How Long Should It Take for Your Skin Care Product to Work?

One of the most common questions about skin care products is, “How long will it be before I see results?” Whether you’re searching for an effective acne treatment, a way to minimize the appearance of lines and wrinkles, or a way to fade age spots and sun spots, when you purchase a skin care product, you want to see results. So how do you know how long it will take for your skin to start showing evidence that the product you purchased is making a difference in the look of your skin?  Here are five ways to establish how long you should expect to wait before you see results from your skin care products.

Start by Reading the Label or Product Description!

The most obvious way to get an idea of how long you should expect to wait for a product to show results is to read the information contained on the product label or product description. This information should be based upon the manufacturer’s own experience with the product.  If a product promises results, be sure to check to see if the results are backed up by clinical tests or research studies. Just because a product says that it can show instant results, it doesn’t mean that there’s any proof that it does. Don’t take claims of rapid results at face value. Make sure that the company has done clinical trials to back them up!

Allow Time for Healthier Skin to Come to the Surface

No matter how quickly a skin care product may show results, even if you see instant results, hose results are often temporary fixes for skin that is already damaged. The real benefits of any quality skin care product that you use will be changes you see over time as  the new, healthy skin that was below the surface of the skin comes to the top. By working in more than one way, your skin care products are able to help damaged surface skin and even protect new skin to actually prevent many skin imperfections from ever appearing when that new, young skin becomes the skin’s surface. This process may take weeks or even months depending on the depth of your skin damage. Particularly in the case of anti-wrinkle treatments, the skin beneath the surface is hydrated, fuller and has shallower wrinkle depth. To speed the cycle of exfoliation and cell renewal, you can always speed the process up by using an AHA or BHA exfoliating mask or peel such as Murad Intensive Resurfacing Peel or Murad Intensive-C® Radiance Peel.

Related Product: Murad Intensive Resurfacing Peel

Brightening and smoothing effects similar to a chemical peel are enhanced by gentle Bamboo Bead microdermabrasion. Debris and exhausted cells are swept away to reveal youthful-looking skin while Glycolic and Salicylic Acids stimulate cell proliferation.

Customer Review

“I’m loving this product– use it 2-3x/week and my skin always has a wonderful glow afterward. There isn’t a lot of the uncomfortable tightening and my skin doesn’t feel dry or dehydrated when I’m done. I recommend this product to anyone hoping to clean away what a long busy week leaves behind.” AC45, New Jersey

Acne Treatment Tip: Allow Time for the Acne Purge

If your skin care concern calls for an acne treatment product, then be sure to allow time for an acne purge. If your acne treatment is clearing your acne from the source, deep within your pores, rather than simply drying out your skin, then you’ll need to break out before you can get clear. Again, the time that this may take can vary depending on the severity of your acne. Most people report that their acne purge comes about three weeks into their new treatment. While an acne purge does mean that you won’t see clear skin instantly, it also means that you’ll get clear skin for the long term instead of just temporarily.

Ask Questions and Read Reviews

Many times, the people with the best advice on how long a product will take to show real results are the people who use it or the people who answer questions about it every day. Take some time to visit forums and skin care websites as well as to read online reviews of the product. Murad products all feature completely unedited customer reviews on every product page that give honest opinions on results and time frames. If you still have questions, you can contact a skin care specialist or customer service representative. If they can’t give you a reliable answer, then you should question the product!

Remember That Every Face is Different

As you select products and evaluate your results, remember that every face is unique and everyone has different skincare needs. A product that showed results in a week for one person may take several weeks for you or it may not even work at all for you. Give every skin care product that you try an ample amount of time to show you results, but be aware that not every product will work for every person!

While we all want to get flawless, glowing skin instantly, anything good in life is worth waiting for. When you combine appropriate topical skin care with internal nutritional care and care for your sense of self (the three pillars of Inclusive Health™) you’ll see a fundamental difference in your skin that will help it to glow from the inside out. You just need to give yourself some time to see results!