Lili Reinhart “Felt Pretty Betrayed” By Bad Skin Care Products

Lili Reinhart wants to break the stigma that comes with acne. The 28-year-old is not only getting candid about her personal blemish woes, but she’s actively fighting back with her own skin care line.

Reinhart tells Elite Daily that she got the idea for her new brand, Personal Day, when she realized the need for products that people with acne-prone skin — including herself — could “put their complete trust in without being afraid that [they’re] going to trigger a new breakout.”

I felt pretty betrayed.

The actor describes the start of her skin care journey with one simple word: “chaotic.” “In the beginning of my Riverdale days, people were sending me different products and wanted me to post about them,” she says. “My skin was really irritated from everything I was trying, and I had a lot of redness around my nose and big cystic breakouts on my forehead.”

It wasn’t until Reinhart looked at the ingredient lists that she realized some of the more expensive products were actually not great. “I felt pretty betrayed,” she says. That’s when she decided to create Personal Day, alongside an advisory board of dermatologists and estheticians.

The brand, which launched on Oct. 28, includes five products — a powder cleanser, salicylic acid treatment, moisturizer, peel, and recovery mask — that Reinhart uses in her daily skin care routine.

Now, she already has plans to expand Personal Day in 2025 with additional innovative products. “We want to offer something new to people, not something they’ve seen 30 other times in 30 different ways,” she says.

While she can’t talk about those new products just yet, below, Reinhart dishes on her favorite product in the lineup, the skin care advice she picked up from set, and what her idea of a personal day looks like.

Elite Daily: What has been the biggest key to finding a good skin care routine for someone with cystic acne?

Lili Reinhart: It's been a long journey, but the biggest difference in my skin was made when I realized I needed to look at the ingredients. I started using an ingredient checker — which we have on our Personal Day website now — and I saw that these very expensive products were full of shea butter and oils that are really not good for your acne.

ED: Something that’s so great about Personal Day is that it’s affordable.

LR: I know my fan base, and I know that I have a lot of young people who follow me and look up to me. It was really important for me to keep each item under $40 while still getting the luxury skin care ingredients and acne actives you need all packed into one.

The biggest thing everyone always tells you is just to wear sunscreen.

ED: Have you ever gotten skin care or wellness tips from being on set?

LR: I hate to say I didn't really learn much from makeup artists or my Riverdale co-stars, because I was often the one who was the skin care nerd telling them about what I was learning, but the biggest thing everyone always tells you is just to wear sunscreen.

ED: Walk me through your morning and nighttime skin care routines with all the products you use.

LR: On the daily, I start with my Personal Day powder cleanser; I double cleanse with it at night. Then, if I'm breaking out, which I am right now, I use my salicylic acid acne treatment. If I'm not, I'll use one of my more splurgy products, which is called Osmosis StemFactor; it's good at repairing and is a nice serum. I'll follow that with my moisturizer.

At night is when I do the peel and my mask. I did it last night because I knew I was having an event coming up. Typically, I use both twice or three times a week, depending on how the acne is looking.

ED: Do you have a favorite product in the line?

LR: I really do love the cleanser, because I love the sensory experience of it. For my acne peeps, myself included, the acne treatment is the one you should start with if you want to dip your toe in the brand.

ED: Are there any skin care gadgets or trends you've been influenced to try from social media?

LR: On Instagram, there’s a Snatched by Pauly toning device for your skin that has an LED light in it. It's like a two-in-one that I've started to use. I like those face-contouring devices.

On TikTok, I just see the double cleanse happening, and I do love a double cleanse.

ED: How is having a good skin care routine important for your mental health?

LR: Growing up, if you have cystic or hormonal acne and you're trying to figure out who you are with red bumps on your face, it absolutely can distort your reality. For 15% of my middle school and high school experience, I was thinking about my skin.

The amount of time I have spent thinking about my skin and my breakouts is really sad.

Being in the industry and shooting Riverdale when I was 19 and still a teenager was exacerbating it. Everyone can relate to that today because we're all in front of cameras all the time with social media.

The amount of time I have spent thinking about my skin and my breakouts is really sad. I would hate to look back on my life and think I didn't enjoy myself at that event or leave the house because my skin was bad. I'm hoping as we progress with this line, more people can talk about their acne and the safety with which we can just be barefaced gets bigger.

ED: Besides a good skin care routine, what else do you like to do for self-care?

LR: As a chronic fatigue girlie, I used to need 12 hours of sleep to function. I'm working on my health right now, so it has gotten better, but I try to always get my sleep.

I am also trying to use my phone less because I'm combating the dopamine hit I get looking at it. I really try to catch myself and not look at my phone just to fill a void of 20 seconds of space, walking from one room to the next.

ED: Throughout all your years on Riverdale, what were some of your go-to ways to wind down and decompress after filming?

LR: I prioritize sleep above everything. When in Vancouver, the minute that I walked into my apartment, my clothes and makeup were off and skin care was on. Then, I got into bed, plugged in my phone, and slept. I am doing my skin care at the speed of light at night, trying to soak in every minute of sleep that I can get.

On a normal night, I would maybe journal and listen to a nice little sound bowl situation in headphones while laying in bed. I try not to watch a video before bed.

ED: What self-care or wellness advice would you give your younger self?

LR: Don't put so much sh*t on your face at once. Things that work will take time. When I was younger, my mom would take me to get a facial and I would sit up, look in the mirror, and be upset that my acne was still there. You have to have the patience to let things work.

On the outer tab of our packaging, it says, “Everything heals.” I would tell myself: “Give your skin and yourself grace and patience.”

You have to have the patience to let things work.

ED: Lastly, what would your dream ~personal day~ look like?

LR: I'd want to wake up late. I would snuggle my dog all day long and order breakfast. I don't want to cook breakfast, I want breakfast delivered to me, so I’d get something like chicken apple sausage.

On a personal day, I'm being active in some sense by going to the beach for a few hours or going for a walk or a hike with my dog. But I do love my couch. I think it’s going to have a permanent imprint of my body on it. In my TikToks, you can see I'm in the exact same spot.

I like my own little cozy space, so I like sitting on my couch and watching a movie with either my boyfriend or my friends. There are two blankets, a pillow, a heating pad, and lip balm. That's just my perfect little space and there's nothing wrong with that.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.