Unboxing new skincare can be so exciting! We’re still like kids in a candy store when it comes to splurging on something special for ourselves.

But applying that new serum or cream to your entire face right away is not what the pros recommend. Especially if you have allergies, skin that gets irritated or tends to breakout.

Instead, you should patch test. That is, try out any new product on a small area of skin before you use it as directed.

A patch test is a low-risk way of testing out a skin product.

One of our own team members shared this story:

“I have normal skin and cleanser is the least of my worries. But recently, I tried a new-to-me L’Oreal clay-based cleanser. My skin felt like it was windburned for the next few days. It had never occurred to me to patch test cleanser even though I’d made mistakes with treatment products before that burned my skin.”

So, even if you have a “normal” skin type, don’t dismiss patch testing.

There are three main categories of adverse reactions to a skincare product. Some reactions are a combination of two or three of these.

The first two are reactions you can usually quickly identify from patch testing. The third is trickier… because acne doesn’t spring up immediately in response to a product.

How to patch test safely and easily ?

For extra certainty, introduce just one new product at a time. When you buy a kit of skincare, the temptation is to kick-off a completely new regimen immediately.

Instead, take time to patch test each product consecutively.

Here’s how:

Use the product as directed, but apply only to a small, discreet area of skin.

If it’s a rinse-off product, rinse it as directed. If it’s a leave-on product, leave it on until the next application.

How many days do you need to patch test for?

Anywhere from one to three days is recommended. Whether you repeat every day for three days in a row depends on the product and directions for use.

Anyone new to retinol, for example, should start out by using it once a week.

If you’re patch testing Retinol Night Cream, you might apply it to the patch area once and then wait 24-hours before applying to the rest of your face. You would not reapply the retinol to the patch area multiple days in a row. Retinol is not intended to be used daily for most.

Alternately, you could patch test retinol in one area on Day 1, in another small area on Day 2, and in a third small area on Day 3.

Follow one of these approaches when patch testing any treatment products that aren’t meant to be used daily. (Or at least, not by new users.)

If there's no reaction, the product is probably safe for you to apply normally.

Anyone prone to acne should consider patch testing for longer. There’s no clear rule on how long you should patch test to eliminate the possibility that a product will promote acne, so use your best judgement.

Where should you patch test?

If you’re extra-sensitive, you can start by testing the product on an area of skin other than your face. The inside of the arm, for example, is fairly sensitive (like the face), but more discreet. Progress to testing on an area of your face if the first patch test goes well.

Where you test on the face depends on the reaction you’re testing for.

Apply the product behind your ear for allergic reaction testing.

To patch test for irritation, apply the product where you’re most sensitive. Not sure? Try the corners of your nose and chin.

To test for acne, apply the product to areas you tend to breakout. Most likely an area in the t-zone.

What to do if you have a reaction while patch testing?

That small area of skin that’s now irritated, peeling, itchy or otherwise reacting?

Wash, moisturize and — if necessary — treat the area with gentle products you’ve used before that are non-irritating.

Then return the product. Any good brand will have a money-back guarantee.

What a bad patch test means about the products you can use?

A bad patch test only means you shouldn’t use that particular product. It doesn’t mean you can’t use any products in the same category.

For example, if you patch tested niacinamide and had a reaction, that ingredient isn’t ruled out for you forever.

The poison is in the dose and the formulation. Sometimes the same ingredient in one formulation will cause a reaction and in another, be completely fine.

If you’ve had reactions to lab-made ingredients, exclusively natural products aren’t necessarily the answer. Products made from botanical ingredients are no less likely to cause allergies, irritation and acne.  

Also, note that there are no federal standards or definitions regulating the use of “hypoallergenic”. So seeing that word on a label shouldn’t be your guide.

Stick with patch testing to reduce risk. And see our Essential Guide to Retinol Skincare to learn why your skin might be more sensitive — and what you can do about it.