The Ordinary Skin Regimen - please advice if alright

[Sadhvika]

HI I just got into skincare. Never ever applied anything on my face. I have had acne as a teen. Current skin concerns: 1. Lines on forehead,  2. Some hyperpigmentation around mouth 3. Large pores on cheeks and some hyperpigmentation from acne

I have bought into these products currently

AM routine:
1. Cerave cleanser

2. Ascorbic Acid 8% + Alpha Arbutin

3. Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA

4. SPF

PM routine:

1. Cerave cleanser

2. Multi-peptides + HA serum

3. Niacinamide 10% + Zinc

4. Retinol 0.5% in Squalene serum

5. Natural Moisturizing factors + HA

Question: Does this feel ok? I can't combine peptides and Niacinamide with Vitamin C so the AM routine doesn't have any layering. The PM routine seems to have a lot of serums. Should I just alternate? Can I use the multi-peptides and Niacinamide together? In which order? Should I alternate between anything each day or simply keep this routine everyday?

Any other suggestions? Thank you sooo much!

[Koukla58]

The only thing different that I would do is add Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 mucin power essence lastly before applying your moisturizer. You will notice a huge difference in breakouts and pores. Also with regular use I found it took years off my face

[raphaela12]

@Sadhvika I'd use Niacinamide 10% + Zinc morning and night to help with the pores and hyperpigmentation.

Also it's Retinol you cannot mix with Vitamin C, benzoyl peroxide, and AHA/BHA acids. AHA and BHA acids are exfoliating, which can dry out the skin and cause further irritation if your skincare routine already includes retinol.

You want to apply serums from lightest to heaviest consistence.

Hopefully other's can help with the other questions as I'm still new to skincare myself. Good luck 🙂

[WinglessOne]

@raphaela12  @Sadhvika  You can layer retinol with vitamin C, AHA, and BHA. The only reason not to layer any of those is your particular skin's tolerance level. Some folks' skin can't handle ascorbic acid (vitamin C), for instance. Other people can't do glycolic acid (the "strongest" AHA; eh, the one with the smallest molecular size) but can tolerate lactic acid or mandelic acid, 2 gentler (larger molecule sized) AHAs. 

There's an old myth that retinol and vitamin C cancel each other out. That's been debunked. Those 2 ingredients actually work well together. Also, it's safe to layer vitamin C—be it ascorbic acid or a derivative—and niacinamide despite The Ordinary's usage instructions. I don't know why they still advise against it, unless they're clinging to the very old "ascorbic acid + niacinamide = niacin" thing... Niacin is pure nicotinic acid and can irritate the heck outta skin. But creating it requires very high heat, much higher than room temperature. So unless you're doing your skincare routine while your head's literally in an oven, there's no cause for alarm. 

I'm also unsure why The Ordinary still advises against using peptides and vitamin C. Every dermatologist I've asked has advised the opposite: peptides and ascorbic acid are fine to use together. The Ordinary's peptides serum (formerly known as Buffet) is still my favorite hydrating serum. I use it most mornings alongside other serums, including one that contains ascorbic acid. In your routine, I'd move either that serum or the niacinamide serum to mornings. You could move both to mornings if you want; depends on how many steps you're willing to do in the AM vs. PM. Order of application doesn't matter: the way you've listed things in your routine looks fine to me, with one caveat: 

If you're new to retinol and you have dry or sensitive skin, consider applying retinol after your moisturizer for a while to buffer some of retinol's annoying side effects (irritation and excessive dryness). Eh, see how your skin tolerates retinol as you very slowly and gradually build up use frequency: use it once or twice a week for a few weeks, then increase to 2-3 times a week, and so on until you reach a comfy-for-you frequency. If you find retinol's too irritating during that first or second week, try applying it after moisturizer. Yes, it'll still work that way. 🙂 

Oh, and be careful about doubling down on the niacinamide. I love niacinamide and have no skin sensitivity to it, but some people's skin can't handle daily 10% use, let alone twice-daily use.  

[Sadhvika]

Thanks @WinglessOne Your message made me read up a little more on this as well vs just taking The Ordinary's guidance. I read extensively about it and I feel more comfortable now with layering those products. Thank you for explaining all of that and notes on the regimen. I am definitely going to take it slow

Only from using for the last 4 days couple of observations I have are that yesterday I saw some redness with Niacinamide maybe because I used it both AM and PM so will stick to once a day. The retinol causing some piling which I thought was because of all the layering. I am really trying not to have too much product on to avoid piling and patting instead of rubbing to avoid it as well. Overall, still early days but I like that I've got a game plan and now its about responding to the skin's needs. 

BTW: love this community. Very cool to have other people's experiences to learn from

[raphaela12]

@WinglessOne Thank you for clearing that all up, I'm still new to skincare and there's always room for me to learn new things. 🙂

[Sadhvika]

Thank you so much @raphaela12! The Ordinary's website advises against using Niacinamide with Vitamin C. This is why my PM routine is so full and day routine is just Vit C

[raphaela12]

@Sadhvika Really? That's weird, never heard of that before. Whenever you layer products you always want to wait for them to dry and absorb into the skin anyways. 🙂

[Sadhvika]

On the Ordinary's website for each product on its page, there's a "Usage details" section that tells us what products we shouldn't use that product with. Anyway I love Niacinamide! I used it last night for the first time and the skin felt great!

[raphaela12]

@Sadhvika I love Niacinamide too! I can't go without it for my face type to help with my pores and oil 😋