The quest for perfect skin is often fraught with small triumphs and large failures. Due to the booming nature of the industry, there are many different brands selling many different products that serve many different purposes. Navigating this ocean of information can be almost impossible if you don’t have a degree in dermal therapies, and working out what order your skincare should be applied in can be a whole lot more confusing than it needs to be.
With that in mind, we spoke to dermal specialist Lucy Kuper from natural skincare brand Biologi, to find out what the correct order of application is for skincare products such as moisturisers, oils and serums.
What order should skincare be applied, in general?
“This can be a confusing question for many people and it’s no surprise, because the answer can really depend on the products you’re using,” says Lucy. “As a basic rule, you’ll want to cleanse, tone, serum, moisturise, add SPF in the mornings, and at night you’ll want to cleanse, tone, treatment (acids or retinols), serum, moisturise.”
What’s the deal with water soluble and oil soluble products?
“If you consider looking at skincare from a scientific perspective, the order of products depends on whether you’re using water soluble or oil soluble products,” says Lucy. “Basic science tells us that water and oil don’t mix and oil can create a film on your face, meaning any water soluble products applied afterwards will just sit on top and not penetrate the skin. So, never apply a face oil followed by a water soluble product!”
Can I layer skincare treatments?
“Another thing to be careful when layering skincare products is that some ingredients will actually cancel each other out, or – at worst – cause a reaction. A common mistake is layering retinol and Vitamin C together. Both ingredients are a potent anti-ageing product, however using them together can be very irritating on the skin.”
You might also like:
How to tell the difference between sensitive and sensitised skin
Want more beauty tips? Watch the video below.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
