The Best Order for Applying Skin Care Cosmetics And Why It Matters:

I previously discussed a lot of skin care products and that brought forth questions, not so much about WHAT to use, but HOW to use them.  One of the questions I am most frequently asked involves the order in which products should be applied.  This seems to be universally confusing to most users.  People seem to wonder about the best order for applying skin care cosmetics and why it matters.  The sequence in which you apply skin care products actually does make a difference and there is a right way and wrong way.

Too Many Products, Too Many Choices:

There are so many products to choose from nowadays, it is no wonder that how to use them all correctly is mind boggling for most.  After all, there used to just be cleanser, toner, day cream and night cream.  Then came eye cream, serum, moisturizer with sunscreen, moisturizer without sunscreen, sunscreen by itself, face primer, eye primer, lip primer, facial oil, micellar water, facial essence and the list just keeps growing.  (As I’ve been typing this, ten new things have probably been invented!)

Develop An Order:

To achieve the maximum benefit from your products, develop an order to your routine and it will be easy to follow.  What follows is a simple breakdown on how to properly coordinate your skin care products.  After all, why spend the money and go to the trouble to use them if you are not going to get the optimum benefit from the products, right?

Do You Need All of This Stuff?

Now, I’m not telling you that you need to use all of these products every day.  I don’t.  But, you can take a look at the list and you can see where your products fall in line with other products.

Skin Care Cosmetics Application Tips and Tricks:

• Always begin with clean skin. Nothing is going to work well unless you are starting with a clean, fresh surface.
• Exfoliate regularly. The products cannot penetrate through a layer of dead skin cells.  There is no point in putting skin care products on if they can’t be absorbed well.
• Begin with the products that are the thinnest like water and then progress to the next thickest, and so on. Why?  Because if you start with a thick product, the thin one won’t be able to penetrate through it, won’t do any good, and you are basically wasting it.
• Give each product a chance to be absorbed before you move on to the next product. (Depending upon the product this may be 20 seconds or two minutes.)

Thinner or Thicker?

Can’t figure out which ones feel thinner or thicker?  Here is a simple trick—Apply a dab of each product along your forearm, then turn your arm sideways and see which ones run or drip down first.  Make a note of that and apply them in that order.  If they all feel the same or don’t drip, then apply them according to how quickly and easily absorbed they are.  Rub  them in one at a time and count how long it takes for them to be absorbed.  Begin with the one that is absorbed the fastest and then progress to the next.  (You can also put them on a plate if you don’t want to put them on your arm, but that won’t tell you anything about the absorption rate.)

Your order may be slightly different than what is listed below because your products may differ in viscosity from what I am using.  The order below is a general guideline, only.

Skin Care Products Application Order:

Daytime:

• Oil Cleanser
• Foam Cleanser
• Micellar Water
• Toner
• Facial Essence (Like a watered-down moisturizer-good for dry skin)
• Serum
• Acne Spot Treatment
• Eye Cream (If your eye cream is heavy, put it on after moisturizer or facial oil.)
• Moisturizer
• Facial Oil
• Sunscreen
• Primer
• Lip Protection
• Makeup (A future post will discuss the proper order for makeup.)

Nighttime:

• Eye Makeup Remover
• Oil Cleanser
• Foam Cleanser
• Exfoliation or Facial scrub
• Treatment Mask
• Micellar Water
• Toner
• Facial Essence
• Serum
• Acne Spot Treatment
• Eye Cream (If your eye cream is heavy, put it on after moisturizer or facial oil.)
• Moisturizer
• Facial Oil
• Night Cream
• Lip Protection

Still Confused?  We Can Help.

Still confused?  Don’t know the best order for applying skin care cosmetics and why it matters?  Message me with what you are using and I can quickly sort through the products to put them in order for you.

Coming… The Best Order for Applying Makeup:

I’m going to write another post that will demonstrate the best order to apply your makeup products.

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