I have a confession: I’d been using the same skincare products for years — some from a routine I half-remembered from a YouTube video, some impulse buys, and a few things gifted to me that I felt too guilty to stop using. Was it working? I genuinely didn’t know. My skin was… fine. Maybe.

So one evening I did something I’d been meaning to do for ages. I listed out every single product I was using — morning and evening — typed them all into AI and said: “Be honest with me. Is this routine actually working, or am I wasting my money?”

Here’s what happened.

What I was actually using

My morning routine: a foaming cleanser, a vitamin C serum, moisturiser with SPF, and a separate SPF on top of that because I’d heard you should layer them (spoiler: you don’t need to).

Evening: the same cleanser again, a retinol, a niacinamide serum, the same moisturiser, and then sometimes a face oil on top when I remembered.

I typed it all out. AI came back with a few things I genuinely didn’t know.

What AI actually told me

The double SPF issue. Layering an SPF moisturiser with a separate SPF on top doesn’t double your protection — it can actually dilute both if you’re not applying enough of each. You’re better off with one good SPF applied generously. I’d been doing this for two years.

Niacinamide and retinol together. This one is debated, but AI explained the nuance well: they can work together, but niacinamide can reduce some of retinol’s effectiveness if applied simultaneously. Layering one after the other (letting the first absorb first) is better. I’d been mixing them together in my palm. Classic.

The foaming cleanser might be stripping me. I have combination skin that leans dry in winter. A foaming cleanser is often too harsh for that. AI suggested swapping to a gentle cream or gel cleanser. I’ve since switched to a CeraVe gel and my skin is noticeably calmer.

The good news. Vitamin C in the morning, SPF every day, retinol at night — these are all solid foundations. I wasn’t doing it all wrong. Which felt reassuring.

What I changed (and what I didn’t)

I swapped the foaming cleanser. I stopped layering SPFs (one good one now, applied properly). I started applying my niacinamide first, letting it absorb, then the retinol. I didn’t chuck out everything and start again — I just made a few small tweaks.

Six weeks later my skin is noticeably better. Less tight in the mornings. Fewer dry patches. I can’t attribute it all to the tweaks, but something shifted.

AI isn’t a dermatologist, and I want to be clear about that. But it gave me a starting point — enough to ask better questions and make more informed choices about what I put on my face.

If you want to try this yourself, just list everything you use morning and evening and ask AI to look for any ingredient conflicts, ordering issues, or products that might be working against each other. You might be surprised what comes back.