What Order Should You Apply Skincare Products? A Step-by-Step Guide
With cleansers, serums, eye creams, moisturizers, treatments, sunscreen, and makeup all competing for a place in your routine, it can be confusing to know which skin care product goes on first. As a general rule, skin care should be layered from the lightest texture to the richest, with treatment products applied before moisturizers, and sunscreen as the final step of your morning skin care routine.
Here’s the dermatologist-recommended order for applying your skin care products morning and night.
Morning Skin Care Routine:
The goal of your morning skin care routine is to prepare your skin for the day and protect it from the environment (sun, pollution).
1. Cleanser → 2. Serum/Treatment → 3. Eye Cream → 4. Moisturizer → 5. Sunscreen → 6. Makeup
And remember, you may not need a full cleanse in the morning if you cleansed thoroughly the night before.
Evening Skin Care Routine:
The goal of your evening skin care routine is to repair the day’s damage, treat the skin, and facilitate beauty sleep.
1. Cleanser → 2. Serum/Treatment → 3. Eye Cream → 4. Moisturizer
And remember, the evening is the perfect time to indulge in a Nettoyants en duo, especially if you wore a lot of makeup and sunscreen.
The Golden Rule: Apply Skin Care From Thin to Thick
In general, apply lightweight, water-based products before richer creams and oils. This allows treatment products to make direct contact with clean skin before more occlusive products are layered on top.
In practice, this means: serums first, followed by gels, followed by creams. Sunscreen should always be the last step of your skin care routine, and makeup should only ever be applied after sunscreen. If you are using a tinted moisturizer with SPF, apply this as you would a moisturizer with SPF (after serums, treatments, and eye creams, before concealer and/or foundation).
Of course, if you use prescription skin care, follow the instructions provided by your dermatologist or prescribing physician, as the recommended order and frequency may differ from a standard skincare routine.
A Note On Retinol
Our recommendation is to apply any retinol exclusively in the evening, on clean, dry skin. The most powerful to use your retinol is without anything under, or over it: just one single treatment step after cleaning.
Learn more about how to best use retinol ici.
Some FAQs:
How long should you wait between skin care products?
For most skincare products, you don't need to wait several minutes between every step. Allow each product enough time to spread and settle comfortably before applying the next. Certain prescription treatments or active ingredients may have specific instructions, so always follow the directions for those products.
Do all your skin care products need to be from the same brand?
No. We play well with others! In general, using products from different (non-prescription) brands will not affect the efficacy of each product.
Does your skin get used to skin care products?
Not in the way people commonly think. Your routine may need to change as your skin, age, environment, or season changes—not simply because you've used a product for a certain amount of time.
