Have your preferred beauty products stopped working?

Each of us have experienced that a tried-and-tested beauty routine suddenly seems to stop working. Do we move on to a new set of products? Here’s, what the experts have to say:

Should You Change Your Shampoo and Conditioner?

As per John Gray, author of The World of Hair Color, the performance of high-quality hair products do not deteriorate over time as they are rigorously tested to ensure that high quality. Hair is technically dead, so it can’t develop a tolerance to a product.

But you’re not imagining the changes in your hair. Coloring, highlighting, relaxing and perming all affect the fundamental properties of your hair. Actually, the residues from styling products cause your hair to look and feel dull. If you’ve had one of these chemical processes, start afresh by using a one-time wash with a clarifying shampoo. As these shampoos contain enzymes and citric acids, it helps to bind deposits and remove them from your hair. You can also use deep-conditioning treatments like masks to keep your hair in tip-top shape.

Ask your stylist for advice on how frequently you should use these at-home hair care treatments. Seasonal changes can also make you feel like your shampoo and conditioner aren’t working. In fact, it’s your hair itself that behaves differently in the high humidity of summer as against the dry winter conditions. So always select a shampoo and conditioner that’s right not only for your hair type and texture, but also as per the seasons.

Should You Swap Your Skin Care Products?

Tom Woodhouse, a skin care expert says “using skin care products is a lot like dieting,” “Often, you’ll see a lot of improvement over the first three months, and then when you’ve achieved the maximum benefit from the products, your skin goes into more of a maintenance mode. What you’re missing is the excitement or novelty of those early results.”

Our skin is dynamic, changing almost every day. So learn to read your skin and be flexible in the types of products you use. If you have dry skin or oily skin, irritation or acne, it’s important to adjust your regime to the type of skin you’re having on a particular day.

If your skin is looking greasy and starting to break out, switch to a cleanser that contains salicylic acid, which will help to unclog the pores. The active ingredients that keep our skin looking its best are the peptides or the retinol that work year-round. Rotate your skin care regime as per the season; for example, include oil-free or gel-based products in summer and richer creams and lotions in the winter.