With all the trending skincare life hacks, treatments, and products flooding our feeds, sometimes it's nice to take a step back and get back to basics. Nothing sets you up for skincare success like a reliable skincare routine, but if you’re not applying your products in the correct order, you could be holding your skin back.
In this post, we’ll break down the correct order to apply your skincare products to get the best results possible.
The Order of Application
Cleanser:
Cleansing is the foundational step in any skincare routine. It removes dirt, makeup, excess oil, and impurities from the skin's surface. Proper cleansing preps your skin for other products, ensuring they work at their utmost effectiveness.
Exfoliator:
Exfoliation comes after cleansing to help remove dead skin cells. Regular exfoliation of your skin promotes a smoother complexion and unclogs your pores, allowing later products to absorb at their max.
Toner:
Toner is applied after exfoliation to balance the skin's pH levels. It also helps prepare your skin to absorb the active ingredients in serums and moisturizers. Toners also can provide additional hydration and can help soothe your skin.
Serums:
Serums are packed with concentrated active ingredients targeting specific concerns like hydration, brightening, or acne. They should be applied after toner to deliver powerful ingredients deep into the skin.
Eye Cream:
The delicate skin around your eyes needs special care. Applying an eye cream after serums addresses concerns you might have like puffiness, dark circles, crow's feet, and other lines while keeping the sensitive under-eye area moisturized.
Face Moisturizer:
Moisturizing is crucial to lock in hydration and maintain your skin barrier's protective powers. After serums and eye cream, a face moisturizer seals in the benefits of the previous steps, leaving your skin plump and hydrated.
Anti-Aging Cream:
If you're focusing on anti-aging, this step involves applying specialized products designed to target fine lines, wrinkles, spots, and other concerns. It comes after moisturizer to ensure the active ingredients work effectively.
SPF:
If you're doing a morning routine be sure to finish with sunscreen (SPF). Sun protection is essential to protect your skin from harmful UV rays that can cause premature aging, dark spots, and skin damage. It's great to wear SPF sunscreen daily, even on cloudy days!
Have the Best Week Ever With This Skincare Routine
Now that you know the correct way to apply your skincare products, it’s time to start practicing an effective skincare routine.
At Eight Saints, we offer expert-curated skincare routines that take the guesswork out of building a routine from scratch.
We recommend getting started with our Best Week Ever Routine - a full top to bottom routine in one convenient package. It's everything you need for an amazing week! Let's look at the order of operations for this powerful package.
Unboxing the Best Week Ever Routine
Our Best Week Ever Routine comes with five fabulous products that create a potent skin program that we know you're going to love:
- Down to Earth Gel Cleanser
- Zen Out of Ten Bamboo Scrub
- No Plans Rose Clay Mask
- Pep Rally Serum
- All In Eye Cream
Let's go through each one and the order you're going to apply them in.
Cleanse with Down to Earth
Our Down to Earth Gel Cleanser is the perfect cornerstone to reset your skin for this fresh routine. This gel cleanser is designed to detoxify and rejuvenate your skin, thanks to its natural ingredients like pink kaolin and French green clays, which absorb excess oil and unclog pores, leaving your skin feeling as good as new.
To use, simply dispense one to two pumps of the gel cleanser, mix it with a bit of water to create a lather, and then gently massage it onto your face using upward, circular motions. Whether you have normal, oily, or combination skin, this cleanser works wonders. It not only refreshes your skin but also has a subtly amazing natural citrus scent. Plus, the infusion of Vitamin C in the formula helps restore your skin's clarity after those less-than-clear days. Finish by rinsing with warm water for the ultimate cleanse.
Exfoliate with Zen Out of Ten
After a fresh cleansing ritual, it's time to get deep in there with some exfoliation. For a tranquil twist on a classic detox experience, we're all about our Zen Out Of Ten Face Scrub, featuring a bamboo-based formula. This remarkable scrub is powered by natural exfoliants sourced from seeds and plant fibers, specially curated to gently slough away dead skin cells. As it exfoliates, it also imparts essential minerals, accelerating the turnover of skin cells leaving only your radiant complexion behind.
Treat with No Plans
Moving on to the next step in our skincare routine, let's give that fresh, clear canvas some extra care with a revitalizing face mask. Using face masks after the first two steps can extract any lingering pollutants and impurities from your skin, all while locking in hydration and moisture, and adding essential vitamins and minerals. Our No Plans Desert Rose Clay Face Mask, a natural recuperative treatment, clears your calendar of bad skin.
This non-drying, top-quality mask boasts Rose Flower Extract, known for its ability to reduce redness and boost cellular hydration. Now that you're post-exfoliation, gently apply an even layer of this clay mask onto your skin, taking care to avoid the eye area. Allow the mask to work its magic for about 10 minutes, then rinse it off with lukewarm water.
After cleansing, you'll find that this mask replenishes and softens your skin without drying you out. It's a powerhouse of antioxidants and irritation-reducing ingredients, featuring MSM, a natural sulfur compound renowned for its anti-inflammatory properties.
Go Deep with Pep Rally
Now that you have cleansed, exfoliated, and completed your face mask, it's time to infuse the deepest layers of your skin with powerful active ingredients. If you're seeking a peppy, youthful, radiant complexion that diminishes the signs of aging, we think our Pep Rally Face Serum needs your attention. This natural face serum is like a burst of energy for your skin. It's formulated with botanical extracts that not only brighten your skin tone but also enhance its suppleness while safeguarding it against the onslaught of outside free radicals.
To add this potent anti-aging gel serum into your routine, simply dispense a few drops and delicately massage it into your face and neck until fully absorbed.
Energize with All In
After all that Pep Ralley has revitalized your face, don't forget one of your most seen areas: your eyes! Our natural All In Eye Cream is the ultimate solution for combatting the signs of aging, especially those pesky crow's feet. This eye cream features a potent anti-aging formula to tackle lines and wrinkles around your eyes.
What sets this eye cream apart is its ease of use and gentle, non-invasive approach to addressing aging concerns in the eye area. Infused with the rejuvenating magic of cucumber and hyaluronic acid, this lightweight and silky eye cream provides soothing relief to the delicate skin around your eyes.
Gently dab a small amount of our anti-aging All In Eye Cream around the eye area, but be careful to avoid direct contact with your eyes. Thanks to its amazing lightweight, and super fast-absorbing formula, you'll see a rejuvenated, brighter, plumper, and more hydrated eye area.
Skincare Routine Quick Guide
To recap, here's a rundown of a skincare product order of operations:
- Cleanser
- Exfoliant
- Toner
- Serums
- Eye Cream
- Face Moisturizer
- Anti-Aging Cream
- SPF
We have a lot of fun mixing and matching products to get things exactly how we like to feel and look our best. Our Best Week Ever Routine is a great standalone bundle or building block for a more complex and personalized skincare routine. Have a great week!