Q: Can skin “get used to” skincare products?

Short answer: Skin cannot get used to skincare products (except retinoids). It can happen with some medications.

There is a persistent myth that skin becomes accustomed to skincare products, and then they suddenly stop working. To avoid this, cosmetologists, bloggers, and consultants in cosmetic stores often recommend regularly changing or alternating products. Is this necessary?

What about medications?

In medicine, there is a term called tachyphylaxis – a decrease in the effectiveness of a drug with repeated use. For example, in the 1980s, there was a hypothesis that therapeutic gels and ointments with corticosteroids (for psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, eczema) become less effective with each subsequent use. Nowadays, scientists do not think this way – it is more likely that patients use the medication less frequently over time. However, some medications can indeed cause dependency: for instance, certain pain relievers (morphine) or vasodilators (nitroglycerin).

About Retinoids

Skin can develop tolerance to retinoid products. But this is not entirely bad – as the skin becomes accustomed, some side effects diminish: dryness, peeling, and redness of the skin. The anti-aging and anti-acne effects remain.

About Skincare

There are two reasons why this might happen:

1. If the skincare product contains antibiotics (clindamycin, tetracycline – but then it’s a medication, not a cosmetic).
2. If it contains hormones (same case).

Moisturizing, nourishing, and restorative products cannot suddenly stop working – they act on the stratum corneum of the skin. If a product is well-formulated and contains moisturizing ingredients, it simply cannot stop moisturizing the skin.

If you feel that a product has become less effective than before, it does not mean that your skin has developed “immunity” to it. Most likely, the difference was noticeable when you first started using the cream or serum, and after a few months, the contrast has evened out. Additionally, our skin changes. It is influenced by dozens of factors: environment, sun, climate, stress. What worked great in winter might not be as comfortable and effective in summer, and vice versa.

Therefore, I recommend changing your skincare products only if you need to address a specific issue: pigmentation appears, skin suddenly becomes flaky, you breaking out, and so on.