You can have all the best skin care products in your medicine cabinet, but if you’re not applying them correctly, you’re likely not getting their full benefits. Figuring out the best order for layering skin care products on your face can feel confusing. For instance, should you apply sunscreen or moisturizer first? With some expert advice on how to layer your skin care products in the most effective order, settling into your routine can be easy. That’s why we’re tackling some frequently asked questions about how to layer skin care, including:
How to layer your skin care products
"One of the most common questions I get every day from my patients is which order to apply products on their faces. The easy answer is 'thin to thick', which basically means applying your thinnest skincare product first and the thickest one last, but there are a few caveats," says board-certified dermatologist, Joel Schlessinger, MD, CEO of LovelySkin.com.
Why? Treatment products such as toners, serums and oils have the thinnest consistency, so they absorb more easily into clean, dry skin and have a harder time penetrating through layers of thicker moisturizing products like lotions, creams or balms. Because these thinner skin treatment products tend to have higher concentrations of active ingredients in comparison to moisturizers, you should apply them first to ensure your skin receives all their benefits.
Here’s a list of common types of skin care products in the order Dr. Schlessinger recommends applying them, from thinnest (toner) to thickest (sunscreen in the morning, night cream in the evening):
1) Toner
2) Serum
3) Oil
4) Emulsion
5) Lotion
6) Cream
7) Balm
8) Sunscreen or Night cream
Skin care basics: What’s what?
Depending on your skin type, the best skin care routine for you may not include every type of product mentioned above. Lotions, creams and balms are different types of moisturizers, so you may not need all three in your routine. If you have oily skin, for example, you may find that a daytime skincare routine of toner, serum, moisturizer and sunscreen works best for you. To be sure you know what’s what, let’s break down some of the basic types of skincare products you might use in your daily routine, from thinnest to thickest.
Toner
Face toners are exceptionally light and designed to help to prep your skin, allowing other skin treatments absorb more fully. There are many different types of toners available to help exfoliate, brighten, provide antioxidant protection, balance skin’s pH and more. So, no matter what your skin concerns are, there’s a toner available that can help you enhance the benefits you can get from the rest of your skincare routine.
Face serum
Treatment serums for your face have very light consistencies, but they can vary from feeling like water to having a heavier gel texture. Serums also typically have the highest concentrations of active ingredients, so you want to apply them directly after cleansing and toning to help those ingredients fully absorb. If you have more than one serum in your skin care lineup, when in doubt, apply your lightest serums first.
Oil
Facial oils are just slightly thicker than serums, and while they often contain a good concentration of active ingredients themselves, they’re also meant to provide hydration. If you apply a serum over oil, the serum’s ingredients can have a harder time penetrating the oil to get to your skin.
Emulsion
Emulsions feel like very light lotions and bridge the gap between a treatment product and a hydrator. They often contain skin-nourishing ingredients, such as vitamin C, retinol and hyaluronic acid, and are formulated to provide light moisture, so they’re great for oily or combination skin types.
Face lotion
Face lotions are thicker than serums, oils or emulsions, but not as rich as a typical cream. Lotions are best applied after treatment products as they help hold moisture and active ingredients in the skin. If you love the benefits of a particular face lotion but find that it just doesn’t give you enough moisture, then check out your favorite skin brand to see if they offer a similar cream formulation.
Face cream
Face creams help deliver intense hydration to skin while sealing in the benefits of other treatment products. They often contain rich ingredients such as shea butter and avocado oil, and the best creams for your face also include advanced actives like antioxidants and peptides. Types of creams you might use in your skin care routine could include eye cream, neck cream or a night cream that you apply before you go to sleep.
Balm
For extremely dry or irritation-prone skin, balms provide soothing comfort in some of the richest formulations available. Balms are usually very emollient and need to be warmed before they’ll spread easily on skin. Because of their thick texture, any products with thinner consistencies applied over them will have difficulty penetrating through them.
Sunscreen
Sunscreen should always be the last step in your daytime skin care routine, after applying any other moisturizers. Whether you're using a mineral or chemical-based formula, sunscreens provide optimal protection when they’ve created a barrier between your skin (and the rest of your skin care products) and the sun’s UV and infrared rays.
Skin care layering FAQs: Which comes first?
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s answer some frequently asked questions about how to layer skin care products:
Should I apply serum or moisturizer first?
Face serums tend to have a thinner consistency and should therefore be applied earlier in your skincare routine, after cleansing and toning but before any moisturizing emulsions, lotions, creams or balms.
Do you apply sunscreen before or after moisturizer?
No matter what kind or how many skincare products you use in your daytime routine, sunscreen should always be the last product you apply. It doesn’t matter whether you’re using a product with mineral or chemical sunscreens or a blend of both—sunscreen is the most effective when it’s applied as the top layer in your routine.
What's better, applying serum or night cream first?
Going back to the rule of applying products from thinnest to thickest, night creams tend to be thick in texture and are typically the last step in your evening skin care routine. Night creams also tend to contain occlusive ingredients that help seal moisture into the skin, so if you apply your serum after your night cream, it would be less likely to fully penetrate into your skin to deliver the maximum benefits.
The best way to layer skin care products from 3 top brands
“There is definitely an advantage to using one skin care line from start to finish,” Dr. Schlessinger says. “You can feel confident that every product has been formulated to work well together when layered in the brand’s intended sequence.” Here, we break down how to apply products for a full skin care routine from three reliable brands, including LovelySkin’s own LovelySkin LUXE line from Dr. Schlessinger himself.
LovelySkin LUXE skin care routine
This six-step facial routine from LovelySkin LUXE is designed to help you achieve the appearance of more youthful-looking skin thanks to afaLUXE™, a proprietary blend of amino-based filaggrin antioxidants, Dead Sea minerals and vitamin C that work together to encourage natural exfoliation with minimal irritation.
1) Start off by washing your face with LovelySkin LUXE Clarifying Gel Cleanser, a staff favorite that helps keep skin clear with salicylic acid, glycolic acid and afaLUXE™.
2) Next, spritz on LovelySkin LUXE Toner Mist to help maintain your skin’s natural moisture balance and improve hydration.
3) Help address dull texture, fine lines and breakouts with LovelySkin LUXE Exfoliating Gel Mild 11%, a gel-like serum that helps boost collagen production, minimize the appearance of large pores, smooth rough texture and improve acne with afaLUXE™.
4) Infuse your skin with an extra boost of hydration by applying LovelySkin LUXE HA Peptide Serum, which contains hyaluronic acid to help firm and plump skin, Persian silk tree extract to combat the signs of skin fatigue and apple stem cells to help repair cellular damage from aging and environmental factors.
5) The next step is LovelySkin LUXE Ultra-Rich Peptide Moisturizer, a nourishing face cream that helps minimize the appearance of fine lines, reduce inflammation and protect against damaging free radicals with a blend of peptides, argan oil and afaLUXE™.
6) Because sun protection always comes last, finish your skincare routine by applying your favorite broad-spectrum sunscreen.
SkinMedica skin care routine
Science-based skin care is the name of the game for SkinMedica, which offers a variety of anti-aging skin care products with clinically proven results. This five-step face routine is a good place to start if you are looking to take your anti-aging skincare efforts to the next level.
1) Begin your routine by cleansing your face with SkinMedica AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser, which washes away makeup and excess oil while also improving skin texture with the help of salicylic acid. Read more about this pick on the SkinMedica AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser Reviews page.
2) Next up is a face serum. SkinMedica TNS+ Advanced Serum is a powerful anti-aging serum that helps firm and lift sagging skin and smooth away fine lines with a blend of growth factors, peptides and marine extracts.
3) To target hyperpigmentation, layer on SkinMedica Lytera 2.0 Pigment Correcting Serum. This serum is formulated to be used after the TNS+ Advanced Serum for best results.
4) Next comes SkinMedica Rejuvenative Moisturizer, a moisturizing lotion that helps bind moisture into your skin with hyaluronic acid as vitamin E helps soothe any skin irritation.
5) Lastly, protect your skin against the sun’s damaging rays with a layer of SkinMedica’s popular sunscreen, Total Defense + Repair SPF 34 - Untinted, which provides broad-spectrum protection with a sheer texture and a blend of chemical and mineral sunscreens.
Obagi skin care routine
A long-standing brand in skin care, Obagi has created a full line of skincare products that are specially formulated to help you tackle your most pressing skin care concerns, including wrinkles and hyperpigmentation. This six-step Obagi skin care routine has you covered with a variety of potent active ingredients.
1) Kick off the morning by washing your face with Obagi Nu-Derm Gentle Cleanser, a mild cleansing gel that cleanses skin without leaving it feeling tight and dry.
2) Next, sweep on Obagi Nu-Derm Toner to help balance your skin’s pH level and leave it feeling refreshed and prepped for the treatment products coming up next.
3) Target discoloration with Obagi Nu-Derm Clear Fx, a tone-evening skin treatment formulated to help improve the appearance of blotchy skin with 7% arbutin.
4) The next step is exfoliating skin with Obagi Nu-Derm Exfoderm, a lightweight lotion that can help boost cell turnover with 3% phytic acid.
5) Now, it’s time to apply Obagi Hydrate Facial Moisturizer, a face lotion containing nourishing shea butter, mango butter and olive oil to keep your skin looking and feeling smooth and soft.
6) The finishing touch is an application of Obagi Sun Shield Matte Broad Spectrum SPF 50, a mattifying sunscreen that provides broad-spectrum daily sun protection with a blend of mineral and chemical sunscreens.
Looking to add a new serum to your routine? You can read our tips on how to choose the best face serum for you and more on the LovelySkin Skin Care Blog.
Shop this blog
Your new and improved organic hair care ...
What does cruelty-free mean in cosmetics...
Follow us on social
Follow us on social networks and be one of the first to learn about sales, giveaways, and free samples
