It seems that cosmetic shelves today are flooded with products: eye creams, wrinkle creams, firming creams, anti-aging creams, whitening creams, Vitamin C products, retinol and more. But are all of these products really good for your skin? An increasing number of people are complaining that their skin-care products are actually making things worse, not better. The problem, experts say, is that some people are using too many products at once.

"More and more patients are asking for help," said Dr. Bang Hyeong-don, the head dermatologist at UNISEOUL clinic. The first thing you need to do is understand your specific skin condition, he said. "Instead of purchasing products in sets without knowing how your skin will react, it's better to buy just one or two products for specific conditions such as acne or freckles," he said. "Unless you have allergies or extremely sensitive skin, you can avoid skin troubles by starting off with mild moisturizing products."

◆ Mixing Some Products Can Be Harmful

Vitamin C-fortified products that reduce the creation of melanin have been selling well recently, despite their high prices. But when vitamin-C products are applied at the same time as retinol, a wrinkle remover, the combination can harm your skin. Kim Hyun-joo, a dermatologist with the ANACLI center in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, said, "Retinol has low acidity like vitamin C. If they are combined with AHA (alpha hydroxy acid) treatments, it can cause dry skin to worsen, leading to more skin ailments." People with thin or sensitive skin should avoid applying them together, she said. But combinations aren't always bad. Vitamin C products can be more effective when applied with some anti-aging creams or vitamin E products.

◆ Maintaining Balance is Important

Lee Jong-min of Re&New Clinic, explained that some cosmetics contain ingredients that can lead to problems when combined. Many cosmetics contain preservatives to prevent decay and emulsifiers to help substances blend and stay smooth. If you're not careful, Lee said, you can make skin problems worse by using too many products at once.

"These substances are important to maintain PH levels and allow the products to be absorbed into the skin properly," Lee said. "The levels are balanced in the cosmetics. But if a consumer uses several different products together, like creams and lotions and such, the balance can be thrown off, and the various agents can offset the effects of the products."

◆ Expensive Does Not Necessarily Mean Good

Cosmetic prices can vary widely, from thousands of won to hundreds of thousands of won (US$1=W933) per item. Some well-known brands can even cost more than W1 million. But shoppers who buy expensive skin-care products may be disappointed to learn that a recent U.S. report concluded that price has little to do with how well a product works.

After investigating nine different wrinkle creams for 12 weeks, Consumer Reports magazine found that most products showed about the same effect, reducing the depth of wrinkles by around 10 percent. And a US$57 bottle of Renegist from Olay was even more effective than a $135 bottle of StriVectin-SD, or a $335 Cellular lotion from La Prairie.

(englishnews@chosun.com )