How to apply serum and moisturizer

Hannah Frye is the Assistant Beauty Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.S. in journalism and a minor in women’s, gender, and queer studies from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Hannah has written across lifestyle sections including health, wellness, sustainability, personal development, and more. She previously interned for Almost 30, a top-rated health and wellness podcast. In her current role, Hannah reports on the latest beauty trends, holistic skincare approaches, must-have makeup products, and inclusivity in the beauty industry. She currently lives in New York City.

Establishing a proper skin care routine order is important in understanding your skin care concerns and how to best deal with them when using the proper skin care products. With so many different types of skin care products, it can be difficult to understand what each of them does and how/when to apply them to your skin for best results. It’s also important to note that there’s a difference between a morning skin care routine order, and a night time skin care routine order. In order for you to get the best results out of your skin care products, we asked dermatologist to help Dermstore establish the proper way in which to apply skin care products and how to establish a proper skin care routine in order to get that glowing skin we all want.

Read on for the details or view our infographic on a morning vs night time skin care routine order: The Best Order for Your Skin Care Products

Why the Order of Your Skin Care Routine Matters

According to Dr. Heather Rogers, a board-certified dermatologist and dermatologic surgeon, applying your skin care products in the proper order ensures that your skin receives the full benefits of each product.

“The order of application is incredibly important,” says Dr. Rogers. “The skin’s job is to keep things out, but many of the skin care products we use have ingredients we want to get in. Only a very small amount of these key ingredients can penetrate the skin, even when perfectly formulated and perfectly applied. If you don’t apply products in the correct order, you will not see the best results from your skin care regimen.”

The Basics of Any Skin Care Routine

Aside from the order of application, some experts believe it’s also important to consider the time it takes for your skin to absorb your products. However, since most of us are often in a rush to get somewhere (or hit the sack), Dr. Rogers understands that this isn’t always possible. Her advice? Keep your skin care routine simple.

“Many products say you have to wait anywhere from five to 30 minutes before the next step to ensure proper absorption, but who has time for that? If you make it too complicated, you just won’t do it,” says Dr. Rogers. “If you have many steps, pause for a bit (a minute) to allow each product time to react with the skin. For example, at night, after I wash my face and apply my serum or evening treatment, I just wrap up my day and get into bed. I keep my moisturizer on my bedside table and apply it right before I go to sleep to give these typically expensive, specialty treatments a touch more time to penetrate the skin before I seal them in with my cream.”

Another piece of advice? Listen to your skin. Remember that you are unique and that nobody else has your skin. No matter what experts say, it’s important to find what works for you and always be kind to your skin.

How to Layer Your Skin Care Products, Plus Why Order Matters

So which product goes on top of what, you ask? An easy rule of thumb to follow is to apply your products with the thinnest consistency to thickest, or from liquid to cream. “In general, think thin-to-thick, but you also want to first use the products with the ingredients that are most important to penetrate into the skin (like antioxidants in serums) and finish with the products that need to sit on top of the skin (like emollients and humectants in moisturizers),” says Dr. Rogers.

Your Daytime Skin Care Routine: A Step-by-Step Guide

The morning routine is all about protection from the sun, pollution and the elements, according to Dr. Rogers, so leave your peel pads and treatment products, like retinol, for night.

STEP 1: CLEANSER

In the morning, start by splashing your face with warm water or, if you must, wash with a gentle face cleanser designed for your skin type.

Learn more: The Different Types of Face Cleansers, Decoded

Your Nighttime Skin Care Routine: A Step-by-Step Guide

As your skin naturally repairs itself at night, your nighttime routine should be all about treatment and giving your skin what it needs, says Dr. Rogers. “If your skin is looking dull, exfoliate. If it is irritated, hydrate and protect.” Here’s the best order of skin care products to make sure you get the most out of them:

STEP 1: (DOUBLE) CLEANSER

To get rid of the day’s grime, dirt, oil and makeup, some experts recommend removing your makeup first with a dedicated makeup remover before washing your face with a gentle cleanser. Better yet, try double cleansing, which involves using a cleansing oil first to dissolve your makeup and then washing your face again with your regular cleanser.

STEP 2: TONERS, ESSENCES AND BOOSTERS

If you use a toner, apply it as you would in the morning.

At night, some people also like to layer various types of skin care boosters, which you’ll see as either mists, essences, beauty waters or hydrating (hyaluronic acid) serums. These are infused with different active ingredients, but for the most part, the purpose is mainly to hydrate and nourish skin.

Since these are lightweight, almost water-like formulas; apply them after washing your face as you would a toner. “If using both, apply toner then essence,” says Dr. Rogers. “Toner is more to clean and essence is more about delivering a treatment.” If using multiple boosters, the same rules apply: apply from thinnest to thickest.

Learn more: What Are Essence, Toner, Ampoules and Beauty Water?

STEP 3: EYE CREAM

Aside from addressing crow’s feet and dark circles, eye creams can also serve to protect your delicate eye area from your other skin care products.

“Generally, you’d want to apply your eye cream before your treatments to protect your eye area against potent ingredients, which could potentially cause irritation,” according to Dr. Rogers.

Learn more: The Best Eye Creams for Your Under-Eye Concerns

STEP 4: TREATMENTS, SERUMS AND PEELS

Like the rest of the body, skin does the bulk of its repairing, restoring and regenerating as we sleep. This is why most targeted skin care treatments—like prescription meds (tretinoin, acne and rosacea creams), retinol creams, exfoliating treatments (peel pads and masks) and anti-aging serums (infused with peptides, growth factors and other biologically active ingredients)—are better used at night. However, instead of layering up all your treatment serums and creams, Dr. Rogers suggests choosing your evening treatment depending on your skin’s of-the-moment needs.

“Too many steps just increase the risk of irritation and decrease the likelihood of the desired result,” says Dr. Rogers. “Pick your evening treatment based on what your skin needs that night, not based on what you have in your medicine cabinet. Some nights, it may be just wash, moisturize and bed. There is always tomorrow to give your skin more love.”

Here are other considerations:

• Choose between prescription meds (for acne or rosacea) OR exfoliative treatments (like AHA/BHA pads, peels or detoxifying masks). “If you use both on the same night, you significantly increase your risk of irritating your skin,” warns Dr. Rogers.
• Don’t use retinol creams (over the counter or prescription) on the same night as exfoliative treatments, either.
• Exfoliative treatments: Use these sparingly, one to three times a week.

Learn more: How to Pick the Best Retinol Cream and Serum for You

STEP 5: MOISTURIZER OR NIGHT CREAM

Some people use the same moisturizer for day and night. However, night moisturizers or night creams are generally thicker and heavier and designed to be absorbed over the course of several hours.

“Moisturizer, particularly the heavier ones used at night, create a protective coating on the skin to prevent water evaporation while you sleep,” says Dr. Rogers. “Maintaining a high water content in the skin is key for healing and maintaining healthy skin. If you are using the right moisturizer, it should be your last step because nothing is going to get through it.” If your skin is on the dry side, you may want to add a face oil before applying your night cream.

Learn more: The Best Moisturizers for Your Skin Type

Skin Care Routine Steps

Need a quick reference on how to go about your skin care routine? Check out our ultimate cheat sheet below.

How long should I wait before applying moisturizer after serum?

Can I use both moisturizer and serum?

Do you put moisturizer on top of serum?