Can Acne Products Make Your Acne Worse?

If you’re anything like me - you have probably tried hundreds of different acne products to try and get rid of your acne. Some products just don’t seem to work at all, some seem to work a little bit, and sometimes it just seems that your skin is breaking out even more than normal.

We all know that breakouts can be caused by many different factors, but possibly there is a reason that the new skincare product you’ve incorporated into your routine might be causing you to break out more than usual.

So the question is: Can acne products make acne worse? In short, the answer is yes. There are many different reasons that your skincare product might be causing your acne to become worse - but it may be a little difficult to find out the reason.

Below I will dive into some of the reasons that your acne products are making your acne worse.

You May Be Using Too Much or Too Little of the Acne Product

When it comes to skincare, sometimes people think that using a larger amount of product is going to speed up the process, but that is not always the case at all. If a product directs you to only apply a thin layer over the ‘affected areas,’ I would definitely recommend sticking to that. 

For example, salicylic acid is one ingredient that is often used to fight acne and breakouts. It is also classified as a mild chemical irritant. So if you are using too much of an acne product that contains this ingredient, your skin might become inflamed and in-turn cause more acne breakouts. 

You may be having an allergic reaction or sensitivity to ingredients in your product.

Since all of our skin is different, some people have allergies to certain skincare ingredients. For me personally, anything with Tea Tree Oil in it breaks me out very easily. When I was going through severe cystic acne during college, I tried a Tea Tree Toner from Lush and it did not go well. My acne was even more inflamed and I woke up with even more breakouts. 

It may be a good idea to patch test an acne product and figure out if your skin is allergic or has any sensitivity to it before completely incorporating it into your skincare routine.

You might be using ingredients that don't go well together

I know it can be a little tough to resist the urge to apply multiple different acne products & ingredients to your face in hopes that they will all buckle down and go to work, but it usually doesn't work like that. Some ingredients can actually counteract each other and not work, if they are applied together.

Other acne-fighting ingredients that are combined might just irritate your skin too much and cause more breakouts. If you wanna check out some ingredients that really shouldn’t go together, we have a blog that is the perfect guide.

If you plan to use multiple acne-fighting ingredients, it is best to incorporate one of them in your morning skincare routine and the other one at night.

You aren’t being consistent with the acne product

In the time we live in now, we want things as fast as possible, including results from our acne products. Well, it doesn’t work like that. Constantly changing the skincare products you’re using and not giving them enough time to work could also be an issue. 

For example, in a study performed by dermatologists - at weeks 10 to 12 are the best treatment period for benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid (which are two widely known acne-fighting ingredients).