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What's the Best Way to Layer Skincare Products?

We’ve written about how to layer skincare products before, and this time we’re going a bit deeper. In this post, learn how to layer skincare products the right way to help maximize the benefits of your topical treatments. Shop Antioxidant Face Oil When Should Oil Be Used in Skincare Routine? So you may get some conflicting advice when it comes to when to apply a face oil. Some advise to apply oil before moisturizer, so that it absorbs right into your skin before you slather on more hydration. Others say to apply it after your moisturizer, so that it can help to lock in the hydrating ingredients. To us, it makes more sense to do the latter – apply it after your moisturizer so that it seals everything in. But, if you read our entire blog post, you’ll know that there really isn’t a perfect answer. Just use the face oil! What is the Order of Skin Care Layers? You’d think that a topic like how to build a skincare routine would be relatively easy. Yet, with all the options available to choose from – creams, serums, toners, essences, oils, etc., – finding the right products for your skin can get complicated. Add in how to use these products to maximize their benefits, well that just adds another level of complexity. If you’ve already got a good skincare routine set up and want to learn the best way to layer skincare products, know that the advice is more a rule of thumb rather than anything set in stone. The most common recommendation is to go from thinnest in texture to heaviest in texture, but even if you get it wrong, nothing bad will happen. Breathe a sigh of relief! Want to get the glowing skin of your dreams? Subscribe to our newsletter list and download our free guide: 5 Tips For Glowing Skin. How Important Are the Steps for a Skincare Routine? In general, it’s recommended that you apply your products in order from thinnest to thickest. The rationale is that this helps to ensure the best possible absorption. However, if you mess things up, and the order gets switched around, it’s unlikely to do much harm. That’s because very few products create a bulletproof layer that nothing can penetrate. So, even if you put your heavy cream on before a hydrating serum, the world won’t end. The absorption of that serum through the cream may happen a lot more slowly and you may not get as much to your skin as you would have if you’d applied it first. Additionally, since the goal of the cream is to help lock in the hydration from the serum, you may lose that benefit as well. The same applies to active treatment serums. Ideally, you’ll want the ingredients as close to your skin as possible (think vitamin C, retinoids etc) so it’s best to apply these first for maximum absorption. Then follow with a cream, lotion or oil. Here’s the Correct Order of Skin Care Products Cleanser. It probably doesn’t come as a surprise that cleansers top the list. Single cleanse, double cleanse, warm water splash (often this is fine for many of us in the morning), it should always be the first step. Toner. We’ve always maintained that toners are optional. Not everyone needs to use them and they’re one of the products that you can leave out of your routine easily. However, toners can be useful to help introduce active ingredients like those found in acne treatments. Serum/Exfoliant. Exfoliants and serums like our Bespoke Vitamin C Serum or A is for Anti-Aging Serum often contain lots of active ingredients like antioxidants, retinoids and peptides so it’s a good idea to apply them as close to clean skin as possible. They’re the products that deliver the most skin benefits so it’s important to ensure their optimal absorption. Moisturizer. Whether you opt for a cream or a lotion, moisturizers help to hydrate and plump skin. They can also help to lock in moisture, preventing dry skin. Eye Cream. Sunscreen (AM)/Face Oil (PM). Sunscreen should always be your last step in the morning before you apply make-up. At night, face oil is the very last thing to put on before you get your zzz’s in. If you want to use a face oil in the morning, put it on before your sunscreen. Remember not to apply too much, especially if you’re layering as your skin can only absorb so much. Let us know if you found this helpful.

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Curious About How to Use a Face Oil? 4 Tips

If you’re curious about how to use a face oil, you’re not alone. They’re are cropping up everywhere these days and just in time for cooler temperatures and lower humidity, when our skin suffers more from dryness, we’ve just introduced our new Apothekari Antioxidant Face Oil. Formulated with Olkerii Marula Oil plus other skin nourishing vegetable oils including chia, pomegranate seed and crambe seed along with essential oils, it delivers fatty acids, sterols and antioxidants to calm, heal and protect skin. It is fast absorbing, suitable for all skin types and formulated to promote soft, radiant skin, protect skin from dehydration, while encouraging skin rejuvenation and reducing inflammation. Customers are telling us that they love our face oil because it has a light emollient (skin smoothing) effect without any greasiness. And they are raving about its divine scent. Shop Antioxidant Face Oil How to Use a Face Oil Depending on the formulation of your oil, it can be suitable for all skin types. That’s a topic for another post, but in this post I’m sharing some tips on how to use a face oil in order to maximize its benefits. Face oils provide emollient and/or occlusive (blocking) action making them ideal to help moisturize skin, but they can’t do it all by themselves. They DON’T hydrate skin. Despite what you may have been told, face oils are not moisturizing. For that effect, you need a product that contains water or a humectant – ingredients that help to increase or draw moisture to the skin. This includes ingredients such as glycerin, propanediol or sodium hyaluronate/hyaluronic acid. Face oils work best used in conjunction with ingredients and/or products that can hydrate skin such as moisturizers and or serums. Less is more. You don’t need to apply a lot—just a few drops are enough to deliver the benefits. When Should I Apply Face Oil to My Routine? Apply as the LAST step in your skin care routine. Many individuals have told me that they apply a face oil as the FIRST step in their routine after cleansing. Due to their occlusive effects, face oils are best applied over top of a hydrating product like a moisturizer or serum to help prevent evaporation, lock in the moisture and ensure that it reaches the skin’s deeper layers. If you’re not using Apothekari Antioxidant Face Oil, are you using another? Do tell.

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