How long should you wait before judging the effectiveness of a skin care product?

When you invest (and it can be expensive) in a cream or serum with more wonderful promise than the other, you want it to immediately show us what it is capable of and what its effects on the purity, homogeneity and radiance of the complexion it’s instantaneous.

Unfortunately our dreams are rarely fulfilled and you often have to be patient (a lot of patience) to appreciate the first results of a product on the quality of the skin.

But exactly how long do we have to wait? The experts enlighten us, and their answer will not please the most hasty among us…

It takes three months to judge the results of a cosmetic product

Cell renewal refers to the process of shedding dead cells. For the skin, the normal cycle is 21 days, although various factors such as age, stress and the consumption of alcohol and tobacco can slow down this natural phenomenon.

This period of 21 full days, which is often rounded up to a month, is most often considered sufficient to form an opinion on a new treatment. Nevertheless, it seems that is not enough.

To the magazine The independentdermatologist Melanie Palm explains:

” To measure the effectiveness of a product on the skin, I recommend testing it for a minimum of three months, which is three cell renewal cycles. Especially if it is a “medicinal” product on medical prescription: this leaves enough time to have any biological effects on the dermis, if this is part of the desired effect. »

Author and black leather beautician Dija Ayodele confirms to the magazine Get the shine :

” Most of the time, consumer trials last a minimum of 12 weeks, so I always recommend waiting these 12 weeks to get an opinion on a product or routine.

It’s common to see improvements sooner, which is promising, but it is better to wait these three months of use because some ingredients take longer to reveal their effects – this is especially true for vitamin A, which can take three to six months to demonstrate its effectiveness. »

A basic skincare cream, which will moisturize and repair the outer layer of the epidermis (and that’s a lot of work), will have a quicker impact on skin comfort and quality, but specific skincare products , targeting blemishes, hyperpigmentation or even wrinkles require patience to appreciate.

” Skincare is a marathon, not a sprint Dr. Joshua Zeichner humorously reminds our colleague of The independent.

Irritation, allergy and purge: when to decide?

In some cases, the wait won’t be very long: if the skin starts to redden, scratch and the face looks swollen, there is a high probability that the product we have relied on so much is not suitable for us.

It can therefore act as a irritation (irritant contact dermatitis) or allergy (allergic contact dermatitis), even if the latter is rarer because it is less instantaneous. Sometimes it can even be a mix of the two: the skin has been damaged and, finally, the humanitarian system has reacted.

According to the medical journal WebMed“ fragrances and preservatives are often to blame “, just like products that contain AHA (especially when it is dosed at more than 10%), vitamin A or even sunscreens.

If it happens to you in the first days of using one or more new cosmetic treatments, that’s better stop everything as soon as you notice it to pinpoint the formula or ingredient causing the problem.

It’s to make it easier to find in this kind of scenario that we don’t recommend doing thisintegrate only one new product at a time into his own skin care routineand of perform a home skin testin the crease of the elbow, 48 hours before the first application on the face.

But in some cases thearrival of small and large buttons a few days (and even the next day) after using a product isn’t necessarily bad news. It can be a bleeding phenomenon quite common, especially if the treatment contains an ingredient that is supposed to stimulate cell renewal such as retinol or certain acids.

To the magazine Health lineexplains Dr. Deanne Mraz Robinson:

” Dead cells are eliminated faster, the skin speeds up its recovery and pushes everything to the surface. Depending on the person, it gives a mixture of whiteheads, blackheads, papules, pustules, cysts and even tiny “pre-pimples” called microcomedones. »

If these blemishes look no more suspicious than that, are on areas prone to acne lesions and are not accompanied by redness or itching, then you better continue to use the treatment.

Yes, it’s maddening, but this phase of ” gets worse before it gets better it only lasts for a while and the pimples caused by the purge usually fade away quickly. You will grumble for a few weeks, but you will certainly be happy to see the first positive results once the elimination is over.

Front page photo credit: Ron Lach on Pexels