When a routine goes wrong, most people change the serum. It is almost never the serum.
What tightness actually means
That squeaky-clean feeling is the sensation of a stripped stratum corneum. Strong surfactants do not distinguish between the sebum you want gone and the lipids holding the barrier together, and once those lipids are gone water leaves faster than it can be replaced. Skin reads that as damage and can respond by producing more oil, which is why aggressive cleansing so often makes oiliness worse rather than better.
pH matters more than the ingredient list suggests
Healthy skin surface sits around pH 4.7 to 5.5. Traditional soap runs closer to 9. Washing at that pH temporarily disrupts the enzymes that build the barrier, and doing it twice a day does not give them time to recover. A cleanser formulated near skin pH is doing something measurable, not marketing.
How to test your own
Wash with your current cleanser and then do nothing for ten minutes. If skin feels tight, itchy or looks slightly dull before you apply anything, the cleanser is too strong for you. That test is more useful than any ingredient list.
What to change first
Swap the cleanser and change nothing else for two weeks. Most of the time the flaking, the stinging when a serum goes on, and the mid-afternoon oiliness all improve on their own. If they do not, then start looking at the rest of the routine.