The Order to Apply Your Skincare Products

what-im-using-on-my-skin

So your skincare routine is no longer your basic cleanse, tone, and moisturizer—you now have all kinds of potions and lotions to treat acne, dark spots, eye creams, etc. But how the heck are you supposed to put all that stuff on? Throw it all in a bowl and mix it up like cake batter? Ooze some out on the floor and roll in it? There’s an easy to remember way to know which order to apply your products and I’m going to tell you all about it :)

yes-to-grapefruits-makeup-wipes

Step 1

OK this should go without saying, but you want to make sure you properly remove your makeup and cleanse your skin first before you put on anything else. Use a makeup wipe or an oil-based makeup remover (works especially well for removing stubborn eye makeup) to take off all your makeup and then follow with your cleanser. Toner (which is optional) would come next.

After cleansing, the general rule of thumb is to go in order of the products consistency—from the thinnest (usually water based) to thickest (creams) and ending with any oils (in the winter one might optionally add an oil to lock in moisture after applying their moisturizer.

But let’s get totally specific…

mario badescu anti acne serum

Step 2

After cleansing and optionally toning, next will be your spot treatments (if needed). This is your acne treatment, your dark spot treatment, etc. You may want to wait a few minutes for these to dry as sometimes the products’ texture can interfere with each other. If you’re using an acne treatment particularly one with benzoyl peroxide, you’ll want to wait five minutes for it to dry before you apply any antioxidant treatments OR apply the acne treatment in the morning and the antioxidant treatment at night.

perricone-firming-eye-cream,-acyl-glutahtione-deep-crease-serum

Step 3

Next would be your eye cream (if applicable)—if you’re using an eye treatment AND an eye cream, the treatment goes first and then the cream.

murad-oil-control-mattifer,-essential-c-night-moisture

Step 4

Now comes your moisturizer. If it’s daytime you want to make sure you apply any sunscreen LAST (you don’t want anything altering the sunscreen’s efficacy. If it’s nighttime and you want to apply an oil to lock in moisture, that goes last as well OR you can cocktail it and mix it with your moisturizer.

See more skincare related posts here.

And there’s the basics! If you have severe skincare issues or questions, please reach out to your dermatologist.

References: Paula’s Choice

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5 Comments

  1. February 7, 2014 / 12:58 pm

    Thanks for this post!

    I have super duper oily skin. Like, oil slick city! And I had to rely on doctor prescription because nothing over the counter worked for me. But the prescription facial products are hurting the wallets and I have to go get something cheaper. Now, my face loves Olay and Loreal Youth Code products. Just got St. Ives Green Tea scrub and I’m in love. I would love to try Mario skin care serum. Do you use any Benzoyl Alcohol products? I guess not if you dont have it listed up there.

  2. LaLa
    April 20, 2014 / 6:13 pm

    Oh my you are a blessing, I have been browsing your site all day and you are officially my friend in my head!!! Okay so I am new to this, I said this is my year to work on me, physically, mentally, and spiritually. So I’ve started with trying to shop and take chances with fashion because I really don’t and I’m tired of being boring and out of touch but anyway.

    Skin Care basics…. I think I have combination skin oily and dry, I would like to start out with these or some products. Where can I purchase? or if you have any recommendations to get me started.

    • Danielle
      Author
      April 22, 2014 / 9:21 am

      Hey LaLa!

      Aww—thanks so much!

      You’ll need to take it one step at time. Get yourself on a routine first—nothing crazy—simply cleanse and moisturize both day and night (make sure to use an SPF during the day). You can check through my skincare category for tons of posts, tips, dermatologist advice, and more info on the products you see pictured here: https://www.thestyleandbeautydoctor.com/category/beauty-health-makeup-hair/skin/

  3. Charlene
    June 7, 2016 / 9:15 am

    Hi Danielle,
    I found this information very helpful. I also need to incorporate a few more skin care products beyond my usual “cleanse, tone and moisturize” routine.

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