Ever wonder what order to apply your skincare routine?

Anyone who knows me knows that I tend to go without makeup at all on most days. I like to think that if you’re comfortable in your own skin, then makeup is not necessary most days, though I do appreciate what makeup can do to accentuate good features, and I love seeing the results of a good makeover.

That being said, if you do wear makeup, it needs to be removed every night using a product specifically for this task. Micellar waters, facials oils, etc are perfect for this task because they can break up waxes and micas in eye makeup, bronzers, and so on.

Cleansing the skin is a must and should be done morning and night. In the evening after removing makeup this step works on cleansing the pores and removing the impurities and dead skin cells that have built up during the day. In the morning, this step refreshes the skin and allows it to be rid of any excess oils that may have built up overnight. If you have extraordinarily dry skin, you may be able to cleanse once a day, but only if toner or hydrosol is used in the morning.

The most often missed step by everyone is toning. It seems that even skincare gurus miss this one or don’t consider it important. First, there’s the misconception of what a toner is. Many years ago toners were mostly witch hazel and alcohol-based with very few other ingredients. They were mostly associated with teenage and acneic skin.

Today you will find toners that include moisturizing ingredients, as well as nourishing ingredients intended to allow your skin to do what it needs to do. Since these ingredients are not bound up in a lotion they are free to be absorbed into and utilized by the skin.

Serums are highly concentrated treatments to correct specific skin concerns such as hyperpigmentation, eye puffiness, or lack of elasticity. Serums should be applied after toner and prior to moisturizer. As moisturizers have butters and emollients that are intended to sit on top of the skin to provide moisture barriers you will want to put serums on prior to moisturizing. Some of the active ingredients found in serums include

Moisturizers are the next layer. Their purpose is obviously to add moisture to your skin, but what does this mean? First, we need to know the difference between hydration and moisture on the skin. Hydration refers to the water content of the cells. If we are dehydrated, our bodies will do our best to retain water and will retrieve it from our extremities first which includes our epidermis. This is why one of the first things I tell people who are suffering from dry skin is to tell them to drink more water. My customers will often hear me say ‘hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.’

According to leading dermatologists, facial oils may be the missing step in standard beauty routines. Facial oils help the skin retain moisture, some contain fatty acids which are then absorbed by the skin and utilized in cell metabolism. They are essentially food for the skin. Some oils such as raspberry oil provide sun protection because they are rich in Omega-3s, Omega-6s, stearic acid, and palmitic acid as well as vitamin E.

Sunscreen is the last layer if it is physical versus chemical sunscreen. Sunblock is the preferred term for physical sunscreen and will be used to differentiate between the two in this post. Chemical sunscreens are potentially problematic as there is potential for them to accentuate the oxidation even though they prevent a burn. You can read more about this in my previous post here. Sunblock will interfere with the absorption of not only the sun rays but also all the ingredients of the other products so should be last before any makeup is applied.

Exfoliation is of course the removal of the outer layers of skin through chemical or physical processes. A physical exfoliator is something with grit of some sort in it that loosens and removes the dead skin cells. Chemical exfoliation use beta and alpha-hydroxy acids such as salicylic and glycolic acid respectively. Salicylic acid is specifically effective for those with acneic skin as it serves to break up the keratin that clogs pores as well as keeps those dead skin cells attached.