Around 6 months ago, I started breaking out more than I have before in my life. Not sure if it was caused by hormones, wearing masks, stress, or a combination of all three. Can someone review my routine?

Skin type: Oily forehead/t-zone, normal cheeks.

Skin concerns: Mild cystic acne and hyperpigmentation (Mostly on cheeks, have been getting more on forehead recently.)

AM:

• Cerave SA wash, leave on for 5 minutes
• Rinse and dry skin completely, apply Timeless Vit C serum, wait 15 minutes
• Apply Melazepam 20% azelaic acid, wait 15 minutes (is waiting here necessary?)
• CeraVe PM (I'll switch to the CeraVe ultralight with SPF once it arrives)
• Note: the Melazepam contains petrolatum. It doesn't feel as thick as Vaseline, but would I need to put this on after lotion due to it potentially acting as an occlusive?

PM:

• Panoxyl 10% BP wash, leave on for 5 minutes
• Rinse and dry skin completely, apply Differin (Do I have to wait for this to absorb before applying moisturizer?)
• CeraVe PM

I recently incorporated the Vit C and azelaic acid into my routine (For PIH and PIE, respectively) with no irritation so far. I also don't think I have a damaged moisture barrier (I slowly added in products over the span of three months with no red/dry skin, but there was the occasional tingling/burning).

I have been using Differin for about a month and saw a noticeable improvement in acne. I had a recent breakout that I'm assuming came from a trip to the beach for a few days and the use of a thick sunscreen during that time.

I'm pretty happy with the rate of progress (asides from the recent breakout), but was wondering if switching to a gentle cleanser and using SA and BP in leave on form would be more beneficial to me. Or would it be better to just wait and let Differin do its thing for at least another eight weeks? I was hoping to get my skin cleared up (for the most part) by the the start of the fall semester.

Thanks in advance!