What should I do if a new skincare routine makes my skin worse?

Pause the newly introduced products that are causing irritation and return to basics you know you tolerate. Once the skin settles, reintroducing products one at a time is much more informative than starting another complete routine.

Stop adding variables when the skin is getting worse

When a new routine makes the skin worse, I would stop adding more products and return to the basics that were previously comfortable.

Trace what changed

Then I would trace what changed: which products were new, what frequency increased, and when the symptoms began. One variable at a time makes the reaction easier to understand.