Lili Reinhart Doesn’t Believe in 10-Step Routines—Here’s What She Does Instead

Lili Reinhart knows acne isn’t a quirky obstacle you can “glow through.” She talks about it like a full-time roommate who is loud, unpredictable, and always showing up right before you have somewhere important to be.

On Breaking Beauty, she gets weirdly specific about what finally changed her skin—and it wasn’t one miracle facial or a bougie serum with a $90 price tag. It was basically a mindset shift: treating “acne-prone” like a real skin category with rules, and learning that your everyday products can be the thing quietly sabotaging you.

Lili Reinhart’s Acne Routine and Skincare Tips Revealed

The result is a routine that feels less like a 12-step skincare performance and more like a system you can actually copy (even if you’re doing your makeup in a total rush).

Reinhart’s top skincare tips

1. Stop assuming “expensive” means “safe.”
   Reinhart says her biggest breakthrough came when she realized the products she used every day were packed with acne-triggering ingredients, even the pricey ones.
   
2. Read ingredients like it’s your job.
   An aesthetician (Sarah Ford) pushed her to actually look at what was in her routine, and she credits that shift for her “biggest transformation in years.”
   
3. If you’re acne-prone, “less is more” isn’t a cliché.
   She straight-up calls a 10-step routine “forbidden” for her. Her vibe is consistent basics, not constant experimenting.
   
4. Make pore care a process, not a violent event.
   Her nose-strip philosophy: don’t rip, melt. She uses a wet strip that stays moist and “melts the dirt in your pores,” then uses an extractor tool after (ideally post-shower/steam).
   
5. Try “steam first” before you go hunting blackheads.
   Her routine starts with taking a shower, using that steam to open pores, then strip for ~15 minutes.
   
6. Use hypochlorous acid like a mid-day reset button.
   She keeps multiple sprays around the house and uses it throughout the day—even over makeup—because it’s antibacterial, alcohol-free, non-drying, and helps her with redness/irritation.
   
7. Over-makeup doesn’t just cover acne—it can trap you in it.
   She describes working six days a week, 15-hour days in heavy foundation and powder, which didn’t help. The quiet solution was changing the daily products to something that worked with her skin.
   
8. You can have “dewy” skin even if you break out—you just need acne-safe formulas.
   She pushes back on the idea that acne = matte-only forever. Products like “priming milk” are meant to give glow without triggering breakouts.
   
9. Don’t expect Accutane to be a clean fairytale ending.
   Reinhart says she did Accutane twice and revealed it came back “with a vengeance” and as a different type of acne.
   
10. If you’re in the spotlight, stop trying to be curated 24/7.
    Her approach to being photographed is basically: don’t ask to see the photo, don’t police it, and don’t build a brand around looking perfect because you’ll never be able to live up to it.

The quick routine Reinhart actually follows (and why it works)

1. Cleanse
2. Moisturize
3. Priming milk before makeup (or alone for glow)
4. Hypochlorous spray throughout the day (even over makeup)
5. Blackhead strip after shower/steam, then extractor tool

Her fav products right now (makeup and hair)

• Makeup By Mario eye palette (non-sparkly because her eyes swell)
• Dior / Armani / Hourglass mascara
• Shiseido foundation; House Labs worked for her on Riverdale
• Shu Uemura and Kevin Murphy hair products
• Kérastase scalp product in a dropper (night before wash day)

To hear all of Reinhart’s biggest beauty tips, listen to Breaking Beauty wherever you get your podcasts.

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