Here's the thing: Patience is super hard, but I also know that it comes easier to people who have been doing AB for a while and already have a solid baseline routine in place. But I've come to realize that taking your time to test properly will help you get a good routine faster than introducing everything at once.

I know I'm about to state the obvious, but I'm gonna say it anyway: I've come to realize that the patch/isolation testing period is the time to evaluate three different things.

1) Will I have a reaction to this? I usually put a little product on a breakout prone spot for a few days before beginning the formal testing period.

2) Will this break me out? There's research out there that suggests that pimples take two weeks to form. So you really do need at least two full weeks to see if the product is breaking you out. If you shorten testing periods, you could be blaming a new product for the previous product's cumulative effects.

3) Does this product actually do anything for me? The last two weeks of the testing phase are a time to make sure the product is doing what it's supposed to be doing. Since skin takes 28 days to renew itself, you'll get a clear picture of its benefits by the end of the testing period.

This got way more long-winded than I intended, but what I'm trying to say is that I don't want my routine to be a boy band of inoffensive cuteness; I want my routine to be the Avengers—a bunch of ass-kickers contributing something different, yet complimentary to the team. I'm mixing metaphors here, but I believe that every product should go through a rigorous audition process and show how it benefits you.

I've been guilty of introducing several products at once and then been completely mystified by what product is doing what, and if I'd repurchase it again.

TL;DR No cheating! The long way is actually the faster way!