Over the last few months, my skin has been on a journey — and not a great one. After getting a laser treatment on my face [1], I ended up having a second run-in with contact dermatitis [2], and due to the medicine I used to try to clear it up, I then had a serious case of steroid acne [3] all over my face and neck. When I started introducing all of my typical skin-care products back into my routine, my skin had a total freakout. I knew I wanted to give my face a break and treat it with extra care, so I did some research and decided I would try out a skin detox.

I based my skin detox loosely on a POPSUGAR 30-Day Detox Challenge [4], but I switched out a few things and ultimately picked and chose based on what I thought would work best for me. Ultimately, the process involved examining all of the things I was using on or around my face, like makeup, makeup brushes, skin-care products, etc., and deciding how I could best optimize the health of my skin. It included swapping out old products for new products, cleaning products I was planning to use in the future, and thinking about what kind of sustenance I was putting into my body.

Keep scrolling to learn how I did my skin detox and what the results were.

How to Do a Skin Detox

First, Throw Away Old Beauty Products

I started by going through all of my products and tossing out everything that was expired. Experts suggest throwing away anything you've had open for more than a year, and although I'm ashamed to admit it, I've had the same bronzer [5] for the last 10 years. (I don't wear makeup very often, so it takes a while for me to use something until it's finished, and I hate wasting products.) Still, I knew that if I wanted to get back in my skin's good graces, I was going to need to get rid of all of the products that could be irritating it.

Reassess Your Skin-Care Lineup

Next, I took a good, hard look at the products I was using and made decisions on what needed to be switched out and what could stay in the long haul. I've been using the same moisturizer [6] for years, and there's no way I could part with it. I also decided to stick with my tried-and-true cleanser.

I'm a huge fan of using tretinoin [7] (a prescription-strength Retin-A), but after not using it for over a month, I knew I needed to ease back into using products that could potentially cause dryness and skin flaking. I started out using it just once a week, and then eventually built up my tolerance.

Clean Your Makeup Brushes

I then gave all of my makeup brushes [8] and beauty sponges a thorough clean and tossed anything that looked like it was on its last leg. I'm sure you can imagine that if I've held on to a bronzer for 10 years, most of my makeup brushes are even older. I also cleaned off my eyelash curler with a cotton swab and makeup remover, which is something I legitimately had never cleaned before, and the amount of gunk that came off of it was genuinely shocking. I also sanitized all the products that touch my face frequently, like my phone, my headphones, and my pillowcases. I also added a monthly reminder in my calendar to make sure I was cleaning my brushes and tools on a regular basis.

Examine What's Going in Your Body

Although my skin detox was mostly centered on the things I put on my skin, I tried to pay attention to what I put inside my body as well. I tried to add as many different antioxidants into my routine as possible, whether with skin care or food. I am a pescatarian and already eat fairly clean, but I made sure to add a healthy serving of foods like berries, avocados, and green leafy vegetables into my daily diet. I also bought myself a water bottle with time markers on it so I could keep better track of my daily water intake.

Overall, I'm extremely happy that I decided to do a skin detox. I found some great products to add into my routine, and I've also made some great changes to my diet that have been helping my skin both look and feel better. I would recommend this experiment to anyone who is looking for a change in their skin-care regimen — or just needs a healthy reset from the inside out.