Concerned about darkening of skin and less glow

[jozeyah]

Has anyone found using too much skin care products for a period of time makes your face look more darkened uneven and less of a glow, no matter the skin care line? I use different lines so I know I may need to make a change a study more in my particular needs and environmental factors. I use a 3 product regeigm 2 times daily but have found my appearance has change NOT for the better. I don't know if it's mixing skin line brands or maybe I need to slow down. So questions has anyone experience any of the above? At first things were helping but now I find it seems to be reversing. Have you experienced a great start then suddenly had darkening or more imperfections stand out? I know there's so many factors in why this could be happening. But any insight would  be lovely thanks. Could I be using too much vitiman c or is there anything that can cause more darkening and less glow in particular?

[Siri14]

They symptoms you're describing seem to me like they're from a damaged skin barrier.  This can be caused by overuse of chemical exfoliants, physical exfoliants, sun exposure, extreme dryness, prolonged use of antibiotics etc.  So basically anything under the sun...

Once that happens, your skin becomes super sensitive to EVERYTHING, so skin texture gets worse, pigmentation comes about, your skin loses its glow, you get random bumps etc etc.

If you're concerned about a damaged skin barrier, I'd try to repair skin slowly while using a mild cleanser:
- Step 1: Bring in Ceramides, this should help fill in the cracks so to speak, and give you a complete skin barrier. (Look for products that claim to soothe).

- Step 2: If you're skin is feeling thinner (wrinkles, lack of plumpness etc) I'd add in some peptides like The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + HA Serum 

- Step 3: Add in hydration.  I'd definitely use a good moisturizer that matches your skin type, but in addition you can look into single ingredient solutions like Hyaluronic Acid Serums, Niacinamide, Face Oil etc. Try to avoid actives like Vitamin C, Retinol, Retinol Alternatives etc.

- Step 4: Once your skin has recovered (at least a couple weeks to a month later) you can start to add your other actives back in small quantities and even begin adding in AHAs and BHAs.

[heartsmyface]

@jozeyah  AHAs, Retinoids and face peels and citrus based products can make your skin photosensitive so if you don’t use SPF religiously while using them you could experience skin darkening.  

You could also experience skin darkening (melasma) if you damage your skin barrier, or from friction or hormone changes and even from your diet.  

Are you wearing spf daily?  and which skincare products are you currently using in your skincare regimen so we can take a better look at what’s happening?  

[WinglessOne]

@jozeyah  A few questions for you: 

1. What are the “imperfections" you’ve noticed standing out more? PIH (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, such as dark marks left by acne), sun spots, lots of little skin-colored bumps, increased redness, dry patches, active acne, lines/wrinkles…? 
   
   
2. What products have you been using? For instance, you mentioned vitamin C. Which vitamin C product is it? 
   
   
3. Do you use a broad spectrum sunscreen each day your skin’s exposed to sunlight, and reapply it every couple hours, regardless of weather or season? 

Using more than one skincare brand in your routine is fine. Many people (including me) do that. Maybe one of your products contains an ingredient you shouldn't use daily and/or longterm... the first 2 examples that spring to mind are AHAs (especially glycolic acid) and hydroquinone. Those are good effective ingredients, as long as they're not overused or misused. AHA usage is best kept to 1-3 times a week, otherwise you risk over-exfoliation. Hydroquinone shouldn't be continuously used longterm; you really need usage instructions from a board certified dermatologist or primary care doctor to avoid rebound hyperpigmentation and other issues with this ingredient. 

If you’re trying to treat melasma, rebound hyperpigmentation is a known issue. Melasma’s hard to treat, especially if you do it on your own with no help from a doctor. If you’re not sure you have melasma, consider getting a diagnosis from a board certified dermatologist or your primary care doctor. 

[jozeyah]

To answer what symptoms I have is on and off bumps but I've been diagnosed yrs ago with cystic acne so acne is one but darkness like Grey's tint to my face and some redness  all my imperfections seem to show more and my lines seem to stand out more as well. I prob should see a derm again It's just hard to get a dr referral as my Dr retired but my face has that tired drug out look. My hyperpigmination it's alot is  mostly sun spots from no sunscreen over yrs but I wouldn't doubt my recent health probs could be a factor too. I try avoiding aha and bha but I'm almost thinking of stopping everything I'm using ex ept my tula cleanser and see if it changes then do an official examination of what my skin needs only as I wanna use less products as possible but keep them separate. Thus why I like the ordinary line. I do have somewhat sensitive fair skin that's combination. But ya I wondered if there is any ingredients that should be used just short term only. I'm pretty new to this I had done alot of research just since last year and went full force. So I also thinking I could be using too much or just using something that's not agreeing. 

[jozeyah]

I do have sun spots and some skin hyperpigmination naturally which started improving a little before but I been using the inkey list vitiman c cream. the hyloronic acid from the ordinary. Aswell as matrixl 1000 serum. I use an elf moisturizer too,  But I've just started using sunscreen Neutrogena I also use thrashers toner. So my concern  is if the mixture of ingredients maybe doing it. It could be the uv I never really thought as it just started recently and I'm also 40 and I have alot of aging due to health aswell. But since I started with skin care in winter it was ok at first but has changed. Maybe I should use more sunscreen and wear hats to try reducing the uv.

[WinglessOne]

@jozeyah  Oh, definitely keep using the sunscreen: 

Spoiler

UV rays will worsen hyperpigmentation. They can also increase other "signs of aging" and cause skin cancer, no matter what season it is or how cloudy/overcast the sky is. Sunscreen is very important. Good idea to also wear hats. Sunglasses, too. Just be sure to also wear sunscreen, because hats and non-wraparound glasses alone can't protect you from UV rays bouncing off walls, floors, sidewalks, etc. They do offer another layer of protection, though. 

Make sure you apply sunscreen generously: most folks don't apply enough in the morning, and sunscreen wears off throughout the day as we sweat, wipe/touch our faces, etc. That's primarily why derms recommend reapplying sunscreen every couple hours. With sunscreen, it's better to over-apply than under-apply; there's no such thing as "a little sunscreen goes a long way." I always apply at least 2 layers of sunscreen to all skin exposed to sunlight: eyelids, ears, behind ears, nape of neck if exposed, hairline, wrists, hands, ankles, etc. 

If you end up not liking the Neutrogena sunscreen for any reason, try a different sunscreen. No matter what sunscreen it is, as long as it's broad spectrum, at least 30 SPF, and is something you'll actually use daily, then it's a good one. 

You mentioned a toner: did you mean Thayers Witch Hazel Toner? Witch hazel's an astringent. It's not completely bad for skin, but longterm use can cause irritation. Plus, some folks are just skin-sensitive to the tannins in witch hazel. I stopped using witch hazel as a toner because it was drying out my skin too much and wrecking my moisture barrier. (I have mostly-dry combo skin and I'm 50. I stopped using witch hazel daily in my late 30s, if I recall correctly.) Consider cutting back on that toner... maybe drop use to just once or twice a week for a few weeks and see how your skin responds. 

The INKEY List Vitamin C Brightening Cream 1 oz/ 30 mL doesn't seem bad, though 30% is a high concentration of ascorbic acid. I'll politely disagree about waiting 30 minutes between applying this cream and applying matrixyl, because: 

Spoiler

Ascorbic acid is said to need an acidic pH environment below 3.5 to be most effective. That number's based on a study that was done on pig skin, not human skin, and didn't consider other factors like the way a product's formulated to increase ascorbic acid penetration. Also, this study looked at pH levels of vitamin C formulas, not pH levels of skin. I'm not sure when or why folks started assuming that 3.5 number referred to skin's pH instead of product formulation's pH. 

Human skin's natural pH is between 4 and 5.5. That's obviously above 3.5. So if it was true that vitamin C needs skin to be at 3.5 or lower, then we couldn't apply it to our skin as-is and expect it to work at all. We'd always have to lower our skin's natural pH first by using something like an AHA or BHA, and then applying vitamin C. And sure, you can do that... BHA's the safer option for daily use, though folks with sensitive skin probably shouldn't use it that way. 

But remember, that 3.5 number refers to product formulation, not skin pH. And even then, that number's questionable because of the way the study was conducted: on pig skin (which doesn't behave like human skin), using an occlusion method humans wouldn't normally use when applying vitamin C, and the study was done on only... I wanna say 5 pigs? It was a very small test group. 

The Ordinary Matrixyl is a peptides serum with a pH of 5-6, which is slightly acidic. (Neutral is 7, the pH of water.) Matrixyl doesn't care if your skin's pH is more acidic (lower) than 5; otherwise, many of us would have to manually raise our skin's natural pH before using matrixyl. That's not necessary. You should be able to apply that vitamin C cream, then apply this matrixyl serum once the cream feels like it's penetrated your skin—maybe 30-120 seconds later. 

You might not need both The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 Hydrating Serum and The Ordinary Matrixyl* 10% + HA 1 oz/ 30 mL since they both contain sodium hyaluronate, plus that ingredient's probably in your other products. Neither of those The Ordinary products are bad, though. Consider using them on alternate days, or even alternate time of day (use one in the morning and the other at night). I doubt hyaluronic acid's increasing your hyperpigmentation. But unless you have very dry skin, a standalone hyaluronic acid serum in addition to another serum that contains that ingredient might be more than your skin needs. 

[heartsmyface]

@jozeyah   Your products seem fine so long as you’re not mixing matrixl and vitamin c together as they work at different ph levels.   You can wait 30 minutes for your vitmain c to absorb and then apply matrixl or use the matrixl at night as you would with a retinoid.