Dr Alek Nikolic’s Advice On Mixing Ingredients
I often get this question asked by my patients and generally speaking it is 100% safe to mix different products from different ranges BUT here are some guidelines in whitch active ingredients you should take note of before adding them to your skin care regime.
Adding as many topical products as possible all with their own unique characteristics and concentrations of active ingredients can cause unwanted side effects on our skins including:
- Allergic reactions
- Rashes
- Dermatitis
- Pigmentary changes
Here is a quick guideline to help you prevent any unwanted reactions:
Don’t Mix Vitamin C With:
Alphahydroxy Acids (AHAs):
When we combine AHA with Vitamin C we can increase reactions such as redness, peeling and skin irritations.
Retinol:
When mixing Retinol (vitamin A) with Vitamin C (especially high concentrations) can cause the skin to become dry and even feel sensitive. This is typically seen when combining concentrations of:
Retinol: 0.5% and 1.0%
Vitamin C: 10% or higher
Don’t Mix Retinol With:
Benzoyl Peroxide:
Both are brilliant for Acne, pimples and blemishes but when used at the same time they may increase your skins chances of excessive peeling, unwanted pigment, lasting redness and even blistering and scarring.
AHAs:
Retinol and AHA together is generally considered safe to mix but in some of us this combination may cause and increased sensitivity. So if your skin is sensitive my advice would be to first try the two on a small part of the face for at least 10 days to ensure no reactions take place.
Final Advice:
Irrespective of the ingredients you are using or which ones you are mixing to get added skin benefits always remember to add a daily sunscreen SPF 30 or higher that contains zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide.
thank you for the great advice