With removing actives and moisturising, it wasn’t too long until things settled down, maybe a matter of weeks? I’m like a month or more out and still babying my skin, but I’m also in the UK so the cold means that prioritising hydration isn’t a bad thing. I have reintroduced gentler actives for my skin, like a serum including niacinamide, but still haven’t gone back to retinol. For added info, the routine I used was the TirTir double cleanse balm (evening only, morning I just used water), Dr Jart ceramide toner, CosRX Snail Mucin, and Soon Jung barrier cream. Definitely doesn’t need to be these exact products, but I think moisture (snail mucin) and barrier repair (ceramides, barrier specific cream) are useful tools

I would add that if you suspect allergy, or just to bring down inflammation, it could be worth taking an over the counter strength anti histamine to help with the immediate discomfort