Skincare routines have become increasingly elaborate. Cleanser can be followed by toner, essence, exfoliant, several serums, eye cream, moisturizer, facial oil, sunscreen, masks, and whatever treatment happens to be trending that week.
A study published in May 2026 asked 168 dermatologists and dermatology residents how they view this rise in multi-step skincare. More than 91% were concerned about increasingly complex routines, and only 12.5% said they actively recommended them.
That does not give skincare an official step limit. It does make a good case for being more selective.
As a pharmacist, I think the most useful way to build a routine is to ask what each product is contributing. If two or three products are essentially doing the same job, adding another layer rarely makes the routine more sophisticated.
It usually just makes it longer.
This content is educational in nature and should not be used as a substitute for individualized medical advice.
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What the 2026 Study Actually Found
The dermatologists surveyed were seeing skincare-related problems fairly often:
- 88.1% regularly encountered skincare-associated skin complaints
- 69.6% reported irritant eczema
- 53% reported perioral dermatitis
- 52.4% reported allergic contact dermatitis
- 42.3% reported acne exogenica
Retinoids, exfoliating acids, fragrance, and products marketed around natural ingredients were frequently associated with these complaints. At the same time, almost 80% of the dermatologists recognized that skincare culture has increased awareness of skin health and sun protection.
The takeaway is not that you need to throw out half the products in your bathroom.
Routine complexity becomes a problem when products overlap, irritation accumulates, or there is no clear reason for a step to be there.
The study also has limitations. It was a survey of dermatology professionals in the Netherlands rather than a clinical trial comparing three-step and ten-step routines, and its response rate was 22.4%.
Still, the findings line up with longstanding dermatology guidance: a functional routine can be surprisingly short.
The Routine Most Skin Can Start With
For someone without a specific skin condition, the foundation is straightforward.
Morning
Cleanse or rinse → moisturize if needed → sunscreen
Dry or sensitive skin may not need cleanser every morning. Oily skin may prefer it.
Your sunscreen should provide broad-spectrum protection with at least SPF 30.
Evening
Cleanse → targeted treatment if needed → moisturizer
The treatment is the customizable part.
Acne may call for adapalene, benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, or azelaic acid. Hyperpigmentation might benefit from azelaic acid, a retinoid, tranexamic acid, or another targeted treatment. Photoaging may justify a retinoid.
The rest of the routine should help you tolerate and consistently use that treatment.
✨ If you are using exfoliating acids and a retinoid, the LustreRx Skin Cycling Guide explains how to separate them rather than layering everything into one night.
When an Extra Step Earns Its Place
There is nothing inherently wrong with toner, essence, serum, eye cream, or facial oil.
The question is whether that particular product adds something useful.
A separate hydrating serum makes sense when moisturizer alone leaves skin dehydrated.
A first cleanse makes sense when you regularly wear water-resistant sunscreen or long-wear makeup.
A pigment serum can make sense when discoloration is a main concern.
A peptide serum may be something you enjoy adding for fine lines, although the evidence varies considerably depending on the peptide.
What becomes harder to justify is a hydrating toner followed by a hydrating essence, followed by two hydrating serums, followed by a moisturizer containing many of the same humectants.
The same applies to actives. A salicylic acid cleanser, exfoliating toner, glycolic serum, retinoid, and weekly peel can create a large irritation burden even though each product looks reasonable on its own.
If your skin suddenly starts burning, peeling, itching, or reacting to products it previously tolerated, adding another treatment is rarely the first move. Temporarily reduce overlapping actives and return to gentle cleansing, moisturizing, and sunscreen while the skin recovers.
✨ If your routine has already crossed into persistent stinging or peeling, start with the LustreRx Skin Barrier Repair Guide.
The Products Worth Making Room for Right Now
A streamlined routine does not have to be boring.
The products below were chosen because each one has a distinct role and can help keep a routine focused. Some combine several useful ingredients in one formula, while others target a specific concern well enough that you may not need multiple products doing similar jobs.
Choose according to your skin goal.
ANUA Heartleaf Quercetinol Pore Deep Cleansing Foam
Best for: oily or blemish-prone skin
This creamy foaming cleanser pairs heartleaf with gentle exfoliating support to remove excess oil, sunscreen, and daily buildup without turning cleansing into an aggressive treatment step.
It is particularly useful for oily or congestion-prone skin that wants a thorough cleanse while keeping the rest of the routine simple. If you already use stronger leave-on acids or a retinoid, there is little reason to make every other step exfoliating too.
Dr. Althea 345 Relief Cream
Best for: dehydrated, blemish-prone, or barrier-stressed skin
This lightweight moisturizer combines hydrating and barrier-supportive ingredients with niacinamide, panthenol, centella-derived ingredients, ceramides, and PDRN.
The formula makes the most sense for skin that needs moisture and barrier support without a particularly heavy finish. It also packs several ingredients commonly sold in separate soothing and hydrating serums into the moisturizer step, which can make a longer routine easier to pare down.
The PDRN is an interesting addition, although the strongest reason to choose this cream is still its overall moisturizing and barrier-supportive formula.
AESTURA ATOBARRIER365 Cream
Best for: dry, sensitive, or retinoid-treated skin
AESTURA ATOBARRIER365 Cream is a richer barrier moisturizer centered around ceramides and emollients that help reduce moisture loss and support dry, easily irritated skin.
This is the option I would reach for when the moisturizer needs to do more of the heavy lifting, particularly alongside retinoids, exfoliating acids, or other treatments that can leave skin feeling dry and tight. It focuses on the barrier instead of adding another treatment active, which is often exactly what an already active-heavy routine needs.
SKIN1004 Hyalu-Cica Water-Fit Sun Serum SPF 50+
Best for: anyone who dislikes the feel of traditional sunscreen
This Korean sunscreen has an unusually lightweight, serum-like texture that feels closer to hydrating skincare than a traditional sunscreen cream.
It is a particularly good fit for normal, combination, and dehydrated skin because the formula can provide enough hydration that some people may be able to skip a separate morning moisturizer. That makes it an easy way to simplify the AM routine without compromising the sunscreen step.
ANUA Azelaic Acid 10 Hyaluron Redness Soothing Serum
Best for: blemishes, post-acne marks, uneven tone, and redness-prone skin
A 10% azelaic acid serum is one of the easier ways to make a single treatment step work across several common skin concerns.
ANUA pairs azelaic acid with hydrating and soothing ingredients in a lightweight serum format, making it especially appealing for someone dealing with both breakouts and the discoloration they leave behind.
Azelaic acid also has a more established dermatologic role than many of the newer ingredients currently appearing in treatment serums, so this is one of the more purposeful additions to a streamlined routine.
celimax The Vita A Retinal Shot Tightening Booster
Best for: fine lines, uneven texture, and experienced retinoid users
This treatment combines 0.1% retinal with peptides, including Matrixyl, giving it a much more defined role than a general anti-aging serum.
Retinal is a vitamin A derivative that can address several concerns at once, including texture, fine lines, and uneven tone. Pairing it with peptides makes this a useful option for someone who would rather have one focused nighttime treatment than layer several separate anti-aging serums.
The 0.1% retinal concentration can be a substantial starting point for retinoid beginners, so introduce it gradually.
medicube PDRN Pink Peptide Serum
Best for: hydration, plumping, and anyone curious about PDRN skincare
This serum combines the currently popular PDRN ingredient with peptides and hydrating ingredients in a formula designed primarily around moisture and a plumper-looking finish.
It makes the most sense as an optional hydrating serum for someone whose basic moisturizer is not quite enough or who enjoys having one treatment-like hydration step.
Topical PDRN research is still developing, so I would not use this in place of a retinoid or another treatment with stronger clinical evidence. Think of the PDRN as an interesting component of an otherwise hydrating peptide serum rather than the reason to build an entire routine around it.
Dr. Althea Vitamin C Boosting Serum
Best for: dark spots, dullness, and uneven tone
This brightening serum combines vitamin C with tranexamic acid and niacinamide, giving it several complementary approaches to uneven tone within a single treatment step.
That combination is what makes the product especially useful in the context of a simplified routine. Someone targeting post-acne marks or general discoloration may not need separate vitamin C, niacinamide, and tranexamic acid serums when one well-formulated product already brings those ingredients together.
It is a more streamlined way to build a brightening routine while leaving room for moisturizer and sunscreen to do their respective jobs.
How to Tell If a Product Belongs in Your Routine
Before adding something new, ask three questions:
What specific concern is this treating?
Do I already own another product doing the same thing?
Can I use it consistently without making the rest of my routine harder to tolerate?
If you cannot identify its job, it is probably optional.
This is especially useful with ingredients such as niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, peptides, centella, and ceramides. They now appear across toners, essences, serums, moisturizers, and sunscreens, which makes accidental duplication very easy.
So, Is a 10-Step Routine Bad for Your Skin?
A ten-step routine is not automatically harmful.
The new 2026 study is more useful as a warning about unnecessary complexity. Nearly nine in ten dermatologists surveyed said they regularly encounter skincare-associated complaints, while only a small minority actively recommend structured multi-step routines.
If seven products all have distinct functions and your skin tolerates them, there is no requirement to cut the routine down to three.
If seven products contain overlapping acids, retinoids, fragrance, or repeated versions of the same active, simplifying can make the routine easier to tolerate and easier to understand.
For most people, the best place to start remains:
Cleanser. Moisturizer. Sunscreen. One targeted treatment when needed.
Everything else has to earn the shelf space.
Key Takeaways
References
- Poelhekken M, van der Bent SAS. Dermatologists’ Perspectives on Skincare Routine Trends. Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology. 2026;19:603986. doi:10.2147/CCID.S603986.
- American Academy of Dermatology Association. Skin care on a budget. American Academy of Dermatology.
- American Academy of Dermatology Association. Face washing 101. American Academy of Dermatology.
- American Academy of Dermatology Association. Acne: Diagnosis and treatment. American Academy of Dermatology.
- American Academy of Dermatology Association. Retinoid or retinol. American Academy of Dermatology.
