. It’s considered the look of youth and radiance, but it’s also a challenging line to walk. You want your skin to be hydrated, but you don’t want to leave it overly oily, causing excess build-up. To try and achieve this desired complexion, you may be tempted to wash your face more than once, exfoliate, and apply one serum and oil after another. 

However, this overcomplicated skincare routine approach will leave your face looking shiny, but it’ll feel dry when you touch it. This is dangerous since the constant scrubbing and washing have rid your pores of too many dead skin cells, and it’s left with no protection or natural sebum. This makes your skin more susceptible to environmental damage and can cause painful irritation. 

Your skin is super-tight.

The issue with many 12-step skincare routines is that they don’t consider various skin types, conditions, gripes, and concerns. It’s the same formula for everyone, including harsh ingredients that could leave your skin feeling super-tight. If you feel stretched far thinner than what’s comfortable, you could be using products that are overloaded with alpha-hydroxy acids, like lactic and glycolic acid. These, of course, are excellent at battling acne, but they can be too intense for sensitive pores. 

Your skin is piling. 

Another sign your multi-step routine is wrecking your face is the appearance of ‘face piling.’ What’s this? Well, think of your favorite sweater that you’ve worn out over the years. Does it have tiny little fabric balls that come off on your leggings? The same phenomenon can happen on your face when you’re using too many products. Rather than absorbing, it piles on the surface of your skin, resulting in little balls of, well, gunk. As you can imagine, this isn’t healthy for your complexion. 

You have no idea what ingredients are in your products.

A quick search online, and you’ll find one skincare product after another: retinoids, antioxidant serums, face rollers, masks, under-eye creams, toners, primers, and the list goes on and on. If you’re using many of these but haven’t flipped the product over to investigate the ingredients, you may be in over your head. And that’s okay! Rather than returning to school so you can understand your skincare routine, simplify it. 

With Covey, you don’t have to question what’s in your cleanser, vitamin C serum or moisturizer. And you don’t have to worry if you’re using too many products. Our solution is simple, high-quality, and yields optimal results for all skin types. Effective, gentle — and ahem, coveted — you can throw out everything else. Our three steps are all you need to achieve the skin of your dreams. Learn more here.