Just realized using a different toner on the left vs right side of my face was a total disaster

I spent 3 weeks wondering why my left cheek was breaking out while the right was glowing, then it hit me that I was using a glycolic toner on one side and a gentle one on the other without thinking. Has anyone else accidentally done two different routines at once and seen weird results?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_anthony1mo ago

Man I've done pretty much the same thing with moisturizers. Used a heavy cream on my left cheek and a gel one on the right because I was just grabbing whatever was closest in the cabinet. After a week my left side looked greasy and clogged while the right was totally fine. You're not alone in the accidental split routine thing. What finally worked for me was just doing the same basic routine everywhere then targeting problem spots with something separate. Much easier to figure out what's actually working that way.

xenaf511mo ago

Hang on, gotta push back a tiny bit on that salicylic acid spray thing. Toners are usually water based and go on with a cotton pad or your hands, sprays are more like a mist or a treatment, not really the same category. Sounds like you were using a spray with salicylic acid as a spot treatment which is totally fine, but calling it a toner might confuse people new to skincare. I've definitely done the same thing where I grab a product and just assume it works like something else, then wonder why my face hates me. Really just gotta look at the actual product type and how it's meant to be used, not just what the bottle looks like.

ray1361mo ago

Oh man, did you end up sticking with one toner or switching to something totally different? For me, I had a similar thing where I'd use a salicylic acid spray on my chin and a hydrating mist on my cheeks, and my chin just got raw and angry while my cheeks looked fine. I eventually just picked one gentle toner for everywhere and added a spot treatment instead, which worked way better.