Have you ever been guilty of throwing in the towel when you haven’t seen instant results? Yeah, us too.
From losing weight to developing a new skill, it’s human nature to become quickly disheartened when we don’t see an immediate, visible improvement. And as it turns out, the same principle applies to the cleansers, toners and serums promising to banish our acne and eliminate our wrinkles.
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So, a week or two into your new regimen, as you stand in front of the mirror and your fine lines are still prominent and blemishes are still inflamed, it’s important to remind yourself that Rome wasn’t built in a day. And your flawless, youthful complexion won’t be either.
In fact, when it comes to getting the most out of our skin care, patience and consistency can be equally as critical as the formulas themselves.
But exactly how long does skin care take to work?
Well, that all depends. While different products work to varying timelines, a general rule of thumb for how long we should wait before seeing results is roughly 28 days.
This four-week block mimics the length of our typical skin cycle. Within each skin cycle a fresh skin cell will appear, mature, die and then shed. So technically any products working on the superficial layer of our complexion shouldn’t need any longer than this.
Image credit: @jordanrisa
In fact, most dermatologists will even recommend waiting a full three months before making a fair assessment on whether or not your products have been working. So if you’re a serial serum chop and changer (say this out loud five times), this could be the reason you are seeing little to no improvement when it comes to eliminating your skin care qualms.
How do we know which products might need longer than others?
Products targeting the superficial layer of our skin will often offer visible and immediate results. This includes cleansers recruited to wash the oil and dirt from the day away, physical exfoliants or spot treatments applied to a pimple that’s moments away from bursting.
However, deep-rooted skin concerns like acne, scarring and pigmentation will understandably require more time.
In fact, comparing this process to the healing of a scab, Tracy Julien the VP of marketing at bioClarity explained to The Zoe Report, “the smaller the wound, the quicker it will heal and the larger or deeper the wound, the longer it takes to heal”.
“In the case of acne, the root cause of it is often subdermal, so it will take time for the active ingredients to penetrate into the dermis and reach the source of the inflammation and irritation,” she noted.
This means any products containing more potent actives like retinoids or peptides can “take anywhere between three to four months to see the full effect because they’re working on a genetic level.”
When can we disregard this rule and immediately move on?
If your skin immediately starts to burn, sting or become red and irritated, then this might be the sign of an allergic reaction, in which case we don’t recommend sticking around to see the full 28-day cycle through.
However, stinging doesn’t always mean you’re allergic. A bad reaction can also come down to pairing skin care ingredients that shouldn’t be mixed together.
Main image credit: @summerfridays
How long do you wait before seeing results from a product?
I feel like 6 weeks is usually how long I like to test a product for. If its irritating to my skin in any way though, I will usually give it up immediately.
Thank You BH for such an interesting Topic especially regarding how long it takes Skincare Products to work on our Skin. Will definitely give adequate time for products to work properly before saying how good a job that they are doing. Many products do have an almost instant reaction on the Skin and it is what it does long term. That really counts!
Hmm, I’m probably guilty of giving up in the 2–4 week zone, so it seems I may need a little more patience. Interested to see whether BH skincare trial teams give you 4 weeks (or more) to truly test efficacy. I’ve not done a skincare trial, but the few I’ve done for haircare and lip balms have had a testing period of 2–3 weeks, tops.
Will wait now and not get angry for my cream to work.
It depends on how much I like the products. I usually use it up and then decide if I will use it again. 28 days makes sense for cell turnover
Unfortunately yes, most of the time it takes weeks or months to notice any change for most products, which makes testing skincare products for review within a timeframe rather difficult.
I guess it depends
Very good point! I had over a month for my last beauty product trial
Depending what I am looking at. If it is smooth glowing skin (with exfoliators) then not long. I get results from one use (high % acid mask) to just couple of days. If it is pigmentation (deep one from my melasma) then a year. Forgot I have it now, as it just faded with continued use of exfoliators, retinol and spf.
Depends what it is, but I usually give it a good 4 – 6 weeks.
I think 4 weeks is fair. Even if I have moderate stinging or tingling I don’t give up on a product straight away. With sensitive skin it may just be an adjustment reaction as opposed to allergic or severe reaction. For the last two I will stop using the product immediately,
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Goodness, our trial teams don’t allow for the 28 days to see a difference…
I will usually see the product through to the end of the product.
lol angry lgauci! xo
I love it when a masque gives a noticeable improvement after washing it off but I know that it’s usually after two days that the effects of a masque really shows in the skin – hence the Thursday Night Mask term was coined.
Haha
3 months?! Ahh I’m so impatient
My skin isn’t prone to allergies, but it’s very blemish-prone. As long as a product doesn’t make me break out, I’ll use it until it’s finished, then decide whether or not to repurchase.
I completely agree! Some of the deadlines for trials allow little more than a first impression of the product!
I usually wait till the product is finished before deciding whether it helped or not.
Luckily I rarely react to anything so can try something until it runs out. I’m more likely to stop if I dislike the texture or smell. I wonder who sets the trial deadlines?
I always give my products 4 weeks before deciding whether they are working or not, there are some products like Estee Lauder’s ANR that showed improvements within a few days of use
Some brands are good at allowing time but others want skincare product reviews put up in 2 weeks.
I understand that some companies might want some swift reviews but it would be good for skin, hair and body products if you were able to do your first review and go back in with updates after say 2mths, 4mths and perhaps even 6mths.
ah well doesnt this prove that any trials for these types of products should be longer or we should be able to do updates along the way.
If I like a product I’ll use it til it’s finished then assess if I want to re-purchase.
Interesting… Personally, I just go by feel… If I feel good, I’ll keep going… If not, I’ll try something else…
Well this is not good when their is deadline for submitting reviews in a trial
I use retinol sporadically so need to incorporate it more seeing that it takes 3 months to work. Thanks for this information
Important information
Me too.
Great article. I agree with this article.
That’s very good of you!
With so many options out there it’s SO hard to stick with something if it doesn’t work quickly .. but with age comes patience 🙂 and I’ve learned to give products at least a month now. I’m really looking for something that I can use long term to improve my skin and keep it healthy so it’s worth putting in the time to find something good. I’m also more and more interested in natural organic products.
If I am using a new product, and have no adverse reactions , then I will continue to use it until it’s used up, then decide if I want to buy more. (Can’t afford to be throwing products away if there is no “Instant Fix” !!!)
Interesting , I was thinking it would be few weeks at least.
Yeah, that’s nowhere near enough time
Patience is key. 4-6 weeks is a fair indication if skincare is working.
Patience and consistency works for me. I don’t give up easily and use the whole container of product before deciding if there is any noticeable difference.
Great information, thank you 🙂
Interesting article., looks like patience and perserverence are important.
I’m definitely guilty of being an impatient serial chop and changer – with pretty much everything!
I have learnt patience girls.
I always see a product through but always love to love the product straight away, even if it just feels nice
This is a good guide, sometimes I get so impatient for products that claim to fade pigmentation
Good to know.
3 months seems quite long…
I like to finish the product first before I make any judgements (which probably takes longer than 3 months anyway lol)
It depends on the product. You don’t need all this time. Cleanser and moisturisers – you can definitely tell after one use how effective it is. It takes longer to see effects from actives and active ingredients in skincare products, but this is also dependent on the quantity in the formulations.
Good to know. I have given up on products plenty of time. I’m going to give them more a chance before I give an opinion.
Unless it’s clearly doing harm, I wait till I’ve used all the product before I decide whether to keep using it.