Is Mixing Skin Care Products Dangerous?

by Cinya Burton
Published Feb 05, 2012

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Are you a skin care product junkie? When it comes to stocking up on complexion essentials, brand loyalty is more important than you think. Blending different cleansers, scrubs, serums, and sunscreens does more harm than good sometimes. Incompatible ingredients or different pH ranges can irritate skin and lead to breakouts. To better understand the do's and don'ts of skin care cocktailing we chatted with Los Angeles-based dermatologist Ava Shamban, M.D.

What to look out for

When you mix certain active ingredients together, “you may experience skin sensitivity, breakouts, rashes, or topical skin dermatitis," warns Dr. Shamban. Blending formulas is also bad. Some ingredients become less effective when layered and can even completely cancel each other out. One example of a mismatch? Copper peptides and vitamin C. "Copper peptides are found in many anti-aging products such as moisturizers and serums," explains Dr. Shamban. "They counteract topical vitamin C—another popular anti-aging ingredient.” So check your labels carefully. “Alpha Hydroxy Acids and retinols also shouldn't be mixed together or applied at the same time, as one degrades the other,” according to Dr. Shamban. Since retinols also increase your skin’s sun sensitivity, apply them in the evenings only.

Acne aids

Zit zappers can work against you when you cocktail them. If you layer on high concentrations of powerful pimple fighters like glycolic acid, salicylic acid, and retinols at the same time, you may face a bigger problem than when you started. Skin can become inflamed, ruddy, dry, and acne can get worse! "The package inserts on most retinol products say not to use salicylic acid with them," explains Dr. Shamban. "However, it all depends on your skin tolerance. Both ingredients are quite drying—try using one in the morning and another in the evening for optimal results."

What about sunscreen?

“Your normal skin care regime of cleanser and moisturizer won’t interfere with the SPF effectiveness and shouldn’t irritate your skin,” says Dr. Shamban. You can even layer on an antioxidant serum to boost your UV protection.

The bottom line

Most of the time mixing skin care items is okay, just be careful not to overuse one type of ingredient or layer ingredients that counteract with each other. To avoid unwanted side effects, keep your routine basic. Stick to one active ingredient in the morning and another one at night.

Ava Shamban M.D. is a renowned board-certified dermatologist. In addition to serving as Assistant Clinical Professor of Dermatology at the UCLA-Geffen School of Medicine, she is also owner and director of two practices, AVA MD, in Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, CA. She is not only recognized as the Extreme Makeover dermatologist and the resident expert on the Emmy winning daytime talk show, The Doctors, but Dr. Shamban is also author of the new book, Heal Your Skin: The Breakthrough Plan for Renewal.

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Comments

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Mar 20, 2012

Sara M.

I had to tell my brother to stop mixing his products. Nice to find an article to let people know.

Feb 25, 2012

Carolina D.

OMG!!! i Have been layering acne products for years! Thank goodness i read this :)

Feb 17, 2012

Sojourner W.

This was insightful because I NEVER really relaized how "bad" it was to mix and match some products...very interesting! Thanks!

Feb 09, 2012

AvonCTStyle T.

I'm one of those who have been "Blessed" (Cursed) with combination skin so at almost 50 (wow what happened to the last 30 years?) so to deal with the unfairness of both adult acne & fighting wrinkles I used 2 complete skin care regimens in the morning I use the Avon Clearskin Pro regimen to fight the acne & it's been great for that so when I'm in active breakout I use that daily once cleared up I alternate the cleansers for my daily morning regimen odd days using the acne busters & even days using the anti-aging Avon Anew Reversalist Skin care regimen for my nightly regimen I always use the anti-aging Avon Anew Reversalist cleanser & then alternate for my night cream Avon Anew Genics Night Treatment & Eye Treatment on odd days & the Avon Anew Reversalist Night Cream & Eye System - because I'm staying in the same family of skin care they work together & even my adult son noticed the difference in my skin & asked what was I using when I started the skin care regimen - had to train myself to start using a regimen instead of just doing the soap & water which for so many years I had been doing & obviously wasn't working for any of my problems Super Bowl Sunday my husband was proudly beaming as he verified my age to the guys who swore I was in the 35-38 age range LOL Nope I'm 48 about to be 49! Using Regimens (whichever brand you prefer but I'm loyal to Avon's skin care regimens) is best because they are designed to work together & compliment so they give the best results.

Elite

Feb 06, 2012