Check your skincare routine for ingredient conflicts

Which ingredient combinations does SkinRitual flag?

SkinRitual looks at the products in one session, either the morning or the evening stack, and compares their recorded active ingredients against a short, fixed list of pairings that dermatology sources commonly advise introducing carefully. When a pairing is present, the routine shows a message with a caution or warning level.

SkinRitual deliberately keeps the list short. Popular "never mix" myths, such as vitamin C with niacinamide, are not flagged, because the evidence for them is weak. The guide to skincare ingredients not to mix explains real conflicts versus myths in more detail.

• Warning: retinoid (retinol, retinoic acid, tretinoin, retinaldehyde) with an AHA (glycolic, lactic, or mandelic acid), which may increase irritation and sensitivity
• Warning: retinoid (retinol, retinoic acid, tretinoin) with salicylic acid (BHA), which may cause dryness and peeling
• Caution: an AHA (glycolic or lactic acid) with a BHA (salicylic acid), since several acids together may cause irritation
• Warning: two or more products marked as strong actives in the same session

How does the conflict check work?

When you add a product to the Product Vault, you can record its active ingredients and category and mark it as a strong active. SkinRitual matches those words, so a product in the Retinol category or with "glycolic acid" in its ingredients is recognized. Each AM and PM session is checked on its own. Moving a retinoid to the evening and an acid to the morning, or alternating nights, means the two are no longer in the same session.

The check is only as complete as your entries. If a product has no active ingredients recorded, SkinRitual cannot detect what is in it. SkinRitual does not scan labels or look up products in a database.

What should you do when you see a conflict prompt?

Treat the prompt as a reason to review the plan, not as a verdict. Common options are to move one active to the other session, alternate them on different nights, or keep the pairing if a dermatologist recommended it. After changing the routine, a few days of skin logs show whether dryness or irritation settles.

SkinRitual does not diagnose, treat, or tell you which products to use. For irritation that persists, follow the product label and ask a dermatologist or qualified healthcare professional.